The Villain Who Will Kill Me Is Too Handsome, It's Troublesome - Chapter 29

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

Episode 29.
The sudden address startled Peter. Yusiel’s gaze was intensely unsettling.
“Is something the matter with me?”
“I was hoping to ask you that. Isn’t there something you want to tell us?”
…….
“There are traces of an ominous presence that lingered here.”
Artiela’s eyes widened at Yusiel’s pronouncement.
Yet she’d been with him yesterday and hadn’t noticed anything.
‘No wait—Bardo did cry then. Even when he was alone with His Majesty…….’
Since she’d encountered the Source of Evil afterward, she’d naturally attributed everything to that. But was it Peter who had been the problem all along?
“Or am I mistaken?”
“Hah… In any case, I did hear voices in my head yesterday.”
“Whispers? When?”
Artiela spun around in alarm to look at Peter. Purcel, who’d been following him, appeared equally startled by this revelation.
“They kept urging me, saying that as emperor I could do whatever I pleased.”
“Urging you to do what?”
Blero’s pupils trembled. Unlike himself, his fists clenched tight and jaw locked, but his eyes betrayed that he understood something.
“That if I wanted something… I should just take it.”
His gaze lingered momentarily on Artiela before dispersing.
Artiela wasn’t unaware of that either.
…….
“Naturally, I refused. Then the voice vanished abruptly, and instead there was an attack from the Underground Prison.”
“It must have been the Source of Evil.”
Yusiel replied.
She produced the cloth fragment that Artiela had collected and held it before the emperor.
“Dark Magic inscriptions? Were they trying to curse me or conspire against me?”
“No. This wasn’t made to curse anyone—it was meant to seize what doesn’t belong to you.”
“What?”
“A talisman that steals another’s strength through wicked greed.”
Upon hearing her explanation, Purcel recalled something.
“That makes sense. A man of mediocre skill who was never diligent in training, demoted to work as a prison guard for the Imperial Guard, suddenly became muscular one day.”
“And that greed likely…”
Yusiel took a deep breath.
“…became the reason he allowed himself so easily to the Source of Evil.”
The hunger for greater power had made him accept evil itself.
“The Source of Evil? Then the one who attacked me yesterday was that man? It’s not that the Duke might become the Source of Evil?”
Peter’s face was bewildered.
He’d been privately convinced that Kirien was the Source of Evil.
“He didn’t attack Your Majesty directly. Your strength collapsed because his aura was so overwhelming and malevolent.”
“Then, the one who killed Grand Duke Yuphailer as well…”
“Yes, it was likely the work of the Source of Evil. And presumably…”
“The Duke I saw long ago was that creature too?”
“It’s possible. The Source of Evil seems capable of disguising itself in any form it desires.”
Peter, trapped in confusion, seemed unable to organize his thoughts clearly.
He would feel ashamed of having suspected Duke Rupel all this time, and terrified of the voice that had whispered in his ear.
“Wait, then that means the Source of Evil has been revived.”
His awareness as a sovereign had surfaced.
“If that thing is allowed to walk around in another’s face, won’t that be catastrophic? What should we do?”
“It hasn’t undergone complete resurrection yet.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“If it had, I would have sensed the Sacred Tree—or myself wouldn’t have gone undetected.”
“But you just said the Source of Evil…”
As Peter opened his mouth to voice his incomprehension, a knock sounded. Kirien entered and, with casual familiarity, took the empty seat beside Artiela.
This caused Peter to press his lips firmly shut.
“The Source of Evil has begun moving directly now, that’s true.”
Kirien’s eyes widened.
Yusiel gazed at him as though this were self-evident.
“It’s trying to steal the most virtuous, the most beautiful soul.”
…….
“And the moment it succeeds, this world will face the most terrible Destruction Evil imaginable.”
Silence settled over the office.
No one dared speak lightly. But Yusiel smiled brightly.
“Well, if we block it, that’s that.”
“Right. Block it and be done.”
Artiela nodded with the same ease.
Her face brimmed with confidence—confidence born from Divine Power bursting forth like an overripe fruit.
