How To Survive As a Villain on the Verge of Death

Arentine saw that she came out wearing a maid’s uniform and asked worriedly if she had to go in person.

 

‘Terrence said something similar.’

 

But when Terence met Sorel, he convinced her that she needed to see the foresight and sent her away. She asked while putting the headdress worn by maids on her head.

 

“Are you still working?”

 

Arentine had a pile of documents in his office. He looked tired, as if he had been working by this time.

 

“Since His Majesty the Emperor is unwell and is residing in the Imperial Palace, I have no choice but to handle the overall affairs.”

 

It seemed the Emperor was planning to stay in hiding until Sorel’s problem was dealt with.

 

“Brother, you are just doing what you have to do. You don’t need to worry too much.”

 

“I saw the Duke’s mansion explode a few days ago. How could you not be worried?”

 

She did not give Arentine a detailed account of the events of that day. But he must have had a vague idea of what was happening.

 

“What happened last time must have been the Emperor’s doing.”

 

She didn’t bother to answer. Because they both already knew the answer without having to say it.

 

Arentine looked at her and sighed helplessly.

 

“Is there anything else I can help you with?”

 

“If something more important comes up in the near future, I will ask for your help again.”

 

It wouldn’t take that long. As soon as she resolved this witchcraft game, she planned to take revenge on the emperor.

 

“Please take care of yourself.”

 

“Do not worry.”

 

She put on the maid’s clothes, hugged Bayan, and went out. There was nothing to worry about as Bayan would help if anything happened. Arentine showed her a secret passage in the imperial palace that leads to Sorel’s palace. The passage that Arentine told her about was a secret passage that led from the basement of a nearby chapel to the underground warehouse of the princess’s palace where Sorel was located. Guided by an attendant, she passed through the underground passage and exited into the capital in the corner of the underground warehouse of the princess’s palace. However, after entering the warehouse, she had to pass through the hallway to get to the prison where Sorel was.

 

Bayan came first, hiding in the shadows and examining the hallway.

 

“How many people are there?”

 

[Five people.]

 

There were a lot.

 

“I’ll give you holy power now.”

 

She squeezed out almost all the strength she had in her body and handed it over to Bayan. She only had enough strength left in her body to see the foresee twice.

 

She suddenly felt like her body was going limp because a lot of her strength had been lost.

 

[This is enough.]

 

Bayan went out into the hallway again with a satisfied expression. And he came back a little while later.

 

[You can go now.]

 

When she went outside, there was no one in the hallway. It was thanks to Bayan hallucinating and eluding the guards.

 

“How did you do it?”

 

[One person who was separated was made to see his superior as an illusion.]

 

Bayan went ahead and explained.

 

[He heard a sound from above, so he ordered other soldiers to search the upstairs. That soldier would have led other soldiers.]

 

It’s a good method.

 

She passed through the empty hallways and headed toward Sorel’s prison cell. She knew where to go because it was a place she had predicted through Mikhail. At the end of the hallway, she could see the dungeon where Sorel was locked up.

 

She put down Bayan and walked closer to it. Inside the bars, a woman with blonde hair was curled up.

 

“Sorel.”

 

Sorel, who had been lying helplessly, raised her head.

 

“…sister?”

 

Sorel looked haggard and tired. There was blood on her body and wounds here and there through the hem of her clothes.

 

This situation was more serious than she thought.

 

“Did Vilos make it like this? Did they torture you?”

 

“W-how did you get in here?”

 

“I came to see you. I wanted to ask you about your magic.”

 

Sorel’s silver eyes trembled in shock.

 

“I know you can hex me. If you do that, you will die.”

 

“How…”

 

“It’s not important how you knew.”

 

She interrupted Sorel and asked clearly.

 

“Where are the magic tools? Please tell me where the tool or something is. That way I can help you.”

 

“I don’t need your help…”

 

“Don’t you know that if you do that, you too will die?”

 

Sorel seemed to finally understand the situation and come to her senses. Her silver eyes sank coldly.

 

“I can yell and call someone.”

 

“Oh, so?”

 

At that time, a dark shadow moved uneasily along the wall behind Sorel. Although it was not a shadow but a bayan, the large shadow pacing ominously in the dark prison created a sufficiently frightening atmosphere.

 

“Omg…!”

 

As the shadow approached, Sorel was startled and came closer to the bars. At that moment, she reached through the bars and grabbed Sorel’s golden hair. At the same time, darkness came before her eyes.

