Since When Were You The Villain?

Chapter 99   

    

“Yikes!”   

“What is that?”   

“Your Majesty, run away!”   

As they looked up, there was a huge creature with wings soaring through the sky, spreading its bat-like wings and a lion-like face on its spiky, crocodile-like body.   

“Is that a magical beast…?”   

Thinking of the events in the original story, Sophia stepped outside the gazebo.   

At that moment, the massive beast descended with a loud thud into the vast garden in front of the gazebo.   

Screams erupted from all around.   

“Your Majesty!”   

The knights, who had been guarding the Empress due to the Black Moon surrounded her, shielding her from the threat.   

“What on earth is that!”   

Even Beatrice, who had been shamelessly taking lives, showed signs of fear and astonishment at this incident. It seemed that the escape of the magical beast was not something orchestrated intentionally by Beatrice.   

‘Indeed, this is stirring up far too much attention…‘  

If it were just quietly killing people from behind, that would be one thing, but causing such widespread commotion is not Beatrice’s style.  

“It seems like one of the magical beasts that were going to be used in the tournament has escaped.”   

Sophia spoke on behalf of the knights, who hadn’t received a proper briefing yet and were struggling to understand the situation.    

“Take Her Majesty to a safe place!”    

In response to Sophia’s command, the knights began to move, escorting Beatrice and the two ladies.   

However, their movements only agitated the magical beast further. With a thunderous roar and a ground-shaking tremor, the magical beast blocked the path of the Empress, who was trying to flee with the knights.   

The gathering of the knights around the Empress inadvertently drew the attention of the magical beast. Soon, the magical beast charged towards them.   

The knights tried to block its path, but the magical beast’s immense strength easily overwhelmed them. Their spears and swords did little damage to its robust body.   

Sophia clenched her fists, watching the knights’ struggle.   

It was evident that the Imperial Knights were inexperienced when it came to facing a magical beast.   

Moreover, this particular magical beast, which had been starved and controlled for the tournament, was highly agitated.    

Facing a magical beast more ferocious than one encountered in the wild was a daunting task.    

In the original story, it was Estelle, who had experience dealing with magical beasts in the northern regions, who stepped in.   

‘Of course, even Estelle won’t be able to defeat it easily…’   

Dealing with such a massive magical beast was a formidable challenge for anyone alone.   

Furthermore, Estelle’s specialty, archery, is currently unavailable. When entering the palace, no weapons were allowed, so if she wanted to use a weapon, she would have to take one from the incapacitated knights.   

‘Moreover, I can’t leave it all to Estelle.’  

If Estelle defeated the magical beast, the Empress would use that as an opportunity to place her in Orhel and keep her under her control. Sophia had come here today to prevent that from happening.   

At that moment, the knights in front of Sophia were completely breached. It was time to make a decision.    

Sophia pulled out a short blade from the waist of a fallen knight, a blade of only a few palms’ length.   

And the golden eyes of the magical beast, glimmering sharply, were fixed on Sophia.   

She met the vertically split pupils as she tightly gripped the hilt of the blade, which was neither short nor long.   

As the golden eyes gleamed, the magical beast lunged towards her with its mouth wide open.   

Time seemed to slow down.   

She was faced with the dripping saliva and the immense, sharp teeth that filled her field of vision.   

And in the center of her vision, she saw a massive red lump, larger than a fist.   

It was the magical beast’s jugular.   

‘Stay calm, Sophia.’  

Sophia raised the blade and faced the charging magical beast head-on.   

Then, she extended her hand, holding the blade, right into the magical beast’s mouth.     

Her arm plunged in a straight line, deeply into the magical beast’s jugular.   

Squelch!  

At the same moment, the massive magical beast writhed in pain.   

‘Success……..!’   

Sophia looked at the creature and burst into a wide grin.    

She finally felt the satisfaction of knowing the original story.   

‘I knew the magical beast would appear!’   

Sophia had prepared in advance, studying everything she could about the magical beast. The magical beast that escaped today was gigantic and powerful, but its jugular was its fatal weakness.   

Of course, nobody could come out unscathed after hitting the jugular, but it seemed like more than just pain for this magical beast.   

Thanks to that, Sophia managed to subdue the magical beast without exerting too much effort.   

At that moment, the front paws of the demonic beast struggling came flying toward her.   

“Sophia!”   

Just as the magical beast’s body was about to strike her, someone grabbed Sophia and pulled her down to the ground.    

At the same time, the magical beast’s toes grazed over Sophia’s head as it toppled over, causing her to tumble and flip her eyes shut.   

