The Villainous Lady Doesn't Speak Chapter 143

Cleaning up the Twin Peaks 1

When Obsidian arrived at Duke Clark’s mansion in the royal capital, the place was already in an uproar. Cloaked in darkness, he observed the situation, wondering what had happened.

The pale-faced servants had summoned both a doctor and a mage, and the two were now examining Duke Clark’s body with solemn expressions. Nearby, the eldest son, his face drained of color, listened to their words. From what he overheard, it seemed that the Duke’s wife, Belinda, who was currently resting in another room, had lost control of her magic during a marital quarrel, catching the Duke off guard. Unable to neutralize the magic, the Duke had been fatally struck.

The doctor and the mage didn’t seem to find anything strange, but Obsidian furrowed his brow, unsettled.

"A magic outburst killed him?"

He twisted his mouth in disbelief. 

The amount of magic power someone possessed wasn’t something you could easily discern just by looking. However, based on all the information he had gathered so far, it didn’t seem like Belinda, the Duchess of Clark, had enough magic power to cause such an outburst. Moreover, the Duke's office was equipped with various mechanisms. Obsidian had already noticed the presence of a magic circle designed to suppress the magic of others while amplifying the Duke’s own power.

But that wasn’t the only clue. There were clear signs left on the body. The damage to the Duke's body was severe, so much so that even the doctor and the mage hadn’t noticed, but the wounds were inflicted from the inside out. If the wounds had been caused by a magic outburst, they should have originated from the outside and penetrated inward.

"So, the young lady killed her father, huh? And if the brother's covering it up, that makes him an accomplice."

Obsidian, having easily deduced the truth, nodded as if satisfied. He was surprised that Liliana, who had been careful to hide her ability to use magic, had used it in front of Clyde. But more important to her, it seemed, had been taking Abram's life.

"Maybe she was more angrier about Duke Ealdred's murder than I thought?"

Considering Liliana’s personality, Obsidian had expected her to submit Duke Clark, the mastermind behind Duke Ealdred’s assassination, to proper judgment. That’s why something didn’t sit right with him. He had no idea what had happened, but Liliana had likely returned to her estate near the capital. Troubled by his thoughts, Obsidian decided to leave the scene quickly.

"I’ll head back for now."

He muttered, intent on checking on Liliana. Cloaked in the shadows of the night once again, Obsidian began to retrace his steps.

*****

When Liliana returned to her estate near the royal capital via teleportation, Obsidian was already gone. She felt a mix of disappointment and relief. With a sigh, she collapsed onto her bed.

Her confrontation with her father had left her mentally exhausted. Though Liliana had once fought off monsters during the largest-scale stampede in history, the toll on her magic felt far greater this time. Back then, she knew that even the slightest lapse in focus would mean death, so she had shown no mercy, and the magic she had used wasn’t particularly complex. In contrast, confronting her father, the duke, had required an overwhelming amount of magic and advanced spells, all while she grappled with the question of whether she should take his life.

"Was this really the right thing to do?" she muttered bleakly.

The more she reflected on herself in that moment, the more she realized how far she’d been from acting rationally. Should she have captured him, even if it meant injuring him, and subjected him to a fair trial? Or had killing him been the better choice? Though she’d considered these options, Liliana had known deep down that capturing him alive would be nearly impossible.

What had ultimately prompted her to cast the killing spell was hearing him utter the words of the subjugation curse. The subjugation curse was a dark spell that could destroy the target’s will, turning them into a puppet—essentially the same as necromancy, which reanimates corpses. Because of its nature, the spell was classified as forbidden magic. That’s why Clyde had comforted Liliana, telling her that what she did was "self-defense." But even if she hadn’t heard the subjugation curse, Liliana knew she would have still taken her father’s life.

That said, trials weren’t all that important in this world. In the countryside, trials were conducted by the local lords. If someone was dissatisfied with a verdict, they could appeal to the temple in the royal capital. For cases in the capital or disputes among nobles, the temple would judge, and the king himself often intervened in noble conflicts. However, not every dispute was brought to the temple or the lords; private retribution was also a common practice.

