How To Survive As a Villain on the Verge of Death

At that time, a familiar voice was heard from the other side of the garden.

 

“Eve.”

 

She turned around and saw Terence coming this way. Next to him was Bayan.

 

“Are you back at the mansion already?”

 

Why did he come so early today? Terence answered as he silently walked towards her.

 

“Today ended earlier than expected.”

 

Even though they were just having a conversation, Terence’s appearance made her feel a little tense. It was because of the memory of a fight she had with Terence while talking alone with Mikhail in this garden. However, contrary to expectations, Terence looked at Mikhail with an unimpressed expression.

 

“Your Highness the Grand Duke.”

 

Mikhail politely bowed to him and then greeted her.

 

“Then I’ll just leave.”

 

The mood was to just say hello and leave as quickly as possible. Mikhail also seems to remember that uncomfortable situations ensued every time the three of them met.

 

“Okay, see you later.”

 

Anyway, she would be working at the imperial palace for the time being, so she would have more opportunities to meet him.

 

Mikhail was about to pass Terence and go out into the garden. Terence suddenly called him out.

 

“Lord Sheldon.”

 

Mikhail stopped his steps and looked back at him. Terence looked at Mikhail for a moment and then spoke quietly.

 

“We got a lot of help last time. Thank you.”

 

Mikhail’s green eyes widened in surprise. She guessed he’s talking about what happened when they killed the emperor. Even so, Mikhail looked very surprised, as if he had never expected to hear such words from Terence.

 

“No. It’s natural.”

 

Terence stared at him quietly and then added:

 

“If you have anything to ask me for, come to me.”

 

“…thank you.”

 

Mikhail just said that and turned around to leave. Even though the two would never reconcile and live as close brothers, she still thought that Terence would be able to shake off memories of the past to some extent and live on.

 

“It’s still cold. Why are you out here?”

 

“I was just frustrated so I went for a walk.”

 

Bayan came to her feet. When she picked him up in my arms, Bayan grumbled.

 

[The Grand Duke forcibly brought me here to find out where the saint was.]

 

While chatting with Mikhail, she went deeper into the garden. Actually, she came all the way here without saying anything, so she guessed no one knew where she was.

 

“I’m sorry, I should have told you in advance.”

 

Terence asked, throwing his coat over her shoulders.

 

“I didn’t hear that Mikhail was coming. What brought him here?”

 

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

 

She answered without thinking, but there was no reply. She turned to him and asked.

 

“Do you still find it unpleasant for me to talk to Mikhail?”

 

A little while ago, he treated Mikhail as if everything was fine.

 

“I know you’re not interested in Mikhail.”

 

Terence calmly added his condolences.

 

“Still, I don’t like it when you get too close.”

 

…Yes, he was trying to be polite. Now she felt like she could do whatever she wanted. Anyway, Mikhail said he was going somewhere else, so they wouldn’t be seeing him often, so whatever.

 

“How is the imperial palace?”

 

“It’s still crazy.”

 

Was it still a mess? Well, Arentine quickly got rid of Vilos and ascended the throne as emperor, but the nobles who supported him still remained. There’s no way he could sort it all out this quickly.

 

“It will be difficult for the new emperor for a while. But it will be sorted out gradually.”

 

As they walked down the garden path together, she stopped in front of him and asked.

 

“But you’ll have some free time next month, right? We have something important to do.”

 

Terence raised an eyebrow as if he didn’t understand what was going on. She looked at him dumbfounded.

 

“We should attend Miss Diane’s debutante ball.”

 

Diane was recovering day by day. Thanks to this, the Duke and Duchess will host Diane’s debutante ball next month. Although Diane herself was okay with taking her time, the Duke of Rohan wanted her to make her debut now. Diane has already missed her debut date, so he probably wanted to make her debut as soon as possible. Soon, when the political situation stabilizes, many events at the imperial palace would be held, and after her debutante, Diane would be able to attend with confidence.

