How To Survive As a Villain on the Verge of Death

“You need a reward?”

 

It was a power that required a price.

 

[This is different from saints who are born with holy powers. Because saints are born with holy power, they easily learn how to use the holy power within their bodies.]

 

Bayan, who was explaining up to that point, looked at her and paused for a moment.

 

[…This means that most saints are like that.]

 

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

 

Once again, she could keenly feel that she was still unable to control her sacred power. Bayan cleared his throat loudly and explained again.

 

[But a shaman does not have such natural power. They are just innate in how to use their power.]

 

“How to use their strength…”

 

[How to make a tool that becomes a medium for magic. And how to complete the ritual. The colored flowers shown before are also tools of witchcraft. Because the magic technique was not completed, it is only a shell.]

 

She remembered the pink flowers Mikhail had brought. They said it was a real spell, but it had no effect because there was no power to make the magic happen.

 

[I know how to use it, but since I don’t have the natural power, the shaman inevitably has to obtain power from other sources.]

 

“How do you get the power?”

 

[It varies depending on the case, but in most cases, the power that a shaman draws is his or her own life force.]

 

“What? Then you won’t die?”

 

Bringing vitality sounds scary. But Bayan shook his head.

 

[The simpler the spell, the less power it brings. If it were a simple spell like the flower I saw last time, all it would do was make me feel tired for a day.]

 

After listening to the explanation of Bayan, she got a feel for it to some extent. She also understood why ‘spells that kill people’ were impossible.

 

“So, this means that in order to kill someone with a spell, the shaman’s entire life force must be used.”

 

If you use up all your vitality, you will die. It meant that the shaman’s life had to be sacrificed.

 

[Even that is not enough.]

 

Bayan added firmly.

 

[In fact, there were many cases where shamans lost their lives simply by casting a curse that made their opponents fall ill.]

 

“Isn’t witchcraft too inefficient?”

 

The shaman loses life, but the opponent only gets sick. If a simple curse was that dangerous, a spell that takes a person’s life would be difficult to succeed even if it costs the shaman’s life. As she listened to the explanation, she realized why witchcraft was considered a superstition in this world.

 

“So, witchcraft was considered a superstition for a long time. There are very few people who can do it properly, and true magic has only minor effects.”

 

If a curse that simply made you sick was something that requires risking your life, then the magic spells that shamans used on a daily basis were much more trivial than that. Wasn’t it just a spell to wish for blessings, good health, or to bring about minor bad luck, like what Mikhail brought? Did they fall down or get a corn while walking down the street? However, shamans who knew how to do it properly were rare.

 

‘Hmm…’

 

Combining the explanations, it seemed that ‘spells to kill people’ were difficult to succeed in, but few people would even attempt to do so in the first place. It meant cursing others while sacrificing one’s own life. What if the chances of success were even slim? No matter how much you hate the other person, no one would want to take such a foolish risk. It would be better to hug the other person and jump into the fire together. There was no possibility that the shaman would try it after receiving a request from someone. Even if you receive a lot of money, it’s useless if you die, so who would accept such a request? Conversely, you could do it under duress, but if the probability of success was so slim, few people would go to the trouble of threatening a shaman. During that time, she would be looking for poison or an assassin. In the first place, she didn’t even know where the real shaman was.

 

“Bajan, can you tell a shaman when you see one?”

 

[I do not know.]

 

An immediate answer was given without any hesitation.

 

[It may feel strange to see powerful magic. It is impossible to distinguish between shamans. As I said before, the shaman itself has no power, so on the outside, it is no different from an ordinary person.]

 

“I see.”

 

Then it would be difficult to find a shaman. Bayan quietly looked up at her and said.

 

[If the spell is strong enough to kill a saint… You have to bring in comparable power, which is difficult no matter how many powerful shamans are involved.]

 

She nodded at those words. But suddenly a different thought occurred to her.

 

“Maybe it wasn’t a spell intended to kill.”

 

What if the spell aimed at her wasn’t a curse with an instant death effect, but something else?

 

“They said I stayed alive for a year even after being bewitched. Maybe it wasn’t the ‘spell that makes you sick’ that I mentioned earlier?”

 

And in the first prediction, it was clearly said that she had been subjected to an ‘evil act’ during her pregnancy. If you are pregnant, your body becomes weak and you are prone to getting sick. If your health deteriorated after having a child, you would have thought it was because of the pregnancy and would not have particularly suspected it.

 

[As I said before, magic that causes disease almost completely eats up the life of the magician. Moreover, I think it is virtually impossible if the cursed person is a saint.]

 

Did it mean that putting a curse on a saint requires greater strength than putting a curse on an ordinary person? Although she understood it, she still had doubts. So why did Terence think she died from witchcraft?

 

“If you get sick from witchcraft, is it the same as a normal illness? Can you recover?”

 

[Of course. It just brings the same diseases as ordinary diseases. Unless it is a serious illness, a healthy person will easily shake it off and get up.]