For instance, if a young member of one family was killed by a young member of another, the victim’s family had the right to kill someone from the offender’s family. The offender’s family could choose to protect the perpetrator, but if they admitted guilt, they were obligated not to shield him. In this world, losing the protection of one’s family was akin to a death sentence unless the individual had some extraordinary talent, like martial or magical prowess.

Even if one managed to survive without familial protection, they would be perpetually hunted by the victim’s family. To evade capture, sometimes fighting back to survive, was an exceedingly difficult task. Yet, if someone managed to endure against the odds, they would undoubtedly gain renown as a mercenary. Of course, such cases were rare.

In any case, Liliana's act of killing her father, Duke Clark, wouldn’t automatically make her guilty. If the crimes he committed, deserving of death, were brought to light, her actions would be deemed justified, and she would likely be declared innocent. However, that was a separate matter from rumors and reputation, and Liliana couldn't shake her unease or accept what she had done with a clear conscience.

Liliana couldn’t convince herself that her decision to kill her father hadn’t been driven by emotion.

Yes, Liliana had wanted Duke Clark dead. Her anger was undeniable. She couldn’t say that part of her didn’t resent the fact that the man who killed Duke Ealdred was still walking free.

"And yet, doesn’t that just prove I’m following the script of this game?" she murmured.

The low voice that echoed in Liliana's ears made her grip her pillow tightly with her slender hands.

In the game, Liliana was driven by jealousy, and she attempted to drive a wedge between the heroine, Emilia Navy, and her fiancé, the crown prince, by—borrowing the game's own words—resorting to "dark magic." Even when the player's chosen romantic target wasn’t Riley, Emilia would inevitably be involved with him to some extent, leading Liliana down a path of ruin. The core issue was that Liliana, in the game, was consumed by jealousy, anger, and hatred.

Although she had lived her life thinking she was different from the Liliana in the game, the more she reflected on what had just happened, the more it felt like she was no different from her game counterpart.

“And besides, everything seems to be unfolding exactly according to the game’s scenario,” she muttered.

There was another issue weighing on her mind.

All this time, Liliana had been acting in ways to avoid following the game’s script, in an effort to escape her impending doom. Pretending to have lost her voice to annul her engagement to Riley had been one such action. Yet in the end, it seemed almost certain that she would become Riley's fiancée. Now that Duke Clark, the most powerful opposition to their engagement, was dead, it would be nearly impossible to overturn that decision.

Liliana had also assumed that her brother Clyde’s change in personality was due to their mother’s death, but there was no guarantee that was true. In fact, after witnessing his sister kill their father right in front of him, his emotions were surely far from calm. If this incident caused a further change in Clyde’s character, that could also lead to Liliana’s downfall.

Liliana covered her face with both hands. In the darkness behind her closed eyes, the image of her father’s final moments vividly reappeared, sending a chill down her spine.

She didn’t feel any guilt over killing her father. Her heart was hollow, and she felt no sense of regret or remorse. She hadn’t hesitated to take his life, nor did she regret doing so. And it was that part of herself that terrified her. A small gasp escaped her as she felt herself being engulfed by the darkness creeping up from her feet. Forcing herself to calm her trembling body, Liliana cast a spell on herself.

Slowly, her consciousness was swallowed by sleep, and the magic and sorcery embedded in the room extended invisible tendrils throughout the space to ensure her peace. The defensive barrier that blocked all intrusions even rejected the dark figure that soon appeared.

“…Milady?”

Obsidian, who had hurried to the scene, couldn’t hide his confusion when confronted with a barrier more sophisticated than ever before. With the previous barriers, he had been able to get inside, albeit at the cost of waking Liliana. But the one in front of him now allowed for no such entry. Obsidian was completely powerless against it.

“What on earth…?”

Confounded, he tried to make sense of the situation, but with no way to get in, he couldn’t ask Liliana herself. Uneasy but with no other options, Obsidian decided to spend the night in the attic near her room.

The next day, Obsidian approached Liliana's bedroom. However, the barrier that had been erected was still meticulously intact, leaving no opening for entry. Though Obsidian could force his way in, doing so might have adverse effects not only on himself but also on Liliana. Uncharacteristically impatient, he lingered as close as he could to the barrier, waiting for the moment when he could finally see her.

