The Abandoned Villainess Takes Everything This Time - Chapter 76
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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76.
Chapter 22. The Path Where Flowers Bloomed
Kuern attacked fumblingly.
“Lillian, you…! You’re now the Crown Prince’s fiancée, aren’t you? What if you lower your dignity with such stories?”
“Do you think he would care about dignity? He goes around with his shirt unbuttoned.”
Lillian wouldn’t care even if she told old stories.
“And why should I be ashamed?”
“You…”
“If it’s shameful to discuss family matters outside, then what about announcing everywhere that you’re abandoning me?”
Kuern’s nape turned bright red.
Lillian looked at her brother calmly.
When they do it, it’s fine, but when Lillian does it, it’s bad.
It was an extremely convenient binary attitude.
The world seems to favor those with such comfortable minds.
But now it was enough.
“I’ll keep the congratulatory gift well, Young Duke. But when you visit next time, please write a proper visiting letter befitting a Young Duke.”
Lillian raised her finger.
“If you’re here to purchase something, I’ll guide you to the end of the line. The exit is to your right.”
She even showed him the way out.
That way, people could see everything Kuern was doing.
“…I’ll come back properly next time.”
“Well, do your best.”
The freedom of delusion was something that couldn’t be violated.
People watched Kuern leave, whispering earnestly behind fans or hands covering their mouths.
She could guarantee it wouldn’t take even an hour for today’s spectacle to become social circle gossip.
Then Marguerite whispered.
Still awkwardly holding an armful of freesia flowers.
“…Do we really need to keep these flowers?”
“No, just throw them aw-achoo!”
“Oh my, I’ll go throw them away!”
“Mm-hmm.”
Lillian couldn’t afford to get sick since she had much to do.
Now she had to meet and win over the person who would become the next High Priest.
* * *
Clatter, clatter.
The carriage that departed from the Villain’s castle was leisurely heading toward the city called Silverin.
Now was the ‘Season of Circulation’.
It was the time when priests underwent large-scale personnel transfers.
‘Priest Ambrosio, who will become High Priest, was staying in Silverin until this year, right?’
The High Priest appointment was something even the person involved only learned about on the day itself.
So rather than trying to gain favor belatedly, it would be better to make her presence known now.
Outside the window, a pale pink flower path stretched endlessly.
Then Evren, who had been following on horseback outside, knocked on the door.
“Lillian.”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Shall we walk from here?”
“What? Why?”
“It’s too narrow for the carriage to pass.”
He was right.
Lillian took his hand and got down, looking around.
“Then what about the others-”
“Miss! We have the carriage, so we’ll go around to the temple!”
“Oh? Really?”
But Marguerite, wouldn’t that mean taking a huge detour?
However, before she could say that.
Everyone seemed focused only on driving the carriage and quickly left the scene.
‘Well, given the chance, they’d want to keep some distance from their boss.’
Lillian was left alone with the Villain.
But the scenery was too beautiful to be afraid.
“Wow…”
Lillian looked up at the luxuriously blooming flowers.
It seemed like a roof made of sky and flowers had come together.
‘Ah, the petals are falling.’
Lillian waved her hands in the air a few times.
In her ‘previous life’, when flower rain fell like this, she would try to catch it with her hands.
Telling herself that she could catch life’s good fortune that way.
“Ah.”
Lillian unconsciously cried out in disappointment.
A petal had just brushed past her face.
It fell gracefully as if teasing her to catch it, and it was such a waste.
But then the Villain lightly raised his hand.
“…? Oh, Your Highness, if you pluck the whole flower!”
The Villain had plucked off a branch with three or four flowers attached.
The flowers met their fate in an instant.
When Lillian looked flustered, the Villain frowned.
“…? You weren’t seriously going to be satisfied with just one petal, were you?”
“It was a matter of sentiment… No, thank you.”
Lillian awkwardly accepted the flowers.
They were pretty, after all.
While Lillian was awkwardly pressing the petals into her handkerchief, he pointed across the road.
“That village over there seems quite noisy.”
“It must be market day. They do that sort of thing around this time.”
“Then shall we take a look?”
“…?”
Why?
Whatever he made of Lillian’s expression, the Villain spoke as if fed up.
“You’re always cooped up in that garden workshop every day unless it’s work.”
“I’m cooped up doing very productive work.”
“At this rate, your leg muscles will atrophy before you turn thirty.”
“…”
“Since we’re already out, let’s walk around more before going.”
There was nothing wrong with Lillian’s leg muscles. But she felt slightly stung anyway.
‘Is this okay?’
Well…
The future High Priest wasn’t going to sprout wings and ascend from Silverin.
Since she’d been running breathlessly until now, it would be fine to do something different for once.
But her feelings were somehow strange.
It was an extremely surreal situation.
Or should this be called unrealistic?
“Lillian, this.”
“Again?”
The Villain was just throwing money around freely at the festival.
Silverin wasn’t quite a rural village, but more like a mid-sized city.
This meant the quality of goods wasn’t bad and the meddling and hawking were moderate.
Still, Lillian was increasingly dumbfounded.
“Your Highness, do you realize you’re being taken for a ride right now?”
This man was just buying everything the street vendors recommended, one after another.
Most of it was snacks, and Lillian stopped about half of it while grimacing.
Festivals are always a paradise for price gouging, aren’t they?
“Hey! Who pays 5 silver for candied violets! They’re really going all out with the price gouging because it’s a festival!”
“Oh come on, what price gouging…! There’s no profit left in this business!”
“Even accounting for the stall fee here, it would be 1 silver.”
“…”
“Should I ask the merchant guild here?”
“…Ahem, the young lady is quite sharp.”
“I’m not a young lady.”
Even though Lillian had stopped him like that, when she turned around, this man had quickly bought something else again.
Rather than commenting on Lillian’s leg muscles, she should have said something about how her stomach was about to burst from frustration.
“That guy is really good at hawking.”
“…”
“What’s wrong? Those people are all just trying to make a living too.”
…Sigh, I don’t know.
If I think of it as a virtuous cycle of taxes, there’s nothing to stop anyway.
‘I didn’t stop half of it either.’
If she had really hated being ripped off, she would have deliberately blocked the Villain’s path completely.
Somehow, she was influenced by the lively atmosphere around her and didn’t want to stop every little thing.
When Lillian sat on the edge of the fountain and looked around with interest, the Villain stared at her intently from beside her.
“You seem to like it?”
“Yes, well… This is my first time coming out to see something like this, and it’s fun.”
“Didn’t you see things like this often with Pavil?”
“Oh, no way.”
“…No? For 10 years?”
“I’ve never come even once.”
“Then with other people?”
Lillian shook her head.
“I’ve never done this with family either. You know, I-.”
Lillian stopped speaking.
‘Because my parents died on their way to the Temple because of me.’
She didn’t want to ruin this atmosphere by saying that.
This man would know that story anyway.
Lillian’s past was, as mentioned before, global knowledge in this world.
There was nothing to be ashamed of.
Yet when she felt the strange urge to gloss over it.
“Then Lillian. Everything is a first time with me?”
The Villain was looking at her with a smile in his eyes.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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