The Villainous Family Loves Me Too Much!

“What on earth happened? Jonathan has just finished healing, and he needs some rest…”

Lucian sighed in frustration as if he couldn’t help it.

[Jonathan will sleep at the palace today. There’s an urgent matter in the Empire. I’ve just received notice that all communication with Felosite will be suspended. And…]

He hesitated for a moment, and I could tell that whatever he was about to say wasn’t good news.

[The date of Prince Liam’s appointment as Crown Prince has been set. And there’s more…]

More? Could it be… Father?

No matter what, it can’t be that father would actually go through with what I’m expecting, right?

* * *

Levirate marriage.

It is a marital custom where if an elder brother dies, the younger brother continues the marital life with the elder brother’s wife in his place.

Although not a common occurrence, the Castien imperial family would sometimes resort to levirate marriage in unavoidable situations.

Especially since marriage to a ‘Saintess’ was the most crucial way to protect the Empire for the imperial heirs who possessed special abilities.

When the current Emperor suddenly ascended the throne, he managed to find and marry a Saintess from Felosite, but now Beatrice is the only remaining Saintess in the entire Empire.

‘I had hoped it would never come to this in my son’s generation. But is there no choice?’

The Emperor’s brow furrowed deeply as he looked down upon the arguing nobles, snapping at each other like they would devour one another, from the highest seat in the council chamber.

‘This matter in particular… was truly difficult to decide.’

Just last night, someone infiltrated the imperial palace in an attempt to harm Beatrice, the Crown Princess.

An imperial knight from Felosite, a court lady from Felosite, a magician from Felosite…

On the eve of the Emperor’s long-awaited free trade with Felosite, this attempted assassination of the Crown Princess was plotted by Felosite.

With the Crown Prince’s position vacant since the wormhole incident and only one remaining Saintess, it could only be seen as an outrageous provocation from those Felosite bastards, striking at this very moment.

Perhaps it could simply be viewed as an attempt on just the Crown Princess’s life, but ultimately it was an act jeopardizing the Empire’s safety.

“Can Your Majesty be certain the Archduke of Felosite is not behind this incident?”

“The Archduke is a truly wicked man. Who knows what schemes he’s hatching with the imperial princess as his pawn. Free trade in such a situation is unthinkable!”

“Preposterous! We cannot allow more of their kind into the Empire!”

Most nobles led by Viscount Heilo opposed free trade with Felosite, while strongly advocating for Liam’s appointment as Crown Prince and his marriage to Crown Princess Beatrice.

“Although all the Felosite’s criminals who committed this evil deed were killed in action on site, there is no guarantee similar forces won’t appear again.”

The Emperor was well aware of their intentions.

Viscount Heilo, the father of Queen Yuliana and Liam’s maternal grandfather, sought to make his grandson the Crown Prince and become the true power in Castien. So his current opposition to Felosite was likely part of that plan as well.

It was because of his daughter Karena, the former imperial princess sharper than anyone else, who had married the Archduke of Felosite before being banished.

“But is it not mere rumor to suspect the Archduke of Felosite solely because the perpetrators were all from Felosite?”

The lone dissenting voice came from Baron Johannes.

The only upright man defying Viscount Heilo’s faction, which had dominated the nobles’ council since the Empress fell ill.

‘The Baron will likely disappear soon as well.’

The Emperor hadn’t always been like this.

He had tried to take the right path, to find the proper way for everyone’s sake.

But the youthful comrades who had once shared his vision gradually disappeared one by one…

Now he was tired of it all. The nobles’ council, the political strife, the endless bickering surrounding him.

So at some point, he stopped listening and seeing, leaving all important difficult decisions to them.

‘From the moment I took this seat, my opinion ceased to matter anyway.’

Such was the true heart of Motias, the current Emperor of Castien Empire.

‘Though free trade with Felosite is a pity…’

In the current situation, there was hardly a choice to be made.

Emperor Motias rose from his seat and began to speak.

