A Villain's Will to Survive novel Chapter 256

Chapter 256: Rest (1)

"... Argk!" Epherene gasped awake, flinching as her eyes flew open and quickly scanning her surroundings.

It was the office of Head Professor Deculein, high on the 77th floor of the Mage Tower—a room of perfect order, immaculate and spotless, where not a single particle of dust dared settle.

“What just happened?”

I was in the Imperial Palace—with Deculein, Adrienne, and Ihelm—in some weird white room, Epherene thought.

“... Hmm.”

Somehow, it felt oddly familiar—and yet, there was something undeniably familiar about how it was all playing out.

“Was it a dream?” Epherene muttered, pressing her hands against her cheeks.

At that moment, Epherene felt someone's eyes on her. Of course, it was Deculein, watching her with that same look of unimpressed disdain.

“Wipe your drool,” Deculein said.

“... Huh?”

“Not even the sense to grab what spills.”

"Crab? That seafood, the sideways little thing? They were pretty tasty."

“... Should I just kill her.”

Epherene blinked, confusion tightening across her brow at Deculein's reaction, unsure what to make of the look he gave her.

And...

Wait, did I regress again?

Epherene checked the calendar, but the date remained unchanged. Yesterday had come and gone. Today was just today.

"Then it must be just a dream..." Epherene muttered, turning back toward Deculein, whose brow furrowed. "Professor, I dreamed of going to an event.”

“Dream?”

"Yes. I dreamed we were at the event, but everything around us was a white space. Adrienne was there, Ihelmet too, you, Professor, and me. Then you started saying something about a death variable or something? You kept repeating it, and then I woke up.

“What’s a death variable? Did you come up with some new theory or something?" Epherene said, letting out a big yawn as she pulled out a pocket watch from her belt, its hands gleaming and flickering with sapphire light.

Deculein looked at Epherene for some time, then rose from his seat, pulled on his coat, and gripped his staff with one hand.

“Where are you going, Professor?”

Deculein offered no reply to Epherene’s question, then walked out of the office, leaving only the echo of his footsteps behind.

Bang—!

The door stood closed.

"What’s with him? Why’s he walking away like that? It’s not like this is my first time dozing off... Yawwwn—" Epherene muttered, narrowing her eyes.

But for some reason, I'm feeling a bit tired. It's as if the mana inside me has thinned.

"Oh, right. I’ve got a lecture to go to today too," Epherene muttered as her schedule flashed through her mind.

Of all the courses, Epherene had chosen tax accounting, and with the money she’d been making lately, taxes and forms had become her newest headache.

"I should get some sleep there. No, I mean, I should listen to the lecture," Epherene muttered, shoving her textbooks and pens into her backpack as she pushed herself forward.

***

“Precognition, that’s what it is,” Rohakan said.

From the moment I left the office, I went straight to Rohakan’s vineyard, where I asked him to request Epherene’s diagnosis today.

"Is it the same power that belongs to you?" I asked.

"So it would seem. There was a reason I wanted to take that child as my protégé."

“... I see.”

After all, Epherene was destined to become the future's archmage—perhaps a mystery like this was inevitable.

“So then, what is it you intend to do?” Rohakan asked.

"I intend to look deeper into the event, as Epherene has already given me a hint."

That the event should be surrounded by a death variable, and that I would be in the company of Ihelmet—no, Ihelm—and Adrienne, such foreknowledge alone was more than enough; it was already a massive hint.

“... But Sophien is the one I can't stop worrying about. I never know what she’s thinking or what she’ll do. And when her mind turns, nothing after that is predictable."

I nodded and resumed writing on the waiting surface of the magic paper.

"And that—what is it?" Rohakan asked, a flicker of curiosity passing through his eyes.

“It’s the final exam for my advanced lecture,” I replied. “It’s been postponed for various reasons, but even so, there must be a test to bring their theories together and decide who passes and who does not.”

"Would you let an old man take a look?" _{fгeewebnovёl.com}

“Of course,” I replied, handing Rohakan ten sheets of magic paper—each one layered with a hundred pages, a thousand in all.

"Oh ho. That’s quite a lot," Rohakan said, flipping through the layered magic paper with each magic circle written across its sheets. "But you know, Deculein."

“What is it?”

“Every now and then, I’d see Yulie wandering these vineyards.”

What he said was unexpected enough to leave me speechless, and for a moment, I couldn’t find anything to say.

"Are you referring to Knight Yulie?"

"Yes. I suppose she must believe there’s some clue—or evidence of you—somewhere in the vineyard."

“... I see.”

Yulie, the woman beloved by Deculein. But now, I found myself unable to tell whether it was Deculein who loved her, or if, in some imperceptible way, that love had found its way into Kim Woo-Jin as well. The boundary between them had grown faint, almost indistinguishable.

"Do you love that woman so deeply?"

"Yes," I replied without a moment's hesitation. "Though even I have no way of knowing how deep it goes."

"Even if she’s the one who brings you down?"

Rohakan’s eyes, once reading the magic paper, gradually rose to meet mine in silence, while the quiet vineyard around us breathed a subtle sweetness that lingered faintly at the tip of my nose.

