Since When Were You The Villain?

Chapter 85:     

   

“Lady Sophia.”   

As Sophia headed towards the lounge, Mikhail stopped her.   

“Your Highness, I truly appreciate your help earlier.”   

Sophia confirmed that there was no one around and nodded her head slightly to Mikhail. 

“Naturally, I had to help.”   

Mikhail said it was just the right thing to do.   

The royal court was not a very open place; in fact, it was quite conservative.   

Or, to be more precise, it was a place where older generations might not readily accept the ways of “young people” these days.   

Before marriage, deeply sharing love between a man and a woman was somewhat of a blemish.   

If she had openly confessed that to the Empress, Sophia would have been in trouble.   

After all, this was a place where the value of “purity” was highly regarded.   

And to be honest, Mikhail was also surprised by the passionate love between the two of them.   

He didn’t grow up in an open-minded environment either, having been raised in a conservative royal family.   

In fact, if it were anyone else, he wouldn’t have cared what they did in the lounge.   

But the fact that Killian did it—that’s unimaginable.   

Mikhail still couldn’t believe that the two of them had such a deep relationship.    

“But still, it’s all thanks to you, Your Highness.”   

“I had to step up for the sake of my little brother.”    

Little brother… (T/L: Mikhail is a nice guy.) 

Mikhail referred to Killian, who had not a drop of shared blood, as his little brother so easily.   

Mikhail looked out the window for a moment.   

“That guy… he must have had a tough time with the Black Moon recently, but tonight will be even more agonizing.” (He is referring to Killian here.)  

Mikhail’s face darkened.   

“Um, what kind of relationship did Liam and Nicholas have with His Excellency?”   

Sophia asked cautiously.   

She knows that the victim of the Black Moon today is a member of the military police force.  

However, she does not know exactly what kind of relationship those people had with Killian.  

“Both of them have been in the military police for a long time. Especially Nicholas; he and Killian have been together since Killian was appointed commander of the military police.”   

Mikhail said that Nicholas was probably the person Killian cherished the most in the military police.   

Sophia couldn’t help but feel strange.   

‘What happened to Killian tonight?’   

Killing or injuring people he cherished. 

She recalled Killian entering the lounge through the window earlier today, his expression marked by shock and hurt.   

‘What’s going on, Killian…?’  

How does he feel right now as he goes to see Nicholas?   

“Is Sir Nicholas in really bad condition?”    

“He’s seriously injured, but his life is not in danger. If he focuses on his recovery, it shouldn’t pose any problems in his daily life.”   

“Whether he can continue his career as a knight remains to be seen.”   

Mikhail added.   

Sophia’s worry deepened upon hearing this.   

“At times like this, Young Lady will be a great source of strength for Killian. She’s the only one Killian has shown everything to.”   

“I wish I could be of help to His Excellency, too.”    

“If Young Lady is by his side, that alone will be a great source of strength for Killian.”   

Mikhail smiled gently, offering comfort.   

Despite Killian never mentioning it, Mikhail seemed to understand a lot more about him than Sophia had expected.   

But then his gaze paused on the hem of her dress.   

“…I, Young Lady.”   

He stammered awkwardly, pointing at a part of her teal dress.   

There was a small stain of red blood on the dress.   

Sophia’s heart skipped a beat for a moment.    

It seemed to be from supporting the injured Killian.    

“I, I mean… This is… You know, right?”   

Sophia nervously clutched the blood-stained hem of her dress.   

There is a saying that when you first make love, you leave bloodstains.  

Because of this, some families had a tradition of checking if the bedsheets were stained with blood when a newlywed couple spent their first night together.   

‘Honestly, it doesn’t make sense to ask this…!’   

They weren’t having a blood battle, and who would suggest that making love would involve staining a dress with blood?   

But there was no plausible excuse.   

It was clearly a bloodstain, so there was no way to explain it away as wine or lipstick.   

“It’s not very noticeable, but still, it would be best to clean it as much as possible.”   

Mikhail took her to the lounge and provided her with a damp handkerchief to clean it.   

Sophia once again expressed her gratitude to Mikhail as she continued to clean the bloodstain.   

While the stain wouldn’t completely disappear, it had lightened considerably compared to before, making it less noticeable unless examined closely.    

“T-Thank you, Your Highness. I’ll make sure to clean the handkerchief thoroughly and return it next time.”   

Sophia said, still clutching the bloodstained dress.   

Honestly… her heart was pounding so hard that she felt like she might die from it.   

* * *   

As Killian followed behind the palace guards, he headed towards the royal infirmary, where Nicholas was located.   

With every step closer to the infirmary, the pain in his thigh grew more intense.   

