I Became the Villainess in an Anticlimactic Novel - Chapter 30

“Since when did the both of you become so close?”

Although he was looking at me, the question itself seemed to be directed at Linden.

“Since Older Brother broke off your engagement with her?”

Linden replied leisurely. His following comment that he added was surprising.

“Back then, I held it in since it’d be Sister-in-law who’d get criticised for no reason if I was close to her.”

He was provoking Ziken. He was adding more pressure to my earlier request for an apology from Ziken by turning it around and saying, ‘You have a fiancee, yet Older Brother is having an affair?’

“However, now that she’s become a woman who has no relation to Older Brother, I tried to act cute in front of her. Though of course, it was rather difficult since Ara kept pushing me away since she was trying to keep her loyalty to Older Brother.”

He emphasised the phrase, ‘a woman who has no relation’. He had a multitude of purposes, all of them included an intention to attack Ziken while protecting my dignity.

“Linden.”

When I called out his name softly in gratitude and apology, Linden smiled with his eyes, as if telling me not to worry.

“To think that you came to such a conclusion after seeing me have such a bad experience with her.”

Ziken said, as if he couldn’t understand Linden.

“That’s why it’s not you, Linden.”

“Although I don’t know what you mean by that, I think I have a better eye for people than you.”

“What sort of confidence do you have to say that you have an eye for people when you keep a woman who’s committed crimes and blasphemy against the sacred by your side?”

Ziken’s last words were an obvious jeer. 

I wrinkled my forehead. However, Lecht’s words pierced through the air before I could even say anything.

“From the way it’s come out, can I take it that you’re accusing me of blasphemy too since I’ve guaranteed it?”

It was a tone that was asking just to confirm. However, the contents of the sentence was so heavy that Ziken’s face looked embarrassed for a moment.

“As I said earlier, I’m not doubting Grand Duke Arvis. In any case, I’m worried that that woman is deceiving the Grand Duke.”

Although he answered calmly, he couldn’t hide his impetuousness completely.

“You don’t seem to know since you don’t come here very often, Grand Duke Arvis. That woman is an extremely vicious female!”

“Crown Prince, you…”

Looking at Ziken, who was continuously slandering me, Lecht repeated softly.

“I must have seemed like a fool who would easily be deceived by such lies to you.”

His voice was so cold, I felt the temperature around me dropping.

Well, that’s true. Lecht wasn’t the type to be fooled by anyone. No one would try to deceive him, unless they were hoping to kill themselves.

“I-I didn’t mean that…”

Ziken’s face began to turn pale at Lecht’s point.

“The High Priest of Solarism has clearly determined that she has no divine power!”

He hastened to mention that important fact. I didn’t miss the opportunity this time, and added quickly before anyone interrupted.

“He said that I didn’t have the divine power of ‘Solarism’.”

I had wanted to say it earlier, but wasn’t able to due to his sudden yelling.

“I don’t have any of the divine power of ‘Solarism’, but am overflowing with the divine power of Lunarism.”

“W-What sort of forced narrative…!”

“It’s the truth.”

When I shrugged my shoulders, as if to say, ‘there’s no helping it since that’s the truth’, the confusion in Ziken’s eyes permeated my gaze. In fact, I could understand his confusion since I had been unaware of that fact too. 

However, I didn’t say that out loud. Since I had been too disgusted at the fact that you painted me as a fraud without even listening to a single thing I had to say.

He turned his head to Olivia, his eyes seemingly asking her for help. Holding onto his arm tightly and looking at me with the same confused eyes as him, she opened her mouth slightly.

“I think I’ve heard of that before…”

The appearance of Olivia, who spoke in a small voice, was extremely pitiful. She seemed to be at a loss since she couldn’t lie, even though she knew she should take the crown prince’s side. Her appearance was so pitiful that I had no choice but to chime in. 

“I also found out for the first time when I met the High Priestess of Lunarism. In any case, there are more people in the empire who are unaware of it since Solarism is more well-known.”

Although it was annoying for me to give the crown prince a loophole to escape through, Olivia was just too pitiful to turn a blind eye to. I had treated her badly in the past, and the only thing she was guilty of was falling in love with the wrong man.

“So, shall we stop talking about this now? We’ve only talked about irrelevant topics at the funeral ceremony of the Head of Ezzarson.”

Please, let’s talk about something else. I hastily wrapped up the topic and turned around before Ziken could speak of any nonsense again.

“Linden, I’m sorry I’m late.”

I finally got to tell Linden what I wanted to say as soon as I arrived.

“We came running as soon as we heard the news, but…”

“It’s fine. I can already tell how hard you’ve tried just by seeing your arrival, even when you get such bad motion sickness.”

Linden smiled and patted my hair into a mess. Although he said he was fine, I still felt apologetic.

“Is there anything else I can do to help?”

Linden smiled as I looked at him with a teary face.

“Why? Will you listen if I tell you?”

“Whatever it is, just say it. I’ll listen to it all.”

I spread both arms and patted my chest.

“If you’re that confident, then what will you do if I ask you for a favour that’s too unreasonable?”

“It doesn’t matter since I just won’t do it if I can’t. So just tell me everything!”

Linden burst into laughter at my logic that didn’t quite make sense. It was a much more relaxed smile than the one before. 

As his tension was relieved, I also put my mind at ease, smiling as I added.

“You already know. I’m a pushover when it comes to you. So when I say something, just hurry up and take it.”

I suddenly recalled Linden asking ‘Why aren’t you calculative?’ when we parted last time. 

