The Villain Who Will Kill Me Is Too Handsome, It's Troublesome - Chapter 112

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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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Chapter 112.
“I cannot allow that.”
It was Kirien’s voice.
“An engagement between Your Majesty and the Holy Knight Order’s Commander, as the excuse for rejecting the Southern Kingdom’s demands?”
His voice was splintering with rage.
“But you said we can’t be the ones to strike the South first, didn’t you? Then wouldn’t we need a legitimate reason to refuse their demands?”
I can’t take any more of this.
Artiela turned to Sernia, her face grim and resolute.
I’m going to the Council Chamber right now and throw a tantrum.
Sernia read her intent from the killing intent seeping out of her alone, and shook her head.
“Sounds like you’ve heard something.”
“Yes. I think this is why they sent the marriage proposal ahead of time.”
“Haa, so in the end…”
Sernia gazed up at the sky and offered a prayer, loud enough for Artiela to hear.
It was a prayer for the Empire’s peace.
“Because Father spoiled Your Majesty rotten, the Empire is about to go under.”
No, it was a grudge.
“And yet he has the nerve to rest in the arms of God. I can’t stand it. Someone should dig up his grave first.”
…That was a curse, all right.
By the time the venom aimed at the Imperial Family ran its course, Artiela asked carefully, “Well, may I be going now?”
“You’ve already been kicked out of the Council Chamber, haven’t you? Why? Planning to use force?”
I flinched. This First Princess, she isn’t Ushiel, so how did she figure that out?
She had meant to raise hell among the nobles. In order to look like a bride nobody would ever want to bring home.
No matter how much the Emperor wanted it, it would be hard to push through a royal marriage while ignoring the will of the nobility.
Of course, she also planned to land a blow on Pieter.
“If you rush in and stir up trouble, it’s better to wait here. The Saint will be furious for sure.”
The First Princess bore a strange resemblance to Ushiel.
The way she scolded people in a calm, measured tone, and the dignity that seeped out of her even when she simply sat still.
Even the shape of her palms, now that I looked, was similar.
So I couldn’t oppose Sernia’s wishes and stayed put obediently, my back stiff as a board.
“By the way, did you manage to secure any hard evidence?”
When Artiela whispered quietly, Sernia let out a sigh.
“I tried to get my hands on that letter back then, but the Chamberlain burned it. The go-between from the Southern Kingdom had already vanished without a trace.”
The most important thing still wasn’t ready.
A pretext for the Holy Temple to intervene.
If things stayed as they were, even if Sernia took the throne, the fallout would be no small matter. Especially for Ushiel, who had proposed this whole affair.
In the worst case, she might step down from the Saint’s position and be excommunicated.
“Edelion cannot hand the master of the Holy Sword over to the Southern Kingdom. And that goes for being Your Majesty’s fiancée as well.”
“Then what?”
“Rather, Edelion will lend its strength to subjugating the Southern Kingdom’s Dark Mages.”
Just then, Ushiel’s declaration came.
“The mages will also spare no support, Your Majesty.”
Even Mother.
“If the Holy Temple steps forward, we will take part as well.”
The nobles who still clung to the idea of a royal in-law seat, the ones blinded by the profits that would follow the war, and the territorial lords who wanted the war over quickly so they could lower taxes.
Just as Father and Bleo had worked behind the scenes, everything flowed along, and everyone ended up in agreement.
As if there were no turning back now.
Then Sernia lamented again, beside me.
“We closed in as fast as we could through the secret passage, yet we let them slip right through our fingers. But at least we got this.”
Sernia took a small scrap of parchment out of her pocket.
Artiela, whose mother was a mage, recognized at a glance what it was. And the words written on it, too.
“This is…”
“It’s something that could never have come out of the Imperial Palace.”
“Exactly. It shouldn’t have come out of the Empire either.”
Found it. Yes, with this, we’ll have perfect hard evidence. Artiela gazed at Sernia with a look of satisfaction, pleased that she had noticed it and taken it.
“May I call you big sister from now on, Your Highness?”
At Artiela’s request, Sernia instantly turned bashful.
* * *
That afternoon, the Holy Knight Order gathered as one at the Training Grounds of Edelion.
That afternoon, the Holy Knight Order gathered as one at the Training Grounds in Edelion.
