The Villain Who Will Kill Me Is Too Handsome, It's Troublesome - Chapter 89
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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 89.
Artiela drew the Bardo and pointed at a piece of cloth.
“That cloth over there. The Evil Source uses an incantation carved into it to devour sacrifices, doesn’t it?”
“You have a keen eye.”
More than that, though—Kirien was holding up a mirror.
Beneath the folded section, many Dark Magic spell patterns remained in waiting.
“What do you gain from doing something like this? While deceiving even your own husband?”
At Artiela’s accusation, the woman laughed coldly. Then, as if she were some tragic figure, she gazed into empty space and spoke.
“I need to repay my husband’s love, don’t I?”
“Repay? What do you mean?”
“It was the two of you mothers who destroyed this beautiful territory in the first place, wasn’t it?”
The Dark Mage Woman had recognized their identities at a glance.
“We are merely victims.”
Artiela let out a derisive snort.
“From the beginning, it was a problem that you and your associates brought Dark Magic to this land, wasn’t it? And if you truly love your husband, how could you summon Dark Mages here?”
The woman nodded as if conceding to Artiela’s point. But then she spun her sophistry.
“But we exist only to fulfill people’s wishes, don’t we? How is that different from what the Temple does? It’s the same human greed either way, and it was your foolish god who divided it into good desire and bad desire.”
It was Blasphemy.
This was a grave crime that even the Bardo could not forgive.
“That being also fulfills human desires, so by what standard do you call him evil? He is a great being who helps with power.”
Artiela infused the Bardo with Aura.
“So that’s why you help that bastard? Even knowing what would happen if the person you love found out?”
At the mention of her husband, the woman’s eyes grew hollow and sad.
Was there still a shred of humanity left in her?
“By the time I met him, it was already too late. I had already fallen, and I loved him too much to leave.”
Artiela was sick and tired of love like this—so selfish.
She couldn’t even be certain this was love at all.
Isn’t love when you don’t do the things the other person hates, for their sake? Is it really love to hide it, conceal it, and end up destroying yourselves together as a result?
“Why did you ask for the children to be brought here?”
Then Kirien asked.
The woman gazed at him as if entranced—like a devotee beholding a beautiful god in person.
“Because that being has grown weak.”
“What?”
“Because of you, because of your love, he keeps coughing up blood. So I thought I would bring him purer, cleaner sacrifices. Hoping he would grow strong again…… Ack! Divine one!”
Suddenly blood gushed from the woman’s mouth. And a strange voice emanated from her lips.
“How dare you speak of me to others?”
“P-please, have mercy on me.”
The woman strangled herself. Her eyes fluttered wildly as though she might die at any moment, and she thrashed about.
Then there came a pounding at the door from outside.
“My lady! What has happened? Commander of the Holy Knight Order! Is my wife unharmed?”
And a pleading voice followed.
“Please, please save my wife. She has done nothing wrong. It was all for me, all of this.”
Cries of anguish as well.
Artiela squeezed her eyes shut. Her opponent had even committed Blasphemy—she was evil incarnate. So she should execute her, she should, but……
She raised the Bardo.
But Kirien stopped her.
“Artiela, will you trust me?”
When she opened her eyes, Kirien had already wrapped Holy Power around his hands. But somehow, the pure white radiance seemed dimmer than usual—was that all right?
Artiela watched anxiously, but he was already amplifying the Holy Power.
“Kirien, wait, just wait a moment!”
She was uneasy because he had no Aura. So Artiela rushed to stop him.
“I’ll do it. I’ll handle this.”
“Do you know what I’m trying to do?”
She did. She knew what he was thinking.
“You’re trying to Purify her, aren’t you?”
That sacred art which only priests with sincere hearts could perform.
“How did you…… know?”
“Of course I did. We understand each other in a glance. We’re lovers, after all.”
Then a quiet laugh came from nearby. He wasn’t kind enough to let the woman go, though.
Demonic Energy flooded through the Manor after the Dark Mage was executed, as if to say the next targets would be them. Even from outside, the knights could sense that presence, and sounds of them moving came from beyond the walls.
“I can’t see your Aura very well, Kirien.”
“Ah…….”
“So just transfer your Holy Power to me.”
“How do I do that?”
“Just think about wanting to protect me, and hold my hand. That’s all.”
Kirien nodded.
He closed his eyes as if in prayer, and soon his power flowed into Artiela’s body.
