How To Survive As a Villain on the Verge of Death

Sorel asked her, smiling painfully.

 

“You hate me now, right? Because I’m the enemy’s daughter.”

 

“No, I originally didn’t like you. I don’t particularly hate you any more because of that story.”

 

The former Empress was not her biological mother, and she had no special feelings for her. Thinking that all of this was because of the emperor only made her more disgusted with that person.

 

“After all, you were a child at the time. Your mother would have done as the emperor told her.”

 

It wasn’t young Sorel’s fault. Sorel’s mother was already dead and the Emperor would soon die. There was absolutely no reason for Sorel to take responsibility for that.

 

Sorel seemed a little surprised to hear what she said.

 

“Now let me… Are you going to kill me?”

 

‘Well. How will we do it?’

 

It looked like Sorel wouldn’t live long if left alone. Moreover, her holy power now remains faint. She wouldn’t be able to get the ingredients for the spell anymore, so there’s no need to kill her.

 

“You will be sent to the villa as scheduled. As long as nothing special happens, you can live comfortably there.”

 

Of course, she would be kept there and under surveillance for the rest of her life. If she did anything suspicious, before she took action. The current Sorel could easily be killed at any time.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Instead, promise me that you will live quietly and not do anything foolish.”

 

Sorel nodded her promise. She closed her eyes helplessly.

 

“Now I just want to rest.”

 

* * *

 

A few days later, she went to the imperial palace to see the emperor again. This time Bayan was also with them. The emperor was still lying in bed, wrapped in bandages like a mummy. He was lying motionless, but inside he must have been groaning in pain. Looking closer, the condition seemed to have gotten worse than yesterday. Could the wound have become infected?

 

“Are you okay, Your Majesty?”

 

“He is doing his best, but the wounds are so severe that he is unable to recover.”

 

The doctor bowed his head, sweating profusely. The emperor was dying and he couldn’t do anything about it, so he must be very scared.

 

“Poor father…”

 

She sat down by the bed and held the Emperor’s hand.

 

“I will treat you as best as I can today.”

 

At the same time, she used a little of her holy power. Similar to yesterday, his shoulder and arm have healed a bit. Even though she only healed that much, she felt drained again and her vision was spinning.

 

“Her Highness…!”

 

The doctor was startled and helped her up. The servants waiting next to her also approached her as if they were worried.

 

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess, are you okay?”

 

“Oh, I’m fine.”

 

At best, the only visible skin on the outside was slightly healed.

 

‘If I correct it little by little like this, the pain will only increase.’

 

She didn’t necessarily want to bother a dying person. But there was a reason she had to come here.

 

“Huh… I wish my strength was stronger.”

 

As she cried bitterly, the doctor and servants looked pitiful. A daughter who exerts all her holy power to heal her dying father. It’s a beautiful story no matter who sees it.

 

“Your Highness, don’t overdo it. You haven’t recovered your health yet, but if you make a mistake, your health could be seriously damaged.”

 

The doctor comforted her and said so.

 

She was sick and stayed inside the mansion for a while, so everyone thought she was still unwell. She wiped her tears and turned to the attendants.

 

“Can I be alone with my father for a moment?”

 

Under normal circumstances, the servants would not have gone outside, leaving the dying emperor behind. Even if the other person was the emperor’s own daughter, something unpleasant may happen. However, the servants thought for a moment, then bowed politely and went out.

 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

 

They probably thought there was no need to suspect her, the crown prince’s younger sister and the Grand Duchess, when the emperor had no hope anyway. After the attendants left with the doctor, she put down Bayan in her arms.

 

Bayan walked around the room and detected suspicious signs. Meanwhile, she approached the emperor’s bed.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

The emperor could not even lift his eyelids properly. But his shoulders twitch slightly as if he could hear her. Fortunately, she guessed he  could hear.

 

She leaned over to him and whispered softly.

 

“I came to look for a hidden spell book. Maybe it’s here, right?”

