The Abandoned Villainess Decides to Take It All Chapter 51

Chapter 51

When Lillian saw Duke Baltazar appear, the first thing she thought was:

Wow… I think this is the first time I’ve seen the Second Empress hate someone this much besides the villain.

The Favil family’s long-standing ambition was to defeat the Baltazars and become the true power behind the Tarandia imperial line.

So if the living proof that all their careful schemes had failed suddenly appeared in perfect health—

Of course they would be furious.

…Just in case, Lillian quietly stepped behind the villain, ready to use him as a shield.

Already shaken once, Duke Tillard’s face turned even paler.

“Ha ha, Elric Tillard, my old friend.”

“You—!”

“It’s good to see you again, isn’t it?”

Duke Tillard’s jaw trembled.

Those two had never been friends.

So there’s no reason they’d be happy to see each other again.

Their relationship had always been full of one-sided inferiority.

And it was obvious which side had been the one feeling inferior.

The Second Empress, Lovellia, forced a smile.

“…It is a pleasure to see you again at such a splendid gathering. I trust your health has been well?”

“Perfectly. But—”

Duke Baltazar opened his palm.

A bluish spider dropped onto the marble floor.

“I suffered quite a bit because of this damned thing.”

Gasps rose from all around.

Even though it no longer moved, the blue spider still looked grotesque.

Lillian carefully observed the Empress.

Let’s see how she reacts.

Prince Kyle looked confused.

The Empress, meanwhile, maintained a graceful expression of puzzled surprise.

“…Have you changed your ability, Duke? You wield the power of earth, yet now you summon insects?”

Ah.

So she had chosen to feign ignorance.

Clap!

Lillian clapped her hands and widened her eyes.

“How shocking! Isn’t this something Marquis Somnis created, Your Grace?”

“Oh? Young lady, you know about it?”

“Of course! He bragged endlessly about how he had put Your Majesty’s power into it. Didn’t he?”

Lillian glanced over her shoulder.

The marquis—whose head Lillian had once painfully pinned down—was dragged forward by Elias Baltazar.

The Shadows had clearly roughed him up.

“Y-Your Majesty…”

“Prince! Duke! What is the meaning of this? Bringing someone in such a state into a social gathering—”

Just as the Empress began speaking sharply—

Crash!

The piercing sound of thin glass shattering rang through the ballroom.

The marquis screamed in terror.

“N-No—!”

Inside it had been concentrated poison from an A-rank ability user.

If it shattered, it could have caused a disaster.

The Empress instinctively stepped back.

Then immediately turned toward the person most precious to her.

“Kyle, step back—!”

“Oh my, I’m so sorry!”

At that exact moment, Lillian covered her mouth.

Then she casually picked up the shattered pieces of the spider.

“I’m sorry. I was trying to pick it up, and I didn’t realize it would break…”

“Lillian, don’t touch it directly.”

“But Your Highness, what exactly is inside this?”

Lillian tilted her head.

“There’s a small bead inside. I have no idea what it is.”

“No matter how I look at it, it seems to contain a deadly poison ability.”

“Oh my, how frightening!”

Lillian pretended to panic and nearly dropped the fragment she was holding.

The frozen look on the Empress’s face, and the marquis gasping in fear, was almost funny.

As much as I hate to admit it, I really am a Tillard.

The acting came as naturally as breathing.

After all, when she had extracted it from the duke’s temple earlier, she had already controlled it so the ability inside would not activate.

Lillian shook her head as she looked at the marquis.

“How terrifying. To use the Favil family’s ability against a member of House Baltazar.”

“I-I didn’t want to do it—!”

“Oh? Then did someone order you to do it?”

The crowd’s gaze shifted between the Empress and the marquis.

“Someone dared target one of the Five Sacred Houses?”

“B-But earlier, the Empress’s reaction…”

“Shh. Quiet.”

The marquis’s face turned deathly pale.

Even without confessing, he knew it was over.

The Empress’s eyes curved into a smile.

But Lillian knew that expression well.

It meant she was forcing herself to suppress overwhelming rage.

The Empress’s Countermove

The Empress stared coldly at the trembling marquis.

He had been useful precisely because nightmare abilities left no evidence.

But going after a high-ranking ability user so hastily had been a mistake.

Still, those foolish Baltazars made a mistake worthy of their reputation.

If it had been her, she would have tortured the marquis properly and used him more effectively.

They think they brought him here to humiliate me, but this alone is not enough.

At times like this, it was better to cut off the tail.

“…How dare you try to disgrace an earth-ability user like this.”

“Your Majesty! I—I only—!”

“Seize this man. My deepest apologies for the trouble you have suffered, Duke Baltazar.”

“Haha, trouble? All’s well that ends well.”

Duke Baltazar laughed loudly.

…But that laughter gave the Empress a bad feeling.

Then Ebren Tarandia spoke.

“Your Majesty. Why haven’t you thanked Lillian?”

“…What did you say, Prince?”

“Why? She is practically a benefactor of the imperial family. Lillian stopped someone who tried to frame you.”

“…!”

“No—rather, she is a benefactor of House Favil.”

The Empress bit the inside of her mouth.

A metallic taste spread across her tongue.

Slowly, she turned to look at Lillian.

That powerless girl she had once been forced to place near her cherished maternal family simply because of her birth—

“Thank you, Lillian. Because of you… we avoided a needless misunderstanding.”

“Oh my, I’m honored, Your Majesty.”

Lillian smiled brightly.

“What a relief! Now the other houses won’t have to worry about being brainwashed when they do business with House Favil!”

Lovellia valued the name of Favil more than the imperial family itself.

And several nobles in the ballroom did business with House Favil.

Even before the Empress could glance at them, they were already stiffening in discomfort.

By the end of the night, they would all return to their estates and review their contracts carefully—

To see whether they had made any disadvantageous deals.

“There is no need for such concern, Lillian.”

“Oh my, then are you offering your blessing to the future of His Highness the First Prince and myself?”

“…What?”

“Isn’t this practically the approval of both the head of House Favil and Her Majesty the Empress?”

A royal expression of gratitude was almost as good as official permission.

And with the Emperor becoming increasingly unstable, obtaining his approval directly was uncertain anyway.

Ebren narrowed his eyes at the Empress, who had just humiliated herself.

He remembered Lillian’s words.

So you’d choose the slower path, gaining things one by one even if it’s inefficient?
Why not choose the path that brings fun and reputation too?

You know… that’s not bad.

Smiling, he tightened his interlaced fingers with Lillian.

Judging by the emotions passing through their connection, Lillian seemed excited too.

But they had somewhere else to be next.

“Lillian must be tired. We’ll be taking our leave now.”

“That’s right. Everyone, have a blessed evening.”

As the two of them turned away, a familiar shout rang out behind them.

It came from Duke Tillard and the rest of his household.

“Lillian—! Lillian, come back here this instant—!”

“Now, now, Elric.”

“…!”

“The rest of you may speak with me instead.”

Enoch Baltazar had an enormous build.

He made for a very solid shield.