Chapter 130
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I'm a homebody who ended up possessing the body of a villainess locked away in a desolate tower.
Chapter 130
―Kletan Empire Central Palace.
Countless encounters and meaningless conversations inevitably bred fatigue.
Lyden had never been fond of such moments.
Yet today, rather than leaving the Banquet Hall to return directly to the Crown Prince's Residence, I chose to linger in the Rest Chamber for a reason.
"Your Highness, the Princess of Salt is moving to carry out your orders."
"Good."
I had been waiting for this report all along.
When I thought about it, it was something I had anticipated for quite some time. What I truly desired to obtain was not Lemeia, but April Salt.
Though I had lost my way momentarily and found myself in the wrong place, April Salt should have always been within my grasp.
If I considered the mistaken target of the abduction as merely another step in April Salt's journey to my embrace...
'How amusing.'
Lyden's lips curved upward.
"Where is she now?"
"She is in the Garden."
"Bring her to me."
"Yes, Your Highness."
As the loyal Knight vanished into the shadows, Lyden traced his smooth jawline thoughtfully.
"All things considered, it's not unfavorable."
His composed voice dissipated into the frigid air.
Though the matter had become complicated and taken a circuitous route, Lyden felt no disappointment whatsoever.
Rather, I believed the puzzle had finally fallen into place.
As I recalled Lemeia gazing up at me with the docile eyes of a tamed beast, a fleeting fragment of the past flickered through my mind.
"The curse?"
"It was successful. Your Majesty will never rise again. However, rumors are circulating that those who witnessed the complete disappearance of the Underground Prison's inmates will request an investigation from the Magic Tower...."
"I'll handle that myself."
Before Lyden even came of age, I had already rendered my father, the Emperor, a vegetable with the aid of the Black Mages.
Though I wished to kill him outright, I could not, for a powerful prohibition bound the Kletan Royal Family against murdering their own blood.
The perceptive Emperor who had regarded me with suspicious eyes since childhood, sensing my hunger for power.
Had I not made the difficult choice to reduce him to a vegetative state, grave consequences would surely have followed.
Through that deed, Lyden began secretly supporting the Black Mages.
The Black Mages, who had dwelt in obscurity until Lyden brought them into the light, offered their gratitude by sharing with him a prophecy obtained through the Demon God.
"Your Highness, the Demon God has spoken. Whoever takes the Princess of Salt as a consort shall obtain all that they desire..."
It was from that moment that Lyden became intensely fixated on Lemeia.
Yet Lemeia's dazzling beauty had made her the subject of gossip across the entire Continent.
Even as the Crown Prince of Kletan, she was too burdensome a prize to seize without difficulty.
So Lyden devised a strategy.
I summoned the Black Mages and sacrificed one hundred lives as offerings.
And through them, I placed a powerful curse upon Lemeia.
"The Princess will come to harbor greater affection for Crown Prince Lyden than anyone else, and the more she does, the more blindly she will follow his will. Since I've layered a curse that impedes her reasoning, she's nothing more than a puppet in the palm of my hand."
Lemeia, renowned for her striking beauty.
Yet no matter how beautiful, no one wishes to take a fool as a wife.
Lyden had cast upon Lemeia a curse—the same one used to lure sacrifices for dark magic, one that gradually stripped away reason—and he believed it was only a matter of time before she fell into his grasp.
But then.
Strangely, events did not unfold as he had anticipated.
Just when Lemeia seemed to have quieted, she suddenly began displaying even greater prowess, advancing triumphantly.
To this, the Black Mages offered him an explanation.
"The curse has not failed, Your Highness. There must be some error. Perhaps the Princess is concealing the fact that she has become foolish in order to deceive those in Salt."
Lyden remained perpetually curious whether Lemeia was engaged in such deception, or whether the dark magic had truly not gone awry.
And the moment he saw Lemeia again after subjugating Salt, he understood.
'It worked.'
The curse had taken hold properly.
Then Salt must have somehow managed to deceive him through an elaborate fraud.
Yes, had it not been for that unexpected truth he learned that day, his thoughts on Lemeia would have ended there.
"Ha, ha-ha...."
A low laugh escaped Lyden's lips.
"...Your, Your Highness?"
"So where is that bastard child now?"
That day, in the Rest Chamber behind the Banquet Hall.
Though he had personally rendered her a fool, Lyden had nearly ground away what little patience remained at Lemeia's infuriating demeanor.
But even though her reasoning should have been thoroughly compromised, Lemeia, sensing the pressure of his interrogation, ultimately spilled forth a handful of unexpected truths.
"Actually, there was an intruder who infiltrated the Salt Royal Palace. And that day, April was kidnapped in my stead... so, so until now, no one has known whether she lives or dies. She's probably dea—"
"What did you just say?"
"Yes?"
"What is that bastard child's name?"
"A, April...."
All this time, he had overlooked what he needed most, right before his eyes.
April—he had been completely deceived by that foolish, innocent face.
"Ha. Kuh, kuku-kuh, kuku-ku-kuh...!"
Lyden burst into uncontrollable laughter like one who had encountered something absurdly amusing, then suddenly his expression hardened.
"My half-sister is quite... an entertaining creature, isn't she?"
What had gone wrong could be set right even now.
But if there was one thing he alone regretted, it was the hundred lives consumed to curse Lemeia.
If entire small villages began vanishing wholesale, suspicion would be unavoidable.
Had he cast this curse upon Kaian first, he would never have dared such a trivial jest.
Moreover....
"The first dance is with one's partner."
"...."
"It is a rule everyone knows."
Perhaps after spending so much time together, some unnecessary attachment had taken root.
As I recalled that figure standing before the Crown Prince himself to protect April Salt, Lyden felt his insides twist with a bitter sensation.
"Reject her."
Soon after, a cold voice flowed from between his lips.
Though monogamy was the norm in Cletan, the Emperor alone held the exceptional privilege of taking two wives.
The Empress and the Imperial Consort.
Now that both women had fallen into his grasp, what should he do?
Lyden's golden eyes gleamed with a brilliant light.
Though Lemeia was foolish and dim-witted, it was better to keep her close—at least until the unstable situation in Salt was fully subdued and completely absorbed into Cletan.
April Salt held the potential of being the protagonist of the prophecy, and more importantly, since Kaian Blaire concerned himself with her existence, he felt the necessity to claim her by force if needed.
Until now, he lacked the power to overcome the curse bound to his bloodline, so he could only reduce the Emperor to a vegetative state rather than kill him outright.
The curse that stripped away reason also required more people than he could currently procure, so he had to bind it to only one person.
But now the situation had changed.
The moment he wielded dark magic against Stefan Marquis and felt its power firsthand, he gained a profound revelation.
'Overwhelming power dominates all things.'
Even what remained of his own humanity.
Of course, it was still difficult to be certain of everything at this moment.
So this time, instead of choosing between two options, Lyden intended to seize everything that had fallen into his hands.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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