The Villainess Doesn't Want Love - Chapter 57

Tick tock.

Inside a vast, dark cave that felt eerie.

Only a single candle burned in the center.

Around it, faint outlines were barely visible in the dim light.

Men in deeply pulled-down black robes stood in a large circle.

“Did you recover it?”

One of them spoke up.

Then someone standing opposite reached out their hand.

A pitch-black stone appeared on their palm.

Sighs of relief could be heard from some of them.

“To pull something like this right before an important operation. I don’t know how they’re managing their subordinates.”

“What if this had caused even the slightest hitch in our plans?”

“That will absolutely not happen.”

The man holding the black stone retorted.

Nevertheless, their dissatisfaction showed no signs of subsiding.

“If the North caught wind of our movements because of this…!”

“Didn’t the Crown Prince say he was going to conduct an investigation into demonic beasts in cooperation with the Magic Tower?”

“If word of this were to leak out…”

Complaints poured out as if they had been waiting for this moment.

“All of you shut up.”

The man holding the black stone said coldly.

“…What did you say?”

“H-How dare you be so insolent…!”

The man put the black stone he was holding back into his pocket.

“Do you think I’m here to indulge your childish tantrums? If we had just done as I said from the beginning, things wouldn’t have dragged on like this.”

The man continued speaking in the same monotone voice.

“Those of you who opposed and nitpicked my words back then.”

Sharp eyes glinted from beneath his deeply pulled-down robe.

“Why don’t you try wagging your tongues again? I’m curious what you’ll have to say.”

“……”

“……”

At his words, the others all clamped their mouths shut like clams.

The man snorted derisively and warned:

“Everything is proceeding according to plan, so there’s nothing to worry about. You all just need to do as I say and—”

The man emphasized each word forcefully.

“Shut. Up. And. Wait. Quietly.”

“……”

“……”

Silence fell.

No one dared say anything to the man.

“Well then, I’m busy.”

With a wave of the man’s hand, the figures around him instantly vanished.

Circular magic devices were placed beneath where they had been standing.

“Good work.”

A woman who had been waiting silently like a statue in the back approached.

“Trash who only care about their own interests, not knowing their place and running their mouths.”

“I don’t really care. It’s not like it’s anything new.”

The man had returned to his impassive tone.

As he turned to face the opposite direction from where the magic devices were, the man spoke again.

“More importantly, something’s caught my attention.”

At the man’s words, the woman immediately bowed her head and asked.

“Whatever it is, just give the order, Master.”

“Karina Colsberg, the Grand Duchess.”

The man recalled Karina’s appearance at the hostage scene.

An intrigued smile played on his lips.

“Find out about that woman.”

“Yes, understood.”

The woman accepted the order mechanically, without expressing any doubts.

With that exchange, the two figures vanished with a whoosh.

The remaining candle burned itself out completely, leaving no trace.

Only an eerie silence remained in the vast cave, just as it had been at the start.

[This is the timeline separator]

At the same time.

In the pitch-black darkness of midnight, with even the moon hidden behind clouds.

A crow flew in between the prison bars.

And it landed with a flutter on the bed where Mikhail was sitting.

Mikhail had his head buried in his interlocked hands.

“Why are you here?”

It was Max, who had transformed into a crow to find Mikhail in his cell.

Mikhail lifted his head and asked.

“How is Karina’s condition?”

Max made a blank expression.

“Why are you asking me that? If you’re curious, you can just go see for yourself.”

Being in this kind of prison was not an issue for Mikhail.

“You could easily get out of a place like this if you wanted to, right?”

Max glanced around the cell.

“I just… felt like punishing myself a bit.”

Mikhail lowered his head again and spoke in a gloomy voice.

Hearing those words, Max snorted.

“Self-flagellation isn’t your hobby, is it?”

Mikhail scowled and glared fiercely at Max.

Feeling a chill run down his spine, Max fluttered his wings and hopped down from the bed to get away from Mikhail.

He scurried over and took a position far away by the bars.

“If you were going to come transformed as a crow anyway, why did you bother with the Northern dispatch?”

In response to his reproachful question, Max frowned deeply as if wronged and retorted.

“Well, should I just walk in to see someone imprisoned in the Grand Duke’s jail? They wouldn’t even let me in, would they?”

Mikhail ignored his words.

“Karina’s condition.”

Pressured to speak, Max opened his mouth.

“I haven’t heard that the Grand Duchess has woken up yet.”

“……”

Mikhail showed signs of agitation at the news that Karina still hadn’t regained consciousness.

“Strange. We used the elixir from the Magic Tower, so why hasn’t she woken up yet? It’s already been 3 days.”

Muttering like that, Mikhail said to Max.

“You. Go to the Magic Tower and make some more elixir.”

“What?”

It was bad enough that they had used that precious elixir on the Grand Duchess, but now he wanted more made?

For a moment, Max felt like he would burst with frustration at Mikhail’s nonsensical words.

But he held it in and carefully explained why it wasn’t possible, point by point.

Otherwise, he felt like Mikhail would really keep pestering him until he made it.

“It doesn’t seem to be a problem with the elixir. According to the physician who examined the Grand Duchess, her wounds are healing well without any complications, and her physical condition has improved significantly.”

“Are you sure you heard that right?”

“Yes. I even heard the Grand Duke questioning the physician about why she wasn’t waking up when there was nothing wrong. And you already know well that it doesn’t make sense for there to be anything physically wrong after using the elixir.”

“……”

Since it was true, Mikhail gave no response.

“The physician said to wait until tomorrow for now.”