It seemed that Liliana had informed Marianne and the others that she was feeling unwell, and so she spent the entire day confined to her room. Downstairs, the news of Duke Clark's death had spread, and the servants were in a state of shock and unrest. But Obsidian's concern lay more with Liliana than the commotion among the servants.

Then, the day after that—three days after Duke Clark's death—Liliana finally emerged, saying that she had recovered. The barrier that had enveloped her room was also gone. Relieved, Obsidian took the opportunity, unnoticed by the servants, to appear before Liliana.

"Hey, milady."

"Sid, I must thank you for telling me that Mother had left Fortia."

Obsidian was caught off guard by Liliana's sudden remark and fell silent. But she seemed unfazed, continuing with her usual smile.

"Thanks to you informing me about my mother, I was able to rush to both my father and mother's side."

Obsidian was at a loss for words. He wanted to ask if Liliana had indeed killed her father, and why she had locked herself in her room for so long. So many questions flooded his mind, but he wasn't sure if he should ask them. After all, Obsidian lacked a grasp of what would be considered "normal."

Then, he quickly abandoned his line of thinking, deciding it was pointless to dwell on it.

"So, you killed your old man, huh?"

His tone was one of confirmation, not inquiry. Liliana deepened her smile. Tilting her head slightly, she answered in a calm, measured voice.

"I’ll leave that to your imagination."

It was clear she had no intention of giving him a straightforward answer. Obsidian resisted the urge to sigh.

"Then why did you stay locked in your room all day yesterday? Were you really feeling unwell?"

"Yes, it seems the fatigue finally caught up with me."

Her polite response sounded strangely hollow. Obsidian furrowed his brows, but Liliana's expression remained unchanged. She sat there calmly, her usual smile fixed in place like that of a doll, unchanging and serene.

*****

As the carriage swayed on its way to the royal palace, Clyde let out a deep sigh. Only a few days had passed since his father’s death, but he was already feeling utterly exhausted.

It had been officially acknowledged that the cause of death for his father, Duke Clark, was the result of his wife, Belinda’s, magical outburst. Belinda had been diagnosed with diminished mental capacity. As expected, Belinda had not been able to find any peace in the ducal residence in the royal capital, where traces of her late husband lingered everywhere. She constantly cursed him, screamed that Liliana was a monster, and repeatedly begged Clyde to flee with her. Initially, Clyde had planned for her to attend the funeral, but after just one night, he had already changed his plans.

Under the guise of sending her for treatment, Clyde swiftly made arrangements to move his mother to a mansion on the far edge of Duke Clark’s territory. He also summoned Philip, who was residing at the Fortia estate, to the royal capital. Since it would take about a week for Philip to arrive, Clyde planned to use that time to not only prepare for the funeral but also gather the necessary documents to formally take over as the head of the ducal family. 

Normally, a guardian would be appointed when someone below the age of majority inherited such a title. However, either fortunately or unfortunately, Clyde was only a few months away from reaching adulthood, so there was no need for a guardian. This made it relatively simple to gather the necessary paperwork, though mentally, he was far from feeling at ease with the myriad of issues weighing on him.

Clyde had planned to return home as soon as he submitted the documents, but as he entered one of the offices in the wing where the administrative offices were located, a familiar civil servant stood up in a fluster. Quickly motioning for the other officials in the room to stay seated, he hurried over to Clyde.

"We have received your documents—without issue. However, there’s... um... someone who wishes to speak with you after this."

From the civil servant’s hesitant tone, Clyde immediately understood. The man wore an uncomfortable expression. It was undoubtedly an order from someone whose rank made it impossible for him to refuse, yet he also sympathized with Clyde, who had just inherited the title at such a young age and was clearly overwhelmed by the demands on his time. That was likely why he found it difficult to convey the message.

With no choice, Clyde nodded.

"Very well. Where should I go?"

The civil servant’s face visibly relaxed in relief. He then leaned in and whispered the location, a room situated deep within the palace—near the royal family's living quarters.

—-

ToC 

Chapter 144