As I spoke confidently, Linden’s smile became subtle. He seemed like he was happy, yet also seemed like he was forcing a smile.

“You’re saying that even though you know I can’t do that because it’s you…”

“Huh?”

He seemed to have mumbled something, but I couldn’t hear him properly so I asked him again. However, instead of saying it again, Linden rearranged his facial expression and smiled prettily.

“Then, I’m really free to ask to my heart’s content?”

“Mmhm, go ahead.”

“Please bless the last journey Grandfather will embark on.”

I heard sighs and gasps all over the place. Regardless of them, Linden continued.

“To be honest, I didn’t know if you’d get here on time, so I asked for a favour from the Temple of the Moon God.”

Linden glanced slightly behind him.

“Aha, so that’s why the priests…”

The three musketeer priests who were looking at the crown prince with rage bubbling in their eyes, smiled as soon as I turned around.

“But now that you’re here, I’d be very happy if you could do it personally yourself. It’s not enough for the funeral hall to be filled with your blessing, but rather, overflow with it. To the point where you exhaust all of your divine power.”

I smiled and held one hand out, knowing that he had deliberately added that in there due to my request for a ‘strong’ favour.

“You seem to have underestimated me.”

Light began to burst forth from my palm. It flowed out as if it had been frustrated from being confined for so long, growing at a tremendous speed.

“No matter how much you extort, my divine power will never run out.”

Flash—

My cluster of lights filled the funeral hall in an instant. The scene that unfolded seemed to be large snowflakes fluttering to the ground as time stopped for a moment, yet also resembled a sight wherein someone had scattered thousands of cotton flowers.

It seemed beautiful, even to me, despite it being a power I had created. Just by judging from the sighs and expressions of the people around me, I could tell that I wasn’t the only one who thought so.

I slowly walked inside to where the coffin of the Head of Ezzarson lay.

The cluster of lights was now not only on my hands, but had now scattered over my whole body. It evoked an extremely mysterious atmosphere.

An old man who looked a lot like Linden, who was standing beside the coffin, lay inside with his eyes closed. My heart broke at the thought that the old man would’ve been worried about Linden, all the way until he closed his eyes.

“May all the lingering concerns you have be dispelled. They now belong to the living…”

I continued to speak, hoping that the power of my blessing would warmly envelop the path he takes to leave.

“May you have no worries, nor apprehensions on this last journey.”

I kneeled next to his coffin and put my hands together.

“May your departure be peaceful.”

A tremendous amount of divine power spread throughout my body, and a light that was so bright, it was blinding, burst from my body. That light seeped into the body of the Head of Ezzarson and even to everyone gathered in the funeral hall, as I closed my eyes and prayed for the blessing to be upon the Ezzarson Head’s last road.

It was the least comfort I could offer for Linden, who was unable to even properly mourn his loss of the most precious person in the world to him.

* * *

“Frody! Frody!!”

Back at the temple, Olivia went straight into the prayer room and locked the door. 

Although the priests had expressed their concern when she, who had left with the crown prince, had run back with a face of urgency, she shook them off, saying that she wanted to be alone. The prayer room was made to be soundproof in order to prevent the contents of her prayers being leaked out, so no one else was able to hear her calling for someone anxiously.

“Frody!!”

“Hwiyu~ What has made my contractor so angry?”

t/n: whistle onomatopoeia

The black smoke that flowed out from her necklace gradually took shape. Olivia grabbed onto the clothes of Frody, whose appearance was gradually being revealed.

“How could this happen?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“How could that woman be the Saintess of the Moon God?”

Frody, who had been wondering what she was talking about, let out a hmm~ when she said the words, ‘Saintess of the Moon God’.

“You must’ve met that saintess, right? What do you think? I thought she was cute.”

“You knew…??”

Olivia looked at Frody with a face of betrayal.

“You knew she was the Saintess of the Moon God, yet you didn’t tell me?!”

Frody tilted his head, as if he didn’t understand why she was angry.

“I just managed to destroy her… I just managed to push her into the bottomless pits of despair, so how could she be the Saintess of the Moon God?!”

“Aha, was she the princess my contracter hated?”

He knew his contractor was trying to destroy the Princess of Darchez. 

There were a lot of things she had asked him to do in the context of framing or secretly attacking her. But not once did he know what the woman who was the princess did, nor what she looked like. He just brought what Olivia asked for and did what she asked him to do.

Lecht’s objective in coming to the human realm was to continue to scheme and provoke Lecht, not pay attention to human affairs.

“Why does that bitch have it all…! Why?!”

Olivia screamed and threw a cushion on the floor. It was fortunate that there weren’t many things to throw and break in the prayer room. Otherwise, he’d end up getting cut with glass like last time.

Olivia’s eyes flashed as she breathed in and out heavily with both of her fists clenched tightly. Green eyes the colour of a fresh bud, which were once naive and pure, were now quickly dyed with anger and other twisted emotions.

“Frody, did you properly prepare that last time?”

“Of course I did. Have you ever seen me disappoint you, Miss Contractor?”

“When can I use it?”

“Right now?”

Frody looked out of the transparent part of the colourful stained glass window. There were a multitude of people coming and going to and from the temple since it was still daytime.

“That’s… From now on, let it loose at the place where I told you.”

The corners of Frody’s mouth went up as he watched her one gentle eyes covered in madness. He approached her with a very pleased look, pulling her waist toward him and lifting her chin up.

“Your wish is my command.”

In a dangerously sweet voice, Frody covered her lips with his.

A sticky and wet sound filled the prayer room.