 

She didn’t think he would have hidden something so precious somewhere else. Over the past few days, Bayan and she had already been to the imperial palace and searched throughout the office and the political office, but it was nowhere to be found. The only place left was this bedroom.

 

“Well, I’m sure you’re curious about what’s going on outside, so I’ll tell you.”

 

She whispered to the emperor again.

 

“The Empress was sentenced to be burned at the stake for murdering His Majesty the Emperor. That’s a good thing, since she’ll die like your Majesty. Oh, of course Vilos will be executed publicly too.”

 

Actually, it was a lie. Arentine had mercy on her and agreed to confine her to her convent for the rest of her life. There she would live in misery like an ordinary maid, but she would not die anyway. It was said that Vilos was ordered to commit suicide while imprisoned within the imperial palace. But when the emperor heard her, his fingertips trembled as if he were angry. It looked like he wanted to hit her right away. There would be no one who could tell the emperor the truth, so he would believe what she told him and despair. There was nothing wrong with dying sooner out of anger and despair.

 

Then Bayan pointed under the table and said.

 

[It’s here.]

 

She cleared the table and looked at the wall next to it. Small lily-shaped decorations were carved at regular intervals along the bottom of the wall. When she pressed the button Bayan was pointing at, a crack the size of my palm appeared in the wall.

 

“It was hidden in a place like this.”

 

She pulled the flower-shaped decoration and a small drawer came out. Inside was an old book and a piece of paper folded in half. The paper had a translation of the magic method written on it. She guessed he wrote it down to tell Sorel to do it.

 

She hid it in her arms. She would throw this into the fire as soon as she returned to the mansion. Just like burning a real flower and turning it into ashes.

 

“Then I’ll go now. I don’t think I’ll ever see you again.”

 

With those words, she opened the door and went out. The palace was still going crazy, so no one paid much attention to her going there. A familiar scene passed by outside the carriage window. The moment she passed through the main gate of the imperial palace, a strange feeling belatedly arose. When she first came here, she was counting down the days from day to day and was anxious to survive. Now, she felt like everything was over and she had reached a peaceful ending.

 

“Now we can really live comfortably.”

 

She muttered that to herself while stroking Bayan’s head. Exactly two days later, news came that the emperor had died.

 

* * *

 

After that, she lived quietly in the mansion for a month. She heard that the palace was very busy as the emperor died and Arentine was crowned as the new emperor. Terence was pretty busy too, but since she didn’t have anything to do, she had a peaceful time at the mansion.

 

Bayan received the utmost care from Nell and Chloe. This was because Nell, seeing Bayan lying down listlessly, made a fuss and asked if he was sick. Thanks to this, Bayan lived like a king, lying on a soft cushion all day long and receiving the utmost care from her two maids. Nell and Chloe took care of Bayan with the utmost care, bringing him snacks from time to time, brushing his fur, covering him with blankets, and so on.

 

Bayan stretched out on the cushion and muttered.

 

[Bring more meatloaf.]

 

Tsk tsk.

 

She watched Bayan rolling around on the cushion, clicked his tongue, then turned around and lay down on the other side. Meanwhile, she was also rolling around in bed.

 

She was still a patient recovering from an illness. In addition, the setting was added that she was in mourning over the sudden loss of her father, so the butler and servants all looked after her with concern. But in reality, she had no energy. Every time she recovered her holy power little by little, she gave it all to Bayan, but she was still struggling. Thanks to this, she didn’t go out except for the occasional walk around the mansion. People seemed to be talking about how she suddenly became aware of her divine powers and worked extremely hard to save the emperor. Some people thought she was sick from the aftereffects. However, all she could do was use her healing powers if anyone got hurt while looking around the mansion.

 

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

 

When she healed his wounds during training, the young knight was truly grateful.

 

“If you need my help, please let me know anytime.”

