The Abandoned Villainess Takes Everything This Time - Chapter 139

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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139.
After the Decree Manipulation Incident involving the Second Empress.
“I hear Her Majesty is having difficulty rising from her seat.”
“What will become of her?”
“She altered His Majesty’s decree, so punishment is likely to be—”
Iris had already been dragged to the Temple Dungeon.
And now the Second Empress faced a high likelihood of imprisonment as well!
“As for the Crown Prince position—”
“What should we do? Perhaps at this point, Ren could—”
“And have you heard about the Heretic Suppression? The Holy Saint—!”
“Then surely the Crown Princess must be—”
People were busy calculating and quarreling every day.
And the footage that Iris’s hired journalists had edited and released became the talk of the realm.
‘My betrothed accomplishes such impressive deeds. I trust those precious moments will be used wisely.’
……Though the Crown Prince’s subtle, not-so-subtle pressure played a role as well.
The way Lillian cornered the leader of the heretics through psychological warfare,
— You too were kept in the dark and merely used, Caspian Levernent.
And the way she and the Crown Prince drove the final wedge—
— It’s time for your punishment.
Those who witnessed it erupted in fervor.
Especially those at the Central Temple who had waited on tenterhooks for this expedition to conclude.
“Ah, truly extraordinary.”
Ambrosio, the High Priest, wiped away tears.
How he had worried after sending Lillian, Noah, and the Holy Knights forth.
“To stand unflinching before such a vile creature—such composure!”
The priests chimed in one after another.
“Indeed, well spoken.”
“Could the Empire—nay, this very land—ever birth another Holy Saint as magnificent as she since her time?”
Normally, the Holy Saint was an honorary position with a fixed term.
When Lillian first accepted the role,
‘The term isn’t long, so I can strike and slip away cleanly.’
……she had devised such a plan.
Yet the Grand Cleric smiled warmly.
“Indeed. We should arrange matters so she can maintain the position even after her marriage……”
“Yes, Grand Cleric!”
Without Lillian’s knowledge, she inched one step closer to a lifelong tenure as Holy Saint.
And before Lillian’s room in the castle, which she had returned to after so long, a cascade of gifts awaited.
* * *
“Holy Saint! You must be weary from your expedition. Please accept this restorative meal—”
“A complete equipment set crafted from Southern Mountain diamonds. It’s been lightened for your convenience—”
“Now, now, let’s observe proper order!”
Lobbying a Holy Saint—the world truly was coming to an end.
‘Still.’
Lillian examined the hairpin Ramio had given her.
Aside from its worn appearance and faded color, it was identical to the one Ren had given her.
‘Did such ornaments exist in the old days?’
The one from Ren was quite modern in style.
And upon investigation, it proved to be a unique piece commissioned from the Imperial craftsmen.
‘I wouldn’t give you something everyone else has.’
It was touching, but perhaps she should dig into the records just to be safe.
‘I need to uncover why Ren’s ability suddenly spiraled out of control, and why a week passed at Tillard Manor.’
……So after so long, she made her way near the Library building to do research.
“Why are you here?”
“There is no reason I should not be here.”
Lillian smiled sweetly upon encountering Kail.
‘His standing has been thoroughly shaken since the Incident.’
Since it was amusing, why not shake it a little more?
“I pray for your mother’s swift recovery, Your Highness.”
“Ha.”
“……?”
Lillian furrowed one eyebrow.
Even a single “ha” could contain multitudes of meaning.
“……Do you not pray for your mother’s recovery?”
“Even if it’s difficult, there’s little I can do about it.”
“…….”
Lillian regarded Kail with an expressionless gaze.
It was not an endorsement of Robellia.
The days of being persecuted as a prospective daughter-in-law remained bitter.
‘But thanks to his own mother, he got to live with a clean conscience.’
Lillian glanced subtly at where they now stood.
Well. The stage was already set. And the timing felt right.
‘Original Male Lead, show them what kind of man you really are.’
“Quite so. But if you use the Ruby of Amplification, you could heal Her Majesty.”
“……!”
“You took it as spoils from Revenant’s Palace, after all.”
The very thing Lillian had quietly spirited away, thinking he wouldn’t notice.
‘Still believing it’s a spinel, I’m sure.’
Normally a medium for amplifying power, when used with either control or holy power, it would be quite useful.
Kail’s eyes narrowed.
“You knew all along?”
“Does it matter?”