“Inform the Archduke of Felosite. Due to this series of incidents, free trade between the Empire and Felosite is indefinitely postponed.”

Viscount Heilo stroked his mustache with a satisfied expression.

“And now I will announce the decision I have long agonized over.”

A brief silence fell in the council chamber, and the Emperor turned his gaze to his only remaining son seated beside him.

“Rise, Liam.”

Meeting the Emperor’s eyes, Liam slowly stood, and all eyes in the chamber turned to him.

“I hereby appoint the second prince Liam Henderson Leblanc as Crown Prince of the Castien Empire, and choose Beatrice Johanna Donovan, the Crown Princess and the Empire’s sole Saintess, as his wife. This decision by the imperial family follows imperial law to safeguard the Empire’s safety.”

* * *

“…So it came to this after all.”

Was this ultimately what Beatrice and Liam wanted?

While Liam’s appointment was an expected situation, I never imagined the Emperor would actually resort to levirate marriage.

Although Beatrice is the Empire’s only Saintess, surely by searching the entire continent others could be found.

I thought a man of the Emperor’s power would at least try that much.

“An invitation has arrived. For the Archduke and Archduchess of Felosite.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“Originally I wouldn’t even consider going, but since our aim is to prevent destruction, this could provide an opportunity to monitor Beatrice and Liam’s movements.”

He made a fair point. So does this mean Beatrice, who was the original female lead, has become the Crown Princess again, is the main character changing again? No, after committing evil deeds, she can’t be the main character anymore.

My thoughts grew complicated. Will the Crown Prince Liam and Crown Princess Beatrice become the leads?

‘Then what will be the ending of this novel? Who is the main character? What about the villain?’

I hurried over to Lucian’s large desk and opened the prophecy book placed in the center.

“Huh, did the prophecy change at all?”

There were… no new prophecies. Not a single one.

I was still the main character of this novel, with the climactic duel death ending. And…

※ If those with the power of light, magic power, or a piece of God’s power cannot combine their abilities, the entire continent will be destroyed.

-Your eyes are prettier, Karena.

I don’t know why the moment Lucian kissed me in the ‘gap of space and time’ came to mind right then.

-It’s not at all shameful for your body to turn red when you think of the person you gave your heart to. It is the proud heritage of Felosite men.

If reddening is from thinking of the loved one…

Who was he thinking of every time his body flushed red in my presence?

Could it be, really, me?

I suddenly felt my entire face burning hot.

“You’re always asking me if I’m unwell. Now it seems you’re the one who’s sick.”

Seeing my bright red face, Lucian mocked me.

“I’m, I’m just angry! Angry. I should get some water, ah!”

I hurriedly poured water into a cup and gulped it down loudly.

“That seems better! Whew!”

Even to me, that line sounded terribly awkward, but I thought it was passable enough.

“What is it you want?”

Suddenly his tone turned gravely serious.

“What I want, you say?”

“Not long ago, you asked me to make you the villain, did you not? To help you, become your teacher.”

Indeed, I had. In this tragic ending novel where the main character dies, I didn’t want to be one.

“Yes, I want to be the villain. A really bad one, really…”

Then I noticed Lucian’s lips, lightly tapping with his long fingers.

“Really…”

“Very well, I shall help you then. But there is one condition.”

The word ‘condition’ made me snap to attention.

I looked Lucian straight in the eye, our first close eye contact since that day. It felt strange, but I had no intention of avoiding it.

“What is it?”

“We need a final recourse, in case your method fails. The prophecy holds not just your fate, but all of Felosite’s destiny.”

The more Lucian spoke, the closer step by step he came towards me.

With the desk chair firmly behind me, I couldn’t even step back.

Having closed the gap until we were nearly embracing, Lucian whispered softly into my ear.

“That final recourse is…”

For some reason, he paused, then uttered the last part in a trembling voice.

“For you and I to undergo the bonding ceremony.”