“Oh…….”
Soft and warm, thrumming with a gentle pulse.
This was surely his Holy Power—his very love for Artiela itself. And something the Evil Source abhorred…….
“Curse it!”
“Get out, you wretched thing!”
Don’t you dare interfere with lovers who cherish each other!
Artiela raised the Bardo and swung her blade toward the spell pattern carved beside the Dark Mage Woman—not at the mage herself.
“Screeeee—!”
A tempest born from the collision of Demonic Energy and Holy Power rushed toward them. But Kirien unfurled a Barrier made of Sacred Relics and pulled Artiela into his arms, shielding her.
With a bang, the door burst open.
Light poured in and wind howled through as the Lord crawled across the floor.
“No, my lady, please—not like this.”
Squinting against the glare, Artiela spoke to the Lord.
“She’s still alive.”
At those words, the Lord grasped his wife’s hand.
“Ah……. Thank you, thank you. I will watch over her and serve her all my life, and bear the price of her sins in her stead.”
Their love had been equal in weight, yet it had withered because one had learned to return affection in all the wrong ways.
* * *
Priests who arrived late helped the Holy Knight Order with the aftermath.
Daisy and the other children remained in the Annex Building.
The young apprentice mages either returned home, went to the Temple, or began receiving formal education with Lillian’s support.
That day, Kirien absorbed his mother’s Aura in the Annex Building.
“My Aura was not infinite, after all.”
It seemed he had exhausted it all during the battle with the Evil Source. Well, since it wasn’t a power he had cultivated himself, it made sense that it would have limits.
“How far ahead did you see, Mother?”
“Indeed.”
Questions lingered. Throughout his life, Kirien had consumed his Aura little by little in each crisis—yet somehow it kept replenishing. How had that happened?
“There is much to learn.”
So from that day forward, Kirien’s training grew more rigorous. He was determined to forge an Aura of his own.
Just as he was settling into a rare, peaceful afternoon—
“Little brother…….”
Bleo arrived.
“A walking corpse?”
Treated like the undead, Bleo had started to snap back, but lacked even the strength for that. Instead, he stumbled to a chair in the Holy Knight Training Grounds and sat.
After assigning the knights to their training, Artiela stood beside her only brother.
“Your hand.”
He held out his hand obediently, and Kirien took it.
“Hm? Oh.”
Kirien had been needing a real person to practice on while learning all manner of techniques.
“The fatigue seems to be fading completely, Duke.”
“That’s fortunate, Bleo.”
“I really thought I was going to die…….”
“Why? Is that person…… still like that?”
He didn’t spell out the subject explicitly, but Bleo understood.
“Which means he’s now conscious—or rather, aware—that he’s not the Crown Prince anymore, but the Emperor.”
“Why does that sound even more dangerous?”
“Because it is. His mind is still in his teens, but now he’s wielding the power of an Emperor. Can’t you picture what will happen?”
“What about the Crown Princess……? Is she all right?”
What will happen to our new sister-in-law?
“She’s been occupied all day, staying at His Majesty’s side and recounting everything that’s happened.”
Whether the Emperor can accept it all—well, that remains to be seen.
“You haven’t decided yet.”
“He’s the last blood relative I have.”
Sernia has a gentle heart. The problem is the state affairs…….
“What about the Nobility Conference?”
“We’ve postponed it for now. His Majesty is still recovering, so it’s difficult to convene in person.”
“And we can’t lift the Marriage Ban either.”
Artiela sighed. At that, Bleo turned to her with a thoroughly disappointed expression.
“How can you worry about that in a situation like this, youngest? I know you’re in the throes of infatuation, but…….”
“I can’t send the Betrothal Letter. Think how long the Crown Princess will have to wait.”
“Yes, thank you for worrying about me, sister.”
Bleo took Artiela’s hand and shook it up and down. His face was one of genuine gratitude.
“Did you tell His Majesty about the two of us?”
At that question, Artiela felt Bleo’s surge of emotion. But he quickly composed himself.
Then, abruptly, he brushed himself off and stood.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
Wait—didn’t he come here to pour his heart out? So why the sudden departure?
Artiela watched him with a puzzled expression. But Bleo only smiled, then tousled his sister’s hair.
“I’m going.”
What? Why is he leaving with such a sad smile? Is he really all right?
“Brother!”
“Bleo!”
I’d just restored his stamina, and my thin-as-paper older brother collapsed right then and there.
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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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