 

Bayan paused in his explanation for a moment. The small golden eyes became a little more serious.

 

[However, if the spell is strong and you become seriously ill… If you are sick… You could die.]

 

“Right.”

 

If she thought about it, in the second prediction she just saw, she died without getting pregnant. Still, Terence said she died because of witchcraft.

 

She stood up while gathering her thoughts. In any case, there was so little information right now that it was difficult to judge accurately.

 

“First, I need to learn more about witchcraft. Bayan, do you know witchcraft well?”

 

But Bayan, hearing her question, frowned and lifted his little chin arrogantly.

 

[I am Su, the god who serves her saint. Miscellaneous powers such as witchcraft have nothing to do with us.]

 

‘…I see.’

 

It seemed like he just didn’t know, but she didn’t bother to point it out.

 

“Then we should go to the library first. Maybe there’s a book about witchcraft.”

 

She opened her bedroom drawer before heading out. Inside a drawer containing miscellaneous items was a light pink flower from a sacred tree. It was a flower that Mikhail gave as a gift. When she lifted the flower, small pink crystals swayed gently between the petals.

 

‘I need to meet Mikhail as soon as possible and ask him in detail about this flower.’

 

There were people around him who knew how to make real magic items. Maybe that person was the shaman who put a curse on her. Suddenly, she remembered what the owner said when she went to the liquor store. They said she was cursed a long time ago. At the time, she ignored it because it seemed so random.

 

‘When I have time, I’ll have to go there too. I might be able to get a book related to witchcraft.’

 

She put the flowers in her pocket and headed to the library with Bayan.

 

* * *

 

The emperor looked around at the subjects gathered in his office. The subjects gathered in the office were shaking with anxiety. Between the bewilderment, there was a hint of curiosity and shock. Everyone was so embarrassed and upset. Because the Duke of Rohan came unexpectedly and reported Sorel in front of the emperor.

 

“Did Sorrel really do that?”

 

The emperor asked again with an expression of complete disbelief. Even though he had already heard the whole story, he still couldn’t believe it.

 

‘I can’t believe Sorel would do such a stupid thing.’

 

It was already known that Sorel had been gathering information about the Duke of Rohan’s daughter. Sorel was placed next to him and her maid reported directly. She said Sorrel told her to find out which herbs or foods could make Diane’s illness worse. He didn’t know what she was trying to do, but he figured that if the opponent was the duke’s only daughter, he wouldn’t have to worry too much. There’s no way Sorel would kill that kid.

 

The emperor had already heard that Eve had recently found a way to cure the Duke of Rohan’s daughter. It seemed that Sorel was planning to use the duke’s daughter to get revenge on Eve. If it was something like that, he thought Sorel would take care of it, so he left it alone. But did she go directly to the Duke’s house and mix incense in the fireplace? Has she done something stupid like this? He was so shocked that he was speechless.

 

The Duke of Rohan looked at him with stubborn eyes.

 

“Yes, Your Majesty. My wife and servants witnessed it firsthand. My daughter was there too.”

 

He couldn’t believe she got caught mixing incense in front of so many people. He knew that Sorel was under a lot of pressure because of what happened last time. Anyway, how could she be this stupid? He was so embarrassed that he had such a daughter. However, while listening to the duke’s explanation, the emperor found something puzzling.

 

“Aside from the duchess and princess. Why were the servants waiting in the princess’s room?”

 

Sorel was captured in the bedroom of the Princess of Rohan. The duchess and princess were drinking tea in another room. But why were the butler and servant hiding in the princess’s bedroom? The Duke of Rohan answered without the slightest hesitation.

 

“There was some repair work to be done in the bathroom attached to the bedroom, so servants were coming in and out even before the princess visited. They took advantage of the empty bedroom and went in to briefly check, and the princess came in at that moment.”

 

The duke spoke confidently without wavering. It was an excuse he had been thinking about before coming here. In reality, he listened to the advice of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess and kept Sorel under surveillance. From the time Sorel came to the mansion, he had his butler keep an eye on Diane’s room. Thanks to this, they were able to catch Princess Sorel’s crime at the scene.

 

The Emperor looked at the Duke of Rohan closely. The duke spoke without the slightest hesitation, but the emperor’s suspicions arose after hearing the explanation. Wasn’t the situation too elaborate? After all, on the day Sorel came to carry out his trick, he was repairing the princess’s room. The emperor felt a sense of déjà vu along with suspicion.

 

He put it on. Eve’s wedding day went similarly. The noble ladies who came out to the garden at that time witnessed the Empress’s crime. Of course, it was not a coincidence, it was carefully planned in advance. Maybe this was also the case? The emperor listened to the duke’s explanation, thought about it for a moment, and then spoke again.

 

“What is Sorel saying? I also want to hear the other partie’ arguments.”

 

—————————————————————

Translator Note: