The Villain Who Will Kill Me Is Too Handsome, It's Troublesome - Chapter 96

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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 96.
“Wait—Mother? Father? No, Yushiel and Artiela, why are you—?”
Bleo’s eyes widened in bewilderment. Behind him, Kirien’s face had gone ashen.
“Why have you brought the Duke here to disturb His Majesty’s peace?”
The words came out in a way that oddly defended him.
Did Peter catch the implication?
“Search the place.”
The command fell cold and sharp.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Pursell and the Imperial soldiers streamed inside without hesitation.
They ransacked Bleo’s personal office with abandon. The Princess wasn’t even a small doll of a person, so why flip over desk drawers? Was the point simply to humiliate him?
Artiela watched Bleo’s face twist in fury.
His expression had darkened.
“Your Majesty, I beg you tell me what crime I have committed. If there is truly a transgression, I shall confess it.”
“Are you truly asking because you don’t know?”
The Head Attendant stepped forward from behind.
“We witnessed the Princess and the young Count of Soltis entering a secret bedroom in the back of the office.”
“A secret bedroom? Did you perhaps see a ghost, sir?”
Bleo answered with perfect innocence.
Watching him, Artiela allowed herself to relax.
‘Well done, Bleo. You didn’t give anything away.’
“Ah, though I was possessed by the ghost of the Second Princess yesterday and did collapse.”
Before the Soltis Count House representatives even arrived, the nobles who had already heard the details from the knights watched with rolling eyes.
According to the Emperor’s own words, the young Count of Soltis had indeed coveted the Princess.
But there was no Princess inside.
“This is the third-floor office that His Majesty graciously bestowed upon me. If the Princess possessed the ability to escape through the window from this place, wouldn’t I lead a knighthood alongside my brother?”
Well played, Bleo.
Artiela clenched her fist behind him in silent encouragement. Spotting his sister, Bleo nearly smiled.
After a long moment, the Emperor’s knights emerged from the office.
“There is no one inside, Your Majesty.”
“What did you say?”
“Your—Your Highness the Princess—”
At the knights’ report, Peter entered the office himself. But he, too, found no sign of Sernia.
Then a murmur rose from behind.
“Your Majesty, you were looking for me, I hear?”
Sernia walked forward from the rear, dressed neatly with a shawl draped over her shoulders.
“What are you—”
“What’s wrong? I was reading a book in the first-floor Tea Room with Count Bleo earlier, and then I went to my chambers to rest.”
Peter’s fists trembled. His eyes darted between the Head Attendant and Pursell.
“This is absurd—!”
But there were too many witnesses.
“I apologize for the disturbance. It seems I was mistaken.”
So he was just going to let this slide? Not a chance.
Artiela stepped forward. She gripped the Bardo, intending to determine who was lying.
But her father was faster.
“Your Majesty, since the misunderstanding appears resolved, we shall withdraw. May I take my son with us?”
“Yes, do so.”
Why?
Artiela looked at her father with disappointment. But he shook his head.
Not yet. She had already shown enough for now.
So she would wait.
* * *
Artiela returned home. Even after arriving, Bleo remained restless.
“Will the Princess be all right?”

“The Princess is more delicate than my youngest sister, you know.”

“What if she’s struck? What if she’s locked in the Basement for refusing to obey?”

Since when had he fallen this hard?
Artiela shook her head for a moment, then stopped herself.
“Holy Maiden, do you think our princess will be all right?”
The fact that even Yushiel, who usually listened readily, was turning away said everything. So Lillian offered comfort instead.
“She’ll be fine. He’ll be here soon.”
“What? What do you mean?”
Lillian winked. From the way she exchanged glances with Yushiel, it was clear the two had planned something in advance.
“What’s going on? Why are you both leaving me out?”
Artiela interjected with a question, but the two simply smiled. How much time had passed like that? Past midnight, the sound of someone descending the stairs echoed through the silence.
“First Princess!”
As the First Princess came slowly down, Bleo went to her side to support her.
“Your cheek….”
“It’s fine. Just a few blows, that’s all.”
“Just a few? Unlike our youngest, her skin is so delicate—if it leaves a scar, what then?”
That was the truth of it.
But even Artiela couldn’t help but feel the same concern.
“Your Highness, your cheek….”
Artiela and Yushiel both rushed forward, each wanting to heal it with Holy Power first. But Sernia held them back.
“No. If the cheek heals overnight, His Majesty will notice that you’ve been here.”
She had come in secret using the Movement Scroll that Lillian had given her earlier. The bedroom door locked firmly behind her. She had spent the night feigning sleep after crying and tossing restlessly.
“At least apply cold compresses.”
Bailey expertly sent the attendants for ice water and towels. As Sernia held the cloth soaked in cold water against her cheek, she stared intently at Yushiel.
After a long silence, she finally spoke.
“You were right.”
Her voice was heavy with regret.
“His Majesty… something has broken inside him.”
“Did you lose hope, then?”
“Yes. I’ve lost confidence that he’ll ever return to who he was.”
Still, she had wanted to wait.
Even if he’d lost his memory, his brilliant mind remained intact, and everything he’d learned about becoming a Virtuous Ruler would still be there.
But that had been a mistake.
“Sir Pursell checked on him every day. But the Source of Evil seemed to have stopped approaching him. Yet seeing him act this way regardless….”
“He’ll do worse. It was his true nature all along.”
Yushiel opened her mouth.
In fact, on the day of Peter’s coronation, she had received a Revelation of the Holy Tree. That this emperor’s reign would not be long.
She hadn’t known whether it would be from illness or accident. But now she was certain. He would be deposed through tyranny.
“The Source of Evil doesn’t use just anyone as a puppet. Nor does just anyone accept it.”
He was the sort of person to do so.
“So you’ve made your decision?”
“Yes. But my power within the Imperial Palace is too weak.”
That was true. She lacked any real political foundation. Unlike Peter, who had spent his entire life strengthening imperial authority from childhood.
Even if he had lost his memory, an emperor was still an emperor.
He had returned to basic duties, reviewing various meeting records and official documents.
“Edelion will gather its strength.”
“The Soltis Count House will do likewise. If His Majesty requires further instruction, he may call upon us at any time.”
Even her father had turned around.
His expression made clear he had no use for disciples who would use his son as bait and ruin his daughter.
“We’ll have the mages and the Royal Academy lend their quiet support as well.”
As for the mother whose love for her children was terrifying—there was no need to speak of it.
“I have no authority, but I have considerable wealth….”
Kirien also stepped forward. In truth, it was Kirien whose eyes shone most brightly with determination here.
“I am prepared to support the rise of a wise ruler.”
Tears welled up in Sernia’s eyes.
Yet it could not feel easy to push away one’s remaining blood relative….
“We’ll abolish that cursed Marriage Prohibition Edict immediately. I’ll use my bruised cheek as the price.”
No—she had hardened her resolve thoroughly.
“Well then, what should I do?”
Artiela interjected.
At that, Sernia grasped her hand.
“Military command. You must take military command.”
“The Holy Knight Order can be mobilized as needed.”
“No, the Imperial Army.”
That seems like quite a large scale, doesn’t it?
“If His Majesty cannot succeed otherwise, I suspect he will resort to war as a final measure—staging an invasion at the border, as it were.”
Ah, if that’s the case…
That Covenant between the first Emperor and the first Saint was truly the source of all this trouble.
“Once you become Emperor, you should revise the Covenant first.”
Artiela’s brow furrowed sharply.

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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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