The Villain Who Will Kill Me Is Too Handsome, It's Troublesome - Chapter 98

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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 98.
“Is there a possibility that the Sacred Objects all went bad at once?”
Artiela asked with a dazed expression. The Priest looked equally bewildered. Soon he brought out several objects of various kinds.
“These are all Sacred Objects used to detect falsehood.”
Kirien picked them up one by one and examined them.
“Oh, they’ve all changed.”
“It really does seem like there’s a problem with the Duke, doesn’t it?”
“But the Mirror of Truth is perfectly fine, isn’t it?”
“Then is this one the problem?”
Artiela tilted her head in confusion.
“The mirror can’t be the only issue.”
The Priest’s hands were already brimming with Holy Power, as if he were ready to attack Kirien at any moment.
“What should we do?”
“What do you mean, what should we do? Shouldn’t we report this to the Saintess first?”
Kirien answered, speaking with deliberate calm and composure—though he himself was trembling inside.
“Please, try to stay calm.”
The last thing they needed was for panic to summon something else.
“Y-yes.”
Kirien followed Artiela’s gesture and took a deep breath.
“Shall we try again?”
The Priest and Artiela both took deep breaths and placed the Boutonniere against Kirien’s chest.
“Oh, it’s normal!”
“Thank goodness! I was so startled I thought our captain must be cursed with a forbidden love.”
“We should check with the mirror too.”
Still uneasy, Kirien alternated between examining the mirror and touching other Sacred Objects until he confirmed there was nothing wrong. Only then did he let out a long sigh.
“I’d like to report this to the Saintess as soon as possible.”
Artiela nodded in agreement with Kirien’s request. Something felt distinctly off about all this.
“Priest, thank you.”
“Not at all. Please let me know if it turns out to be a problem with the Sacred Objects.”
“Yes, we will.”
Artiela and Kirien left the Sacred Object Storage. They knew exactly where Yusiel would be—beneath the Sacred Tree.
“Yusiel!”
“Oof, you startled me.”
Yusiel, who had been praying, jumped and trembled as her brother shouted loudly.
Honestly.
Couldn’t a high-ranking Holy Knight at least maintain some dignity?
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Artiela recounted what had just occurred. She even showed the Mirror of Truth.
“Hmm. Was there anything unusual about him today compared to normal?”
At Yusiel’s question, Artiela recalled the Kirien she’d seen today. Always neat and proper as ever, always kind, always handsome.
It had been an ordinary day.
Except.
“Oh! Wait! Kirien’s Aura disappeared for a moment!”
“Really?”
“Yes, but now that I think about it, something like this happened before too…”
“That’s right. Back then, my mind was clouded, and I remember doing something unpleasant to Ati because of it…”
Concern flickered across Kirien’s face.
But as Yusiel remained composed, he too grew calmer.
“Did your mind feel clouded today too? Did you act against your own will?”
“No, that didn’t happen this time.”
“Hmm.”
After a moment of thought, Yusiel held up the mirror to look at Kirien. As always, he shone with a brilliant light.
The problem was…
“The Curse connecting the Duke to the Source of Evil has grown much darker.”
It was a trace the two of them had overlooked. A thin thread of black was attached beneath his feet—they must have missed it because it looked like a shadow.
“Why? How could this be?”
“Well, I think we’ll need to ask Bertia about the nature of the Curse to solve this. It’s possible the Curse has a set duration and that deadline is approaching, or it could activate under certain special conditions.”
“But how do we find her?”
So far they’d only seen traces of her; they hadn’t managed to locate her yet.
And that Sacred Flower still remained unchanged. They had no idea when it would bear fruit.
In truth, Artiela had once picked up a brush in secret, thinking she might try to alter it. They said at the Farm that was how you stopped bees from coming.
But that beautiful, dazzling flower, fragrant as it was, didn’t change even though bees and birds did visit it.
“And here I thought I was giving you such an obvious hint.”
Yusiel clicked her tongue in disappointment.
Then she seated both of them at the roots of the Sacred Tree and spoke like a teacher.
“Artiela, think of your mother.”
“My mother?”