“Haa, I guess all we can do is wait for now…”

Mikhail let out a deep sigh.

Max glared grumpily at Mikhail’s serious expression and blurted out.

“Why are you acting so unlike yourself? Anyone who saw you would think you were lovers.”

Max had meant it as a wake-up call, but for Mikhail, only the word “lovers” stood out clearly.

“…Lovers?”

“That’s right, didn’t I warn you not to get too close to the Grand Duchess? I told you beforehand to keep your distance…”

Max’s continued nagging fell on deaf ears for Mikhail.

“Right. When Karina wakes up, I should confess.”

“…Pardon?”

The ongoing nagging came to an abrupt halt.

“What confession?”

“……”

Instead of answering, Mikhail’s face turned slightly red.

“…!?”

Max was aghast at the sight.

“You cra—!”

He barely managed to hold back the “crazy bastard” that was about to burst out.

“…Go crazy in a more dignified way, will you!”

It seems he couldn’t hold it back completely.

“If I confess right after she wakes up, she’ll be very surprised, right? Maybe I should wait until she’s recovered a bit and see how things go…”

Mikhail muttered, ignoring Max’s words.

Max thought he really was an impressively crazy bastard.

Max put his hand to his forehead.

‘To think this guy is my superior!’

If he could, he wanted to grab him by the hair and drag him back to the Magic Tower.

Max felt it would be better for his mental health to quickly report what he came to report and escape from this place.

“Huuuu.”

Summoning deep patience from within, Max hastily brought up the main point of why he had come to see Mikhail.

“Anyway. As you probably already know, about the escaped prisoners who staged the hostage situation this time. It seems they’re related to those guys we’ve been looking for.”

“Those bastards are involved in this incident?”

Mikhail’s eyes widened.

“Yes. We found traces of black magic used at the scene of the hostage situation. As I continued investigating separately on my own, I confirmed that their traces were left all over the northern forest. It appears they’re also the cause of the recent widespread increase in demonic beast appearances.”

Mikhail’s eyes turned chilly as he heard Max’s report.

“So. You’re saying those damn bastards are the ones who hurt Karina?”

A sharp aura rose from Mikhail.

“……”

Max felt like the conversation had gone slightly askew again.

But since it wasn’t entirely wrong when you got down to it, he chose to keep quiet and not correct Mikhail’s words.

“Max. I have a job for you to do.”

He had a bad feeling about this.

“No. I’m sorry, but I’m busy and need to return to the Magic Tower…”

“It’s an order.”

But Max’s refusal was overruled by Mikhail’s single word.

Max swallowed his curses internally.

[This is the timeline separator]

Bam.

Heistine entered the second-floor inn room where Selena was.

“How did it go? Was it really there?”

Selena asked as soon as he returned.

Heistine brushed off the sleet clinging to his clothes as he answered.

“Yes.”

“…!”

Selena sprang up from her seat.

“Fortunately, we weren’t too late. It was still there.”

He pulled out a letter from inside his coat and waved it.

“Ah…”

Selena stared blankly at the letter in his hand with a dumbfounded expression, then slumped her shoulders.

“So it really was there…”

“……”

After taking a deep breath in and out, Selena took out the letter in her hand and unfolded it.

Selena’s expression darkened as she checked the contents inside.

Her fingers holding the letter were trembling finely.

Heistine placed his hand on Selena’s shoulder.

“…!”

Selena suddenly raised her head at the sensation of her shoulder being gripped, as if to snap her out of it.

When she met Heistine’s eyes, Selena, who had been making a bitter expression, composed herself.

“You worked hard. It must be cold, warm yourself up a bit.”

Selena smiled as if nothing was wrong and sat Heistine down in front of the stove where a warm fire was burning.

Then she handed him a cup of warm tea.

Heistine sipped the tea and warmed himself up before speaking.

“These days, everyone’s talking about the Grand Duchess.”

As people in the information business, they were keeping track of rumors and issues circulating among people on a daily basis.

“When you hear the details, it’s understandable. She risked her own life to threaten the escaped prisoners in order to save the commoners taken hostage.”

Selena responded with a smile.

“A noble risking their life for others… I thought that only happened in history books, but I guess they really do exist.”

Heistine muttered in a bitter tone.

Selena stared intently at Heistine.

Feeling her gaze, Heistine asked.

“What is it? If you have something to say, just say it.”

“No. I was just thinking that maybe you’ve started to see the Grand Duchess differently now.”

“……”

Heistine couldn’t refute Selena’s calm words.

Heistine hesitated, then messed up his hair furiously as if giving up, and answered.

“You’re right. I just thought… if only there had been even one noble like this around us back then, it would have been good.”

“……”

Selena’s eyes widened in surprise at Heistine’s words.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“I didn’t expect to hear words like that directly from your mouth.”

“You think I don’t have thoughts like that?”

Heistine grumbled in a sulky tone, as if feeling awkward.

Selena chuckled at the sight.

“I’m thinking of requesting a deal with the Grand Duchess.”

“A deal?”

Selena nodded.

Heistine still looked reluctant, but he didn’t oppose it like before.

“Do you really have to do this?”

“Yes.”

It was a brief answer, but her voice was firm.

After hesitating for a moment, Heistine finally spoke.

“Don’t get your hopes up too much. You’ll be even more disappointed if it doesn’t work out.”

It was words of concern, in his own way.

“I won’t.”

Selena answered with a smile.

Then she looked out the window.

“I hope the Grand Duchess wakes up safely soon.”

Outside the window she looked out of, sleet was fluttering down.