A Villain's Will to Survive novel Chapter 222

Chapter 222: Wooden Pocket Watch (1)

... Epherene’s thoughts turned to the assassination of Her Majesty. The one behind it had to be among the thirty knights she had summoned—or at the very least, that was the strongest lead on the suspect.

"And they have made no effort to hide their crime, for all the world to know,” Epherene said.

The Imperial Family would never disclose the Empress’s condition without careful deliberation. As the most crucial figure on the continent, any news of Her Majesty would only be made public after thorough preparation and the establishment of multiple contingency plans—a fundamental rule of governance.

"It was all carefully planned."

However, while the Imperial Palace was thrown into chaos, the Altar took advantage of the opportunity and exposed the Empress’s condition to the press, and the news spread like wildfire. With that single move, their scheme brought the very foundations of order crumbling down.

"And that was how they drew the Professor into the Imperial Palace."

If news of the Empress’s critical condition spread, then the Professor would have no choice but to come to the Imperial Palace, Epherene thought.

“... So they had planned to take the Professor down along with Her Majesty from the very beginning,” Delic muttered, his jaw tightening in anger.

"Professor must have had a sense of it from the moment he stepped into the Imperial Palace," Epherene replied with a nod.

After the incident, the Imperial Palace was swarming with outsiders. Watchful eyes hovered in every corner, and among them, without a doubt, were the eyes of the Altar.

“And...”

Epherene fell silent for a moment, then slowly turned to look at Sylvia.

Drip— Drip—

Water dripped from her drenched robe, pooling at her feet. Sylvia’s hollow eyes stared into nothingness, her body limp like a discarded marionette, giving no sign that she had heard Epherene's words at all.

“... Sylvia,” Epherene called. “There is definitely a way to undo this.”

Sylvia raised her head slightly, strands of brittle blonde hair slipping from beneath her hooded robe.

"So please, help me. Don’t just stand there like a fool."

"... That doesn’t mean it will bring the dead back to life," Sylvia muttered, her voice weak, her lips pale, bruised a cold shade of violet.

"No, he will," Epherene replied, nodding firmly despite the ache in her heart.

Sylvia remained silent.

"These memories will fade like a bad dream. And when they do, we’ll hit back twice as hard."

Sylvia's eyes narrowed in disbelief, and she shook her head, letting out a quiet sigh as if the situation were unbelievable, muttering, “Foolish Epherene.”

“... You’re going to help, right?”

Sylvia pressed her lips together, but with her, silence was as good as agreement.

"Knight Delic, should we head out now?" Epherene asked.

"Yes, I’ve already dispatched a team of five, all reliable."

Epherene frowned at Delic’s words.

"Don't worry. I'm no fool. I gave each of them a different destination," Delic replied with a faint smile.

“... Sorry?”

"I don’t know exactly what the Altar is, but if they dared to attack Her Majesty, then spies have likely already penetrated the Imperial Palace," Delic said as he slipped on his coat. "If any of the five are spies, they’ll feed the Altar false information. And even if they aren’t, the false leads will still mislead the Altar’s attention. Either way, it’s the best way to divide their focus."

“Aha...” Epherene muttered, impressed by his insight.

“Then let’s get going. And your friend over there too,” Delic said with a faint chuckle, gesturing toward Sylvia.

“We are not friends,” Sylvia said, snapping her head up.

“... Oh? You’re saying you’re not friends?”

“We were classmates from university,” Epherene said.

“Classmates are friends... Wait. Just now, you called her Sylvia, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did.”

Delic's eyes widened as he turned to look at Sylvia.

"Sylvia of Iliade. Master of the Primary Colors," Sylvia replied with a scoff.

***

Sylvia created an airship with her Primary Colors, and with Epherene and Delic by her side, they flew through the sky. Before long, the three of them arrived at the Yukline mansion.

"... Wait here for a moment. I’ll go in alone," Epherene said.

"If anything happens, shout for help," Delic replied.

“Okay.”

Under the full moon’s glow, the mansion’s garden—once familiar from her time there—felt strangely lonely and cold. Stepping off the airship, Epherene walked with a quick pace toward the back door.

Creeeeak—

Epherene pushed the back door open and walked up the stairs in silence. Deculein’s office was secured by protective magic, but she had been granted access with a drop of her own blood that she had offered. Inside, everything remained as it always had—neat and orderly. Even in his absence, it seemed someone continued to keep it clean.

Maybe Lady Yeriel did? Epherene thought.

“So, the drawer...”

As Epherene approached the desk, a sudden chill brushed the nape of her neck, sending a shiver through her.

Swish—

A chilling wave of murderous intent, followed by the cold bite of steel, sent a shock through Epherene. As she spun around, a cloaked stranger came into view—a blade driving straight for her heart.

“Ahh!”

Just as the blade was about to pierce her chest, the space around Epherene warped, pulling her three steps away in a blink.

“Careful.”

Then, a voice approached from behind, and Epherene turned toward it, her eyes widening in complete shock.

“... A-A-A-All—”

“Shh.”

Behind Epherene stood Assistant Professor Allen, his expression extremely serious.

Epherene swallowed hard.

The Professor who was alive is now dead, and the Assistant Professor Allen who was dead is somehow standing here? What in the world is happening? Epherene thought.

“... What in the world?”

"Yes... it certainly seems that way," Allen replied with a bright smile, then extended his hand toward the cloaked stranger.

The stranger instinctively darted toward the window, seemingly attempting to escape—only to be sliced clean in two in the very next moment.

Shhhhhhrk—

The stranger’s body split cleanly at the waist, the cut so precise that Epherene could only stare in stunned silence. The lethality of it was as unimaginable as Allen’s return from the dead.

"What brings you here?" Allen asked, his expression unbothered by what had just happened.

“... Huh?" Epherene muttered, staring at Allen.

Epherene searched his face, looking for even the slightest hint of dishonesty—but no, it was undeniably Allen.

“Wow.”

The shock Epherene felt was nearly the same as when she had first experienced regression.

"That was the last watchman left here, keeping watch in case you came," Allen explained. "And I was watching him."

Epherene remained silent.

"So, Miss Epherene, what brings you here?"

“Umm... I...” Epherene muttered, hesitantly pointing toward Deculein’s drawer—just beyond the severed corpse, split clean in two like a fallen tree.

“Oh,” Allen muttered, waving his hand once to wipe away the corpse and every drop of blood. In an instant, they vanished without a trace, as if they had never been there to begin with. "Okay. What is it you're looking for?"

Epherene stepped forward and pulled open Deculein’s drawer.

Creak—

“... This,” Epherene muttered.

Just as Deculein had described, a dark bracelet rested on a delicate veil.

“... Aha,” Allen muttered, pulling a small letter from his coat. “Here. Take this, Miss Epherene.”

“What... is this?” Epherene asked. _{frёewebηovel.cѳm}

"Oh, I’m sorry... I had my reasons..."

Clatter—

Knock, knock— Knock, knock—