Sophia rolled on the grass with her eyes tightly shut.   

And…   

“Are you crazy!”   

An enraged voice rang in her ears.   

When Sophia opened her eyes, she saw Killian.   

Sophia was cradled in his arms, and she stared blankly at his face.   

Is this real? Is he really here? Why is Killian here…?   

He collapsed on the grass with Sophia and was grinding his teeth while holding her tightly.   

“Why were you just standing still when the magical beast appeared? You should have run!”   

Killian scolded her in an angry voice that he couldn’t control.   

“Why, Your Excellency…?”   

“Why did you put your hand in the magical beast’s mouth? What if your arm got ripped off?”  

Before Sophia could even ask a question, he was venting his anger. He seemed very agitated.   

Sophia realized that she needed to calm him down first.   

“No, but I read in a book that the magical beast’s weakness…”   

“Are books the same as real-life situations?”   

It’s not that. I came here already having read the situation itself. I anticipated that the magical beast might appear like this, and I knew that if I hit its throat, I could defeat it.  

“I was really trying to handle it calmly…”   

“Is that what you call handling it calmly after almost getting killed just now?”   

Killian yelled at her once again.   

He must be really upset.   

“I told you…!”   

“Yes, I promise…! I won’t do anything rash in front of danger, I swear I won’t.”   

She had pleaded with him several times, saying, “Promise me that above all else, if something happens, you’ll prioritize your safety.”   

It felt like his heart was burning black.   

Because of this one woman, his entire world was turned upside down and shaken.   

“What the hell are you…!”   

“More importantly, Killian, your leg… Are you okay?”   

Sophia left his embrace and examined his leg.   

With the Empress present, Sophia couldn’t openly examine him, and her expression showed her frustration.   

Killian exhaled a warm breath, his worried, round eyes filled with concern.   

‘Is this the time to worry about me? You almost got killed by the magical beast, and you are not even surprised…!’   

‘I’m really going crazy.’   

“Sophia!”   

“Sophia, Killian!”   

In the meantime, the  Empress and Estelle rushed towards them.   

“Are you okay, Sophia?”   

“Yes? Yes, I’m fine…!”   

“Sophia, you really gave me a scare…! You were too reckless!”   

Estelle scolded Sophia as well.     

She couldn’t have known the future, and sometimes one has to act recklessly.    

Sophia got up with Estelle’s support.    

She extended her hand to help Killian get up, but he reassured her that he was fine and got up on his own.    

However, his face tensed momentarily as he touched his leg.    

Fortunately, it seemed like the others hadn’t noticed, but Sophia could tell.  

The injury wasn’t looking good.    

She locked eyes with Killian, who looked momentarily surprised, and he lightly pressed on the injured leg.    

It seemed like the wound had reopened.     

‘It wouldn’t be right if blood started to show in front of the Empress…!’  

Sophia glanced around.    

The knights were busy securing the downed magical beast, and the surprised Empress and Estelle seemed to have not noticed Killian’s injury as they were dealing with the situation.   

Sophia looked at Killian’s thigh once more and seemed to make a decision.   

She tightly bit her lip and then suddenly exclaimed, “Ah, ahh…!”   

She touched her forehead and appeared to collapse toward Killian.    

“Sophia!”   

Killian hastily reached out to catch her.   

“Are you okay?”   

“Ah, I guess I was too surprised.”   

Sophia leaned against Killian’s chest and spoke softly.  

At that moment, Beatrice, who had been explaining the situation to the knights, rushed over to Sophia.    

“Oh, Sophia! Are you okay? Let’s quickly call for the royal physician…”   

Beatrice signaled a knight to fetch a physician, but Sophia shook her head.   

“No, Your Majesty. I was just a bit shocked because of the magical beast. I think I need some rest to calm down. May I leave now?”   

Sophia asked, wiping her dry forehead with a handkerchief.  

‘Although I was uneasy about only the Empress and Estelle remaining, I have no choice but to believe in the original story. Now that the magical beast incident is resolved, Killian’s situation is more urgent.’  

“That’s right. You must have been quite startled, so go inside and rest. And thank you, Lady Sophia,” Beatrice said, grasping Sophia’s hand.   

“You were braver than a dozen knights. Your bravery in facing the magical beast was nothing short of remarkable,” Beatrice added.   

“Th-thank you, Your Majesty,” Sophia replied.   

As Beatrice leaned closer to Sophia, Killian, who had been watching, suddenly pulled her towards him.   

“Your Majesty, I will escort Sophia back home,” he said.    

 

 

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TRANSLATOR:

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