How To Survive As a Villain on the Verge of Death

“I am still cluttered with preparations for the feast. We decided to formally prepare for the princess’s wedding after the holiday.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Yes, you don’t have to worry as we will clean up and prepare thoroughly.”

 

The priestess looked at her in a cold sweat. He was worried that she would get angry at him for not preparing for the wedding and just preparing for the holiday.

 

‘Well, Eve originally wanted the wedding to be held on Rastana’s feast day.’

 

It was for the simple reason that she wanted to get married on a day honoring the god of love. However, everyone, including ministers and priests, opposed the request. After all, they begged that the temple could not be used for any other purpose on a feast day for the gods, and she had no choice but to set the date after the feast day.

 

She followed the priestess into the temple while chewing on the information in the original story. The moment the priestess cautiously opened the door of the temple, the interior filled with bright light appeared in front of her.

 

She stopped walking when she saw the scene unfolding before her eyes. The interior of the temple was made of clear white wood. And the entire white wall is embroidered with subtle golden patterns. It was engraved with flowers, trees, and moon patterns with light golden crystal. So were the high ceilings. The vaulted ceiling was covered with geometric patterns that looked like the decorations of a mosque, and the colorful patterns were also full of golden crystals. On the walls, vivid golden patterns were engraved on a flawless white background, filling the entire interior with soft light, and on the ceiling, the harmony of white patterns and gold was dazzling.

 

‘Wow, it’s a very beautiful place.’

 

She could understand why Eve wanted this place for her wedding. The combination of white and gold was divine and noble. Like the temple of love, it has a beautiful and lovely atmosphere. She definitely thought it would be perfect for a wedding venue.

 

‘It would be a waste if it got burned.’

 

It was a pity that such a beautiful place was destroyed by fire. Even if it burnt, could it be restored again…? She turned to the priestess and asked casually, as if suddenly remembered.

 

“I heard they put lanterns in the garden on holidays?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“Can anyone come and light the lanterns?”

 

“Not really. Only permitted believers can place lanterns around here.”

 

Those who were granted permission must be nobles or wealthy commoners. Well, since a suspicious person shouldn’t even bring a bomb, there’s no choice but to accept it from someone with a clear identity.

 

“Do you hang a lot of lanterns in the temple?”

 

Feigning curiosity, she asked again.

 

“Because it is the festival of Rastana, of course we bring a lot of lanterns into the temple. We put lanterns outside the temple.”

 

The temple was an old wooden building, and lanterns were brought inside and outside the temple, and the garden was also filled with lanterns. Literally, it meant a perfect environment for a fire.

 

“A lot of people will come on the day of the holiday, right?”

 

“On feast days, events are held all day inside the temple. There are a lot of people who come to pray.”

 

There were countless people coming and going, so it would be difficult to pick out a suspicious person.

 

‘Hmm…’

 

As she returned to her lodging, she was lost in thought. Should she stop the fire she saw with foreknowledge… Of course, to protect the wedding hall, the fire had to be prevented. But that’s when what happens with foreknowledge was an accident. If it was a premeditated crime aimed at something, the culprit who started the fire had to be caught, not stopped.

 

“Princess.”

 

As she was walking, she heard a familiar voice. She turned her head and saw Mikhail on the side street looking at her. There were other knights beside him. They all looked at her and quickly bowed.

 

“Ah, Sir Sheldon.”

 

Mikhail sent the others and came to her.

 

“Are you going to the temple?”

 

“Huh. It’s going to be used as a wedding hall, so I wanted to check it out. I heard about the holiday event.”

 

It seemed that Mikhail was near the inn with another driver today. He came to the temple to protect her, but as the vice-captain, he couldn’t stay in the temple completely. He seemed to visit the imperial palace every time he had a chance to check it out.

 

“And it turns out, it’s a holiday soon.”

 

“There are four days left.”

 

She told Terrence that she wouldn’t keep Mikhail near her, but she couldn’t help but have a conversation when they ran into each other like this. It seemed that she could avoid meeting him by calling him separately. Mikhail was also busy, so he didn’t have to meet her. She murmured as she looked at the dreary winter garden.

