A Villain's Will to Survive novel Chapter 257

Chapter 257: Rest (2)

“Get the event ready—!”

The Imperial Palace stirred with the cries of morning and the rush of preparations for the event. Hoofbeats raced across the palace grounds in a steady rhythm. Meanwhile, inside the Empress’s chamber, Sophien sat alone, her face tinged with mild irritation.

“Ahan,” Sophien called.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Ahan replied without hesitation.

“I dreamed,” Sophien said, her eyes locked on the view outside the window.

“Dream, Your Majesty?”

“Yes, Rohakan showed up.”

“... Ah.”

Rohakan, the Black Beast—long dead, and yet still he haunts Her Majesty in her dreams, Ahan thought.

"Whatever words the traitor spoke, it would be best not to trouble Your Majesty with them," Ahan replied, shaking her head.

"No, it is a matter worth troubling over," Sophien said.

Sophien dreamed, but it wasn’t really a dream; it was a memory slipping through the gaps in her thoughts.

"Indeed, it seems that damned man has left something stuck in my mind."

Somewhere in Sophien's mind lay a faded memory, slipping further each time she reached for it. It was the day Rohakan killed her mother and disappeared—long before the endless cycle of poisonings had begun.

"It seems to be a lock on my memories. Rohakan must have set it in place when I was too young—and perhaps it grew alongside me. Even my magic cannot dismantle it," Sophien concluded.

"Would Your Majesty consider asking the Professor for help?"

Without a word, Sophien turned and looked back at Ahan.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, for speaking out of turn," Ahan added, bowing her head.

"No, you were right. This is too strange. I must bring this to Deculein for questioning."

"Strange, if I may ask, Your Majesty...?"

"Two days ago, Deculein visited Rohakan’s Vineyard. I had thought it merely an act of mourning," Sophien said, her brow faintly furrowed. "But this dream of mine—it cannot be a mere coincidence."

“Oh... I understand, Your Majesty.”

"Indeed. Therefore, I will be changing the course of the event."

In that moment, with her eyes widened, Ahan replied, "Your Majesty, but—"

"It matters not. Deculein has already figured it all out, has he not? I intend only a minor adjustment—the order and the guest list for the event," Sophien said, a subtle smile curving her lips.

"Yes, Your Majesty. This is Your Empire. Whatever happens, it is an Empire shaped by Your Majesty’s will," Ahan replied, though visibly confused, before bowing low in submission.

***

“... There~ All done now.”

Roharlak was built in a desert, where temperatures swung over one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit between day and night. Originally constructed as a concentration camp, it served as a living wall of humanity, shielding the lands from the monsters beyond.

Across the continent, people whispered that it was better to die than be sent to Roharlak. But Karixel, leader of the Scarletborn, never saw it that way.

"How is it? The pain’s a little better now, isn’t it?” Karixel asked.

In the concentration camp’s yard—called an exercise ground, though it felt more like an oven under the desert sun—Karixel wrapped strips of cloth around Lucy’s face as she trembled in silence.

Of course, the shock of losing sight must have been terrible, and if it was Deculein’s steel that pierced those eyes... Karixel thought.

Even the Scarletborn standing near Lucy wore worried expressions.

“Mister Karixel,” Lucy said.

"Yes, it’s been a long time, Miss Lucy. But did you know? The eyes are different from the core—if you meet a skilled puppeteer, they can be restored. So let’s just hang in there until we’re out. We’ll cover the cost."

Then Lucy bit down on her lip.

Smiling a little brighter than the silent sorrow he felt, Karixel added, “It’s fine, really. We owe the Great Elder so much—covering this is the least we can—”

“I,” Lucy said, snapping her head up, “and we carried out my grandfather’s will. We wanted nothing more than peace, to harm no one. But the Empire and Deculein, they—”

"It’s alright. We’ll make it out alive. We won’t die here. Everyone from Padahal has already arrived safely in Roharlak."

"I heard they’re building a gas chamber anyway," Lucy replied, her voice fraying, torn between tears and anger.

"Even if there's a gas chamber, it’s alright," Karixel added, his tone gentle. "We’ve planned for this. We’ve planned a shelter beneath it. Everything has been prepared—"

"If you've really prepared all that!" Lucy yelled, whipping her head from side to side. But finding only darkness, her desperation flared into a scream. "Then why not just run out of Roharlak?! Enough of these lies! Do you take me for a fucking idiot?!"

"No, I swear I’m telling the truth. This isn’t a lie. We didn’t run because Roharlak—Roharlak is the safest place on the continent."