 

Bayan had almost completely recovered, and she was also building up her strength little by little. Now, injuries sustained during training could be repaired at any time. So, she asked to use it like a hospital, but the knights bowed to her with slightly impressed eyes.

 

“It is an honour. Your Highness.”

 

The servants were polite to her, but the knights were a bit distant. As they became aware of her healing power, she felt like she had become quite close to the knights. It’s not just because she treated their wounds. Rather, it’s probably because she treated Terence when he was seriously injured. Until then, they were wary of her, but they were actually simple people.

 

The weather was now fully spring.

 

Green buds sprouted in the garden, and small flower buds bloomed at the tips of the trees. As she was looking around the garden in full bloom, she saw a familiar silver-haired man walking with an attendant from afar.

 

“Long time no see, your Highness.”

 

“Mikhail.”

 

Mikhail, dressed in knightly uniform, was approaching her.

 

“What’s going on here?”

 

“It’s been a while since I came to say hello.”

 

Now that she thought about it, she never had a chance to have a proper conversation with Mikhail. She received a lot of help in many ways during her last job.

 

“I heard you’re busy with the knights. Are you doing well?”

 

It was said that after Gayren took responsibility for the previous incident and stepped down, Mikhail temporarily took over as leader. They say the man went back to his territory and hid himself.

 

She wondered if Arentine would take care of getting rid of that one too.

 

“Now it has been sorted out to some extent.”

 

Mikhail answered listlessly. Because an unprecedented situation occurred where the emperor died in an accident, many people in the Imperial Knights took responsibility and asked for responsibility. It was said that they ran away. Perhaps the people who were driven out were those who were loyal to the emperor. And she heard that that position was filled by Arentine’s knights.

 

Was that how he changed things? It was only natural that the emperor had changed.

 

“It must have been a lot of trouble.”

 

“There is nothing to say that it is difficult. It’s natural.”

 

Mikhail smiled quietly and answered, then suddenly changed the subject.

 

“Actually, I met Princess Sorel not long ago.”

 

At those words, she turned her attention to Mikhail.

 

“How’s Sorel doing?”

 

“She is still very unwell.”

 

Now that winter has passed, she heard that Sorel would soon be moving to her villa.

 

“Did you get a brief explanation from Sorel?”

 

Mikhail did not ask for details about what happened that night. Perhaps Sorel told him about her situation. Mikhail nodded his head silently.

 

“I heard that His Majesty and the Second Prince tried to kill the Grand Duchess. Because of that, Princess Sorel also lost her health.”

 

It’s a brief explanation, but it’s not wrong. Then he would understand that she killed the emperor and put the blame on Vilos. Perhaps because he knew all the details of this situation, Mikhail was in a lonely and empty mood. Of course, Mikhail must have been going through a lot of trouble during that time. He was said that the emperor he was loyal to was a trash person who tortured his other daughter to kill his own daughter. Moreover, Mikhail was abandoned by the man and eventually joined in killing his master. Since all that happened in a short period of time, he was understandably mentally exhausted.

 

Mikhail remained silent for a moment and then suddenly spoke.

 

“When His Majesty the Crown Prince ascends the throne, I plan to move to another place.”

 

“What? Where are you going?”

 

“It hasn’t been decided yet, but I would like to go to another knighthood. The border area is also okay. You probably feel uncomfortable with me continuing to be in charge of the Imperial Knights…”

 

From Arentine’s perspective, Mikhail was also a person selected by the former emperor. Even if he contributed to the death of the former emperor, he would not be trusted very much. She remembered that even in the original work, Mikhail eventually left the capital. This part was similar to the original. However, in the original work, Mikhail was with Sorel. Will he be leaving alone this time?

 

She was heartbroken that Mikhail would not get a happy ending.

 

“If there is anything I can help with, please let me know, got it?”

 

Now that the emperor was dead, she could help at least one person, Michael, with peace of mind. Mikhail smiled bitterly and said.

 

“Thank you just for your words.”

 

“I mean it.”

 

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