The Abandoned Villainess Decides to Take It All Chapter 15

Chapter 15

“Lillian! How could you do this to us?! Betray your own family?!”

Lillian ignored Ramio’s howling entirely.

There was no reason to listen to the barking of a dog that happened to speak.

Instead, she turned back to Elias.

“My recording crystal is pretty old, so I was worried. How did it turn out?”

“…It recorded everything clearly. There’s no need for concern.”

Elias nodded.
In his hand was the peridot medal Lillian had lent him.

Good thing I brought it—just in case I needed it after crossing into the Kingdom of Tenevrin.

The prince’s party hadn’t come prepared to interrogate anyone.
Naturally, they lacked equipment like this.

After pressing the sigil on Ramio’s wrist to force his confession, Lillian had added—

Since we’re making him confess anyway, why don’t we check who else he’s in contact with back at the estate? In real time.

She’d made him operate the communication stone himself.

Thanks to that, every word had been neatly recorded.

Hooking Kuern too? Not bad at all.

Ramio wasn’t the only one involved in illegal dealings.
The young duke of House Tillard was implicated as well.

Even within the same bloodline, the gap between direct lineage and collateral—between an acting head and a mere knight—was vast.

“Now even if someone claims Your Highness or your men tortured him into confessing, it won’t matter.”

After all, no one had held a sword to the young duke’s throat.

“And it looks like they’re trying to quietly bury the problems in the control-stone business…”

That, too, could be useful.

Lillian walked back toward Ebren.

Since she’d gone this far, she might as well maximize the payoff.

“Was what I asked enough?”

“It was. Though…”

Ebren stared at Ramio with dull, unreadable eyes.

Ramio flinched.

The First Prince was smiling casually, almost lazily—
yet that smile alone sent an icy chill crawling up Ramio’s spine.

“How surprising. The so-called perfect Tillard siblings… to be this pathetic.”

The mockery was blunt and merciless.

The Shadows joined in among themselves.

“So he just bought his palace knight post with money?”

“And he got hurt by a trigger a young lady made?”

“She should’ve been the knight. Why wear the uniform if you can’t even block that?”

“And what about what Iris Tillard said earlier?”

“Dumping all her work on someone else…”

Ramio’s face drained of color.

Lillian looked down at him and smiled faintly.

“Congratulations. Thanks to you, Grandfather will soon be having a very pleasant conversation with His Majesty.”

“…! N-No!”

With his one free arm, Ramio lunged and grabbed her wrist.

“W-Where are you going?! You’re selling me out to these people?!”

“Let go.”

“You’re my sister! We’re family!”

“……”

The boy who’d flung her hand away the moment he learned she was powerless.

The boy who pretended to worry about his “incompetent sister” in public,
then hurled abuse at her once they were home.

And even now—
not a single apology.

No… actually, thank you.

Thank you for staying exactly the same as in the original future.

That way, I know for sure that leaving isn’t madness.

“…Do you know why I hated being sent to the annex?”

“Huh?”

“It was because of the monster howls.”

The annex lay in harsh land where monsters and wild beasts roamed.

At night, howls echoed—too distorted to tell whether they were wolves or something worse.

Lillian used to curl up under her blankets, trembling,
afraid they’d come for her in the dark.

Please… please let me go back to the main estate…

There had been nights she’d prayed desperately to a god who never answered.

If she’d known sooner—

If she’d known the knights and her own blood were laughing at her—

she would never have prayed at all.

“It was probably funny to you.”

Like a child pouring water on ants crawling on the ground.

Lillian lowered her lashes, shadows falling across her face.

“So I’ll leave now. Since I’m such a joke to you.”

She turned away without hesitation.

There was nothing left to extract from him.
The prince’s people could handle the rest.

But Ramio, panting as he watched her walk away, screamed—

“You! This is why the Favil heir keeps chasing other women! You don’t even realize you’re digging your own grave—!”

Thunk.

The crisp sound of a blade striking a melon echoed—
from the back of Ramio’s head.

Elias had struck him with the flat of his sheathed sword.

Lillian asked calmly,

“Is he dead?”

“…No.”

“What a shame— I mean, thank you.”

“….”

Elias bowed stiffly.

Ramio’s words had been loud, crude, and unbearable.

He’d wanted them silenced.

But more than that—

…His lord’s gaze.

Cold sweat slid down Elias’s neck.

This wasn’t a joke.

Ebren hadn’t blinked once throughout the entire scene.

People often forgot—because he smiled so easily—

that to their lord, humans and objects weren’t all that different.

He judged everything by one standard alone: usefulness.

Warmth, sentiment—
those had likely never existed for him.

Elias cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Your Highness. Then I’ll prepare them for transfer to the capital.”

“I’ll join you.”

“…Pardon?”

“What’s so surprising?”

Ebren gestured toward Lillian and the Shadows—
a signal to bring her along.

Lillian turned without asking questions.

He really is strange.

Most people would beg or argue in a situation like this.

But she doesn’t bother me with that.

Was she cowardly?

Cold?

Or simply wise?

She was nothing but questions.

Ebren dismissed the other Shadows, keeping only Elias.

“Elias.”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to get engaged to Lillian Tillard.”

“…! Kgh—!”

Elias choked.

Engaged?

To a Tillard?

No—that wasn’t even the real problem.

His lord… doing something so human?

“Oh, and I imprinted on her.”

“C-Cough—! Kgh!”

“But only me.”

“Cough—!”

Elias nearly died on the spot.

Imprinting?
And only his lord?!

What kind of catastrophe was this?!

“And, Elias.”

“…Yes.”

“When I saw you smash Ramio Tillard’s head earlier—”

Ebren smiled sideways at his cousin.

“When did you grow so fond of Lady Tillard?”

“…!”