The Villainous Lady Doesn't Speak Chapter 164

 Portents of a Triumvirate 4

After receiving the call from Petra, Liliana put the magic stone back in its pouch and fell into thought for a while.

She had learned that a neighboring lord had invaded the Kennys Border Margravate by chance. Obsidian had visited her room, saying, 'Heard some shady stuff.'

'Seems a lord from the neighboring country has invaded the Kennys Border Margravate. Their quality ain’t great, but they’ve got numbers, and they’ve got mages too.'

Naturally, the news had not yet reached Marianne’s ears. She would find out sooner or later, but Liliana had no intention of adding to her worries by telling her now. Seeing how distraught Marianne had been when Margrave Kennys was attacked by assassins before, it was easy to imagine how much she would worry about her home and family.

Realizing her own thoughts, Liliana let out a small, wry smile. What invariably came to mind was her own birthday, nearly two years ago. On that day, Liliana had killed her own father with her own hands. It had been necessary, and even if she were in the same situation now, she would not change her decision. She did not regret it. Still, when she thought of the relationship between Marianne and her father, Margrave Kennys, the stark difference from her own relationship with her father was enough to make her laugh.

(There were skirmishes in the border margravate in the game, too.)

Including those whose timing was uncertain, she remembered them happening several times. Of course, they hadn't been a major part of the main story. When they did come up, they were only mentioned briefly, and the official art book only had a single sentence about them.

Though her memory was hazy, the otome game Liliana had played in her past life had centered on a story of deepening bonds with the capture targets while healing their emotional scars and solving mysteries together. There were occasional battles, but the emphasis was more on solving mysteries through dialogue with the capture targets. One had to gather the necessary information, and based on that, converse with the capture targets to lead them to the correct conclusion. The conclusions reached and the choices made along the way would determine the story's branching paths, so if one didn't use their head, they might not end up on the route of the character they wanted to capture.

There were battle scenes, but perhaps out of consideration for the target audience, the difficulty was not that high. As long as you had raised each character's abilities to a certain level by that point, it was sufficient.

(If I remember correctly, there was only one battle in the Kennys Border Margravate mentioned in the art book.)

The fact that it was mentioned in the art book meant it was an event related to either the heroine or one of the capture targets. As she tried to remember who it was about, Liliana frowned, feeling a sense of unease.

“—That’s odd. Wasn’t it supposed to be a year from now?”

When the lords from the neighboring country had invaded the Kennys Border Margravate, one man had lost his life—an image from the game in her past life resurfaced in Liliana’s mind.

'If I had—if I had been born four years earlier, I could have gone with my brother.'

Then maybe he wouldn’t have died. The one who had confessed with a face on the verge of tears, filled with endless regret, was Belasta Draco, born into a family of mages. That meant the man who had lost his life must have been Ben Draco.

But that created a contradiction. Belasta had said, 'if I had been born four years earlier' because he couldn't accompany them to war until he reached the age of majority. Belasta was a year younger than Liliana. That meant Ben Draco was supposed to die next year, when Belasta turned eleven.

(Does this mean it's not this particular battle? Or perhaps—)

Is the timing of the game's events and the real events off?

If the timing was off, then there was a possibility that Ben Draco would die on this expedition. Normally, he shouldn’t need help. Even without Liliana’s intervention, he had Petra by his side. Petra hadn’t appeared in the game’s art book, so she couldn't compare, but looking back calmly, it was highly unlikely that Petra had accompanied him. The game's Liliana wouldn't have gone alone during the monster attack three years ago, and if so, Petra would have been seriously injured and unable to return to the field as a mage. Just having the talented mage Petra by his side should undoubtedly increase Ben's chances of survival.

Even so, Liliana couldn't shake a feeling of restlessness, opening and closing the book in her hands without reading it.

＊＊＊＊＊

The next day, a grim-faced Gild visited Liliana.

“Is something the matter?”

“Gimme some time off for a while.”

At the abrupt statement, Liliana blinked. She tilted her head and looked at Gild, then slowly spoke.