"Damn you—get over here! Get over here!" Lucy shouted, her hands raking blindly through empty space.

"The Empress despises the Scarletborn. That’s why, until that day comes, we have to stay hidden here," Karixel said, a bitter smile on his face as he placed his hand on Lucy’s shoulder.

Pat—!

"H-Hiding, did you say?!" Lucy exclaimed, shoving his hand away.

“We need your help, Lucy—descendant of the Great Elder,” Karixel continued, his voice firm.

"What do you expect a blind person to help with—"

"Miss Lucy, you are the only one here whose core wasn’t taken. For that, I’m thankful. It is selfish, yes—but I thank Professor Deculein. I thank him for taking your eyes, and not your core. We needed that core."

"What the...?" Lucy murmured in disbelief.

That Professor gouged out my eyes, and he just said thankful? Thankful? Lucy thought.

“Thankful? Thankful? Go on—say it again. Thankful?”

"Miss Lucy, in time, once you've stayed here long enough, once living without sight becomes familiar, you'll be thankful to the Professor."

"... I heard my grandfather taught you—so this is how you repay him, Karixel? Like a total psychopath?" Lucy said, suddenly reaching out and grabbing someone's hair. "This is you, isn’t it?!"

“No, it is not,” Karixel replied.

"... Hmm," Lucy murmured, releasing her grip. "Then where are you? Step forward and place yourself in my hand."

"Actually, yes. That was me you grabbed just now," Karixel said, clearing his throat.

"... Oh, you little piece of—"

— Exercise time’s over.

At that moment, a woman called out from the watchtower, and Karixel raised his eyes, masking his face with calm.

— Back inside.

At Primien’s command, the assistant administrator of Roharlak, everyone on the exercise ground filed inside.

“I swear, I’m roasting alive.” Primien muttered, shaking her head while spreading open the newspaper.

Primien lounged across a long chair like a queen, while her sycophantic subordinates clustered around her, fanning her in silent flattery.

“Would you like me to bring more ice?!”

“Hmm. Yes. Go ahead and bring it.”

“Will do!”

As Primien commanded those people, a small bird fluttered down and landed on top of the newspaper.

“... Oh, what,” Primien muttered.

"Oh! Isn’t that a falcon from the Imperial Palace?!"

Primien straightened at the subordinate's words, untied the message from the falcon's leg, and read the single sentence it held.

Invitation Letter to the Empress's Event : Lillia Primien

Why has this come to me? Primien thought.

Primien froze, confusion rising beyond mere surprise...

"Of course—you’re incredible! As expected of Deputy Director Primien!"

“An invitation, penned by Her Majesty herself for the event to Deputy Director Primien!”

Unaware of the deeper politics, her subordinates merely showered Primien with praise.

"Yes. This is me. And because of that, I'll need time alone to think—take a leave," Primien replied, clearing her throat.

"Yes, Deputy Director!"

***

Drip, drip—

On a rainy night, Yulie sat in her Empire hotel room, staring out the window as the Capital's streets slowly blurred beneath the falling rain.

“... Why is there just one bed?” Reylie asked.

“Didn’t have the money,” Yulie replied.

Yulie had scraped together every penny to buy her house in the Capital, but after the Freyhem incident, the bank had long since taken it back. Even now, seventy to eighty percent of her salary went toward paying off debts she couldn't clear. Yulie was broke—utterly broke.

"What’s got you so deep in thought? Are you still thinking about that three thousand elne of meat?"

Yulie shook her head in silence, remembering that day, but that wasn’t the point as her eyes dropped to the small slip of paper in her hand.

Invitation Letter to the Empress's Event : Yulie von Deya-Freyden

“The event,” Yulie said.

"Mmm~ You are going to request an Empress’s Hearing there, right?" Reylie asked.

“That is correct.”

“Are you nervous?”

The moment Empress was added to the name—Empress's Hearing—it became something else entirely, no longer just a hearing, but a matter of gravest consequence, a judgment upon which lives depended.

Pitter, patter...

Invitation Letter to the Empress's Event : Adventurer Ria

"Wow, that's so cool," Leo said.

“Hmm, okay.”

Well, I’ve done a few missions for the Imperial Palace with the Red Garnet Adventure Team, but if that’s the reason, shouldn’t Ganesha be the one they invited, not me? Ria thought.

To meet him, and finally say what her heart had come to understand.

“Haha, guess you’re right~ Well then, until you leave, let’s train as hard as we can.”

"Oh, I guess it was only a dream, Professor. It's really nothing like what I dreamed," Epherene said.

Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!