The Villain Who Will Kill Me Is Too Handsome, It's Troublesome - Chapter 25

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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 25.
When he looked up at me with that bewildered expression, he answered in a voice barely above a whisper.
“I had a feeling he would appear anyway.”
Kirien’s eyelids drooped.
“How did you know?”
Even Usiael, who’d said you could sense the Source of Evil’s birth, seemed unaware.
“A headache.”
What did that have to do with any of this?
“The morning you visited my home last time, I had the same terrible headache as today.”
“And something happened each time?”
“Yes…….”
He glanced down at the wrist covered by his sleeve. The heavy shadow in his eyes told me much.
“With a premonition that everything would be taken from me…… every time I came close to death, I had no choice but to give up. It’s shameful.”
Strangely enough, despite having attempted self-harm, his soul remained pristine.
The greatest sin a human can commit is to end their own life. Even if the attempt fails, it leaves a mark on the soul.
Usually a hollow cavity near the heart or darkened corruption.
‘I thought it was because of the Sleepwalking…….’
Because it wouldn’t have been his own will.
But now I understand. His self-harm was actually a powerful will to live. That’s why his soul remained untainted.
“This time, I didn’t feel that way though…….”
“I was too busy possessing another body.”
“Ah…….”
Artiela’s expression grew troubled.
“There were other schemes to arrange.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It looks like it killed Uphailer to cover its tracks.”
Unlike Blleo, who was shocked, and Usiael, who grew serious, Kirien remained silent with his head bowed.
“Did the Grand Duke know something about the Source of Evil?”
“Perhaps. But it seems to have had another purpose.”
Artiela studied Kirien carefully, then sighed deeply.
“It wrote in Blood Writing on the wall that the Grand Duke was innocent, then died.”
“Who would believe anything written like that?”
Blleo burst out angrily, then immediately nodded.
“Right, that’s the point.”
“Wow, our Emperor is going to be completely trusted now.”
“At least you didn’t see the Source of Evil yourself. That’s a mercy.”
“Really? Even so, if it’s you…….”
Blleo’s face showed utter disbelief.
But soon he turned to Kirien with a determined look.
“I can prove I was here the whole time, so please don’t worry too much.”
“Thank you.”
“When you visit tomorrow, I’ll prove it with the Holy Sword.”
Kirien’s lips curved slightly upward, his eyes conveying infinite trust.
“Still, I have to be questioned, so we decided I’d go after finishing my Trainee Holy Knight experience. It seems like a scheme to draw the Grand Duke out of Edelion.”
In the meantime, we can prepare Protective Barriers layer by layer.
The remaining problem was.
“So what happened to the Source of Evil?”
Usiael seemed to share the same thought, asking about its whereabouts first.
“It took Sword Qi infused with Holy Power and fled. Only the Knight it was possessing died. Pursuit is impossible.”
“That’s strange. With your Holy Power…….”
“Yeah. It must have had another agenda.”
Artiela answered in a defeated tone.
“Did it say anything else?”
“Actually, yes.”
Usiael posed the question, but Artiela glanced at Kirien’s expression.
“What?”
“……It asked which one pleased it more…….”
“Hm? Which what?”
“It kept asking which vessel pleased it more—the Grand Duke or the Emperor.”
Kirien’s eyes widened. But the moment his gaze met Artiela’s, he lowered his head sharply.
“Well, my sister does have a certain… demonic charm, I’ll admit.”
Blleo’s eyes bulged comically wide.
Usiael’s usual brilliance evaporated, leaving his face blank. Then a hollow laugh escaped him.
“Wow. He’s serious about this.”
“Serious about what? What do you know?”
Unable to contain her curiosity, Artiela pressed him.
Usiael’s expression turned grave. “It’s something from the Forbidden Texts. Can you handle it?”
“What is it? Just tell me already.”
Usiael leaned toward his sister as if sharing the deepest secret, though his words rang out clear and loud—loud enough for anyone nearby to hear.
Loud enough indeed.
“The Source of Evil is said to harbor an unrequited love for the Holy Sword’s master.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
Of all people. Why did it have to be that thing?
Artiela’s face darkened as she scratched her arms furiously. This was absurd. Hateful. She truly despised it.
“Well, it’s literally forbidden knowledge. But if we interpret it according to orthodox doctrine, it would mean it enjoys watching you despair and suffer.”
He was right.
The weight of that possibility spoke for itself.
“Rather than simple destruction, it finds greater pleasure in others’ pain.”