 

When she opened her eyes, she saw the same place she was just a moment ago. A small prison underground in the princess’s palace. But the scene inside the bars was even more gruesome than before. Sorel was covered in blood and chained to the pillar.

 

Vilos grabbed Sorel’s chin and lifted it up violently. Blood flowed from Sorel’s forehead and fell to the floor.

 

“I’ll… I’ll tell you.”

 

A faint sneer appeared on Vilos’ lips.

 

“You should have done that a long time ago.”

 

Sorel stuttered in a faint voice that seemed as if it would break off.

 

“The equipment… Flowers… Under the fence…”

 

“What? Where?”

 

Sorel again explained the exact location. She was a little surprised when she heard the location. Because it was a place she knew. It was the stone wall where Sorel exchanged letters with Mikhail in the original work.

 

Vilos gestured to his man. After a while, the knight who had gone outside came inside carrying a small box.

 

“I found you.”

 

Vilos opened the box without delay. She also got closer to see what was inside. Inside the box was a flower that had turned black. Although it was stained an ominous black color, the shape was familiar. It was the flower of the sacred tree.

 

Sorel screamed and took a step back. She was startled by the sound and let go of her hand. In an instant, the foresight disappeared and she returned to reality. She asked Sorel as soon as she saw him.

 

“Is the magic tool a sacred tree flower? But why are the flowers that color?”

 

Was it rotten? Or did they intentionally put it in the garbage to corrupt it?

 

Sorel, inside the bars, looked at her in horror.

 

“Are you holding my head and seeing a foresee?”

 

“Because you don’t speak properly.”

 

She walked closer to the bars and whispered.

 

“I didn’t know it was buried in the place where you exchanged letters with Mikhail.”

 

Sorel’s eyes widened. It was as if she didn’t know that Eve knew that. Sorel seemed a little shocked, but her attitude gradually softened, perhaps because the magical tools and the location where they were buried had already been discovered. She glanced at a shadow moving behind her with a rather frightened look on her face.

 

“What on earth is that?”

 

Because her holy power had decreased, she couldn’t even properly recognize Bayan’s identity. Looking closely, she could clearly feel that Sorel’s sacred power had faded.

 

“What I have with me.”

 

She said that briefly and asked the question again.

 

“Then tell me properly now. How on earth do you make tools out of those flowers?”

 

“I don’t even know how to make it. The flowers I have now were my mother’s. They weren’t even made by my mother.”

 

She guessed it meant it’s a magic tool inherited from a long time ago.

 

“Anyway, the flower of the sacred tree is the material.”

 

Sorel was conflicted for a moment, then nodded her head.

 

“They say flowers like that sometimes appear in Sacred Tree.”

 

A flower that becomes a medium for a spell that kills a saint.

 

“I heard that they take it and make magic tools. I don’t know exactly how to make it.”

 

Looking at Sorel’s expression, it didn’t seem like she was lying. Anyway, the identity and location of the magic tool were discovered.

 

‘How will we do it?’

 

Now there were two options. One was to kill Sorel here and find the black flower and destroy it. If Sorel, the shaman, and the flower, the shaman tool, disappear, they would never be able to cast a spell on Eve. But if she killed Sorel here, the Emperor would be even more wary of her. They would also find out that she had the ability to elude surveillance and get here.

 

‘Rather than that, it would be better to catch the emperor off guard.’

 

It would be easier to retaliate if he was at peace and thought things were going his way.

 

“I’ll bring another one that looks the same there by tomorrow.”

 

She made up her mind and spoke to Sorel.

 

“So, can you give in to torture and pretend to cast a spell?”

 

A look of deep conflict flashed through Sorel’s silver eyes. She still hated Eve, but she seemed to have realized that there was no hope for her to cling to other than her.

 

“Can you save me?”

 

“How can I save you?”

 

Although Sorel’s situation was unfortunate, there was no need to take Sorel out now to make the Emperor more cautious. Considering that she tried to trap Eve, she didn’t have the will to do anything like that.

 

“But if he thinks the spell is successful, the emperor will not bother you and will just ignore you, is not it?”

 

At least they wouldn’t torture her. Judging by the wisdom, after completing the spell, she was just left in the prison. At that time, the security was so loose that Mikhail could have sneaked in here. That would mean that Sorel asked someone inside this palace to bring Mikhail while her guard was down. If she had a way to communicate outside like that, she might be able to escape while the emperor was neglecting her. She could either plead with Mikhail and ask for help.

