A villainess for the tyr.., p.1
A Villainess for the Tyrant Volume 2 (novel), page 1
A VILLAINESS FOR THE TYRANT
VOLUME 2
YOO IRAN
TRANSLATED BY
ASTRAL RABBIT PUBLISHING
Yoo Iran © A Villainess for the Tyrant, Volume 2
Copyright © Shinyoung Media Services, Inc., 2023
English translation copyright © Astral Rabbit Publishing, Inc.
Translator: David Song | Editor: Noelle Winters
Published by Astral Rabbit Publishing, 2023
All Rights Reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
English translation rights arranged with Shinyoung Media Services, Inc. First published in the Republic of Korea by Shinyoung Media Services, Inc.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the copyright holders, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Astral Rabbit, Inc. supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
ISBN 978-1-954707-37-5 (digital)
CONTENTS
Act 4: Covet What Is Not Mine
Act 5: Who Are You?
Act 6: Stake Everything
Publisher’s Note
About the Publisher
ACT 4: COVET WHAT IS NOT MINE
Upon waking up and examining the state of her body, the saintess was shocked.
Where did all her holy power go?
Ever since she had possessed the saintess’ body, she could feel herself overflowing with divine power as if all the waters of the oceans were at her disposal. Now, though, forget about the oceans. She felt as if she were in the middle of a desert that had been utterly bereft of water for a hundred years. Could her power be gone since she used it all up on the dragon?
In any case, she was certain that she had no holy power. She couldn’t feel a thing no matter how hard she tried. Just as she was feeling particularly lost, however, somebody opened the door to the room she was in and entered.
"Heavens! So, this is where you were!"
It was Irene. Only after she entered the room did the saintess look around. From the looks of it, she was still inside the imperial palace.
After entering the room, Irene sat beside the saintess and pulled her into a hug, rattling away. "Goodness, the knights were suddenly going around asking if they knew about this one woman. It sounded just like they were talking about you so I came dashing over, and what a good thing I did! They say you were caught up in something huge? And I hear you fainted. Are you feeling fine? You don't know how much I've looked for you since you disappeared! Oh, how I worried! Did they change your clothes because they were too dirty?"
The saintess felt perplexed as she settled in Irene's embrace. Why was this girl suddenly acting like someone who had found their long-lost sister? What?
But then, Irene's tone abruptly dropped low as she said, "By the way, though... I heard you said some strange things to the other maids at home?"
"I-I'm sorry? What do you mean by strange things?"
"For example, something like, 'So long, I'm through with this place,’ or 'Work hard looking after the young miss in my stead'." Irene's tone fell even lower. "And then there's that time when you told me to wait, but you didn't return for so long you were found somewhere else... you wouldn't be trying to run away from me like my previous maids now, would you?"
Her words caused lines of sweat to appear on the saintess’s forehead.
Wh-what? Why did it feel like she had just entered an obsession route? The saintess couldn't answer Irene's "Did you just try to run?" with a 'Correct'. As she laughed sinisterly with her arms laced around the saintess's neck, Irene radiated an almost palpable black aura.
The saintess quickly put her mental cogs in motion. She had run out of holy power; in other words, she was incapable of using any ability whatsoever. What could she do even if she managed to escape Irene? Seeing how impossible it was to barge in at the moment, was there any other way to get inside the imperial palace?
Her head worked furiously, busily calculating her future plans. Although she did not know what was going on, there was only one answer to give.
"Why, never, milady! How I have missed you!" she cried out, aggrieved, and pulled Irene into a hug. Trying to imagine the saddest, most tragic thing she could, the scene from before she passed out immediately was conjured in her mind. That moment when she could only hear Estian's voice as Kane lay in her arms… her memory of Kane's face, his lips as they shimmered while he was unconscious...
Blast it. I wouldn't be feeling so bitter if I could've given one deep smooch, she thought, feeling surly. She couldn't help but cry at the thought of the male lead she had yet to lay even a finger on.
Wiping hot tears of unsatisfied desires, the saintess shouted, "I was so scared! I was lost and wandering everywhere when I suddenly heard a big noise! Knights were laying everywhere, then I opened the door and there was a dragon… but I don't remember anything after that! What happened to me? Where is this? What is all this? Ahh… my head… no, more than anything, milady, I'm so relieved you're safe!" The saintess swiveled her eyes this way and that as she recited the most cliché lines of someone suffering memory loss. More than ever she had to stick by Irene's side!
“Really?” Irene gave her the side-eye and the saintess clung to the former even more pitifully.
"But of course! How could I ever abandon you, milady?! Whom would I work for if not you? You're the only one for me! Don't you remember how I gave my best adorning you this morning? You're the best employer I have ever served, milady!"
"That wasn't your last show of goodwill or anything?"
"N-n... no!"