A creature so malevolent wouldn’t satisfy itself through quick kills alone.
Not when it harbored such hatred for the bearer of the Holy Sword’s light.
“So you need to seize those moments and grow stronger.”
“But… do you really think I can be the one to judge it?”
“Why are you talking like a coward?”
Because…
she’d never truly wounded it except when she’d thrown herself at it deliberately.
“You can do this.”
Usiael’s encouragement, which would have strengthened her on any other day, failed to touch her heart this time. But she couldn’t simply stand helpless.
Artiela withdrew the Cloth Fragment she’d brought with her.
“This.”
“That’s a Black Magic incantation, isn’t it?”
“It was on the Knight whose body the Source of Evil took.”
Usiael examined it carefully for a long moment.
“Do you know what it is?”
“It’s not Black Magic meant to harm others, but…”
Usiael closed his eyes, then channeled a pale Holy Force into the cloth fragment. Sparks flickered across its surface.
“I sense greed here.”
“Greed?”
Usiael’s eyes snapped open and he sprang to his feet.
“I need to search the archives.”
He seized Blleo’s arm.
“Why me…?”
“You’ll need to help me, brother.”
Usiael’s gaze turned sharp and commanding.
“Help you with what?”
“You’re the only one here trained in administration and statistics.”
In other words: dig through records all night while putting your education to use. Unpaid, naturally.
“Wait, I’m on leave right now.”
If he wanted to drag someone out past sunset, overtime pay was only fair.
Blleo’s expression as he was hauled away was more pitiful than ever.
* * *
Artiela walked Kirien to his lodgings.
“Your wounds really are all right?”
The bandages wrapped around his hands had captured her attention all the way here—she’d asked about them at least ten times already.
“Yes, the Saint treated them thoroughly. Though…”
Kirien paused at the foot of the stairs to the second floor.
His expression grew stiff. He turned to face her slowly, his lips moving soundlessly several times before he finally managed to speak.
“May I ask… what you told him?”
“Told him what?”
“When the Source of Evil asked which vessel pleased you better, he said. What was your answer?”
“Oh, that? I didn’t get a chance to answer.”
Too busy fighting.
“Could you tell me, then? Of course, if it’s inconvenient, you needn’t—”
“Of course.”
Artiela regarded him with bright, eager eyes.
“You’re a duke.”
Her answer seemed to satisfy him well enough.
Kirien’s white aura burst forth in soft, billowing clouds.
“Th—thank you so much.”
He turned swiftly and made for the second floor, his ears burning as he went.
“Will you be all right?”
He paused at Artiela’s call, but continued on.
“What if you have nightmares?”
That he hadn’t harmed himself today only deepened her worry. What if the destructive sleepwalking returned, as violent as the night he’d first arrived?
“If you’re nearby, it should be fine.”
“Yes, I understand. Rest easy. If I hear anything amiss, I’ll come to your room.”
Was that reassurance enough?
A smile played at Kirien’s lips again.
“Sleep well.”
“You too… Kirien.”
At the tender nickname, Artiela’s eyes crinkled warmly as she smiled.
After Kirien climbed to his second-floor bedroom, calm breathing soon drifted down from above.
‘Seems like nothing’s wrong.’
Artiela carefully stepped outside. Her expression had grown distant.
“You’ll need a sacred object to amplify Holy Power.”
This was a matter they’d agreed to discuss at the next Priesthood council.
Scraps added together were still only scraps.
Moreover, there was no guarantee the priests would give willingly. They would certainly demand something unreasonable in return. Still, she had to rebuild her Holy Power somehow.
“Sigh—why am I so weak?”
Her confidence had shattered. She’d never felt so utterly frail before. Yet she couldn’t afford to stand idle.
If she showed such weakness, that malevolent presence would rejoice.
After a moment’s resolve, Artiela turned and drew her sword in one fluid motion.
“Who goes there!”
Since sending protest letters to the noble families, no noblewoman had come calling at night.
“Oh! I’m sorry!”
Not a noblewoman. From her clothes, she appeared to be a maidservant from one of the noble houses.
“Did you take a wrong turn?”
Artiela sheathed her sword while remaining watchful.
“No, it’s not that…”
The maidservant’s face flushed crimson.
Had her master sent her?
“Here!”
Suddenly the maidservant bent deeply at the waist, both hands extended forward—offering a small gift.
“Please accept my feelings!”
A confession ambush?
This was a first in her career as a knight.

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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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