The Villainous Lady Doesn't Speak Chapter 128

Exchange of Opportunities 6

Prince Roland had likely waited for the moment when Liliana would be apart from Riley. Without Princess Edith present, he wouldn’t have been able to ask her to give up her position as Riley's fiancée.

Liliana calmly pulled a piece of paper toward her and began writing.

<Are you serious?>

"I couldn't be more serious."

Prince Roland's gaze remained steady, unwavering as he looked at Liliana. Even without asking, she could feel the weight of his sincerity. At the same time, she could sense the falsehood behind his words. A deeper smile played on her lips. The prince furrowed his brow, clearly taken aback by her unexpected reaction.

<How much of that is your true intent?>

"My true intent...?"

His face contorted in confusion, as if he couldn’t comprehend what she was getting at. But Liliana remained unperturbed.

<Yes. You say that, for the sake of the friendship between our countries, Princess Edith and Crown Prince Riley should be engaged. Did you think I would simply accept this because my father shares the same opinion?>

Until now, Liliana had never exchanged words with Prince Roland directly. She always stood beside Riley, quietly smiling and maintaining a reserved demeanor. If Riley asked her something, she would either nod or shake her head—nothing more. Her personal thoughts or opinions were never conveyed to either the prince or the princess. Of course, this wasn’t just because there hadn’t been an opportunity, but also because Liliana herself hadn’t felt the need to share them. Combined with her demure and delicate appearance, it was easy to see how a misunderstanding could arise.

And indeed, Roland had been blindsided. In his mind, Liliana was a shy, hesitant young lady, the type who would crumble if pressured, incapable of making decisions on her own, and too naive to question what she was told. He had convinced himself that Liliana was just that kind of girl.

But as Roland stood there, momentarily at a loss for words, Liliana pressed on.

<I’m aware that your country is currently in a precarious situation. This means that danger is imminent for all members of the royal family, including yourself. I also understand, Prince Roland, how deeply concerned you are for Princess Edith.>

A brief flicker of surprise crossed Roland's face before he quickly hid it, but Liliana didn’t miss it. She now had confirmation of what she suspected.

The power structure within the Yunatian Empire was dangerously unstable. While the emperor's authority might remain largely unaffected, for those with claims to the throne, it was a matter of life and death. The turning point had undeniably been the assassination of General Elmer Hagen.

With the general’s death, the pro-cooperation faction among the nobles had lost much of its strength, allowing the hardliners—those who sought to invade neighboring countries—to gain prominence. Among the many claimants to the throne, there was no consensus even among the hardliners about whom to support. However, one thing was certain: none of Roland’s supporters were particularly reputable, and Edith had no backers at all.

Roland was widely seen as a foolish prince, supported only by nobles who wanted to use him as a puppet. Edith, on the other hand, was disadvantaged both by her gender and her relatively late birth. No matter how favored she might be by the emperor, her chances of ascending the throne were slim. However, there was always the possibility that someone might attempt to assassinate her, and even if she escaped assassination, her life in the court would become increasingly difficult without a powerful faction behind her.

That was why Roland had set his sights on the royal family of the Kingdom of Slibegrad as a potential refuge for Princess Edith. He must have thought that, compared to the Yunatian Empire, the kingdom would be a safer place for her. However, Liliana couldn’t help but think that this hope was overly optimistic.

<You are surely aware that my country is not safe either. The conflicts between noble factions continue to simmer beneath the surface, and, more importantly, the enmity our people hold toward the Empire will not disappear easily.>

Prince Roland's face twisted into a grim expression.

The Yunatian Empire had a long and storied history. During the Age of Chaos, a knight from a small country, seeking glory on the battlefield, rose up with his comrades. They conquered neighboring lands, expanding their territory, and eventually, he founded the Unatian Empire as its first emperor. At its peak, the Empire had controlled most of the continent. However, it had been overthrown by the founding heroes of the Kingdom of Slibegrad—three individuals who defeated the Empire’s forces and liberated the continent. Their exploits had been passed down through generations, becoming a deeply ingrained part of the kingdom's national identity.

Meanwhile, many nobles of the Yunatian Empire still considered their neighboring countries to be former territories of their empire. Though those lands now bore different names, they believed that they rightfully belonged to the Empire. This sense of entitlement often manifested in minor skirmishes along the border, adding to the resentment felt by the people of the Kingdom of Slibegrad, who saw their neighbors as aggressors.

Among the kingdom’s nobility, many harbored deep-seated hostility toward the Empire, and the more strained relations became, the more likely someone would target Princess Edith as a dangerous outsider. In such an environment, could marrying into the kingdom truly be a path to happiness for the princess?

