Chapter 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Valerian's Villainess #1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What kind of person is Lady Valerian?”
Lily asked.
How should I explain her? To sum it up in one word...
“A venomous woman.”
The one officially certified by the original story as the toughest bitch.
Outwardly dressed as a glamorous and noble lady, basking in praise, while scheming dark plots from behind the scenes.
The very incarnation of insatiable lust for power and ambition.
Even after the tyrant, Khalid von Aquitaine, fell, she hounded the protagonist's party to the bitter end.
Her personality is rotten, she's insidious, and she's not someone you can keep under your thumb for long...
But setting that aside, she's talented enough that I can't believe it took me this long to think of her.
The question is whether I can convince her properly.
Of course, if I ask if she wants to die or do as she's told, she'll do it without question.
“You've known Her Majesty and the lady since childhood, haven't you?”
“That's right.”
They're childhood friends, sort of, but still.
As I pondered how to persuade Elisabeth, Lily hesitantly spoke up.
“...So, do you know about His Majesty's childhood that I don't?”
“Probably.”
“I... I want to get close to Lady Valerian. What does she like?”
Why does she want to get close to her?
There are no photos or records of my childhood anyway.
And, regrettably for Lily, Elisabeth isn't the type to open her heart easily to strangers.
“She's a tiresome woman with walls around her heart so thick that slowly closing the distance is the only way.”
“I see...”
Lily looked disappointed.
I turned my head.
Beyond the carriage window, the Valerian family villa where Elisabeth was staying came into view.
“......”
What should I do?
Should I just beg her honestly that she's the only one I can turn to?
*
The pampered jewel of the Valerian Duke family. Elisabeth von Valerian was the shining star of Aquitaine high society.
A prodigy in both letters and arms.
At a young age, she had risen to the third circle as a mage and was an exceptional spirit artisan contracted with an intermediate spirit.
On top of that, rumors swirled that her innate intellect was the finest on the continent.
And every action she took was imbued with the noble grace befitting her exalted bloodline.
From her debut, it was only a matter of time before she dominated the capital's social scene.
Now, calling her the queen of society was no exaggeration.
Yet there she was, her usual face absent, grinding her teeth venomously.
“What do you mean by showing up out of nowhere and saying a woman with a personality as rotten as mine is perfect for the job?”
Elisabeth furrowed her brow.
She already had a headache from recent Academy matters.
In the midst of that, the emperor's sudden visit had forced her to set aside her work to receive him, only for him to spout something absurd. It was understandable.
What is it? All of a sudden.
To take charge of the vacant palace officials.
Was that something to say to a lady still attending the Academy?
Well, in her mind, it wasn't entirely an unreasonable request.
She considered herself exceptionally brilliant, a noble among nobles.
The emperor must think the same, which was why he had summoned her.
Hmph.
Her nose lifted arrogantly for no reason.
An emperor extending his hand to her. It satisfied a petty desire.
But that was that, and this was this.
No matter what, wrong was wrong.
“I'll take Your Majesty's assessment of my poor personality as a lighthearted joke after so long apart. I'm grateful for the offer, but as someone still devoted to her studies, regrettably...”
“Studies? There's nothing left for you to learn at the Academy.”
“Ugh.”
Elisabeth politely declined Khalid's proposal.
Even after her refusal, the man showed no sign of backing down.
Khalid was utterly nonchalant.
“I said no.”
Her attitude was sharply edged.
Not befitting toward an emperor.
Anyone who knew Khalid von Aquitaine's temperament would shrink in fear, wondering when her head might roll.
Elisabeth, however, remained composed.
The Valerians and Aquitaines shared faint ties of blood, and she and the current emperor could be considered childhood friends of a sort.
They had grown a bit distant since he ascended the throne and began his tyranny.
But it wasn't enough to make their reunion awkward.
Besides, a villainess was a villainess.
She couldn't care less about the emperor's atrocities, not even a speck.
Not caring and worrying about reputation were different matters, so she had kept her distance.
