The Villain Who Will Kill Me Is Too Handsome, It's Troublesome - Chapter 43

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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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Episode 43.
“What, what is it?”
Artiela blinked rapidly, squinting hard.
“Why? Did you receive some kind of divine vision?”
“Oh, is that what it is?”
Artiela tilted her head back to gaze up at the tree. And then she saw something strange.
“Wow! Yusiel! Look, look at that!”
Where Artiela pointed, new leaves had sprouted.
“When did the tree grow like this?”
The tender shoots had already swollen into deep, verdant foliage, and between them peeked round, pale green buds.
“Those are flowers, right? They’re about to bloom? Already! Wow, that’s amazing, Yusiel!”
Artiela forgot what state she was in and bolted upright from where she sat, straining to examine the buds more closely.
Unable to recover fully, she swayed as dizziness washed over her.
“Are you alright?”
“You okay?”
As Yusiel and Kirien steadied her from both sides, Artiela broke into a grin.
“I’m hungry.”
“You! You collapsed and now you’re hungry?”
“Of course I’m hungry. Do you know how long the Nobility council lasted? They at least served refreshments to the nobles, but not me—I was just an Observer and didn’t even get tea.”
Of course, she wouldn’t have touched anything they offered at the Imperial Palace anyway.
“This is really unbearable.”
“Let’s return to the Lodging. Bailey will have something prepared quickly.”
“Yes!”
Artiela sprang up with newfound energy, dusting herself off. Then, in a cheerful voice, she spoke to Yusiel.
“I think I need to visit the Duke’s Village.”
“Why?”
“To solve the problem with my right hand.”
“What?”
“I think I saw Bertia’s final moments just now.”
The Holy Tree had shown her. It was so difficult to believe that she needed to confirm it.
Perhaps she was the starting point of all this.
“The Goddess’s Tears should be there too.”
“Then let’s go together.”
“Mm, but don’t you have work to do here?”
“What work?”
Artiela stopped mid-step and took a deep breath.
“I need to remove what’s been clinging to the Emperor.”
Artiela’s gaze fell to the ground.
Three shadows came into view all at once. Under the same sun, shadows of the same color seemed peaceful.
But Piter’s shadow was different.
It was fine yesterday, but at some point.
“The Black Shadow has latched onto him.”
“What?”
“It abandoned the Duke and switched hosts to him instead.”
It had been troubling her all along.
“It’s not completely merged yet, so removing it the way we did before should work…….”
Artiela raised her right hand.
“I’ve lost the qualifications to be the Holy Sword’s master, so you take it and—ow! Why are you hitting me?”
Artiela rubbed her back with both hands, staring at Yusiel.
Yusiel’s eyes glistened with tears as she scolded her younger sister.
“You’re still the master! That’s why your left hand works!”
“Really……?”
“Yes! Now try again!”
Yusiel drew the blade herself and held out the hilt. Artiela grasped the sword with her right hand and then her left hand in turn.
“Oh, it really does work with my left hand.”
“See? It’s fine, you idiot.”
“Phew, thank goodness. I was seriously worried I’d have to retire! I even had a tiny hope that if the Holy Sword’s master disappeared, the Source of Evil would disappear too, but losing that qualification seems worse, and—ow! Why again!”
“Something that’s already been born won’t just vanish.”
True enough. Losing someone who could wield the Holy Sword would only make the Source of Evil happy.
“So hurry up and find the Goddess’s Tears and purify it. We need that to keep the Duke safe.”
At Yusiel’s measured words, Artiela glanced toward Kirien.
He stood three paces distant, watching the sisters with an ambiguous expression—neither quite smiling nor frowning.
By now he ought to have grown accustomed to moments like these.
“I also have something to confess,” he said.
Kirien clenched his fists and opened his mouth.
Everything he had witnessed today, everything he had heard—and the fact that he had not merely summoned the Source of Evil but actively strengthened it.
And above all, there was something he felt compelled to admit.