“Well, that’s the reason everyone’s going to move together with the Imperial Army.”
At Artiela’s explanation, the Holy Knights’ eyes narrowed into flat, unamused lines.
“I know none of you like it, but at least try to look less sour.”
Even under Artiela’s order, the Holy Knights couldn’t hide their dissatisfaction.
“Wouldn’t it be better if we just moved on our own?”
“Exactly. Those guys are a sorry bunch of rabble with no skill and no chivalry.”
“Aren’t the enemies just monsters and Dark Mages anyway? In the end, it’s us who’ll be fighting at the front, right?”
“An Imperial Army with no Holy Power trying to subjugate the Southern Kingdom? Isn’t that a reckless move from the start?”
I could understand their reaction.
Back when the Imperial Army came to capture Artiela, those bastards had insulted the Holy Knight Order, and the knights hadn’t forgotten it.
The emperor had apologized on their behalf, but not one of those men had apologized properly.
“I get it, but cut them some slack.”
Artiela tapped the shoulder of a knight standing nearby, a sly smile curling across her lips.
“Instead, we’ll hold a joint training session before the departure, all right?”
There was no way she could send a subjugation force of rabble.
“No way…”
The big, burly men lit up like children waiting for a present, their eyes sparkling. In moments like this, she had to live up to their expectations.
“You can spar all you want during that time.”
“Woohoo!”
“And you can run them into the ground under the guise of training, too.”
“Yeah!”
The training grounds filled with a roar of cheers.
They had always let insults slide with easygoing shrugs, telling themselves it was all for the best as clergymen, but they had long memories.
They must have been waiting for this day.
“Oh, and for the duration of the war, the Imperial Household will pay you the same weekly wage as the Imperial Army. Think of it as pocket money, and earn every coin you can.”
Thanks to that, the morale of the Holy Knight Order soared to the heavens.
Artiela watched their backs as they rushed off to pack, a smile spreading across her lips.
The worries and anxieties that had weighed on her these past few days seemed to drift away, at least a little.
“I’ll have to put off training with the kids for a while after today.”
As she prepared to play with the young aspiring Holy Knights, Kirien approached her side.
“Ah-ti.”
Unlike the other knights, his face remained gloomy and sunken.
“What’s wrong, Kirien?”
“Would you mind checking the state of my soul?”
I had just heard him vent his fury at the emperor in the Council Chamber to his heart’s content.
According to Ushiel’s report, Pieter had been quite flustered by the sight.
“Even though the duke got angry, nothing happened, right? Apparently, that was disappointing to him.”
If Pieter notices that things are going differently from the plan, that could be a problem.
“All right.”
Artiela checked Kirien’s soul for him.
She burst out laughing right away at the nervous man, though.
“Your gaze has sharpened enough to shoot sparks.”
“Really? Has it become hateful?”
“No, it’s not that bad. It’s just sharper than usual.”
At Artiela’s explanation, Kirien rubbed his chest in relief.
He must have been quite worried about looking foolish in front of her. If that’s the case, he could simply ask her not to look at his soul at all.
Was it a habit formed from being tormented by the Source of Evil?
Or was it a scar?
“It’s still better-looking than the emperor’s soul, right?”
As it turned out, it was a bid to stake his claim.
Artiela pressed her lips tight to hold back a laugh and nodded.
“Mm-hmm, you’re still the most beautiful in the world. Just like my ideal type.”
Kirien smiled, looking satisfied.
Then he took her hand.
He rubbed Artiela’s hand strangely, fidgeting with it in a way that was unlike him.
“What’s wrong?”
“You know, Ah-ti.”
He hesitated for so long that it seemed he had something important to say.
“What is it?”
“Do you remember what the Saint said back then?”
I have no idea what he’s talking about. Ushiel’s nagging comes in more than one flavor.
If it’s about how to take control of the Imperial Army, then I remember that clearly. But this doesn’t seem like the time to bring it up.
“What?”
So I asked, and Kirien’s eyes drooped at the corners.
Just like a puppy whose master hasn’t looked back at it.
She said I should do it once the Marriage Ban is lifted.
Ah, right.
I’d been so swamped with work that I’d forgotten completely.
But you’re bringing that up here, now?

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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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