Yet here he was, after nearly two years, dropping something out of the blue.
Her amethyst eyes glared peevishly at the emperor.
“I've heard the news. You purged the high officials of the palace administration.”
“I did. The vacancies are substantial. I'd like you to fill them.”
“Your Majesty, while your trust in me is gratifying... who would treat a young girl like me as a high palace official?”
Clink. Elisabeth set down her teacup and lifted her eyes peevishly.
“For starters, do you realize how much my standing in society would shake if I accepted an official post at your summons?”
“It'll take a hit.”
“You know that. And couldn't you have phrased it more delicately? Saying I'm suited because of my bad personality—who would happily agree to that?”
“If I'd lied, you wouldn't even consider it. Want to test me?”
“...Ahem.”
Elisabeth cleared her throat briefly.
She's the type who adorns herself in lies more than anyone, yet she's hypersensitive to others' falsehoods.
That was Elisabeth von Valerian.
Khalid's words left her speechless.
As Elisabeth fell silent, Khalid's golden eyes pierced her like daggers.
...
She found it uncomfortable.
Khalid used to be a fool, all brawn and no brains.
He occasionally showed strangely keen insight, but psychologically, she had always held the upper hand.
Somehow, now she felt ensnared.
Elisabeth's expression began to turn venomous again.
“Elise.”
“...”
A nickname she hadn't heard in ages.
Seeing her sharpening gaze soften, Khalid continued.
“I need you.”
“......Pardon?”
“I need you. You're the only one. The only person I can trust.”
In that moment, Elisabeth somehow heard an incredibly forlorn note in Khalid's voice.
It made it impossible to reject him curtly.
After a brief silence.
“......I'll consider it positively.”
She nodded faintly.
*
After Khalid von Aquitaine returned to the palace.
Elisabeth fell into confusion.
What was that?
Elisabeth recalled the man she had just been speaking with.
Was this the Khalid she knew?
No.
He was still arrogant, hot-tempered, selfish, and quick to resort to force when things didn't go his way.
But something beneath that had changed.
There was more evidence.
Piles of documents on her desk contained intelligence gathered from across the empire over the past year.
Brought from the mansion's library after Khalid left.
Collecting, organizing, and compiling them led to one conclusion.
“It wasn't arbitrary purges...”
The three ministers purged recently.
People whispered that the emperor had killed his cronies on a whim, or that his madness had flared up.
But Elisabeth could see it.
The emperor had been steadily preparing in the shadows before purging them.
Elisabeth was stunned.
It was meticulously planned. She was confident no one but herself could have noticed Khalid's preparations.
“My god.”
Her hands trembled.
And that wasn't even the end. Just the beginning.
The ominous air before the full-scale purges began.
That was what emanated from the documents she was reading.
“What on earth is he planning...?”
It made Khalid's attitude understandable.
Without someone of her caliber, filling the voids from the great purge wouldn't be easy.
But.
“Why?”
She couldn't fathom why Khalid was doing this.
From the start, wasn't he the one who mingled with them more than anyone, bringing ruin to the empire?
She turned a blind eye out of past ties.
Frankly, the empire's state was Khalid's fault.
And now this?
Something fundamental has changed...
What had happened to him?
Rationally, something must have occurred in the two years since they last met.
What could it be?
Elisabeth's curiosity was unbearable.
The emperor's secret, unknown to others.
Golden eyes, proof of the world's most noble bloodline.
What lay beneath them.
And whatever it was that...
I need you. You're the only one. The only person I can trust.
“......”
A face that seemed to have conquered the world, forced to plead with her in such a forlorn voice.
“Sigh.”
Elisabeth pulled a sheet of letter paper from her drawer.
“This is just curiosity, nothing more. Becoming a close aide to you, the emperor, is something future me can bear for the power I'll gain. It's an investment, pure investment. I've had a headache from something irritating at the Academy lately, so this might be a chance to find some peace of mind too...”
Like that, she spoke primly as if snapping at someone—though no one was listening—and scratched away with her pen.