How to Live as the Terminally Ill Younger Sister of the Villain - Chapter 116

(Lurelia’s Belated Bonus – Update 14/14 🎉)

After that, he took the baby to the Flaubert Marquis’s residence.

Seeing him appear drenched in blood, the Marquis and his wife immediately realized what had happened.

They looked at Ante as if he were a monster, but Ante didn’t care. He simply threatened them to make Angelina their child and register her officially.

It wasn’t difficult. After sending Ante to the “treatment room,” the Marquis couple had locked themselves behind castle walls and lived in seclusion.

They had cut themselves off from the world, leaving only the news that “a beast had rampaged and caused a tragedy” at the Marquis’s household, so no one would question why they suddenly had a new daughter.

Having made Angelina his sister this way, Ante began living solely for her.

But the real tragedy began then.

“Do you think eliminating just me will bury your secret?”

Fearing that Angelina would learn the truth, Ante began erasing those who knew about the past one by one.

“How many people have I removed with that thought in mind…”

The first victims were none other than the Marquis couple.

The priests who knew about that temple’s existence, the maids who noticed something strange, and even the uncle who, unaware of all this, approached with designs on the Marquis’s position and made a wrong deal with the current High Priest.

All died unnatural deaths.

After cleaning up all traces of the past and living with peace of mind, the Empress appeared before him.

She didn’t just know about the existence of “that temple” which had supposedly disappeared forever; she knew in great detail exactly what had happened there that day.

There certainly shouldn’t have been any survivors, and Ante still didn’t know how she had discovered the truth of that day without any witnesses.

Because he didn’t know, he couldn’t eliminate the Empress either.

Crunch.

Ante bit down so hard his molars might break.

Madness swirled in his anger-filled eyes, and his hands trembled.

But in the end, he had no choice but to let her go.

Thud.

After practically throwing her down, he stepped back. His fingernails dug into his palms, drawing blood, but he couldn’t take any further action.

If he rashly killed her, he had no way of knowing when, where, or how that truth might emerge and reach Angelina.

Not knowing who else knew, what mechanisms were hidden where—he would have to live crushed by fear for the rest of his life.

“Say one word to Lina. I’ll crush your jaw.”

He spat out the words as if grinding them.

The Empress, adjusting her clothes, smiled irritatingly and made a “hmm” sound through her nose.

“Well, that depends on what you do, doesn’t it?”

“You dog…!”

He flared up again but couldn’t lunge at her.

There was nothing he could do. Before the Empress who firmly held his leash, he was powerless.

Grinding his teeth until they might break, he turned away.

Bang!

He disappeared with a small explosion.

“Hoho, his defiance is cute.”

What other reason could there be for the Magic Tower Master, who usually moves silently, to leave so noisily except for petty rebellion?

The Empress checked her neck with a mirror to ensure no marks were left, then gestured to the head servant in the distance with a satisfied smile.

“The tea table has been ruined.”

“I’ll bring a new one.”

“Good. And prepare for me to dine with Aiden tomorrow. Don’t forget to leave traces of that servant.”

“Yes, understood.”

After calmly sending away the furious Magic Tower Master and leisurely adding a plan to drive a wedge between Aiden and Dominic, she continued her tea time as if nothing had happened.

***

“He’s late…”

Angelina sat at the dining table, twirling her wine glass while waiting for Ante.

As she was resting her chin on her hand, admiring the chandelier reflected in the wine, the dining room door opened and Jacob hurried over.

“I apologize, miss. His Grace says he has urgent business and won’t be able to make it for dinner.”

“Is that so?”

Angelina’s face darkened.

It wasn’t because she was upset about him canceling their appointment. It was concerning that he had “urgent business” right after meeting with the Empress.

‘What could it be? Why is brother close to the Empress?’

Simply to learn the Order’s secrets and plans through the Empress?

But if that were the case, there would be interactions between Marquis Flaubert and the Order.

There was nothing special except for his occasional private audiences with the Empress, like today.

Of course, since very few nobles could have private audiences with the Empress, to others it seemed like they had a close relationship.

“If you had anything you wanted to tell him, I can relay it.”

Since Ante usually tried to keep his dinner appointments with Angelina no matter what, Jacob anxiously watched her reaction, especially since her expression was uncharacteristically dark.

“…Then tell him this.”

After thinking for a moment, Angelina said.

“Tell him that the weather is warm today, so I’m thinking of sleeping with the window open.”

“…?”

Jacob looked puzzled. But he didn’t question it much and bowed his head.

“Should I deliver that message exactly as you said?”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

Working by Ante’s side had made him accustomed to not questioning many things.

After he left, Angelina rose from her seat.

“Miss, dinner…”

“It’s fine. I’m not hungry.”

“But it’s not good for your health to go hungry. The Marquis would be upset, too.”

“…Alright. Then to my room.”

Even if she had fought with Ante, even if she resented him for hiding something, the mention that he would be upset was still enough to move Angelina’s heart.

***

“Ha, so it really was the Order.”

Compiling reports from his informants, Blake sighed deeply and rubbed his face.

“That ungrateful bastard…! Has he completely forgotten how Your Grace saved him and trusted him? Even a stray dog knows to repay kindness!”

“Mason, calm down.”

“How can you be calm about this? Didn’t you see that basement?!”

“We saved everyone, at least.”

“What does it matter! The children are already traumatized…!”

“Mason.”

Mason, who couldn’t calm down despite Sean’s words, shut his mouth at Blake’s voice. But he still kicked the innocent sofa in frustration.

“What do you plan to do now?”

Sean asked, ignoring Mason’s outburst.

“I never imagined they had infiltrated the duchy so deeply. It’s frustrating, but honestly, without the Magic Tower Master, we wouldn’t have found that basement that evening.”

“You’re right. We would have passed by without even knowing it existed.”

The Magic Tower Master’s magical beasts had dug up the ground to expose the basement. He had torn apart all the priests there but left the children alone.

It was an arrogant act, as if saying, “I’ve done the processing, so clean up the rest yourselves,” which was quite insulting to the lord’s pride.

But from another perspective, the fact that he didn’t use it to negotiate with them or threaten to reveal it to the world could be seen as quite a concession.

“Do you think Miss Flaubert intervened?”

Sean shared Blake’s thoughts and brought up Angelina as the reason.

“…I don’t know.”

If she had suggested letting the Duke take the children from the duchy, the Magic Tower Master might have willingly agreed.

“If so, my debt has grown again.”

Blake’s expression darkened. It felt like the growing debt was widening the distance between her and himself, which was frustrating.

“It’s my fault for not acting earlier when you said he was suspicious.”

“Not at all. How could it be Your Grace’s fault that a traitor betrayed you?”

Sean tried to comfort Blake’s self-blame, but Blake’s heart remained heavy.

It was the betrayal of someone who had fought alongside him in numerous campaigns. Having entrusted their backs to each other for so long, he had tried not to suspect him.

This was the result.

They could have caught the man that day. But he committed suicide after leaving only a cryptic message, so they couldn’t learn more details.

“But what did he mean by those words?”

“Do you even know what you’re dealing with? It’s not something that primitive beings like us can handle. Unless you’re planning to stand against a typhoon, just turn a blind eye.”

Words that suggested his betrayal was inevitable, following the flow of the times.

“Not something we can handle…”

Blake placed his hand on his sword and fell into thought.

Click. Click.

He repeatedly drew and sheathed his sword. Then suddenly his hand stopped.

“…Knight of the Sword.”