 

‘When Her Majesty the Empress is here, she has to go to the imperial palace and hold a troublesome ceremony to greet her. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on Diane, who was only at the mansion…’

 

The Duchess trailed off as she explained the circumstances that led to the ball being held. When a daughter of a noble family with a title made her debut, it was her turn to formally bow to the Empress after the ball. If they didn’t have an empress or queen dowager, all she had to do was have a ball and that’s it. If Arentine got married and had a new empress, she would have to go through all those cumbersome procedures, so it seemed like they wanted to use this opportunity to have her debut easily.

 

Arentine was still unmarried, but since he had no noble wives in particular, there were rumors that he would marry a foreign princess. The nobles expected that he would marry as soon as possible in order for the new emperor to stabilize the imperial palace. So Diane’s debut has also been quickly rescheduled for early next month.

 

It was now a few days later.

 

“It’s already that date.”

 

As if he finally remembered, a smile spread across Terence’s neat eyes.

 

“Of course we should go together.”

 

Terence wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her lightly. She was pulled into his arms.

 

Bayan, caught between the two of them, struggled with his round front paws.

 

[Ugh, this is frustrating.]

 

“Oh sorry.”

 

She quickly got away from Terence and hugged Bayan properly again. At that time, Bayan, who was looking at her face, suddenly lowered his head as if he was lost in thought.

 

[Excuse me…]

 

“Huh? What’s the matter?”

 

[Hmm.]

 

Bayan tilted his ears with his eyes fixed on her body as if he was contemplating something. Then he sighed and closed his eyes.

 

[It is nothing.]

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

She guessed he hadn’t woken up yet because he woke up in the middle of the night.

 

[I just thought that the saintess seemed to have gained weight because she was only in the mansion these days.]

 

“…I think I’ll put you down.”

 

It was Bayan who actually gained weight. Since he had been rolling around and eating only the snacks provided by Nell and Chloe, he was rounder than before. Although his fur was fluffy and chubby, it was also cute.

 

Terence laughed lowly after hearing her muttering between her teeth.

 

“Do you think I’m fat too?”

 

“It can’t be. You always looks beautiful to me.”

 

Terence spoke naturally without changing his expression. Only those who heard it felt embarrassed.

 

“…Please only say such embarrassing things when we are alone.”

 

She walked with Terence towards the main building of the mansion. Bayan yawned long and muttered quietly.

 

[Well, you will find out on your own.]

 

* * *

 

A few days later, as planned, they attended the Duke’s ball. Even if it was quiet, it was the duke’s ball. The mansion was full of invited guests.

 

As soon as she arrived at the mansion, she headed to the inner room where Diane was.

 

“Your Highness, you are here!”

 

Diane was wearing a light pink dress that matched her hair color. It looked cute and lovely.

 

“Miss Diane, you are so beautiful.”

 

Diane has almost completely recovered from her illness. Now her former thin and sickly appearance was almost gone. Her complexion was much brighter and healthier than before, and her white skin was vibrant. Although she said there were faint spots on her body, she showed no outward signs of being sick. But she looked smaller and younger than her peers, perhaps because she had been ill for a long time. Still, she looked so beautiful and lovely.

 

She needed to stop the strange guys from approaching.

 

“Your Highness, are you feeling well?”

 

She was known to be bedridden with a regular winter cold.

 

“It’s a lot better now, but I still feel weak.”

 

Diane, who had been sick all along, was now fine, and she, on the other hand, was being treated like a patient.

 

“Are you ready?”

 

“Yes, I practiced hard, but I’m still nervous.”

 

Diane said she had learned to dance before, but her lessons were at a basic level. Since she was not feeling well, she probably only did the basic steps a few times.

 

Diane held her hand and looked very nervous.

 

“Actually, I only practiced the waltz hard.”

 

“That’s the easiest.”