 

Sorel seemed to think the same thing.

 

“All right. I will do whatever my sister tells me.”

 

Sorel eventually accepted. Anyway, in her current situation, she probably had no choice but to listen to Eve.

 

“Good. Just wait until tomorrow night. And confess that the flower is in the stone wall.”

 

“Inside the stone wall?”

 

“If you bury it back in the ground, traces will remain.”

 

If you dig up the ground and bury it again, traces will remain. It would be better to keep it inside a stone wall.

 

“All right. I will do that.”

 

After receiving that promise, she left Sorel behind and went outside again. There was still no one in the hallway. After passing through the passage she came in and going out, she went to the fence Sorel mentioned. As she looked around he dug up a box buried beneath it. There was a small box just below the stone wall, exactly like the one in the prediction.

 

* * *

 

As soon as she found the box, she went straight back to the mansion. Inside the box was a rotten sacred tree flower. The pitch-black flowers were identical to those seen in the forecast.

 

“I didn’t know that sacred tree flowers had that kind of power.”

 

Terrence looked at the flowers she brought and said something as if it was absurd.

 

“Once this is over, we will destroy the tree to prevent something like this from ever being created again.”

 

Sorel said she didn’t know how to make this, so there’s no one who could make something this ominous anymore. Still, she agreed with Terence. It would be better to destroy such an ominous tree.

 

“Is it so. Cut it off.”

 

[Cutting down a sacred tree that is over a thousand years old…]

 

Bayan was shocked, but they both ignored it.

 

“What kind of sacred tree is it that produces such ominous things?”

 

She picked up the box and handed it to Bayan. Bayan also had no choice but to keep his mouth shut when he saw the black flower inside.

 

[Holy tree was originally a tree imbued with divine power, so it was used in witchcraft. I never thought they would develop something like this.]

 

Actually, a spell to wish for happiness was also made using this flower. She asked while listening to Bayan mumbling helplessly.

 

“Bayan, can we just cut down that tree?”

 

[It is a sacred tree. If you just cut it off, it won’t take long for it to grow again.]

 

“Then how do I get rid of it?”

 

[If you have a holy sword, which is a holy relic, you can completely cut it off and get rid of it.]

 

A sacred sword that was a holy relic. When she heard that, something suddenly came to mind. The Grand Duke’s heirloom that she found for Terence. She told him the locations of the disassembled swords before the wedding. Terence completed it and stored it quietly so as not to spread the word.

 

She exchanged a look with Terence. Terence was thinking the same thing.

 

“We could use that.”

 

They found a solution. The problem was that an imitation of this flower had to be made.

 

“Can we make something similar?”

 

“It looks rotten, but it doesn’t smell bad, so you just have to make it look good.”

 

Certainly, if the color and shape were similar, the emperor, who was unfamiliar with magic, would likely be fooled. But there was one problem.

 

“They say the emperor had a witch doctor with him. I think they have to feel something bad here to believe it.”

 

The shaman did not seem to be a very talented person, but he might still be suspicious if it was a sacred tree flower that did not have any shamanic energy.

 

“How about tearing off a little of this petal and putting it inside?”

 

“Flower petals?”

 

The book stated that any type of magic would not be performed properly without complete tools.

 

“If you put in just a little bit, it won’t have any effect anyway.”

 

So they decided and started making counterfeit products. Fortunately, even if she didn’t go to the temple to get it, there was the same flower in the mansion. It was the sacred tree flower she gave to Terence when they first met at the temple. Even though a long time had passed, the flowers of the sacred tree were still the same as when she first picked them, only with a little dryness. They colored the dried petals and made small scratches here and there. She added clay from the lot little by little to make it exactly like the magic flower. When it was made that way, it looked similar to a real flower. After completing it, she put it back in the box and called Chloe and Camion.

 

Chloe, disguised as her maid, would be responsible for delivering the box, and Camion would protect and help her.

 

“Chloe. Put this inside the stone wall of the imperial palace.”

 

She handed Chloe the box and pointed to Bayan.

 

“If anything happens, Bayan will help you.”

 

Chloe nodded at him with determined eyes.

 

“Don’t worry, Your Highness.”

 

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Translator Note: