Chapter 117
“So, have you come to make that dream come true, Prince of Ruin, Mikhail von Orhel?”
To fulfil that dream of cutting my throat and tearing my limbs apart?
Mikhail bit his lip at Killian’s words.
“You… you’re not the Killian I knew. You’ve completely changed.”
Mikhail looked at Killian.
Killian’s eyes, which once shone with brilliance, were now dull and cloudy. His once straight posture had collapsed slightly, emitting a different atmosphere than before.
Killian suddenly rolled his clouded red eyes and smirked.
“Oh, really…? I’ve always been me. Since the first time I met you in this palace, I’ve been the same.”
Killian locked eyes with Mikhail. A hint of mockery lingered at the corner of his mouth, as if he were mocking Mikhail.
Readers called Killian a psychopath.
A murderer who dreamed of rebellion without knowing gratitude since he was young.
But perhaps at that time, Killian hoped that Mikhail would recognise his sincerity.
Nothing has changed from before. The brother you knew was the same as always.
But unspoken sincerity cannot become the truth.
Killian became the villain, the black sheep.
And in the end, as always, the protagonist wins.
“In the end, it turned out like this.”
His relaxed smile in the face of death gave Mikhail chills.
As if everything had gone according to plan, a smile without a hint of regret.
“Take care of Estelle for me.”
“Shut up…! Do you think you have the right to mention Estelle!?”
Mikhail gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his face.
Killian chuckled at him.
“You look quite scary when you cry.”
An enraged Mikhail kicked Killian’s legs. Killian fell to the ground.
Mikhail grabbed Killian’s fallen head and forced him to look up.
“Apologise. To those you killed…! My father and mother!”
Mikhail tried to extract an apology and penance from Killian.
But…
“I can’t.”
“Apologise!”
Mikhail threatened Killian with a knife at his throat, but Killian just smiled and shook his head.
Even as Mikhail stabbed his arm, inflicting more pain, he persisted, refusing to utter a word of apology.
In the end, as always for the antagonist, Killian met his death at the hands of the protagonist.
“Now that I think about it…”
She remembered the later parts of the novel that she had skimmed over as an excuse. No, perhaps she had deliberately avoided thinking about it.
She had simply ignored his story, knowing he was the villain who died in the original work.
But now, after seeing the necklace, the details of Killian’s final moments from the original work flood into her mind.
Sophia felt strange.
Of course, the necklace likely didn’t possess any special powers.
In this world, there are no real gods or spirits.
The fact that victory follows wherever this necklace is just a coincidence, a superstition.
However, even if it’s superstition, Sophia somehow felt relieved knowing that she now possessed the necklace of Labrert.
Perhaps, just like clichés apply in this world, symbolic devices like Labrert’s necklace might also apply.
It may seem superstitious, but there’s nothing wrong with having it.
Then, the servant took out a silk envelope from his pocket and handed it to Sophia.
“And Her Majesty instructed me to give you this as well.”
It was the same kind of envelope that Estelle had received from the Empress last time.
“As you have some time, you can send someone to the palace by tomorrow to inform them about your attendance.”
The servant said so and returned to the palace with the servants.
After a brief, giant storm had passed, Sophia looked at Labrert’s necklace and the silk envelope.
Even though Labrert’s necklace was one thing, what in the world was this invitation about?
Why do they keep calling me over?
Surely it’s not to play with Elisabeth.
‘Are they not planning something strange…?’
As she thought so, the hand of someone rather impatiently snatched the necklace box she was holding.
“This belongs to our family, so let me keep it.”
Rubisella proudly lifted her chin, embracing the box as her own. Then, she opened it, smiled satisfactorily, and admired the necklace.
Sophia looked at Rubisella with a bewildered expression.
“It’s an item I received, so why are you keeping it, madam?”
“Isn’t your item essentially our family’s item?”
The shameless countess looked at her husband and said, “Isn’t that right?”
In response, the count nodded in satisfaction.
“Well then, aren’t you also a Fraus?”
Sophia was speechless.
Until now, she had never acknowledged herself as a Fraus, and suddenly being treated as one was unexpected.
It was a moment when she realised that regardless of whether it was the countess or the count, they were just humans like herself, although they had never clashed before.
“Ian keeps the sword bestowed by Her Majesty in his room.”
“Well, Ian uses the sword, doesn’t he?”
“I also wear the necklace.”
Sophia replied sarcastically.
In truth, she felt uneasy about the items sent by the Empress. However, it was none other than Labrert’s necklace.
‘I don’t want those people to get their hands on this necklace.’
Even if it was superstition, she didn’t want to hand it over to those people in a situation where there was no reason to give it up.
“After all, you can’t even wear this necklace, can you?”
Rubisella pointed to the broken part of the necklace.
“Ian also has a separate sword to use, right? The sword bestowed by Her Majesty was just kept as a decoration.”
Initially, the sword given by the Emperor was not meant for combat; it was ornate and heavy.
It was unlikely that Ian would wield such an inefficient sword.
Using it as an interior decoration was similar to Ian’s sword or Labrert’s necklace.
“When did this woman start talking back?”
Unable to come up with any further retorts, Rubisella fell silent, and the count stepped in.
“If the head of the household has made a decision, then one should obediently follow! She’s gotten too bold ever since the engagement with the Duke…!”
The count tapped Sophia’s forehead with his finger.
With nothing more to say, he embodied the typical patriarchal figure, attempting to assert his authority.
They still seemed to believe that Sophia would obediently comply and follow their authority without any rebellion.
However, unfortunately for them, the current Sophia is not the same as the one from before.
“I think it’s about time; everyone knows…”
While there had been several clashes with Rubisella until now, the countess had never had a proper conversation with Sophia.
So, it seemed like they hadn’t fully grasped how Sophia had changed…
“If it weren’t for us, you would have frozen to death on the streets. Without us, you’re nothing, do you understand?!”
The count harshly berated Sophia, his beard trembling with intensity. He spat as he spoke, forcing Sophia to wipe her cheek.
“Everything you have now, your clothes, food, and shelter, even your engagement to Duke Rivelon, it’s all because of us. Don’t you dare act like you’re something special. In this household, you’re nothing.”
Continuing his verbal assault, the count seemed intent on breaking her this time.
In response, Sophia weakly lowered her head and nodded.
“You’re right. I have no power in this household to oppose the count and the countess.”
Sophia replied meekly, indicating her willingness to hand over the necklace to them.
Rubisella smirked at Sophia’s submissive demeanour, as if saying, “Look at her, pretending to be noble when she’s really just a pushover.”
The count also smiled satisfactorily at Sophia’s compliance.
“I knew she’d turn out like this from the beginning. Tsk.”
As the count was about to turn his gaze to Labrert’s necklace, he paused.
“But let’s wait and see…”
Sophia, who had been meek earlier, now boldly opened the silk envelope that the chamberlain had given her.
As expected, inside the envelope was an invitation from the Empress.
“Her Majesty the Empress has graciously invited me to the tea party.”
Sophia smiled as she read the invitation.
At her words, the attention of the two turned back to Sophia.
“When I go, she’ll surely ask about Labrert’s necklace… But since the countess took it away almost as soon as I received it, I couldn’t even see it properly.”
Sophia shrugged, lowering her eyebrows. At her gesture, the count’s and countess’s faces froze coldly.
“Are you threatening us?”
“Threatening? Do I have the power to threaten you two? I’m nothing in this household, remember?”
Sophia feigned innocence, adopting a delicate posture.
The count and countess needed to understand. While she might be nothing in this house, outside these walls, she is the one who defeated the demonic beast and gained the Empress’s favour.
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TRANSLATOR:
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