How To Survive As a Villain on the Verge of Death

At those words, everyone’s eyes focused on her.

 

“You want to be Eve’s bridesmaid?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Sorel looked down helplessly for a moment.

 

“It’s my sister’s wedding. After getting married, my older sister might leave for the Grand Duchy… She said no, but I really want to be with her on her wedding day.”

 

As Sorel said that, her silver eyes were filled with water. Eve didn’t know what she wanted to do together, other than marrying Terence.

 

“Sorel’s thoughts about her sister are beautiful.”

 

The Emperor looked at Sorel with strange eyes.

 

“If Eve likes it, I will allow it. Eve, what do you think? Sorel wants this. I don’t think it would be a bad thing to have two bridesmaids.”

 

The Emperor smiled kindly and handed her the choice. The nobles all looked at her curiously, waiting for her answer.

 

‘It’s a funny situation.’

 

Should she refuse here? It’s like proving that she hated Sorel so much that he didn’t want to be around her. But what if she granted Sorel’s request? As they planned, Sorel would be by her side throughout the wedding. She would say she was preparing for the wedding and would be visiting the Grand Duke’s mansion with her. Was that what Sorel was aiming for? Was she watching Eve from nearby?

 

She lowered her head as everyone looked at me. Then, her shoulders trembled and she quietly sobbed.

 

“Wahh.”

 

The nobles who were watching began to stir. She lifted her face, covering her mouth with her hand. The Empress, Vilos, Arentine, and even the Emperor and Sorel were all looking at her with shocked eyes. At that moment, a single tear fell from her eye.

 

“Well… Sorel, thank you so much.”

 

It was not possible to tell how much effort she put into honing this skill. She practiced countless times in front of the mirror to control her emotions and squeeze out tears whenever she needed to. Still, it was worth practicing.

 

Everyone had their eyes wide open as if they had seen a ghost. And she said in tears.

 

“I was such a terrible sister… You are such a good little sister.”

 

The shock of the people around her became even more severe. Sorel couldn’t answer either and just looked at her in confusion. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and quickly got to the point.

 

“But actually, I want to ask you for something else.”

 

“What…”

 

“I want you to stay at the temple with me and pray for blessings.”

 

At those words, the expression disappeared from Sorel’s face for an instant.

 

“Blessings?”

 

The wedding ceremony here had a stage where a priest would pray for blessings. Because it was as important a role as the officiant, they tried to use a high-ranking and famous priest whenever possible. In addition, couples getting married receive the priest who bestows blessings as a precious guest. If you were from a noble family, you may be given servants to serve as attendants.

 

“You are a holy saint. I would like you to give me your blessing on the wedding.”

 

If she declined her request to be a bridesmaid, it would seem like she hated Sorel. However, she could ask her to take on the role of giving blessings instead. That’s a much more important role than being a bridesmaid. And if you were a priest who wishes for blessings, there was no need to visit the mansion before the wedding. She wouldn’t have to be by Eve’s side on the wedding day. Instead, since it was an important role for the ceremony, on the wedding day, a person from the Grand Duke’s family could be attached to Sorel as a valet and escort by Sorel’s side from morning to evening. On the contrary, it meant that she could monitor Sorel.

 

“Yeah, but.”

 

Sorel seemed very perplexed. Eve guessed she never imagined that the situation would turn around like this.

 

“Of course, I’m not forcing it.”

 

She made a sad face again and cried.

 

“I was a terrible big sister, so I understand if you refuse. It’s just that I want you to attend the wedding, so I want you to take on a more important role than a bridesmaid if possible.”

 

At that point, she didn’t forget to stamp out tears with her fingers.

 

“I will be very happy if you give me your blessing. Like you said, we are each other’s only sisters.”

 

Everyone around them was looking at them with shocked expressions. It was a similar reaction to when she pretended to be a happy couple with Terence on prom day. In some ways, it seemed worse than before. Well, she thought everyone thought there would be nothing more shocking than Terence falling in love with her and becoming her sweet lover. They couldn’t believe she cried to Sorel, apologized for what happened and told her that she was her only sister. It was an even bigger shock on top of shock.

 

Sorel glanced at the people with a puzzled expression. Eve guessed she couldn’t refuse it here. Because then it would go against the image of the kind and compassionate Princess Sorel. 

 

As expected, Sorel smiled and accepted.

 

“I understand, sister. If you want it that way, it will be.”

 

“Sorel, thank you so much!”

 

Instead, Sorel looked at her and added one condition.

 

“But I haven’t given a blessing for a wedding in a while. Can I go practice a few times beforehand?”

 

“Of course. Because I’m also going to practice for the ceremony. Come to the temple anytime and practice with me.”

 

It’s okay to come to the temple instead of the mansion. Sorel seemed a little taken aback by her words about her going to the temple, but she hid her emotions and just smiled softly. Eve didn’t know exactly what Sorel’s intentions were, but it seemed like she had to stick by her side. Even though she was not a groomsman, she saw her trying to come to her under the pretext of practicing. Was Sorel simply trying to spy on her? Or was there another purpose?

 

The image of Sorel lying bleeding in her greenhouse came to mind.

 

‘I guess she doesn’t know that she’s going to be like that?’