"Didn't you stutter a bit just now?"
The saintess turned her head and discreetly clicked her tongue at Irene's persistent questioning. So distrustful. Why was she so sharp at times like this, unlike her usual dull self? The way she pressed for answers was the very example of an obsessive male lead. Nevertheless, even as the saintess lamented the difficulty of life, she resumed her earnest sucking-up to Irene.
"Very well, then. Let's go back. What good is there in staying here any longer?" Irene suddenly stated.
"Pardon?"
Irene snapped her fingers before the saintess could say anything, prompting the servants waiting outside to rush into the room. "Take her away."
"Ha-hang on a second! Lady Irene!" Before she could say anything else, the servants swaddled the saintess in a blanket and ferried her out.
Irene watched the proceedings from behind, smiling. I managed to find a personal maid after so long. Can't just sit dumb and let Kane steal her away from me, can I now? Kane was certain to come looking for the saintess, claiming for the need to carry out a proper investigation. And it doesn't seem like that's the only thing he's got in mind.
After the chaos had somewhat settled, Kane had asked Irene about her maid, claiming it was for the sake of cleaning up the case. However, the persistent way he asked her about the maid was odd.
He's got to be after something else. To all appearances, Kane was just a good-natured knight commander, but how could it be so simple? He was the right-hand man chosen by that hard-to-please Estian. In truth, Kane was only slightly less cruel than his master, but he was second to none when it came to having a record of dicing people up.
It's certain she won't be coming back if she gets caught by Kane. Irene mused. Most of the people who disappeared from the imperial palace without a trace were most likely dealt with by Kane. I've got to take her with me before that happens.
Irene had liked that maid at first sight. The girl was as obedient as a puppet and had the knack for speaking the most pleasing words. But if that was all there was to her, Irene wouldn't have troubled herself into looking after that maid like this. However…
I also like how she hits the head on the nail sometimes. That made her all the more likable. The other servants would always grovel for her sake, but that maid would sometimes act so daring as if saying, “So fire me, then!”
But I don't really hate it. Difference in status aside, maybe this is what it's like to have a friend.
The saintess would have yelled “Don't go thinking of me as a friend on your own!” if she had heard Irene's thoughts, but alas, she was wrapped up in a blanket and being loaded into a coach at this moment. In any case, Irene swore to herself. It's my first time meeting a maid like her. I'll never let her be taken away!'
☾ ☾ ☾
"Miss Irene took her back without permission?"
"Yes. I tried to stop her, but Miss Irene was adamant..."
Kane appeared troubled by the imperial attendant's reply. After the dragon situation was settled, the mysterious maid had been discovered by the other entrance in the audience room.
I was going to confirm something... He had been in a groggy state of mind at the time when somebody whispered in his ears, Be still. I'll come back after taking care of everything.
The voice had been overflowing with anger. He could strongly feel the sincere determination to make the dragon pay for putting him into such bad shape.
Kane had not simply come by the position of knight commander. Few people could be said to stand above him in terms of martial prowess in the empire.
The one thing clear is that it was a woman. The first woman he thought of who was capable of besting him in a fight was Tania's mother, Margrave Kaniche. She, however, was the kind of person who would give him a kick if he was found collapsed, then ask, “Is lying down how you got the title of knight commander?!”
Her voice sounded young. There was no doubt that the voice belonged to a woman around his age. But a woman around his age who—forget retreating in the face of a dragon—was strong enough to spare worry for him in that situation?
Girgantia said he didn't know either.
When that blasted baby dragon saw the maid for the first time, he said, “I think this is her?” But when he took a second look, he changed his words. “Nope, she doesn't have a bit of power in her. It's not this one. I must've been mistaken since I can't distinguish human faces.” Because of that, Tania stepped on his tail again, telling the dragon not to be confusing.
I'll have to look into it a little more. Something about her bothered him for some reason. Kane turned around and his feet carried him back to where he came from, every step as heavy as his heart. But as he walked along a corridor, he paused, thinking, Should I just go to Miss Irene's mansion and check? Kane soon shook his head. He had no time for that; there was a mountain of things regarding damages to the imperial palace that required attention as well. He could not neglect the matter of the dragon and look into something else simply because it concerned him.
Why did her figure keep appearing in his mind? Kane recalled the figure of the maid who had lost consciousness. She had black, sleek hair, and her bangs that reached near her brows had seemed rather cute to him. He felt it a pity that he could not see the color of her eyes as she had them closed. Perhaps the shock to her mind was big. The image of her pale face continued to flicker before his eyes.
“…Huh?" Kane blinked repeatedly, startled out of his thoughts. It felt like he was remembering things a bit too clearly?
He shook his head again, but he could not completely get rid of the blush on his cheeks. Something about that maid is strange, after all. Why didn’t she disappear from his thoughts? For a long while, Kane could not get the image of the unconscious maid out of his head.
