The Villain Who Will Kill Me Is Too Handsome, It's Troublesome - Chapter 64

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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 64.
“What are you talking about, Second Princess!”
“Pardon? Your Majesty?”
The voices of the First Princess and Bleo, who had followed them up, rang out.
“The Holy Sword’s owner assassinated you! Edelion broke the Covenant and judged the Emperor without permission!”
The Second Princess trembled violently, sinking to her knees at the entrance. Then, spotting a knight sprawled on the ground with blood pouring from his wounds, she crawled sideways in a fit of panic.
“Ahhhhh, what is that!”
She was utterly terrified.
“What are you all doing! You should arrest the Saint and that knight! If you can’t even manage that, how do you justify taking the Imperial House’s coin?”
Her reproach toward the hapless knights came as an afterthought.
“Second Princess, hold your tongue for a moment.”
Then the First Princess stepped forward. She was calmer than her sister, yet clearly just as tense.
“Your Highness, it would be best not to look at this.”
Bleo shielded the First Princess’s eyes from beside her and escorted her inside. The moment they entered, both gasped in horror at the state of the bedchamber, unable to close their mouths.
“The, the Imperial Palace…….”
The First Princess staggered for a moment.
It wasn’t as though a war had broken out. Kirien Rupel had appeared in society, and there had been a few incidents, but the Imperial Palace had never been laid waste so thoroughly before.
How much greater misfortune was yet to befall this Imperial House that she should witness such devastation?
She should have married someone, anyone, and escaped the Palace long ago.
Every regret flickered across the princess’s eyes.
“It hasn’t been destroyed beyond repair. I’ll send priests. Mother has agreed to sponsor Magical Tools as well…….”
Artiela began to make excuses, then bowed at the waist instead.
“I apologize. The situation was so urgent that…….”
“Your, Your Majesty—what happened to him? Is he really dead?”
“That is…….”
Artiela glanced toward Peter.
“He appears to be alive.”
His chest was rising and falling.
Artiela even lifted the Bardo, still shimmering with Aura, to check his spirit as well.
“His mind hasn’t returned, but it seems the evil has been driven out.”
The malevolent shadow that had been roiling around his blackened heart had vanished.
Kirien also gazed upon the Emperor’s state through the mirror.
“He appears to have recovered completely.”
He deliberately showed it to the knights as well, so they could find reassurance.
“We called for the Emperor’s treatment, so why…….”
The First Princess seemed to be on the verge of panic.
“What? Then, did elder sister arrange for the Emperor’s assassination?”
“I’m telling you, he’s not dead.”
“Hold your tongue, Second Princess.”
“You smuggled in and hid the Saint and the Holy Sword’s owner! From what I heard the knights saying outside, you even broke the Covenant!”
At the Second Princess’s accusation, the First Princess fell silent.
The matter of the Covenant was certainly problematic.
It was unlikely that Peter, who held the decision-making authority, had granted permission. Since the Emperor still drew breath, they had invoked the Judgment of the Holy Sword without committing any grave sin.
If the Emperor had died, she might have used the powers that would have automatically transferred to her to grant them immunity.
As it stood, she could easily be framed as having drawn in the Temple to assassinate the Emperor. Without other evidence.
“First Princess, did you not ask to borrow this Boutonniere for a reason?”
Then Kirien interjected.
“Did you not sense something amiss with the Emperor as well?”
“Yes, that’s true. He was making emotional judgments rather than rational ones, seeming completely mad.”
“There’s precedent from the Fifth Emperor’s reign as well.”
“Yes, that’s right. An emperor in a state of loss of mind and spirit cannot make decisions, so with the permission of the next heir to the throne……. Yes, I granted it.”
The First Princess, who had been gazing at Kirien as though mesmerized, nodded in agreement.
“Since the Emperor’s wellbeing is one with the Empire’s wellbeing, I entrusted judgment to them. If there had truly been no problem, His Majesty would not have collapsed in this manner.”
“Precisely, Your Highness.”
Kirien flashed her a radiant smile.
But wait—had that man always been such a smooth talker in front of others? And how did he know the Imperial House’s history and laws so precisely?
The way he scurried away to the Holy Sword’s owner the moment he finished speaking made even less sense. He wasn’t some young man besotted in his lover’s embrace.
“The knights who haven’t lost consciousness will testify as well, so there should be no problem.”