“Lillian—”
“What matters now is that Your Highness Prince Kail has a means to save your mother.”
“…….”
“Surely you don’t intend to use it elsewhere?”
He would, though.
‘Talk of the Crown Prince Selection Competition is actually emerging now.’
‘By all accounts, it should be Crown Prince Evren—’
‘But didn’t His Majesty decree that proper procedures be followed?’
Proper procedures.
Meaning the resurrection of the Crown Prince Selection Competition.
‘Either way, our faction wins!’
Lillian broke into a grin.
“Oh, surely not. You’re not saying you’d refuse to heal your mother so you could use it on your knights instead?”
“What. Are you trying to record my words again?”
Kail scoffed.
“Unfortunately, recording or video artifacts won’t function here.”
“…….”
“It’s a Forbidden Zone. Feel free to try—if you don’t mind a curse.”
Ah, so everyone had learned just how obsessed she was with preserving evidence.
When life was hard, one did what one had to.
“I’m grateful for the warning, but there’s no need.”
Lillian rose and pushed the barely-open door wider.
Beyond it stood Empress Robellia, being supported by her ladies-in-waiting and priests.
“How—?”
“Doesn’t Her Majesty often take walks in this direction?”
Did he know how much Lillian had suffered in her days as his daughter-in-law?
Whenever Robellia seemed the slightest bit melancholy, Lillian had been obliged to follow along on these walks, circling this area.
Even if it meant pushing a wheelchair.
“You didn’t notice such things when you became her son?”
* * *
“……Kail.”
Robellia stood in shock.
In truth, having the manipulation exposed before everyone wasn’t particularly shameful.
‘How else could I win cleanly every time?’
Without such measures, it was painfully obvious she would lose.
And sacrificing her own lifespan for it didn’t feel like a waste.
But……
“Truly, Kail. That you are my son.”
“……Mother.”
“How, how could you do such a thing?”
Choosing succession over Robellia was the right course.
But the problem lay in his manner.
The complete absence of hesitation, the attitude that his mother’s welfare was of no consequence.
“Kail, how could you say such—!”
“……When did I ever ask you for help?”
Kail could no longer contain his fury.
Every time. Every single time.
‘State affairs proceed according to your decisions, Kail.’
‘Iris Tillard seems most suitable as your match. I’d prefer it if she became the Holy Saint first.’
These were decisions he could endure when circumstances were favorable.
But small discordances accumulated.
And accumulated again……
Until they led him here?
“Making nothing but foolish decisions, and yet——!”
“Kail, that is—!”
“All you passed down was this filthy poison!”
“……!”
Robellia seemed to take an even greater blow from those words.
She had not been able to pass down the Annihilation Ability.
Unlike that Baltazar girl, who was so finicky.
‘But I gave Kail an S-rank Deadly Poison.’
She had passed down the ability from her family that she was most proud of.
“Ah.”
Robellia pressed her forehead.
Her vision turned yellow before her eyes.
Those attending the Empress rushed forward with grave expressions.
“Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty……!”
* * *
Lillian hastily fled the Library and headed for the Main Palace.
‘I have no desire to return there ever again.’
Yet on her way to the Main Palace, Lillian spotted a familiar silhouette near the Tower of Seclusion.
“Ren?”
Lillian hurried forward.
Why was he at the Tower of Seclusion?
Standing there blankly, motionless, merely gazing upward at the tower.
“Ren, what are you doing there?”
At Lillian’s call, the man turned slowly.
When their eyes met, the corners of his eyes crinkled and he smiled in such a way that—
How should she describe it?
As if he hadn’t seen her in ages, he smiled so vividly that it stirred something strange in his observer.
“……Lillian.”
Oh.
It had been so long since he called her that—not “Lili,” but her full name.
‘Is he trying a different way of addressing me today?’
Picking and choosing his words of address had its own charm!
Lillian smiled back and answered.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“…….”
The man who had been watching her intently began to approach slowly.
His pace quickened, and in the blink of an eye, he pulled her firmly into an embrace.
“Lillian……”
“Your Highness, did you miss me that much?”
Lillian giggled.
“We left the palace together.”
“…….”
“You couldn’t even wait a little while?”
“……Yes.”
He pressed his lips slowly to her forehead, murmuring.
“I really, truly missed you.”
“……?”
This intensely……?
At his tender smile, Lillian felt an unfamiliar shyness bloom, and her face flushed.
And from her neck, a strange burning sensation began to bloom.
As if she bore an Imprint.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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