As Liliana calmly posed this question, Prince Roland remained silent, his gaze slightly averted.

<If you truly wish to protect someone dear to you, then rather than entrusting their safety to others, shouldn’t you strive to safeguard them yourself?> Liliana pressed.

Prince Roland's brow twitched.

It's understandable to feel uncertain about protecting someone on your own. But if you let go, that won’t bring you any real relief. It would be a shallow decision to make based on the immediate situation. What’s more, Prince Roland would eventually come to regret his cowardice.

<You’ll regret leaving it to someone else if you lose her> Liliana continued, her expression unwavering. <Or will you spend your life resenting others, convinced it wasn’t your fault?>

It's easy to shift the blame, to say, "I trusted them to protect her, and they didn’t." But it wouldn’t bring any peace. Instead, he’d be left wondering if things would have turned out differently had he been there. Of course, even if he tried and failed to protect her himself, he'd regret it either way. But which regret is easier to bear depends on one's values. In this case, however, if the royal family of Yunatian were to hold a grudge against the royal family of Slibegrad, that grudge could be exploited by those with ill intent, escalating into a conflict that would drag both nations and their people into turmoil.

At Liliana’s quiet observation, Prince Roland let out a low groan, covering his face with one hand.

“You... you see the harsh reality with a sharp gaze,” he murmured.

His tone and demeanor had changed. The arrogance that had clung to him earlier had vanished. Liliana met his gaze calmly, her expression neutral. The prince’s face was more severe than it had ever been, a glimpse of the desperation of someone haunted by fear. Narrowing her eyes slightly, Liliana observed him closely.

“You may be right,” Roland admitted. “But I have no confidence that I can protect Edy... my sister.”

Liliana waited in silence, offering no response, until Roland suddenly asked, “Do you know much about the emperor?”

She gave a small nod.

<I’ve only heard rumors,> she replied.

“Rumors, huh? I can imagine what they say, and they’re probably mostly true, rare as that is,” he said with a bitter smile that soon faded.

“Edi is the emperor’s favorite. She’s even called the ‘treasure’ of the empire. But few truly understand what that means—not even she does.”

At first glance, it might seem like the emperor doted on his daughter, but Roland shook his head, dismissing the idea.

“When my father takes a liking to someone, it's because they move exactly as he wishes. It doesn't matter if they’re a subject, a child, or a wife. In his eyes, the most valuable person is the one who does as they're told without question—just like a pretty doll.”

And sure enough, Edith had been raised exactly as the emperor had wanted. She couldn’t think for herself and accepted every word spoken to her as truth. Of course, if she heard conflicting opinions, she would become confused. But in the end, she always came to the conclusion that her father, the emperor, was right. Naturally, just blindly accepting others’ words wasn’t enough. What the emperor desired most was a pure, innocent being who would never betray him.

“In that sense, Edi grew up just as the emperor intended. She listens to everything without question, never doubting. And with that innocence, she blindly trusts and adores him.”

Liliana sighed inwardly. What the emperor wanted wasn’t just a puppet that remained still but a puppet that moved exactly as he commanded. If that’s how Edith had been raised, it explained her unnatural behavior.

Unable to think for herself, she had wholeheartedly believed the sweet words whispered to her back home: that she was destined to become Crown Prince Riley’s fiancée. To her, it made more sense to trust what the people of her homeland told her rather than anything from the unfamiliar kingdom of Slibegrad. That’s why no matter how many times Riley told her that Liliana was his fiancée, Edith refused to accept it. In her mind, the correct answer had already been ingrained: she was meant to be Riley’s fiancée, just as she had always been told.

It made sense now why Obsidian had mocked the strange way Edith was raised, suggesting there was something off about it. Liliana couldn’t help but agree with Obsidian’s earlier assessment.

Prince Roland, unaware of Liliana’s thoughts, continued speaking quietly.

"General Elmer Hagen… he may have come from humble origins, but he wasn’t afraid to speak bluntly to me. At first, I thought he was incredibly disrespectful, but over time, I realized he had a keen eye for things, and his words were often sound.”

As Roland grew more familiar with the general, Hagen's words grew bolder. While many of his remarks made Roland furrow his brow, one statement had cut him deeply.

“The emperor may be mighty, but his children are little more than puppets. They bend to the will of the emperor and the nobility. Once the emperor passes, this country will fall into chaos.”

When Hagen had chuckled and half-jokingly suggested he should take over the country himself, Roland couldn’t refute him. Too many at court failed to see the inevitable future of the empire, a future even a general with no knack for long-term strategy could clearly predict.