“May I ask the reason?”

But Gild didn't answer. His expression still stern, he glanced at Marianne, who was waiting in the corner of the room. It seemed Marianne had received news from the Border Margravate this morning; her face was pale, but she was carrying out her duties with fortitude. Liliana had thought she might ask to return home for a while, but perhaps knowing there was nothing she could do even if she went back, she was stoically going about her daily tasks.

Liliana, maintaining her usual smile, turned to Marianne and told her to step outside for a moment. Marianne hesitated for a second, then left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

“Is this sufficient?”

“—Yeah.”

Gild nodded curtly. He still hesitated, but finally, he forced the words out. His hands were clenched tightly, as if enduring some unbearable hardship.

“—My people are in deep shit. So I—I gotta go, by the laws of my clan.”

“Is that a law of the descendants of Alvaldi?”

“Yeah.”

It must have taken a great deal of courage to tell this to someone outside his clan, Liliana surmised, watching Gild. But the reason he was telling her, and only her, was likely because she knew he was a descendant of Alvaldi yet had never told anyone, nor had she ever taken advantage of his lineage to give him unreasonable orders. Perhaps he trusts me more than before, she thought to herself, nodding with an unchanged expression.

“I understand.”

Gild’s face lit up instantly. Liliana, a wry smile touching her lips at the transparent change, added, “However, there are conditions.”

“Conditions, ya say?”

His bright expression vanished in an instant. Gild frowned, one eyebrow raised and his mouth set in a thin line. His attitude was so easy to read that Liliana’s smile deepened, and she tilted her head slightly.

Considering the situation, Gild must be planning to head to the Kennys Border Margravate. In the Kennys Knights were Yeori and Innyeboli, descendants of Alvaldi. Liliana was well aware of their high combat abilities. After all, the so-called “northern immigrants” had achieved excellent results in the martial arts tournament two years ago. Crown Prince Riley himself had acknowledged their high physical capabilities and was even considering adding “northern immigrants” to the Royal Knights, just like the Kennys Knights. But for the descendants of Alvaldi, who were so skilled in combat, to be in crisis was a serious matter. The report had only said that “border lords have invaded,” but it seemed there was more to it.

“Yes. Would you be so kind as to take Marianne with you?”

“—Huh?”

Gild let out a dangerous growl. His eyes flashed menacingly, but Liliana met his glare unflinchingly.

Marianne had been worried about the safety of her home and family all this time. In that case, she would surely feel more at ease being near them. The level of danger would be incomparably higher than being on the outskirts of the capital. But Liliana had no intention of putting Marianne in danger. She had a plan. And telling him to take Marianne along was not the only reason.

Gild, however, seemed unconvinced. He snapped at Liliana with a growl.

“You might be one thing, but that girl’ll die on a battlefield in a heartbeat.”

“Oh my, so you have a high opinion of my abilities.”

“We ain’t talkin’ about that right now.”

Gild shot a sullen look at Liliana, who was deliberately acting pleased. He glared at her, trying to discern her intentions, but her expression remained unchanged.

“It is plain to see that you will be turned away at the gates if you go alone. Even if you were to rush into the battlefield, the Kennys Knights would not be able to determine if you are friend or foe at first. In the worst-case scenario, you could be mistaken for an enemy and attacked. That would put you in danger and cause casualties among the Kennys Knights. Do you think I would permit such a thing?”

Gild’s face soured as if he had bitten into a bitter bug. It was clear he had intended to charge into the battlefield without a word to the margrave in command. But even if he had offered his assistance to the margrave, there was no way they would have accepted a mercenary like Gild without suspicion.

That was precisely why Liliana had ordered him to take Marianne.

“They will likely accept you if you have a letter from me. However, I am still a minor and not in a position to inherit the family estate. Given the circumstances, they may accept it, but at first, they will surely doubt if the letter is genuine.”