☾ ☾ ☾
A week had passed since the dragon appeared in the imperial palace. During that time, there was no one aside from the imperial attendants who saw Cecile. Even the attendants had little chance to see her, the reason being that…
“Please let me go outside!”
"No."
Cecile turned teary at Estian's firm reply, making him falter briefly, but then he shook his head. Seeing him so determined, Cecile swiftly wiped away her tears and turned her head to one side, muttering, “Tsk. And here I thought it would work this time."
Her doleful face from a moment ago vanished in an instant, replaced by a look of utter vexation. Watching Cecile's instantaneous switch of expression, Estian gave a chiding click of his tongue. "I can hear everything."
"I'm letting you listen," Cecile pouted as she kicked at the innocent post of her bed with her slippers.
More than a week had passed after the commotion caused by Girgantia had been settled, yet Cecile was not able to take a single step out of the empress’s palace since that day. No matter how she pleaded and got angry with the attendants, they would stop her, saying, “It is His Majesty's orders.” If that were all, she might have endured somehow. She still had the heaps of books she got from Tania, after all, so she intended on having a fun time eating fruits and reading books. However…
Where'd all my books go?
Cecile had approached her bookshelf in excitement, only to find it neatly emptied. The attendant who was standing behind the shocked Cecile forced herself to give an explanation. “Th-that is because His Majesty ordered for all the books to be put away...”
The reason, she was told, was that it was necessary to examine the books here since there might be something else wrong with them. That night, Cecile clung to Estian, crying when he returned to their bedroom, "Please return my books! I borrowed them from Tania!"
"Those books were all returned to Tania, so worry not. She's reading and checking through them to see if there are any more abnormalities." It was no wonder the girl had stopped coming over, saying that she had a mission to see through. Cecile had nothing to say since the books had returned to their rightful owner. “And there are some other things that need to be looked into, so all your official duties are canceled until it's clear that things are safe.”
All she could do then was nod at Estian's resolute words, but her pseudo-imprisonment that she assumed to last several days had continued for over a week until the present. Cecile appealed to Estian to let her out, saying that she could not take the suffocation anymore, but he remained steadfast.
“I’m bored! I can't read books, can't talk with the attendants, and it's not like I can meet other people either." Cecil whined.
“But it's only been a week?”
Cecile was rendered speechless by the look of incomprehension in Estian's eyes. He truly looked like he wondered what was so hard about being confined for a week.
“But I’m really bored.”
She had tried all kinds of things to appease her boredom, thanks to which she now knew there were 6,172 lilies drawn on one side of the palace walls, and that 815 crystals were hanging on the chandelier in the central hall. She had tried everything in looking for something to do aside from that, but she had reached her limit.
"Even you come back late at night and go out early in the morning, Your Majesty," she complained.
The only highlight of the day was Estian coming back at nighttime, and even then their time together was not long.
"So you're saying... you're not bored when I'm here?"
Cecile nodded. Why ask the obvious?
On that day, Estian fell asleep with great joy. Of course, he did not just go to sleep, which was why Cecile had to experience an arduous all-nighter. Perhaps her grumbling had worked; the next night, Estian brought several books. As Cecile greeted him happily and tried to take the books from his hands, Estian held them high out of reach.
“…?”
She gazed at him questioningly, to which he responded with a laugh. “Not yet. Their contents still haven't been fully checked."
“Then will you check them already, please!" Her teary entreaty brought a smile to Estian's mouth.
"That's what I intend on doing, but I think I'll need a bit of your help."
Cecile was seized by an ominous feeling.
☾ ☾ ☾
Oh, I knew it! Cecile realized and sat up in bed, glaring at the book in her hands. No wonder getting Estian to bring her some books had been easier than expected, despite his firm stance against it during the past week.
“I think we can go through checking them in no time with your help."
She should have been wary of him saying this with a smile, but in her joy of finally having a book returned to her, she carelessly answered, "I'll do my best to help with whatever!"
And this was the consequence she got. As Cecile wavered, fidgeting with the book, Estian asked, "What are you doing? Go on and read the next part.”
Her eyes turned to the book at his urging. She hesitated to open her mouth for a long time before barely bringing herself to read a sentence aloud. "His lips roughly... covered hers. Harsh panting... filled the room... aah… haah... The sounds of hot gasping filled the room... his hands went to her chest and... aarrgh! I was wrong!"
Unable to finish the page she was reading, Cecile tossed the book on top of the bed. She rolled up the sleeves of her pajamas and—seeing goosebumps on her arms—rubbed at them like mad as she looked at Estian, who had been lying comfortably beside her. He picked up the fallen book and peacefully asked, "What's the matter? Why don't you finish reading? Who knows when we'll check all its contents at this rate."