“Honestly, even if the world fell apart, there’s nothing we could do about it.”
“Your Holiness, that’s rather—”
“Why not? It’s true. Human greed and wickedness grow by the day. If God decided to punish the world, we couldn’t stop it.”
“That much is so. There really are far too many fallen souls.”
“It’s absurd. The wicked ones ruined the world, yet they expect us righteous few to stake our lives saving it.”
The twins’ cynical words left the Emperor and his knight floundering, unable to respond.
“Still, though…”
Peter rubbed his brow as he spoke.
“Isn’t it our responsibility to prevent the innocent from being swept up in it?”
At his words, Yusiel broke into a full smile. As if she’d been waiting for him to say it.
“Yes, which is exactly why we’re protecting the innocent first.”
She raised her eyebrows, turning her gaze toward Kirien.
“We will keep you safe until the very end, Your Majesty. From any slander whatsoever.”
So that was it.
Just a simple investigation—yet they were willing to go this far. But Peter could sense the meaning well enough.
It was a message: don’t touch him, no matter what happens ahead.
“And you agree with this?”
“Yes, I’m content here.”
The answer he’d expected.
Displeasingly so.
“But the Duke is the head of a house and a nobleman of the Empire. Keeping him confined to Edelion indefinitely isn’t feasible, is it?”
“No, which is why we’re preparing multiple safeguards.”
“You mean the Holy Relics?”
“Among other things.”
Yusiel glanced at Artiela.
“Of course, we’ll secure consent from all parties involved, so Your Majesty needn’t worry.”
What was this ominous feeling? Just as Peter was about to probe further, Artiela raised her hand.
“But why is he only moving now? If he could possess any body at all, he should have done something long ago.”
“You and I drove out that Black Shadow.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“I suspect that thing can only manifest fully when it attaches to someone and devours their base desires.”
In other words, Kirien survived because he harbored nothing of the sort.
Was it truly the strength of his resolve that he endured alone?
Artiela’s chest tightened. She felt pride in his fortitude, yet her heart ached imagining how cruel those solitary hours must have been.
“In any case, Your Majesty, we need to continue tracking the Black Shadow. Would you consider lending your cooperation?”
Artiela clearly saw the pupils of Peter’s eyes waver.
That was unmistakably the look of someone desperate to hide something.
* * *
The meeting, which had stretched on through skipped lunch, finally ended.
Artiela would periodically patrol the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Institution to verify the presence of the Black Shadow, and the imperial court would cooperate fully.
Dark Magic practitioners were deemed highly susceptible to alignment with the Source of Evil, so their whereabouts would be identified. The imperial court would take the lead in executing this plan.
They decided not to announce that the Source of Evil might be moving about freely. It was to prevent chaos in the world.
“Detection of the Source of Evil is something the Duke can manage, or so he claims.”
Kirien accepted a role of his own.
Though Artiela had expected considerable conflict, the discussion concluded more smoothly than anticipated. Both sides had made concessions.
Grateful, Artiela came out personally to see the Emperor and Purcel to the door.
“I should take my leave now.”
Before crossing the open threshold, Peter turned back.
“By the way, Artiela.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I… I was grateful yesterday. That you protected me from such a dangerous force.”
“It’s merely my duty.”
She’d seen it coming—that flat reply. Routine as it was, it stung nonetheless.
“But here’s the thing.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“No. I’ll wait here instead.”
“Please don’t wait.”
Artiela spoke with quiet firmness.
“I have no intention of leaving Edelion.”
Peter’s lips pressed into a thin line. His gaze drifted past her, fixing on the man standing distant across the courtyard.
“Well, that’s something, at least.”
If I cannot possess it, then at least it won’t be taken from me.
He drew a long breath, then climbed into the carriage.
Artiela watched him depart, Bardo held loosely in her hand, wrapped in its pale green sword light.

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