The Abandoned Villainess Decides to Take It All Chapter 19

Chapter 19

“Ah—yes, that’s absolutely true. However!”

Inside her veil, Lillian brushed at her eyes, as if wiping away tears.

“I’m ashamed to say this, but my family’s rise and fall rests entirely on my younger sibling.”

Her actual cousin was currently being “safely stored” somewhere, but still…

“He’s failed the exam five times already, and yet he keeps saying he’ll definitely pass this time and make our parents and me live in comfort. It breaks my heart.”

“Oh dear…”

“He’s been struggling to become a civil official, repeating the academy’s final year for the fifth time now.”

“Oh my! The tuition alone must be—!”

“My heart aches so badly that I just wanted to do something for him.”

At some point, the suspicious priest had begun to look at Lillian with genuine pity.

A sister who would throw herself into prayer for her brother’s entrance exam—
what a blessed younger sibling he must be!

“I didn’t want to trouble His Highness during the journey like this, but the entrance exam is truly right around the corner…”

“Hoo… Very well, sister. I’ll give you a token allowing entry to the measurement chamber.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much…”

Whew.
Academic obsession really was the ultimate universal excuse.

The villain leaned in and murmured,

“Your acting is impressive. As expected of a Tillard butterfly.”

“You flatter me.”

It couldn’t be helped.

The traits of the Five Great Houses tended to be especially pronounced in their direct descendants.

Still, she found herself nervous.

I haven’t set foot in a temple since my parents died.

Back then, the priests hadn’t exactly treated her kindly.

‘A cursed child!’
‘Refusing to accept that the gods have abandoned her!’
‘Tsk tsk… such a shame. They were to be the next heads of the house.’

Honestly, Perniès was absurd.

They protected controller rights obsessively, yet children’s rights might as well not exist.

No matter how I look at it, this empire’s rotten. No future.

And when she finally reached the measurement chamber under the priest’s guidance—

just as Lillian was about to enter alone, the villain stopped her.

“I’m coming in too.”

“…Pardon? Your Highness as well?”

“I should see what rank the person I imprinted on ends up with.”

No—absolutely not.

What if it’s C? Or D?

Yes, he’d imprinted on her, and yes, she’d secured about a year of grace.

But Lillian didn’t trust him.

How could she trust someone who was sending destruction impulses to the controller he himself had imprinted on?

‘Hmm? The tool I imprinted on is low-grade?’

It was entirely possible he’d get annoyed.

“Oh my, Your Highness.”

Lillian placed a hand against her cheek.

“That’s like standing next to someone while demanding to know their weight.”

“And that means?”

“It’s embarrassing. Truly mortifying.”

“Hmm? You’re holding my leash, and this embarrasses you?”

“Well… it’s a bit of a private moment, isn’t it? So—”

She gently nudged his arm.

Honestly, nudged was an overstatement.
She barely brushed his bare wrist with her fingertip.

“I’ll just go quickly.”

But the instant she touched him—

Huh…?

Zap.

A sharp, static-like sensation shot through her fingers.

The villain, who’d been about to follow her in, froze.

“…? Ah—sorry.”

“……”

“Must still be dry weather.”

He narrowed his eyes, staring intently.

Judging by his expression, it must have stung more than expected.

“…Fine. Go on.”

“Yes.”

Good. At least that didn’t trigger his destructive urges.

Still—next time, she really needed hand cream.

The measurement chamber resembled a small chapel.

Unlike the others, however, a fountain was built into the wall.

That fountain itself was the artifact.

Holy water circulated through it, imbued with measuring power.

Put simply, you placed your hand in the water and letters appeared.

Lillian dipped her hand into the cool flow.

Please. B.

Given the state of her awakening fever, C was out of the question.

But she didn’t want anything too high.

For a clean hit-and-run exit later, B was perfect.

Creator God, please—B…!

Soon, rainbow-colored particles shimmered across the water.

But Lillian tilted her head.

Something felt… off.

Was that an eight?

Or a chubby B?

She leaned closer.

For a B, it looked suspiciously like a snowman.

A snowman… lying sideways…?

“Ah. Wait.”

She clicked her tongue.

Right. She’d forgotten.

Her prayers didn’t actually work.

Still—

Lillian sighed up at the ceiling.

“Creator God… really? At my age, you pull this?”

What on earth was this infinity symbol (∞)?

I didn’t ask for something this excessive or bizarre.

After removing the villain’s imprint,
she’d planned to exit safely and quietly.

But if she had something this abnormal attached to her?

Even I wouldn’t let me go.

Fine. Decision made.
Just a little lying—for survival.

At that exact moment, a low voice sounded outside the door.

“Lady Tillard.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Before leaving, she checked her reflection in the holy water.

Her facial muscles looked fine.

Lillian stepped out with a gentle smile.

“It was B.”

“…B?”

“Yes. B. Unfortunately…”

She stressed the word.

You’re not going to disintegrate me on the spot for not being A, right?

Smoothly, she changed the subject.

“By the way, Your Highness—are the Tenevrin delegates here?”

While she and the villain were inside, Elias had been asking the priests.

Whether the princess was truly visiting incognito at this time.

“As you said. There’s a young lady’s party here for recuperation.”

“…!”

“But I didn’t recognize the family name.”

As expected.

Still, it would be strange if he dug any deeper.

This was Lillian’s cue.

“Then, Your Highness, I’ll go check first.”

Jeanne and a few controllers would suffice.

The villain slowly extended his hand.

“Then control me once before you go.”

“…! Do you feel a rampage coming on?”

“You said you were embarrassed and pushed me away earlier. Seems likely.”

That was a lie.

Still, Lillian took his hand.

She was his controller now—she needed to get used to this.

And just like before, a faint electric jolt ran through her fingers.

Zap.

Lillian clicked her tongue internally.

Seriously—hand care. Immediately.

Ability-users had extraordinarily sharp senses.

So even when Lillian softly told Ebren, “I got B,”—

“Hey, so the lady got B-rank?”

“So it seems…”

“Tsk. I was expecting A.”

Every Shadow standing far from Ebren heard it.

What a shame…

“If she were closer to the Second Prince’s side, that’d be nice.”

That “Second Prince’s side” being Iris Tillard, Lillian’s own blood—
an S-rank, no less.

At the very least, they’d hoped for A.

But no one said it outright.

They were still careful of Ebren’s mood.

Is His Highness disappointed?

They respected him—
and feared him just as deeply.

Which was why seeing him hesitate was so unsettling.

“Hm…”

He even hmmed.

The Shadows clapped hands over their mouths, struck by a new flavor of dread and awe.

What is this?!
Is His Highness worried about the lady?
Could it be—love…?
No, no—too soon to jump to conclusions!

As everyone watched with bated breath—

Ebren was recalling the two moments he’d touched Lillian earlier.

When I held her hand…

Something that wasn’t his
had flowed into him.