The Abandoned Villainess Takes Everything This Time - Chapter 159

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

159.
Lillian had never once told him outright that she loved him.
Which meant, absurdly, that Evren had taken no precautions against this.
Lillian turned her head away as if in a fit of pique.
“You promise to bring a gift and get a person’s hopes up. But the truth is, once you’ve caught a fish, you won’t even feed it anymore, is that it?”
He felt anger rising at her accusation.
How could he not cherish this woman when he loved her like this? Caught fish?
“What are you saying? How could I treat you like that?”
“A caught fish. Well, Tillard is a butterfly, so you won’t even give the caught butterfly sugar water.”
“That’s not true.”
“Then give me a torch, at least.”
“A…torch?”
“You brought someone who lived by their hands here and locked them away—you should at least give them something to occupy themselves with.”
Lillian’s face twisted again.
“Do you really not like me?”
……
He couldn’t even breathe. How could he not like this woman?
“Your Highness…are you listening?”
For the first time, Lillian asked him for something.
It felt like he was going mad.
She was right in front of him, yet every second without her felt like an eternity—his head spun.
“I’ll give you anything.”
He answered, blinded by hope.
“Whatever you want, I’ll give you…”
He pressed his lips against the Brand on the back of her neck.
If only they could grow old together like this, just the two of them, forever.
* * *
After losing Lillian.
Six months had already passed in the original world.
Ren was drawing his own blood in the Crown Prince’s Castle, muttering to himself.
“The next attempt.”
“…Your Highness, please, just for a moment—stop!”
Elias, unable to watch any longer, tried to stop him.
He’d heard that an Ability User goes mad if they lose the target of their Brand.
But witnessing it firsthand was something else entirely.
Ren hadn’t slept in days, burning through his own lifespan to search for any space where Lillian might be.
It was Dark Magic developed by the Heretics.
Despite his S-Grade Body, his exterior still looked relatively intact, but inside he was deteriorating rapidly.
Elias clenched his teeth at the sight of blood-streaked sputum on Ren’s lips.
“The side effects are too severe.”
……
“Why not use your Ability instead, Your Highness? Didn’t the other Crown Prince resort to that?”
“Hah.”
If he did that, the world might well end.
‘I could do it if I made up my mind.’
But the problem was—
‘Your Highness. Now that I think about it, you prefer only the easy path, or rather, choose it.’
‘Efficiency is good, yes, finishing everything at once. But meaning lies in other things too.’
The woman he loved was kind enough to choose the inefficient path.
“Damn it.”
If he sacrificed someone to find her, he would lose the love he’d barely gained—forever.
What kind of cursed situation was this?
He, who had cared only for efficiency, was now bound by every single word Lillian had spoken.
“There’s no time…”
Ren swallowed the blood rising in his throat.
It was a side effect of the Brand.
He’d been separated from Lillian, the object of his Brand, for far too long.
Whether he died searching or died unable to find her.
His end was already written.
Elias urged him again, earnestly.
“…There isn’t much time left before the Crown Prince Investiture ceremony. Please, Your Highness, you must at least try to preserve your health until then.”
“Elias, don’t say things I obviously won’t listen to.”
He kept the Crown Prince seat for Lillian’s sake.
The Empress and the Second Prince, the prattle of the world and its people—
None of it had ever meant anything to Ren.
But then, through the formation he’d drawn in blood, a voice came.
Greetings, New Master! Phew, I barely got through!
A voice dripping with craven flattery reached his ears.
It was Markus, a monster.
The creature he’d given up trying to reach finally responded.
Man, that was rough. Security was tight everywhere—
“What’s Lillian’s condition?”
Ren cut short the pointless chatter.
She’s doing great! Why do you worry so much, Master?
“Hm.”
And the Bride said she’d try to block that terrifying Tarandia.
How?
But Ren didn’t ask further.
He understood without being told.
He knew that chance would come only once.
* * *
Two weeks into her confinement in the Virtual Castle.
“Ta-da!”
Lillian held up the Moon’s Protection bracelet in the workshop.
“Look at this! I remade the frame from scratch, and I actually pulled it off!”
But Evren, who had no idea what it was, gave no response.
Lillian’s face twisted.
“…This is the part where you applaud. I just made something, didn’t I?”
“Ah, yes.”
Evren laughed and clapped.
Only then did Lillian snort dismissively and pretend to let her anger fade.
“You have no idea how popular this was. It was my cash cow item. Everyone loved it so much.”
“That’s impressive. You really are something.”
“Hmph.”
Lillian turned her head away primly.
After asking for the workshop tools, Lillian had carefully calibrated her distance from him.
She’d shown her displeasure, but not so coldly as to seem distant.
She even made jokes sometimes during meals.
Lillian was putting away the Moon’s Protection when she stopped.
She watched Evren over her shoulder.
He was gazing at what she’d made with unmistakable hunger.
“Do you want it?”
“Hm?”
“Are you asking if I want this bracelet?”
Lillian held it up and swung it lightly.
A tense silence fell for a moment.
But the man just laughed as if unconcerned, arms crossed.
“…No, I’m fine. You wear it.”
“Fine, okay.”
Lillian shrugged one shoulder and turned away.
And she added as if giving it no thought—
“I didn’t give it to the other Crown Prince either.”
……
“So it’s fair.”
Another thick, suffocating silence fell.
She could feel his gaze on her back intensely…
…Would he fall for it?
‘He probably won’t fall for it.’
Lillian’s heart pounded painfully.
‘At least Markus hasn’t been found out.’
When had Ren made allies with such a creature?
In any case, Markus had been emphatic: his specialty was Presence Concealment.
‘I can connect you with your master and the Bride!’
‘Really? Can Ren find us?’
‘It’s possible. But can the Bride really stop that terrifying Tarandia?’
‘If I use Control—’
‘True. But will this be the end? He’ll keep searching.’
Even if she made the connection, as long as Evren had his power, it would be an endless cycle.
Even if she miraculously escaped from here.
So she’d decided to deceive him as well.
Lillian was shameless in her Tillard way, but she’d never attempted an act this perfectly composed under such extreme circumstances.
Click!
Lillian deliberately slammed the drawer shut loudly.
People always want what they see slip away from them.
“Let’s go back, shall we?”
……
“Ugh, silver work makes me so tired.”
……
He rose from his seat.
But it was clear he did so reluctantly.
Lillian studied his expression intently.
“…You know, if you want it, you can just ask, Evren.”
This time, without meaning to, her voice had softened on its own.
This was what was terrifying—having the same face.
When he smiled sheepishly, Lillian pulled the Moon’s Protection bracelet out of the drawer again.
“Here. A gift.”
……
Evren gazed wordlessly at the gift she offered.
Lillian’s mouth had gone dry.
But then he lifted his head and smiled faintly.
“…Will you put it on me, Lillian?”
Lillian approached him slowly.
As she fiddled with the clasp, her fingertips kept growing cold for some reason.
He murmured softly above her head.
“Come to think of it, this is the first gift you’ve given me.”
“You won’t count the ring we made together? Even though you broke my hammer three times?”
“That was because I thought it was him when we made it together.”
……
“This is the first time you’re giving something knowing it’s me.”
Lillian looked down.
Now she hated this man, and yet strangely, her heart ached. She hated that ache.
The clasp clicked into place perfectly.
Lillian slowly lifted her head to look Evren in the eye.
He was smiling. Happier than ever.
Not knowing he’d just had a custom leash put around his wrist.
“Thank you, Lillian.”
……
“I’ll treasure it.”
Lillian managed a smile.
She’d just severed his power.

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