The Abandoned Villainess Decides to Take It All Chapter 3

Chapter 3

In the Kingdom of Tenevrin, powerless people were called “the Unawakened.”

Just a small difference in wording—but it changed everything.

With so many Unawakened citizens, discrimination was rare.

Let my new life begin somewhere new.

Lillian pulled a small sketchbook from her bag.

Flip. Flip—

Each page was filled with artifact design drafts.

Hehe. Oh, these are all so pretty.

My future livelihood.

Artifacts equipped with control stones were, simply put, medical devices disguised as accessories.

They suppress esper rampages—and even alleviate Esper Syndrome.

Controllers were extremely rare compared to espers in this world.

Was it roughly a three-to-seven ratio?

If you couldn’t find a compatible controller, you had no choice but to rely on artifacts.

And the House of Tillard was a leader in that field—

By bleeding Lillian dry.

They sold the artifacts she designed under Iris’s name and didn’t give her a single coin.

Because everything she did had to be for Iris.

What could someone like her possibly do on her own?

But appearances aside, in her previous life Lillian had even gone so far as to open her own workshop.

That was why, after awakening to her past life, she moved quickly.

She forged a fake identity, secured a way to earn money in a new land.

And now that Ramio and the knights had been neutralized, it was time to hurry to the border checkpoint.

After moving nonstop for a while—

She reached a forest path leading north.

I should meet up with the mercenaries hiding me among their group.

Lillian pulled out a map from her shoulder bag.

Both paths led to the rendezvous point.

“Which one should I choose? Let’s guess.”

Just then, a gentle scent drifted from the path on the right.

It was clean and mysterious, like a snow-covered forest—warm, even.

Phytoncide is good for mental health.

And from here on out, she’d need nerves of steel.

Let’s go right.

Lillian stepped forward.

It was a small step—but for the insignificant villainess of the original story, it was a monumental leap.

Aeterna—a region bordering the northern frontier.

Though it was early winter, the coniferous forest was dense and lush.

If not for the splashes of colorful monster blood everywhere, it would have been a refreshing sight.

“Don’t let a single one escape.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“Kill them cleanly. Don’t damage the cores.”

At the leader’s command, the shadows swiftly swung their weapons.

The one issuing the orders—Ebren Tarandia, First Prince of the Empire—cut down monsters with remarkable laziness.

Humming to himself, even.

“Hmm~.”

His long silver hair was loosely tied at the nape of his neck.

The front of his black uniform hung open.

He looked like a carefree rogue.

That impression only held because his fleeting beauty softened it.

His emotionless green eyes tracked a fleeing wolf-type monster.

Last one.

Strangely enough, the creature carried a clean, white floral scent.

But Ebren didn’t hesitate.

His sword flashed.

The monster split cleanly down the middle and died instantly.

Splat.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

“…Hm?”

The humming stopped.

Beyond the corpse stood a pink-haired woman in a robe—frozen in place.

Covered head to toe in purple monster blood.

A few minutes later, Lillian thought:

Phytoncide is pseudoscientific nonsense.

What mental health, when monsters show up?

She was even drenched in monster blood.

Ugh… disgusting.

Still, she didn’t scream at the slaughtered monsters.

The living original-story villain was far more terrifying.

And more importantly—

“Hm. You saw that. You definitely saw it.”
“May the Creator God bless you. Thank you for the towel.”
“Young lady. You witnessed what we were doing, didn’t you?”
“Of course, Your Highness. I am deeply honored and grateful beyond words. Watching you cut down monsters, I felt the greatest dignity in the Empire.”
“You felt dignity while I was extracting cores? How embarrassing.”
“Oh dear—there’s still monster blood in your eyes. Oh my.”

Could you not ask me to overlook crimes you’re committing so openly?

He had literally harvested cores from the monsters he killed.

The enemy of the heroine Iris and the male lead: the Second Prince.

An S-rank esper possessing the Power of Erasure.

…That villain was casually tossing around monster cores—first-class prohibited items.

Those required the Emperor’s permission.

Which he definitely didn’t have.

He said he was in the east. Liar.

She’d memorized his movements just to avoid him before the story began.

So how did this happen?

Lillian had many reasons to avoid Ebren Tarandia.

First—

The war he started collapsed the hall and killed her.

He’d raised an army to seize the imperial palace.

True, it was her family who abandoned her.

But the accident’s cause was still him.

And second—

He’s a genuine villain, beyond even the heroine’s power to redeem.

That beautiful, easy smile was a trap.

He killed when people became useless.
Disposed of them when bored.

Calculating, yet impulsively destructive—

Wasn’t he basically a living warm iced Americano?

At least Americano was harmless.

This man was an S-rank weapon.

Poor controller.

Though Iris will handle him eventually, so maybe not.

After all, he seized the palace in the original story just to take Iris.

But right now, Lillian was the one facing him.

She rubbed her eyes diligently, pretending not to see the illegal activity.

Rub. Rub.

“So… why were you passing through here, Miss Tillard?”
“Ah—because I ran away from home, Your Highness. Ah, my eyes.”
“Hm. Ran away….”
“My fiancé cheated with my cousin, you see? I was heartbroken, so I… briefly strayed.”

What if the mercenaries she was supposed to meet had already left?

Just then, knights in black uniforms emerged from the forest clearing.

“Your Highness! This side is finished as well!”
“Caught them all?”
“Yes. We apprehended all mercenaries without valid permits.”
“No matter how many times we tell them they’ll be arrested without permit renewal, they never listen.”

…Why?

He commits crimes himself, but arrests others?

Life really was unfair.

Ebren tilted his head.

He was beautiful—like freshly fallen snow.

But the eyes in his face, though smiling, were cold as a graveyard.

“Strange. Why do I find it so hard to believe that quiet little Miss Tillard ran away from home…?”
“Even loyal imperial citizens are allowed to run away, Your Highness. Quiet people, too.”
“Then how should I verify your loyalty? I can’t very well use my ability on an innocent young lady…”
“……”
“I only know how to use it on monsters and idiots. It troubles me that I can’t use it on a precious Tillard lady.”

Are you really troubled?

You look like you’re lining up a shot.

That power could enable the perfect crime.

Impressive—but not when I’m the target.

Think. Quickly.

Why is he here?

How do I deceive him?

And then—a flash of insight.

“Actually, I was heading toward the northern Aeterna region.”
“Oh?”
“They recently discovered a new control-stone vein there.”

For the first time, the villain’s smile vanished.

Bingo.

The core component of control stones was the power infused by controllers.

But of course, the mineral itself mattered too.

And—

The Tillards monopolize it and never sell to villains like him.

He hadn’t even found a compatible controller yet.

That’s why he was using monster cores as substitutes.

Shorter cooldowns—but far more dangerous if a rampage occurred.

Still, better than nothing.

…In that case—

“I ran away because news would reach my family slowly that way, so I was heading there first.”

And it wasn’t far from the border checkpoint either.

“Interesting. We were coincidentally headed toward Aeterna as well.”

Liar.

“Oh my—what wonderful luck!”

But so was I.

Clap!

Lillian smiled brightly and clapped her hands.

“I want to run away for a long, long time. I want to thoroughly burn my family’s nerves. You wouldn’t mind watching the House of Tillard suffer, would you, Your Highness?”
“……”
“I humbly accept the honor of accompanying Your Highness’s party. When shall we depart?”

Wasn’t this before the original story even began?

If I can’t avoid him… then I’ll use him.

Free escort by elite imperial knights—

And I’ll bolt the moment I get the chance.