“... Yulie could never be the one to bring me down,” I replied with a small smile, nodding. “For her to survive, she must hold on to her hatred. But Yulie’s heart is too gentle; if she were to bring me down, she would let that hatred go.”

Then, Rohakan turned his eyes back to the magic paper, its parchment steeped in magical theory.

"I will not fall, and Yulie will continue to survive."

“Is it because of that curse?”

"Yes. Should her heart burn too brightly, the curse will melt and seep free. But if her heart turns cold as stone, then she will survive."

“Have you chosen to submit to fate?”

“I will find the answer. But until that time comes, I will let Yulie go on hating me.”

"And what of afterward?" Rohakan asked, his eyes never leaving the lines of theory. "When the answer is yours, what will you do then?"

I sat in silence, considering whether the conclusion of this relationship had been determined from the very beginning, but it wasn’t fate, nor was it destiny.

“... The engagement will be broken.”

In every scenario, Deculein and Yulie were never meant to be.

Perhaps, instinctively, even Deculein’s nature has always known. I love Yulie—but never once did I allow myself to picture a world where we were together, I thought.

“Why is that?”

"If I must name a reason... it’s that my time remaining is growing short, and I’ve come, more and more, to sense it in myself," I replied.

The future Epherene foresaw—witnessing my coming death in a world where I had already died a hundred, a thousand times over—though perhaps only that one death would ever be real.

"Now, I hope she will come to hate me, with a hatred equal to the love I hold for her," I said.

A love—strange in its melding of Deculein’s consuming obsession and Kim Woo-Jin’s gentle tenderness—was love in its purest and most complete form.

"So that she will not feel her heart ache when the time comes for me to leave."

"... Well, are you really the Deculein I know?" Rohakan said, his face creasing into a deep scowl.

I turned toward Rohakan.

"The Deculein I knew would have declared, without hesitation, that he could overcome it all."

“... I cannot say. But here, in this vineyard, I feel more like myself than anywhere else,” I replied.

Mist rolled through the vineyard—a space between worlds, crafted by Rohakan, neither life nor death but a crossing of timelines. And in that quiet air, something gentle unwound the defenses around my mental strength, until, without even realizing it, I released them myself. Therefore, it seemed that the person I had become now resembled Kim Woo-Jin more than Deculein.

“But maybe, once I step beyond this vineyard, my heart won’t be the same.”

“... Is that so,” Rohakan said, returning the magic theory to me. “Either way, the Addicts on the Floating Island will eat this up.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

I filed the magic paper among the other documents.

"I’m counting on you to look after Sophien. No matter what the Empress's Event is about, don’t back down. You haven’t forgotten what we promised, have you?" Rohakan said, handing me a few clusters of grapes.

"... I am Deculein," I replied, pushing myself to my feet. "I will not back down—no matter what. I just make certain I have the methods to win—every time."

Rohakan offered a small smile at my words.

***

... At the Flower of the Pig, the Empire’s most celebrated restaurant, Epherene dined, savoring a plate of Roahawk.

“Nom, nom— Nom, nom—”

Across the table sat Soliet—her newest friend from core subjects—and Julia, her oldest friend. Julia, daughter of the butcher, sparkled like a walking jewelry stand, with her earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and even her robe and shoes gleaming with jewels, along with a staff by her side.

Looks like the Flower of the Pig has been making bank lately, and she's blowing it like it’s nothing, Epherene thought.

As Epherene licked her lips enviously, Soliet picked up a slice of meat and placed it between her lips.

“Well? Do you like it?” Epherene asked.

"Not bad," Soliet replied, nodding.

“You call this not bad?”

Soliet—no, Empress Sophien herself—was attending the same tax accounting lecture as Epherene.

Of course, I hadn’t planned to take the same class with her, but the coincidence intrigued me, so I approached—just once, since it piqued my interest... And this one—the moment I opened my mouth, came running up like a puppy, already asking to grab a bite together...

“... Alright. It’s delicious.”

"Right? I told you it was delicious—of course it is... Oh?!" Epherene said, her eyes flying wide as she raised a finger and pointed at someone ahead.

"Oh... Miss Epherene," Yulie replied, her eyes widening with a shine, the timid wonder of a deer.

"Oh~ So did you come all the way to the Empire just to visit here?"

Honestly, she just looks rich. And since I’ll definitely eat more, splitting the bill is a win for me, Epherene thought.

“Oh, a month~? That was long ago. Now it’s three months. Only Ephie could walk right in without a wait~” Julia said, her voice slipping like a noble lady.

"Oh, is that so? Then I definitely should be the one buying today's meal," Yulie said, popping a piece of meat into her mouth.

Just as planned, Epherene thought, her lips curving into a secretive smile.

Gulp.

"... Oh, yes. This is the discounted price," Yulie replied, straightening her back.

Okay. Deculein may be a villain, but Miss Epherene has done nothing wrong. If anything, to her, I might be the villain for trying to bring him down. So, at the very least, I can buy her this meal... Yulie thought.

“Oh, you paid already, Knight Yulie?”