“Thank you, Kirien.”
“Then, shall we begin the cleanup…….”
Kirien saw Bleo. The man’s face bore the weight of considerable exhaustion.
“There’s no help for it. I’ll assist the Princess. We should call Father and all work together——”
“No, wait. There’s something I need to confirm first.”
The First Princess called them to a halt.
“So what was it that disturbed His Majesty’s mind? The dangerous Black Sorcerers have already been nearly eliminated, and the ones remaining shouldn’t be able to breach the barriers the priests erected to cause something like this, should they?”
She possessed a mind that sharp.
“These incidents have become frequent of late, and if you won’t explain why Duke Rupel and His Majesty are receiving the Temple’s aid, then I cannot cooperate either.”
Artiela glanced toward Ushiel. The priestess, who had been pouring her Holy Power into reviving the fallen knight, rose from her place, beads of cold sweat sliding down her temples.
“The Source of Evil. It attempted to steal His Majesty’s heart. Does that answer your question?”
“What? No, more than that——why did His Majesty fall under the spell of such a thing? The Emperor I know is selfish, but not the sort to fall into corruption. All that business about making a good impression on the Holy Sword’s master——ah, I see it now.”
The First Princess’s judgment was indeed swift.
“Madness, truly. He was so desperate to stop me from drawing close to Bleo out of concern for his own love.”
Bleo, hearing his name spoken, glanced toward the Princess wondering what the matter was. But she deliberately avoided his gaze.
“Is there any possibility His Majesty might fall under its spell again?”
“I don’t know.”
“You did sever the connection cleanly, yes?”
“Perhaps.”
“So it could reattach itself?”
“It’s possible……”
“Then how am I supposed to tell the difference?”
The siblings’ intuition alone wouldn’t be enough for certainty. It was then that Kirien extended the Boutonniere he’d been gripping tightly in one hand all along.
“You said this would be necessary, yes?”
“Can you spare one?”
Instead of answering, Kirien looked to Ushiel. It wasn’t his to give, after all.
“The Temple has several similar ones, so I can lend you a few.”
“Are you certain of their effectiveness? The one Soltis left behind was broken when we checked this morning.”
“Yes, in that case, simply send word to the Temple immediately.”
But then the Second Princess suddenly rushed at Kirien.
“I’ll take this one.”
“Second Princess!”
Everyone was taken aback by her rudeness. Yet the Second Princess had already seized the Boutonniere and showed no intention of releasing it.
“I don’t want to die! Whether it’s the Source of Evil or whatever, the Temple’s enemy——why should I be afraid?”
The Second Princess slipped away swiftly.
The First Princess, watching her go, simply shook her head.
“My apologies. I’ll have you retrieve that from her later.”
“Not at all. I’ve no particular desire to use something that’s touched the Second Princess’s skin……”
“……I’d forgotten about that. Yes, fair enough.”
Something like understanding passed between the First Princess and Kirien.
Whatever it was, when Artiela’s eyes widened in curiosity, Kirien smiled awkwardly.
“But why can’t His Majesty open his eyes?”
The First Princess looked toward the Emperor with concern.
Whatever their relationship, they remained bound by blood. The worry swimming in the First Princess’s gaze made that much clear.
* * *
That evening, Artiela visited the Artisans’ Workshop beside Edelion with Kirien.
“Has there been no news of him waking?”
“No, it seems the wound to his soul was too severe.”
After seeing to what repairs could be made, she had only just returned to the Temple.
Reports to file because of the nobility, testimonies to give. Fortunately, Kirien’s use of the Mirror of Truth had lent high credibility to their account.
“However did you think to use it in that moment?”
Artiela reached out with her left hand and patted his head approvingly, and Kirien covered his mouth with his palm, stifling a cough. His shoulders rose slightly, as if ticklish.
“It was necessary to protect you.”
The knight who had always protected others found such words of being protected strangely flustering.
This time it was Artiela who coughed awkwardly, glancing about her surroundings.
“Now then, where did you say it is?”
“You didn’t come to look at furniture?”
“No, that jewel box. The craftsman who made it——I have a feeling he might still be working here.”
Perhaps there was a matching key. Or some hint toward breaking the seal.
“Ah, is it over there? This way, Kirien.”
Having determined the direction, Artiela turned her head toward him.
Hm?
Why had he suddenly grown so withdrawn? His shoulders sagged with the weight of it.

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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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