However, the source of the pain that pierced deep into him was not the wound on his thigh; it was the truth he had discovered.   

Nicholas Wesker.   

The vice commander of the military police force closest to him. 

‘Haha, me too! I’ve been with your Excellency for several years, but I can’t believe in such strange rumors! 

Unlike the stiff Killian, Nicholas was cheerful and outgoing, which was a great help in managing the military police unit.   

He helped transform the atmosphere, which would become gloomy and heavy because of Killian, into one filled with energy, encouragement, and motivation.   

Some criticized Nicholas for being overly casual and friendly with Killian, considering his position as second-in-command. 

But Killian had never felt burdened or believed that Nicholas had crossed any lines. In fact, he was grateful to Nicholas.   

“Why don’t you just call me ‘Nick’ instead of ‘Nicholas’, Your Excellency? ‘Nicholas’ is just too long to say, especially in urgent situations.”   

Killian rarely shortened anyone’s name, but Nicholas was the exception.   

He started calling him ‘Nick’ thanks to Nicholas’s suggestion.   

At first, the nickname felt awkward, but it had gradually become natural, and Killian found it convenient to call Nicholas ‘Nick’ whenever necessary.   

Of course, he was aware of it. He had known from an early age that those close to Killian were connected to the Empress in some way.  

The butler Garfield and his loyal servants in the Grand Duchy regularly reported his actions to the Empress.   

And Nicholas was also expected to be one of the Empress’s eyes and ears, even if Killian hadn’t resented or hated him.   

After all, Nicholas was an officer dedicated to serving the Empire and loyal to its people. He was amiable and compliant, and if ordered by the Empress to watch over Killian and report on him, he would have little choice but to comply.   

If the empress told him to monitor and report on Killian, he would have no choice but to do so.   

Therefore, Kylian could understand that Nicholas was monitoring him.   

He had no intention of revealing his secrets to Nicholas or anyone else.   

But that was where he drew the line.   

Like Garfield, he thought Nicholas would serve as a secret messenger, only conveying Killian’s actions to the Empress when needed.   

However…   

‘…Ugh!’  

As he suppressed his feelings, the face revealed beneath the Rosarphi member’s robe sent a jolt of shock through him. The familiar brown, curly hair and ashen eyes stood out vividly against the darkness.   

At that moment, Killian’s strength left his hands.   

‘Why are you here…?’  

Nicholas being associated with the Empress was expected, but Killian had never once considered that he might be one of the Rosarphi. 

Even when the military found Rosarphi, Nicholas seemed amazed, as if he were seeing them for the first time.   

He mourned with a sorrowful expression before the deaths of Fideut and Percel. (T/L: That’s… *Translator Nim is left speechless*.)   

But how could he share the same bracelet as the ones who had killed my parents? How could he so casually shift the blame for Rosarphi crimes onto the Black Moon?   

Killian even forgot that he had to kill Rosarphi and froze in front of Nicholas. (T/L: My hearts hurt, I’m not crying.)  

Rage, betrayal, despair, and a cursed compassion welled up within him.   

He didn’t know how to deal with the rush of emotions flooding his whitened mind. As he hesitated, his blade hovered over Nicholas’s throat.   

Seizing the opportunity, Nicholas summoned his last remaining strength and slashed at Killian’s thigh.    

‘Ugh…!’  

However, the deep wound inflicted by Nicholas didn’t prove fatal, and Killian withdrew from him once again.   

If he were determined, Killian could have killed Nicholas, who was incapacitated. Logically, it would have been the right thing to do.    

Keeping him alive might lead to unpredictable consequences.  

If he ever got a glimpse of Hank’s face, he might try to kill Hank.   

But Killian couldn’t bear to slit his throat.  

He fled the scene, as if leaving Nicholas’ death to time.   

He was wounded, and since it was an isolated place, if there were no one to help him, time would be his executioner.   

But in the end, Nicholas survived.   

He must have been discovered by the Empress’s people, who were sent to find him.   

“This way, Your Excellency.”   

The guard stopped in front of the infirmary’s ward, where Nicholas lay.   

“May I enter?”   

“Yes. His treatment is finished.”   

A servant opened the door to the room.   

Killian slowly surveyed the room that appeared beyond the open door.   

(T/L: Wow man, that quite a plot twist. My head is spinning and my heart is in pain.)  

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TRANSLATOR:

Dear readers, I hope you like my work, COMMENTS are much appreciated for encouragement, and for fuelling me up.

Read exclusive chapters  on ‘Patreon’ (click on the image for the link)

If you find any mistakes, please let me know in the comment section. Happy reading : )