The Puppet Villainess’s Splendid Rebellion - Chapter 40

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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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Chapter 40

 

I burst into a coughing fit. Tears welled up in my eyes.

 

“Cough, what did you just say…?”

 

“The Duke. He’s your real father, right?”

 

Sion asked again with an innocent expression.

 

“Then the Emperor is your fake father?”

 

I was at a loss for words.

 

Was it okay to be this unfiltered? No, before that, how did he know something even I didn’t know myself.

 

As if reading my expression, Sion shrugged and answered.

 

“You two have the same aura.”

 

“Aura?”

 

“You and the Duke. Your auras are identical. It only happens between parent and child.”

 

Did becoming an Archmage allow you to perceive such things?

 

I felt troubled.

 

I thought this truth was known only to the Emperor and me in this world.

 

“So you weren’t fighting with your father, but came to find your real father.”

 

He gently dabbed my mouth with a handkerchief as he murmured.

 

“…It’s a secret. It can’t be revealed, please.”

 

Lost for words, I obediently accepted Sion’s touch while opening and closing my mouth repeatedly, finally managing to squeeze out a small voice.

 

Sion tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand.

 

“Why?”

 

“…I’m a princess.”

 

“So?”

 

“The Duke hates the Imperial Family. He wouldn’t simply be happy that I’m his daughter.”

 

“Ah, that’s true. You were pretty awful when you were at the Imperial Palace.”

 

Sion nodded readily.

 

It seemed like a talent to casually make what sounded like criticism.

 

“Got it, I won’t tell.”

 

That was the end of it.

 

Sion didn’t interrogate me about how I knew this fact, or what I planned to do going forward. He didn’t question why I was hiding it either. So my major secret felt like it was nothing significant.

 

I fidgeted with the banana skewer in my hand and mumbled.

 

“…Thank you.”

 

“For what.”

 

“For saying you’d keep the secret.”

 

Sion rolled his eyes and smiled.

 

“You’re more interesting than the Duke. So I’ll take your side.”

 

Then he gently pulled my hand. It was a warm touch.

 

“Come on, let’s go back. It’s been almost an hour.”

 

* * *

 

When we returned to the Duke’s Mansion, unfortunately.

 

“Lorea.”

 

Carlos was standing there.

 

He seemed to be coming this way from the garden. It wasn’t the right timing to run into him, but we were unlucky.

 

“Where have you been?”

 

“A walk.”

 

It wasn’t me who answered. Sion, standing beside me, gently waved our still-clasped hands at Carlos.

 

Carlos’s gaze turned to Sion. More precisely, it lingered on the hand clasped with Sion’s.

 

His eyes narrowed instantly.

 

“For an unwelcome guest, you’re quite bold in your wandering. Are all Mage Tower mages like this?”

 

“Probably not all of them? I don’t really know. I don’t know all the Mage Tower kids.”

 

“…Aren’t you leaving?”

 

“I was just about to.”

 

Sion answered nonchalantly.

 

He released my hand with apparent reluctance, looked back and forth between me and Carlos, then suddenly spoke up.

 

“Duke. Be good to her. Don’t regret it later.”

 

Carlos’s expression became displeased.

 

His face showed he had no idea what Sion was talking about.

 

Sion didn’t explain further. Instead, he turned to me and waved his hand gently.

 

“Well then, goodbye. See you again.”

 

“Um.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“…Today was fun.”

 

At my hesitant words, Sion’s eyes widened, then he smiled brightly.

 

“Yeah, me too. Let’s go again sometime.”

 

With a dazzling light, Sion’s figure disappeared from view. It was instantaneous, just like when he had suddenly appeared to me.

 

Only Carlos and I remained.

 

“….”

 

A hellish silence flowed.

 

Carlos looked down at me. His face still held unresolved questions, but since there were no other words I could give in response, I avoided his gaze and turned my head away.

 

* * *

 

A few more days after Sion left, Carlos called me to his study.

 

“We’re going to the Eastern Shrine.”

 

He said it just like that, straight to the point.

 

“…The East?”

 

“Since written correspondence has been blocked, we have no choice but to go directly.”

 

There was no detailed explanation, but I could immediately tell it was about the guardianship registration matter.

 

I bit my lip.

 

‘…The Eastern Temple.’

 

Although it was outside the Ducal Palace, realistically speaking, it was the most reasonable destination.

 

However, there were two problems.

 

One was me.

 

The moment I stepped even one foot outside the Ducal Palace, the Imperial Family could forcibly take me away. Extraterritorial rights were only valid within the Ducal Palace.

 

The other was Carlos.

 

The denser the magical energy, the more severe the mana collision symptoms become. What would happen if we went all the way to the East? Just thinking about it was dizzying.

 

“What about other methods?”

 

“Does the Princess have any other methods?”

 

A question came back in return.

 

“The Capital’s Imperial Palace is right under the Imperial Family’s nose, so that’s out of the question. The Northern and Southern temples are two to three times farther than the Eastern Temple. The Princess knows best that the longer we stay outside the Ducal Palace, the higher the probability of being exposed to the Imperial Family, doesn’t she?”

 

His words were right.

 

It takes three days to reach the Eastern Temple. To go to the West or North would take over ten days.

 

The closest Western Temple had become virtually defunct as all the priests had left when the Mages’ Domain expanded their influence.

 

‘I know the East is the best option, but still.’

 

“What about your physical condition?”

 

I had no choice but to ask.

 

Setting aside my own safety, could he endure that magical energy?

 

Carlos looked down at me. His eyes were cold.

 

“That doesn’t seem like something the Princess needs to worry about.”

 

“But….”

 

“The Princess proposed the condition of ‘becoming my guardian,’ and I have an obligation to fulfill that. You want to achieve what you desire, so what’s with that wishy-washy attitude?”

 

His emotionless voice felt like it was stabbing into my chest.

 

‘There’s no way I couldn’t be worried.’

 

I had many things I wanted to say, but I kept my mouth shut. I knew there was no point in saying more. Carlos was someone who never bent once he’d made a decision.

 

“…I understand.”

 

In the end, I couldn’t say anything at all.

 

This was clearly what I had wanted, yet I didn’t know why my chest felt so stuffy.

 

I could feel Carlos’s gaze pouring down from above my head.

 

I left the study without meeting his face.

 

* * *

 

The method I found was to hole up in the library. After my conversation with Carlos, I visited the library whenever I had time. Legal texts, temple-related documents, old case law collections. I searched through everything I could get my hands on.

 

“You’re here again.”

 

I heard a voice from behind.

 

When I turned my head, Demian was standing there. He was holding a tray with sandwiches and juice.

 

“You didn’t even eat lunch, and now you’re planning to skip dinner too?”

 

“…I was just about to eat.”

 

“Liar.”

 

Demian set the tray down on the desk with a thud. Anyone could tell it was food that showcased Mia’s skills.

 

“Eat. It’ll be troublesome if you collapse.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

I took a bite of the sandwich.

 

Demian plopped down next to me.

 

“What are you searching for so desperately that you’re holed up here instead of coming to the training grounds? It’s not like you suddenly developed an interest in academics.”

 

“Don’t tell me, Young Duke, were you lonely because I didn’t come?”

 

“…Lonely? Me? Are you insane?”

 

I had asked just in case, but got a shouting response in return.

 

If it’s no, then it’s no—why is he yelling?

 

I covered my ears and shook my head as I spoke.

 

“I was wondering if there might be some other clever plan besides going to the Eastern Temple.”

 

“…I heard you’re going to the Eastern Temple with Father.”

 

“Yes, with the Duke’s body, it would be difficult to endure in a region with dense magical energy. No matter how many purification stones there are….”

 

Of course, if we made a large quantity of purification stones, he could somehow endure it, but if he used even a bit of magic, it would instantly approach a rampage.

 

Demian closed his mouth.

 

A moment of silence passed.

 

“…Should I help you look for it too?”

 

“What?”

 

“Two people searching would be faster, wouldn’t it?”

 

I couldn’t say anything for a moment at his unexpected attitude.

 

I never dreamed that Demian would step forward to help with something like this.

 

“Why are you looking at me like that? If you don’t want it, just say no.”

 

“No, it’s not that I don’t want it.”

 

“Yes, and?”

 

“If I become Duke Carter’s ‘ward,’ I’ll have an official reason to stay at this mansion. You know that too, don’t you?”

 

In other words, ‘I’m Loreia whom you hate so much, but you’ll help me stick around this mansion?’

 

Demian’s eyes narrowed.

 

“Do you think I offered to help without knowing that?”

 

“Didn’t you want to kick me out immediately?”

 

“That’s ancient history…”

 

Demian grumbled as he looked me over.

 

I guess he doesn’t mind living in the same house as me now. This is why adaptation is scary, I suppose. After hovering around Demian day after day, this kind of day has finally come.

 

“So, will you help me or not?”

 

“Please help me.”

 

I’m at the point where I’d borrow even a cat’s paws, so this works out well.

 

At my answer, Demian said, “You should have said that from the start,” and turned his head away.

 

I decided to pretend I didn’t notice his ears turning slightly red.

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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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