 

She also practiced only that at first. She had been practicing other dances for the past month ahead of the prom, but today she only planned to participate in waltz music if possible. The servant opened the door and came looking for her.

 

“Your Highness. His Majesty the Emperor is looking for you.”

 

“My brother?”

 

She hadn’t heard that Arentine was also attending.

 

“He has just arrived.”

 

But why was he looking for her first? Actually, she hadn’t seen him in a while. She was confined to the mansion and was turning down all invitations from people. Except for attending the previous emperor’s funeral and the new emperor’s coronation ceremony, she did not even go to the imperial palace.

 

Diane’s expression became even paler when she heard that Arentine had arrived. Her light pink rouge lips trembled slightly.

 

She comforted Diane.

 

“Don’t be too nervous. You will be able to do well.”

 

“Yes-yes…”

 

Diane smiled happily as she looked at her.

 

“To be honest, when I was young, I never thought this day would come to me. I thought I would never be able to go out in society… It’s all thanks to her Highness.”

 

Diane spoke with a smile, but her every word contained painful memories of her past.

 

“It’s just the beginning. Only good things will happen in the future.”

 

She said, holding her hand.

 

“Today will definitely remain as a pleasant memory. Don’t be too nervous and think of it as making fun memories.”

 

“Yes, I will do my best and do well.”

 

Diane squeezed her hand and nodded her head. Although she still looked nervous, her eyes showed a confident resolve of their own.

 

“Then I’ll go out first. See you later in the ballroom.”

 

She said her greetings to Diane and came downstairs to her.

 

Arentine was surrounded by middle-aged nobles in the ballroom.

 

“Eve.”

 

As soon as he saw her, he left the others and came towards her.

 

“I greet Your Majesty, the master of the empire.”

 

She bowed in the most polite manner possible, but Arentine clicked his tongue lowly.

 

“You’re teasing me the same. Just call me brother.”

 

Until recently, he treated her without hesitation, but now that he has suddenly become polite, it seemed awkward even on the receiving end.

 

“It’s been a while since I last saw you. Are you feeling okay?”

 

“I’m OK. My brother looks tired.”

 

Arentine looked more tired than before. His gaunt complexion had dark shadows around his eyes. She guessed being emperor wasn’t easy for him.

 

“There’s nothing we can do because it hasn’t been sorted out yet.”

 

Suddenly, he became curious about what the future of Arentine would be like.

 

‘Let’s use her foresight ability a little bit.’

 

In the meantime, she barely used her precognitive abilities while recovering her holy powers. Even though she occasionally used her holy powers, she only did so to heal the people in the mansion. Thanks to such a long recovery period, she was now able to reserve some holy power. It wasn’t full enough, but it was enough to see visions two or three times.

 

Now that Arentine was emperor, his future was quite important. To be honest, she was curious about who he would marry. Was she a foreign princess as rumored?

 

‘Let’s just take a quick look.’

 

She put her hand on Arentine’s shoulder as if to comfort him.

 

“Cheer up. I’m sure you’ll be able to do well.”

 

Arentine looked a little surprised, probably not expecting her to comfort him like this. There was a faint glimmer of emotion in his eyes as he looked at her.

 

“Thank you.”

 

At that moment, her vision turned black and a cool wind blew from somewhere. When she opened her eyes, she saw an endless blue sea. 

 

She could hear the cool sound of waves along with the salty smell of the sea.

 

‘The ocean?’

 

In the distance, she saw a man with reddish-blonde hair walking on the sandy beach. It was Arentine, dressed in street clothes. Next to him was a young woman. Only when she got closer did she see who it was.

 

She was Diane in a light blue dress. Diane seemed a little more mature than she was now.

 

‘How many years in the future?’

 

It looks like the two were becoming quite close. The cool sea breeze passed between them.

 

Arentine hugged Diane’s delicate body. The two people were exchanging smiles and whispering something.

 

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