That was why Marianne was necessary. Even the margrave would surely not doubt a letter brought by his own daughter—especially Marianne, who served Liliana as a handmaiden. It was more efficient than sending a clumsy messenger. Liliana had considered going herself, but a duke’s daughter traveling to the Kennys Border Margravate, a war zone, was out of the question and would be met with opposition from the margrave. Besides, in war, men and supplies were needed. They couldn’t afford to increase the number of mouths to feed for no reason.

Gild, who had been listening to her explanation with a bitter expression, reluctantly nodded.

“—Fine. But what’re we gonna do? A carriage’ll take too much—”

Gild’s words trailed off as he tried to say, 'time'. He fell silent, as if he had realized something. His eyes widened as he stared at Liliana. Liliana tilted her head, feigning a slightly worried expression.

“I have heard that magic does not work on the descendants of Alvaldi, but you can use teleportation magic, can you not?”

“Uh—it should work, in theory, but, ya know.”

“That is a relief. I have teleported Yeori-sama before, but I was not sure about you. I thought I should check, just in case.”

Liliana nodded nonchalantly, and Gild blinked. He then glanced worriedly towards the door for a moment and lowered his voice.

“I don’t mind, but… your handmaiden’s a normal person, ain’t she? A teleportation circle that can get ya from here to the border margravate… shouldn’t that have to be registered with the Ministry of Magic? It’ll be bad if they find out.”

“You make it sound as if I am not a normal person myself.”

“You gonna pretend you are?”

Gild cut off Liliana’s protest. Liliana’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t answer, merely shrugging.

“This is an emergency, so we will have to ask Marianne to turn a blind eye. We do not have time, and I will be the one to send you there.”

“—You really think she’ll turn a blind eye?”

“What would I gain by lying?”

Liliana let a small smile escape. Marianne was the daughter of the Kennys Border Margrave. She wasn't easily shaken, nor was she the type to insist on black-and-white distinctions. She had a tendency to be a worrier and nag when it came to Liliana, but she was confident there would be no problem with the teleportation.

“Would you call Marianne for me?” Liliana asked Gild. Gild nodded and went to fetch Marianne. Watching him go, Liliana let out a small sigh.

A moment later, Marianne, summoned by Gild, returned to the room. Seeing her face, Liliana frowned as if troubled.

“Did you, by any chance, hear from Gild?”

“My lady, are you serious?”

Marianne, who had been taking care of Liliana since she was a child, was both a handmaiden and someone who would speak her mind to Liliana without reservation. Now, she stood with her shoulders squared, glaring at the seated Liliana.

“Yes, I am serious. Do not worry. I will only be sending you two off and will remain at this mansion. You should spend some time catching up with your family. It has been a while since you’ve been back, has it not?”

But Marianne’s expression remained grim. She seemed hesitant to leave Liliana and return to her family home. So Liliana repeated the same story she had told Gild, and with a gentle smile, she gave Marianne a little push.

“You’re worried too, aren’t you? The combat zone is only a small area, so there is no need to worry. The fighting will not reach here for some time, and I will only be going to the royal palace for my Crown Princess training for a while. Olga is here too, so please do not mind.”

“But—”

“It is certain that we are short on time, so this is an emergency measure.”

Liliana would not yield to Marianne’s desperate attempts to persuade her. With a small, wry laugh, Liliana shrugged and said, “It can’t be helped.”

“If you insist, then you may stay here and watch the house, Marianne. I will go and deliver the letter to the margrave myself when I send Gild off.”

“My lady!” Marianne cried out. But Liliana remained calm, gazing gently at her. They had a stare-down, and it was Marianne who broke first. Her shoulders slumped in defeat, and she nodded. “—As you wish.”

“But! I will return as soon as I have confirmed my family’s safety. My father would scold me for returning at a time like this.”

“Yes, I understand,” Liliana said with a radiant nod. Of course, Marianne would try to return immediately. But unlike the journey there, the return trip would have to be by carriage. It would take a considerable number of days to get back to this mansion on the outskirts of the capital. And that was more than enough time for Liliana.

The next morning, a disgruntled Gild and Marianne disappeared from the mansion on the outskirts of the capital.

—-

ToC

Chapter 165