 

“On feast days, this garden will be filled with lanterns.”

 

When she first heard about the lanterns, she thought it was a fun event, but when she realized that there would be fires, she was afraid rather than happy. It seemed to be a harbinger of a frightening fire accident rather than a joyous festival event. A little light… She wished it was less. As she was thinking about that, she heard similar words from her side.

 

“The number of visitors will be huge, too.”

 

Mikhail’s face as he said that was slightly tense.

 

‘Oh, that’s right.’

 

The fact that so many people came and went was not a welcome thing for the knights guarding her lodging. He would have to keep an eye on the passers-by all day to see if anyone looked suspicious. When she saw Mikhail, she suddenly remembered and asked.

 

“Oh, by the way, will Mikhail make lanterns too?”

 

She asked if he wanted to make it with Sorel, but Mikhail laughed and shook his head.

 

“No, I have no intention of making one.”

 

‘Don’t you make it? Shouldn’t it be like Sorel? It was still a time when the two of them were like friends.’

 

It’s not fun even if the male and female protagonists of romance connect too quickly, so the two continue their precarious relationship until the second half.

 

“It’s a pity that there is no one you like.”

 

Well, it’s going to work out with Sorel sooner or later anyway. As soon as Mikhail reached the front of the hostel, he greeted her and turned around.

 

“Then I’ll just leave.”

 

“Okay. thanks for your effort.”

 

With that thought in mind, she stepped into her quarters. Fortunately today, as the day was cloudy, there were no visitors.

 

The Duchess of Rohan sent her a flower basket full of treats such as rare candies and cookies to comfort her. In the evening, the long-awaited news came.

 

“Princess, His Highness the Grand Duke sent you a letter.”

 

Terrence sent her the news in one day. The letter with the Grand Duke’s crest on it had a short message written on it. Everything went well and he said he would be back tomorrow. And he asked her, if she didn’t mind, to go together to the Marquis Cornell’s evening party the day after.

 

“A soiree?”

 

Why did he suddenly want to attend the soiree? She doubted it for a moment, but she soon thought it might have something to do with Terrence’s departure from the Empire.

 

‘Are you trying to let the other nobles know that the problem in the south has been resolved?’

 

Well, since she hadn’t been to a social event since the ball, it didn’t seem too bad.

 

* * *

 

She told Terrence the next day that she would be attending the soiree.

 

“I have delivered a letter to His Highness the Grand Duke.”

 

Chloe, who sent the letter, returned before noon.

 

“He said that he would personally come to see the princess in the evening. He apologized for not being able to see you right away.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Terrence returned to the Islands, but he still seemed busy. After a quick dinner, she put on a dress and put on makeup. Nell brought her some sandwiches and soup, saying that food, tea, and alcohol would be served at the party anyway. She looked out the window while putting on the dress. Outside the window, the temple of Rastana stood quietly in the white moonlight. Every time she looked at it, she felt uncomfortable. There’s nothing she could do right now.

 

At the entrance to the garden, Terrence was waiting for her in a robe.

 

“Looks like you haven’t had anything special for the past two days.”

 

“Yes, nothing happened.”

 

She took his hand and climbed into the carriage. After closing the carriage door and leaving the two alone, she asked him a question.

 

“Did your visit go well?”

 

“It worked out fine, so don’t worry.”

 

“Then…”

 

Was it okay to stay in the capital instead of leaving for the South after marriage? Terrence answered her question.

 

“The unrest in the South will soon be resolved. We also have the data to prove that we don’t have to compete.”

 

“Good for you.”

 

In the first place, the unrest in the South was an illusion created by the Emperor to distract Terrence. A proper digging would reveal that it wasn’t a big deal.

 

Terrence agreed with her and added.

 

“I have made a formal request to His Highness the Crown Prince to cancel the plan to go to the south.”

 

“Will he allow it?”

 

“His Highness, the Crown Prince, was in the position that it would be difficult to change the scheduled schedule…”

 

Terrence continued with a slight sneer. It seemed that Arentine’s cautious attitude was funny to this man.

 

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Translator Note:

I will be traveling during two weeks with my family so there won’t be any new release during that time. Sorry for the trouble but I will be back soon.