The Abandoned Villainess Decides to Take It All Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Why It’s Infuriating Even When Things Go Well

Karkin Favil’s face turned pale.

His friends immediately burst into startled chatter.

“A younger brother?”

“Karkin has a sibling?”

“This is the first I’ve heard of it!”

Lillian brushed her hair behind her ear and smiled lightly.

Thank you, Mr. Jared.

An ally turned enemy truly was frightening.

She hadn’t expected Archive to uncover even this much of House Favil’s hidden disgrace.

“That younger brother. He’s the son your father had with his late first wife, correct? Your mother drove him out—but allowed him to live.”

“Stop!”

“That child outranks you, doesn’t he? And he received the same education you did.”

“Shut up!”

“Then why do you think he’s being raised with training suitable for an heir?”

The surroundings fell silent.

The Perniès Empire did not follow strict primogeniture.

In a society where ability rank determined power, heirs could be replaced at any moment.

Lillian decided to drive reality into him slowly.

“And yet you believed you’d naturally become the young duke simply because you’re a Favil? No. Your position was secure because you were supposed to marry me.”

Because he had been engaged to a daughter of House Tillard.

It was another side of this world that even Lillian herself hadn’t known before remembering her previous life.

“But I’m not marrying you anymore. So now you’ll have to work very, very hard, won’t you?”

“Lillian!”

Karkin lunged forward.

His anger had erased all thoughts of decorum. He looked ready to strike her.

But the moment his hand rose—

He froze.

His sleeve had quietly vanished.

“AAH!? What—!”

Smack!

Smack!

His head snapped violently to the side twice.

Lillian’s slaps were far harsher than he expected.

“How dare you raise your hand at me? Do you want your face dragged through another scandal—this time under assault charges?”

“Ugh.”

“You’ll be disgracing yourself plenty from now on anyway. I hope you manage to hold onto that young duke title until then.”

“Y-you, Lillian! Where do you think you’re going!”

Karkin shouted desperately.

“If it’s not me, who do you think you’ll marry?!”

“Hm? Well.”

Lillian smiled and tilted her chin toward the main entrance.

“For now, there’s my new fiancé. Say hello.”

“What?”

“You’ve met before, haven’t you?”

Karkin stared blankly.

That man—

The First Prince.

Why was he here in the capital?

And then—

In an instant, the Shadows flooded into Maison Merose.

Everyone knew they served under the First Prince.

Karkin’s eyes trembled.

The First Prince.

He was always smiling.

But something about him felt deeply unsettling.

Why was his unit here?

No… what could he possibly do to me?

Karkin forced a sneer.

The Second Empress backed him.

The gambling house was slightly concerning, sure—but so what?

But when Ebren Tarandia stepped beside Lillian, smiling with his eyes—

“…!”

A chill swept through Karkin’s body as if every drop of blood had drained away.

“Ah. So this was your former fiancé.”

“Yes, Your Highness. But there’s no need for you to greet him.”

“True.”

Ebren stepped forward.

“In any case, once the matter of the illegal monster-summoning artifact becomes public, there will be a permanent stain on all of your reputations.”

“What…!?”

Monster summoning?

What nonsense was this?

Karkin gambled, yes—but he had never touched anything like that!

He spun around in panic.

Far away, Ramio Tillard simply held out his wrists without resisting.

The moment he did—

Chaos erupted inside Maison Merose.

Naturally, everyone connected to Karkin had to be searched as well.

“…Damn it!”

Karkin blasted a Shadow reaching for him with his poison ability.

“Ghk!”

“Out of my way!”

Spraying invisible poison, Karkin fled desperately through the chaos, aided by Favil knights.

“Hah… huff—!”

“Young Duke! Just hold on a little longer!”

He had to escape first.

As long as he returned to the Favil main estate, even the First Prince would have trouble dragging him out!

If I just use the secret passage here—!

Karkin yanked open a hidden door behind a wall ornament.

But the moment it opened—

Pitch-black darkness waited beyond it.

“AAAH!”

In panic, he unleashed his ability wildly.

But every attack vanished the instant it was released.

He couldn’t see anything.

“W-wh-what is—! Ugh!”

A brutal force slammed down on his head.

As Karkin collapsed, he faintly heard voices above him.

Lillian’s.

And the First Prince’s.

“I told you, didn’t I? I said he’d definitely run this way.”

“You know him rather well. Still interested?”

“Your Highness, I do have eyes.”

What was this?

What kind of relationship did those two have, speaking so casually like that?

And with that thought—

Karkin lost consciousness.

That Night in the Capital

That night, the capital descended into chaos.

Knights in black uniforms.

City guards.

Reporters.

Everyone flooded the scene.

The nobles cried out desperately.

“I don’t know anything! I swear I know nothing! Let me go, you damned—!”

“I was just invited!”

They probably did feel wronged.

Most had simply been summoned there because they were friends of Karkin or children of House Favil’s vassals.

Why did he even invite us…?

Dragging us here just to humiliate his fiancée!

Yet they couldn’t bring themselves to blame Karkin openly.

Instead—

They all turned their anger elsewhere.

As if waiting for the moment, the Shadows searched Ramio first.

Of course, the entire thing had been staged.

So that the monster-summoning artifact would be “discovered.”

“You… you damn Tillard bastard!”

“Ugh!”

One noble finally snapped and punched Ramio in the face.

“If you hadn’t brought that kind of artifact—!”

“Ghk…!”

“We wouldn’t be in this mess!”

The reporters watching were horrified.

But their hands moved quickly as they sketched notes.

Tomorrow’s headline had already been decided.

Every reporter present shared the same thought.

They wished nights like this happened more often.

Meanwhile

But unlike the reporters’ excitement—

“…Your Highness.”

The atmosphere inside the Imperial Palace’s underground prison was suffocating.

The Shadows stood silently.

Elias Baltazar studied the situation before finally speaking.

“You must restrain yourself.”

“…Me? From what?”

“…Your Highness.”

“I’m not berserk. I’m perfectly calm.”

His tone was light.

But Elias wasn’t fooled.

The prison floor was slick, as if coated with a thin film of blood.

Ebren focused all his attention on tormenting a single prisoner with obsessive persistence.

Threatening him with the Power of Annihilation.

And clearly enjoying it.

“What do you think, Young Duke Favil?”

“Y-Your Highness the Prince…”

“Tell me—have you ever experienced a moment when everything is going well… yet your insides still feel twisted?”

“I—I was called there by Lillian—!”

“Mm. Wrong answer.”

“Ghk!”