 

The Emperor, who was watching them, belatedly smiled with satisfaction.

 

“Good.”

 

The Emperor seemed to have suddenly remembered something and gave an order to his attendant.

 

“Oh, right. Bring that too.”

 

He looked back at Eve.

 

“If I give gifts to just these two and nothing to Eve, she will be sad.”

 

“Do you have my gift too?”

 

“Yes, this is an advance wedding gift.”

 

The servant brought a rectangular storage box. It was a storage box made of dark red wood. It was designed to be locked with a key, perhaps to store valuables. The Emperor opened the locker with the key brought by his attendant. When she opened the storage box, a dagger with a blade about a span across the handle came out. The moment she saw that, her whole body went cold. A dagger with a pink blade. It was the very sword that appeared in the prophecy.

 

The Emperor said as he showed her the dagger.

 

“Sword of Ionis. It is a treasure of the royal family.”

 

“Sword of Ionis…!”

 

At the Emperor’s words, the nobles next to him let out an exclamation. Arentine and Vilos also looked very surprised and impressed. Of course, she wasn’t impressed at all.

 

‘What is that?’

 

The Sword of Ionis was a name she had never heard before. There was never a sword like this in the original.

 

I glanced back and saw that Terence was also surprised. However, unlike other people who were naively admiring, this person looked a little shocked. Why? What was that?

 

At that time, the Emperor looked at her and smiled kindly.

 

“It seems like Eve doesn’t know much.”

 

“I’m sorry, father. I learned it a long time ago, but I don’t remember exactly what kind of treasure it is.”

 

Fortunately, no one was surprised by what she said. Eve didn’t know much about the history of the Empire and was confused about the names of past Emperors.

 

“This sword cannot be used unless you are a direct descendant of the Albion royal family. It’s a very old treasure of the imperial family.”

 

“Oh, I see. I remember now.”

 

That was an imperial heirloom. It was unexpected.

 

“This sword actually exists. I thought it was only a legend.”

 

The Empress looked at the dagger with admiration. The Emperor turned his gaze to the Empress. A slightly warmer emotion flowed from his blue eyes.

 

“Actually, this sword has an amazing secret. Would you like to try it?”

 

After hearing those words, the Empress carefully grabbed the handle of her sword. The moment the Empress’ hand held the sword and lifted it, the light pink blade began to blur like smoke.

 

“Ah…!”

 

Not only the people watching but even the Empress holding the sword looked surprised. The light pink blade became blurry like fog, then dispersed and disappeared in an instant. Only the handle of the sword was left in the Empress’ hand.

 

The Emperor smiled sweetly upon seeing the Empress’s astonished expression.

 

“Don’t worry, just put it back here.”

 

The Empress did as the Emperor ordered and put the sword, with only the handle remaining, back in its storage box. As soon as the handle touched the storage box, pink powder like sand grains suddenly appeared around it. The pink powder quickly gathered towards the handle and hardened into the shape of the blade in an instant. The pink dagger was quietly placed in the storage case, looking exactly the same as before.

 

“Oh my god…”

 

The Emperor saw the others being surprised and explained in a tone filled with pride.

 

“As you probably know from legend, this sword is the sword of Princess Ionis, the daughter of the first Emperor. It is said that as the princess was dying, she poured her own blood into this sword, which is why her color changed like this.”

 

It’s her first time hearing this, but she could see several people nodding their heads as if it’s a legend that everyone here knew.

 

“As you can see, if you are not a direct descendant of the royal family, the moment you pick up the sword, the blade disappears. It is a mysterious sword that can only be used by the consecrated emperor and his children. Now, look this way.”

 

The Emperor lifted the dagger and showed the letters written on the back of the blade. As the legend went, when the Emperor took hold of the handle, the blade was intact. Letters were vaguely engraved on the pink blade.

 

[Only those with the blood and heart of the Albion family can use this sword.]

 

The moment she saw that, she couldn’t help but look as shocked as Terence.

 

‘I see.’

 

The only people who could use this sword were the Emperor, the Crown Prince, her, Vilos, and Sorel. If someone stabs Sorel with this sword, the culprit was naturally one of the other four people. The moment she realized that, she was able to understand what happened in the greenhouse.

 

‘The Emperor’s intention is to stab Sorel with a sword on the wedding day and pretend it was my fault.’

 

She couldn’t believe it, but the moment she saw this sword, she was convinced. The Emperor was plotting a new plot using Sorel. He ordered Sorel to become a bridesmaid to keep an eye on her. On her wedding day, he planed to trap Terence and she by using Sorel as his scapegoat.

 

‘This gives me goosebumps.’

 

It was cruel for the Emperor to abandon Eve, but it was understandable. She, Eve, was a princess who was a nuisance from the beginning and did not contribute the slightest bit to the royal family. But Sorel was different. She was still assisting the Emperor with her powerful healing powers. She, Sorel, was revered by her people as a princess who inherited divine power. She was a very useful daughter to the Emperor. And yet he was trying to stab Sorel with a sword just to trap Terence.

 

Luckily, Sorel didn’t seem to die, only seriously injured. Even so, it was a plan that a normal human could not even think of.

 

‘Why are there such horrible people?’

 

She felt disgusted at the sight of the Emperor pretending to be her caring father.

 

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