The Villain Who Will Kill Me Is Too Handsome, It's Troublesome - Chapter 76
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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 76.
This made no sense.
Kirien was bound by Lilianн’s Oath—if he harmed Artiela, he would pay with his life.
The moment he resolved to become the Source of Evil, he should already be a dead man. How could they possibly save him and merely perform Purification?
“What in the……”
Artiela bit off her irreverent words and clamped her mouth shut.
Her back stiffened instinctively, bracing for the incoming attack. Kirien quietly moved to shield her from behind.
Yushiel’s expression darkened in an instant—as if she’d witnessed something she wished she hadn’t.
“Absolutely not. I won’t have you tell him to become the Source of Evil just to eliminate it.”
This time, Artiela stepped in front of Kirien.
Lilianн and Bailey smiled contentedly, but Yushiel’s gaze turned glacial. She folded her arms and stood at an angle, and Holy Power rippled around her.
“Enough. Look—priests coming through.”
Terrifying.
“Yes.”
“My apologies.”
Artiela and Kirien immediately stepped apart and stood at attention.
Then Yushiel unfolded her arms and began to explain.
“I suspect that when Bertia faced the threat of miscarriage, she bound his life to the Source of Evil. In the form of a Curse.”
“So if we Purify now, he dies.”
Artiela recalled Bertia’s letter.
So full of affection for her son, and brimming with regret.
“Right. He was already meant to be dead.”
It was no accident that Yushiel hadn’t noticed his presence earlier.
If Kirien and the Source of Evil shared a life, it worked both ways. The wicked spirit might be using the virtuous soul as a veil to obscure its own existence.
If it had weakened itself, spending power to alter a doomed man’s fate—well, that was a mercy.
“What’s certain is that now they’re bound together, the Source of Evil can’t seize another human’s soul and body.”
“Ah, is that how we were able to save the Emperor?”
“Exactly. Except for him, we now have a way to save anyone the Source of Evil possessed.”
Perhaps even that was Bertia’s intention.
To save her son while minimizing the harm she’d have to inflict on the world.
Yushiel, lost in thought for a moment as she gazed up at the Sacred Tree, extended her hand to Artiela.
“Give me the remaining Key.”
Artiela instinctively pulled out the Key they’d found at the Upayler Great Duke House and handed it over.
“What are you planning?”
“I was already planning to visit the Mage Tower with Mother anyway. I’ll check if there’s a lock that matches this. And while I’m there, I need to find someone.”
“You’re not actually going after the Source of Evil, are you? You can’t. It’s too dangerous. I’m coming with you.”
“You know you’re one of its targets, right?”
“But——”
“I have no intention of going inside. There’s a good chance it’s already sealed.”
Yushiel examined the Key, then glanced briefly at Kirien and Bailey before turning back to Artiela with a bright smile.
“Anyway, let’s each do what we can right now.”
Yushiel raised her hand and pointed to a branch. At its tip hung the small Flower Bud they’d discovered recently.
It had been so tiny they couldn’t tell if it was a bud or a dried leaf, but now it had swelled considerably. Thin, pale green sepals still enclosed it, so they couldn’t yet tell what color the flower would be.
But it wouldn’t be long before it bloomed.
Our Saint, true to her reputation as the mightiest Saint in history, had cultivated it beautifully. Though why there was only one, I couldn’t say.
“We should charge the Holy Object while we can, don’t you think? You’ll need another chance to Purify if you’re going to calmly work on your right hand first.”
Artiela nodded.
The Sacred Tree wouldn’t have shown them an impossible method for no reason. So there had to be another chance at Purification.
To save Kirien, even in the worst case.
“All we have to do is make the flower bloom and let it bear fruit, right?”
How moving.
Artiela’s eyes grew misty. An older sister, pushing through grueling hours of prayer to save her twin and her lover.
“To speed things up, you should increase your prayer time from now on. Add dawn prayers too, and never skip your first or last prayer of the day.”
As if waking at dawn wasn’t hard enough. Someone so busy during the day that she never rests, and now she’s supposed to add a final prayer? And still make time for the Mage Tower?
This was hardship on the level of a Holy Knight’s austerities.
She felt guilty for dumping her and Kirien’s problems on Yushiel, and grateful beyond words at the same time.
“Yushiel, thank you. Thank you so much.”
Artiela took Yushiel’s hand and pressed it against her cheek, pouring into the gesture all the affection she could show.
“Don’t mention it. I only made a plan.”
Huh? What was this cold feeling?
Artiela hastily withdrew her hand and looked at Yushiel’s face.
“What… what plan?”
“Do you know the flower language of the Sacred Tree, Kirien?”
Yushiel ignored her sister and directed the question to Kirien instead.
“Yes, I learned it means Miracle.”
“Exactly. This flower bud itself is a miracle created by two people.”
A smile bloomed at the corners of Yushiel’s mouth.
Artiela had seen that smile before—when Lilianн looked at them, or was it in a holy painting of a goddess?
“What are you doing? To complete a miracle, you have to start from the very foundation.”
She was certain. The Goddess had worn that expression when she reformed the demon.
* * *
For that reason, Artiela now stood before the Wish Notes.
She and Kirien had poured Holy Power into the tree, but the flower bud hadn’t opened even slightly.
“It’s because your Holy Power isn’t strong enough. If you want to create a miracle, build up your Holy Power like Bertia does and come back!”
Yushiel left those words and departed to check on her mother and the Mage Tower’s condition. No other advice was offered.
Since it was prayer time for the general worshippers, finding wishes was easy.
“Will this help?”
“The flower bud bloomed noticeably on the day we took down those bandits, so good deeds must be the answer.”
Kirien’s Holy Power seemed to have grown around that time too. The same with Artiela’s.
“If that’s what you believe, then that must be it.”
Still, without complaint, he helped Artiela select the Wish Notes.
It was something they were going to do anyway.
“Most of these are wishes we could never fulfill.”
The notes hung thick with wishes about a topic that had been buzzing just days before—the Imperial Consort Selection.
That was something they could absolutely not solve.
“But this one…”
Kirien found a note and handed it to her, whispering.
“I think it should be hidden.”
After reading it, Artiela was startled and quickly slipped it into her pocket.
“Do you think she’s made her decision?”
Artiela whispered in a small voice.
“Might she have had feelings all along? The First Princess visited Edelion before the Saint even proposed it to her.”
Artiela glanced around carefully and unfolded the note slightly to read it.
‘Please let me be with Bleo Soltis. And if my one and only brother keeps doing such foolish things, grant me the wisdom to set him straight. —S.’
There was no one but the First Princess who would pray to be with Bleo.
While the sentence didn’t openly reveal treacherous intent, it was easily grounds for grasping nobles to exploit.
Especially in times when the Emperor’s condition was known to be poor.
“We should hope no one has noticed this is her handwriting.”
Artiela nodded. Then she carefully examined the wishes again.
She swiftly removed any notes she occasionally spotted asking for Rupel to take a mistress.
‘My apologies, dear worshipper. The Goddess does not condone infidelity.’
With a brief prayer.
“How about this one?”
Then Kirien handed her another note.
“Getting rid of a troublesome customer? This one seems manageable.”
With this, they could easily serve justice.
The two selected a few more wishes and prepared to leave and do what they could accomplish immediately.
But suddenly there was a commotion from behind.
“Look, there isn’t one! That, no, Your Highness. We should go back?”
It was Bleo’s voice. It seemed he’d come with the First Princess.
Artiela turned with a welcoming expression, but upon seeing the person beside Bleo, she froze.
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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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