“When you saw my soul shining in your eyes, Lady Artiela, it was not because I am virtuous or good. That creature stole even the sins of my heart, which is why my soul appeared so thoroughly cleansed. Therefore…….”
He would accept it if she were disappointed and could no longer protect him.
That final confession never reached his lips. But in the moment he began to speak, aware that even this desire was dangerous—
“Even so, it was you who overcame it through sheer will.”
Artiela smiled softly as she spoke.
“I saw it today. The pearl’s light was fighting fiercely, wasn’t it? If you had been a wicked person to begin with, it would have consumed you at once, and my sword would have pierced you clean through.”
Did it work that way?
Kirien thought Artiela had misinterpreted the matter, but he said nothing—because what the saint added struck him far more deeply.
“So that means I should simply live more virtuously from now on.”
“Pardon?”
“If you don’t commit even small sins of the heart, then even if it attaches itself to someone else, it will have lost its wellspring of power—it may not be able to do evil.”
“Ah…….”
“Which means that even now, seeing how it tries to commit wickedness through your heart, it seems it’s you—always you—who supplies it with the greatest strength.”
Artiela nodded in agreement.
Did the sisters always have such perfect harmony when they spoke like this?
“So be good, then. You especially, Ati.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes—because every time the Duke grows jealous or upset because of you, that thing emerges.”
How did that logic even follow?
Artiela and Kirien exchanged glances.
The moment their eyes met, both turned away. Kirien looked toward the sky while Artiela pretended to study her feet with sudden interest.
That their ears had flushed crimson was visible only to Yusiel.
How adorable they both were.
“In any case, your idea of creating Sacred Power seems like a good approach.”
Yusiel led them both back to the Holy Tree.
There she had Kirien place his hand against the trunk.
“If your will is steadfast and true, the Holy Tree will give you a small gift.”
He recalled what had happened the last time.
Then the tree had rejected him—would it work this time? As he hesitated, Artiela clenched her fist beside him.
“You can do it!”
How sweet that smile was.
Trust unconditionally. Trust in her, who unconditionally offers you light.
Kirien drew a deep breath and placed his hand upon the wood. He closed his eyes and made his wish.
Please—let him gain the strength to protect himself and Artiela both.
In that moment, through his closed eyes, a single thread of light appeared.
Pink? Or was it a vivid crimson? It was the same light he had seen beyond the window every time he survived a trial and welcomed a new dawn.
“Ah…….”
Though it passed only fleetingly, so briefly—
“That is Sacred Power, my lord. Congratulations.”
Yusiel and Artiela applauded from beside him, though the manifestation was so faint it scarcely seemed to exist at all.
* * *
That night, while Artiela was packing, her mother arrived with her father.
Her mother’s face was grave as she seized her daughter’s right arm and conducted various experiments.
“It is Bertia’s power.”
“Really? Truly?”
“Yes, but it’s corrupted, just as Yusiel said.”
It appeared that after Artiela attempted the healing and absorbed the Sacred Power she had used in reverse, the curse had concealed itself behind that absorption and disguised its presence.
“Wow…….”
“How long until the curse consumes her entire body?”
“Fast.”
“One week.”
“It’s a method employed by the Fallen God’s Priests.”
Artiela glanced sideways at Kirien—because that remark implied his birth mother might have sold her soul to the Source of Evil.
“For now, I’ll cast Time-Stop Magic on just your right arm.”
“Is that even possible?”
“I can’t do it myself.”
Wait—didn’t Mother just say she could?
“Your sister has better affinity with mana, so it’ll be more stable if Yusiel does it the way I teach her.”
Yusiel was certainly more skilled with White Magic anyway. And since she’d be weaving in Sacred Power as well.
“Yes.”
Artiela obediently extended her arm.
Just then, Bleo trudged in, exhaustion etched into his face.
“Sigh—looks like tomorrow we’re really issuing that Marriage Ban Decree.”
The Emperor must have lost himself to jealousy entirely.

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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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