“Yes. The one who always took our side, and when things grew hard, never stopped encouraging us.”
“And?”
“The one who nursed us whenever we fell ill.”
Hmm—did someone like that exist near Kirien?
“And she endlessly brought food to her fragile children, didn’t she?”
She pointed to a bird that had nested in a tree in the garden as she spoke.
“I don’t know.”
“Ah…….”
Unlike Artiela, Kirien seemed to understand. That such a person had always been at his side.
“You know who it is, don’t you?”
“Yes, yes. I understand.”
Kirien’s eyes gleamed. Someone he’d always yearned for and always missed.
But he’d never realized she was beside him.
“But why…….”
“Well, perhaps there’s some prohibition, or some circumstance? Her body may already have perished.”
At Yusiel’s explanation, sorrow settled deep in Kirien’s eyes.
“But surely the Duke will eventually reveal herself, won’t she?”
Kirien hesitated for a moment, then jumped to his feet.
Artiela rose as well, following his lead.
“I’ll return home for a moment.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“I’m coming too!”
“Go on then. Find the answer, no matter what.”
At Yusiel’s warm smile, Kirien broke into a broad grin.
* * *
“Aha!”
The Source of Evil, perched at an angle atop the Magic Tower, smiled wickedly.
“So close all along.”
I’d thought she’d fallen.
But there she was, perfectly intact, hiding herself well. Though her strength seemed nearly exhausted—she’d poured all her Holy Power into saving her son, and given away all her Aura besides.
The black shadow deepened.
Then from the darkness emerged a creature wreathed in Demonic Energy. The Black Mages here were now all but extinct, leaving only Demon Beasts as tools.
But Demon Beasts were enough for snatching an insignificant human.
“Go. Bring her.”
“Howl!”
The wolf-like Demon Beast nuzzled the Source of Evil, then vanished in an instant.
Alone, it gazed at the black water pooling below the Magic Tower. A space of unknowable depths, utterly black. There it had been born, there it had grown, there it had lived.
Its comfortable cradle, mirroring the Primordial Chaos itself.
When light soon seeped into that place, wouldn’t the Primordial Chaos begin anew?
“He didn’t notice a thing.”
The Sacred Object had reacted, but the Mirror of Truth concealed it well. Kirien had grown increasingly blind to its presence and began moving in step with it.
Was this what they called Assimilation?
Not much time remained.
“I’ll need to fix that laugh.”
The problem was that pristine white Aura the boy had inherited.
It might be necessary to create a situation where it was used up and gone. Only then would that final difference escape notice.
* * *
Today Kirien held the reins. His movements were somewhat rough—his impatience showed.
As a result, she had to ride nearly clinging to him.
“Are you well?”
“Yes, quite well.”
She savored the sight of his broad back.
Since it happened to be feeding time for the horses and only one mount was available, she was simply delighted to have her desires met.
“But I was truly shocked. To think that Bertia’s soul had seeped into Bailey’s body.”
“Foolishly, I never suspected a thing. All this time, whenever I faced trouble, it was Bailey who cleaned up after me.”
“Indeed.”
“What’s more, I believe she was secretly channeling her Aura to me all along. She would point out certain places throughout the estate.”
That was it, then—why he still possessed Aura despite using it at every crisis. Someone had been replenishing it all along.
“When you meet your mother, what do you want to say first?”
Artiela asked. At the question, Kirien’s grip on the horse’s reins went slack.
“Oh, that’s dangerous.”
“Ah, my apologies. I was torn between saying ‘I love you’ first, or apologizing for not recognizing her sooner.”
Artiela took hold of the reins alongside Kirien and offered her counsel.
“‘I love you’ comes first.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Hope rang through Kirien’s reply. Anticipation too, in full measure.
But the moment they arrived at the Duke’s Estate, that dream scattered. More precisely, in the alley before the mansion.
“What… is that?”
The ground was torn to shreds—clawed by something enormous and wickedly sharp. Bodies lay strewn in places.
“No, it can’t be…”
“Mother!”
Kirien leaped from his horse. Artiela followed close behind.
But…
“My lady fled to escape the Demon Beast.”
She was gone.

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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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