The Abandoned Villainess Decides to Take It All Chapter 64

Chapter 64

The Engagement Ceremony!

“Your Highness, I’m the one living off the budget you provide. What exactly are you planning to take from me?”

So now her superior was going to extort something?

…No money! I need all of that for my future escape!

“What I want from you is guiding.”

“Do it now.”

“Not with your hand today.”

The villain stopped Lillian just as she was about to take his hand.

“Today, touch somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else?”

“Anywhere except the hand.”

Lillian scanned him from head to toe with a blank expression.

Feet? That’s weird.

Neck? The only thing that comes to mind is strangling him.

…So where exactly was she supposed to touch?

The room fell silent.

As if dissatisfied with her lack of creativity, the villain pointed at his cheek.

“Isn’t this skin?”

For a brief moment, he managed to make someone feel like trash.

Lillian turned her head away as though she hadn’t heard.

“You already have hands. Why the cheek?”

“You did it once before.”

“Oh. At Aeterna.”

“So do it again.”

“What if I slap you?”

“That would be some very spicy guiding.”

Her threat didn’t bother him at all.

Instead, he sat up properly on the couch and urged her on.

“Come on. Right cheek.”

“…Sigh.”

“I’ve been working hard restraining myself. Please guide me quickly, Lillian.”

“Honestly. Since when does neutralizing poison count as restraint?”

“Lillian. Swallow those inner thoughts.”

Damn it. The thought had slipped out because the situation was so absurd.

Lillian emptied her mind and reached out.

Ebren closed his eyes.

A strange thirst surged through his entire body.

The moment her hand touched his cheek, a lazy tingling spread everywhere.

Especially when the soft, rounded center of her palm brushed his skin.

If it had been just a little closer to the corner of my mouth, I might have bitten it.

He wondered what it would feel like to trace the delicate lines of her palm with his tongue.

Since she was touching his cheek anyway, he even wanted to pull her onto his lap to get closer.

And those lips that had caught his attention before—

They were an especially pretty color today.

But if I do that already, the fun will end too quickly.

Ebren had never valued such things since birth.

But these moments now were something new and interesting.

So he wanted to savor everything about Lillian slowly.

This matter should at least begin with a single cheek touch.

Just then Lillian tried to pull her hand away.

Ebren quickly covered her hand with his own.

“Lillian, a little longer.”

“You really used that much power earlier? I doubt it.”

“I told you it was hard restraining myself.”

He glanced at her.

Touching him for barely five seconds and leaving—what a cold Guide.

He knew why she had only just begun dealing with him.

Now that she had proven her usefulness, she was already planning the next move.

Exactly as their contract dictated.

…Which made it annoyingly proper.

Still, since his mood had improved, he decided to speak.

“I heard we received quite a lot of invitations.”

“…! Yes, we did.”

Lillian’s eyes sparkled.

“We’ll go wherever you choose.”

“What? Really?”

“Mm.”

“Even if I choose everything? No complaints? No irritation? And you’ll restrain yourself?”

“Mm.”

Ebren closed his eyes as he answered.

“We’ll go wherever you want.”

That way he’d have plenty of excuses to ask for cheek touches…

This feels nice.

He had never been more satisfied with life.

At this rate, instead of renewing for forty years—

Couldn’t he renew it for a hundred?

Just then Lillian whispered softly.

“Then, Your Highness… instead of going everywhere one by one—”

“Hm?”

“What if we make people want to be invited by us instead?”

Meanwhile — The Imperial Palace

In the capital, Lillian’s awakening caused just as much uproar as the disastrous hospitality at House Tillard.

And Tillard’s failure was essentially House Favil’s failure.

Thus, the Empress’s Palace was filled with heavy silence.

The Empress wasn’t angry.

She was smiling while holding a black fan.

Which made the atmosphere even more terrifying.

“How exactly did this happen, Duke Tillard?”

Even Duke Elric Tillard, older than the Empress herself, could not meet her gaze.

“Your granddaughter suddenly awakening as a Guide—how delightful.”

“Your Majesty…”

“Then why did this news not reach my ears? Weren’t you the one who said you would go see her last time?”

“We truly didn’t know! Your Majesty! That girl hid it even from us—”

“Ha! A Guide powerful enough to suppress Tarandia’s madness, and you claim you didn’t know?!”

Crack.

A small fracture appeared in the handle of the black fan.

Empress Lovellia had unconsciously released House Favil’s poison ability in anger.

House Favil—a clan with jealousy carved into its blood.

They always pursued the greatest power.

Yet the ability they possessed was poison.

Compared to the Tarandia bloodline, which could annihilate anything, it was inevitably overshadowed.

And Prince Kyle had inherited Favil’s ability.

But that had been acceptable.

A stable Second Prince was far better emperor material than a madman who harmed even his own Guide.

That was how they had reassured people.

Until Lillian Tillard appeared beside the First Prince and demonstrated overwhelming guiding power.

“With a compatible Guide, you cannot prevent the marriage!”

“….”

“And yet you solved the matter by expelling her without even confirming it?”

The Duke said nothing.

He had to admit it.

He had rushed to cut ties.

Who could have imagined that the granddaughter considered powerless her entire life would awaken like that?

Still—

“…Lillian is weak when it comes to family.”

The Duke was confident.

“Grandfather, I brought the flowers that bloomed today… I hope you have a good day…”

People did not change easily.

She had always longed for her family’s approval.

“If House Tillard admits its mistake and orders her to return, she will listen.”

“Assuming that man even lets her go.”

The man who had openly declared he would make her his Empress.

The Duke continued persuading her.

“If they had imprinted, separation would be impossible. But if they have not, there are still ways.”

“…Hmm.”

The Empress no longer trusted him.

Someone who failed once could fail again.

He had not even realized his granddaughter’s ability.

With that level of guiding power, her rank must be extremely high.

After all, she still carried the blood of House Tillard.

Could we force her back?

But the Empress’s concerns soon became meaningless.

Because a letter arrived at the Imperial Palace.

A letter from Lillian.

It was an invitation—

To a belated engagement ceremony celebration.