Many of the princes and princesses with claims to the throne, while perhaps academically gifted, lacked the ability to think for themselves. They blindly followed the words of the nobles who supported them, leaving few with the broad perspective necessary to rule fairly over such a vast empire. Perhaps, with enough experience, some might eventually grow into capable leaders. But as things stood, none of them showed that potential. They only cared about the throne, fixated on standing at the empire's pinnacle, pouring all their energy into dragging down their rivals.

“In such a situation, there’s no way Edy can survive unscathed. That’s why I believe it would be better for her to marry into your kingdom. The chances of her life being taken… are lower here than in the empire.”

Liliana narrowed her eyes. It seemed to her that Prince Roland was trying to elicit her sympathy by divulging such personal details. Yet, his reasoning struck her as nothing more than sophistry. He was attempting to pass off a problem that should be resolved within the Yunatian Empire to the Kingdom of Slibegrad. Even if Princess Edith were to marry into the kingdom, it would only delay the inevitable. It wouldn’t solve the underlying issue.

More importantly, in her previous life’s otome game, the princess had died before the story even began. Since Liliana had remained Crown Prince Riley’s fiancée in that timeline, it was clear that Edith had never become his betrothed.

(I can’t say for sure what parts of this follow the game’s script, but it’s very likely that the princess will die soon.)

The game began when Liliana was thirteen, which would be four years from now. If, in that world, Roland and Edith had also visited the Kingdom of Slibegrad, and if Roland had pushed for his sister’s engagement to Riley, with Duke Clark’s approval, then it was likely the marriage talks had progressed. But if the princess had died before the engagement could be finalized, then she had probably been assassinated before her stay in the kingdom grew too long.

(Prince Roland once lost someone precious to him and regretted pushing them away.)

In his route, it was the heroine Emilia Navy who helped him heal from that wound. But Roland's route was notoriously difficult compared to the other love interests. Not only were there almost no opportunities for Emilia to meet him, but unless Roland’s route was completed, players couldn’t access the hidden character's storyline. As a result, fans frequently exchanged strategies online.

In any case, the immediate priority was to deal with the current situation. If the engagement talk between Edith and Riley continued, and Roland left his sister in the kingdom—or if they returned to the empire only to come back shortly after—the princess's life would likely be in serious danger.

<Then doesn’t that give you even more reason to stay close to her?> Liliana suggested calmly.

Roland’s brow furrowed.

“Did you even listen to what I just said?”

<Of course I did> Liliana replied, unfazed. <However, the idea of marrying the princess to the crown prince was the general’s plan, wasn’t it? Now that General Hagen has passed, who would ensure her safety, even in another country?>

Implicitly, she was saying that there were still those who wouldn’t hesitate to invade the kingdom, even if the princess married into it. Roland's expression soured. It was clear Liliana had struck a nerve.

<If Princess Edith marries into our kingdom, she could become a pawn of war> Liliana continued. <If His Majesty the Emperor is as you described, then all the more reason. Even if the princess's life is endangered, he could use her as an excuse to invade us, claiming that it is the duty of royalty to sacrifice for their nation. I can only imagine how cruel such a fate would be for her>

Even if Edith managed to escape with her life, her heart would likely be shattered if she discovered that her beloved father, the emperor, had betrayed her. Given her innocence, as even Roland had admitted, it was hard to imagine her possessing the strength to withstand such a reality.

Roland was visibly shaken. Clearly, Liliana’s words had hit close to home. But she didn’t stop there.

<Even if she survives physically, if her heart is broken, that too would give you cause for regret. If she is truly a treasure in the palm of your hand, you mustn’t let her slip away.>

Prince Roland let out a deep sigh. The bitterness that had clouded his face earlier was gone. His eyes, now clear and focused, reflected the resolve of a man who had made a decision.

"—Meeting you during this trip may have been the greatest stroke of luck."

<You honor me with your words, Your Highness,> Liliana replied gracefully, offering him a gentle smile.

Seeing her reaction, Prince Roland gave a wry smile of his own. He ran a hand roughly through his hair and let out a small breath, followed by a surprisingly lighthearted laugh.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Prince Roland casually picked up the papers Liliana had been writing on. “Is this alright?” he asked, his words brief but clear in meaning. Liliana immediately understood his intent. She gave a small nod, and in that moment, the stack of papers vanished from his hand. The door opened, and Riley entered the room.

“My apologies. I was in a meeting about tomorrow’s itinerary.”

“No need to worry,” Prince Roland responded smoothly.

Liliana smiled serenely, as if nothing at all had happened.

---

ToC 

Chapter 129