She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 88
“A group of people walking the path of truth?”
The two frowned as if they had heard the strangest things.
Seeing the identical expressions on their faces, Vilred pressed his fingers to his eyes and nodded.
“Nox means night and dreams. Dreams are both the source of magic and endless inspiration. So to be precise, Nox is made up of people captivated by the madness of dreams.”
“Ah.”
Unlike the still bewildered Idel, Sigmund seemed to grasp something.
“What is it? Tell me too.”
“So to put it simply, it means they want to see the end of magic.”
Vilred continued to explain, affirming Sigmund’s words.
“That’s right. Well, it’s a difficult explanation… Magic is, in itself, the principle of nature and truth, but artificially created rules obstruct the journey toward truth. Do you understand what I mean?”
“You’re still not great at explanations.”
“Uh…”
“I get what it means, though.”
Idel, who had been thinking about it for a while, clicked her tongue and narrowed her brows.
“What you’re saying is that there are plenty of rebellious frogs wanting to leap more because you told them not to. They’re not little kids; they’ve grown up, so what are they doing?”
“Um, yeah…”
Vilred made an awkward face at the sharp criticism from the seven-year-old girl. Though it wasn’t the case now, he felt a pang of guilt as someone who had once been part of Nox.
“Of course, I know this isn’t everything. If those people were just crazy about magic, it would be better.”
The pursuit of forbidden magic inevitably touched upon humanity’s strongest desires.
Reviving a dead child, winning the heart of a loved one, manipulating others’ thoughts, deceiving someone for gain, killing a hated enemy, and so on…
These are primal and clear desires.
“And desperation and longing benefit someone.”
Vilred’s remark that “it was like that at first” likely meant this.
At first, those who gathered may have purely desired magic, but that’s not the case now.
‘Seeing that they even reached out to Sigmund, the prince, confirms it.’
What would those obsessed with magic gain from grasping power? They must have filled their ranks with those wanting to satisfy their greed under the pretense of exploring magic, resulting in the current situation.
‘One of them must be Melisa. That person is itching to bring down the duke’s family.’
Idel shook her head slowly, looking at it as if viewing a pest deeply rooted in society.
“The list of Nox’s sponsors and the oath documents are currently held by Count Bright. It was too dangerous for me and Sigmund to have them.”
“…You knew it was dangerous.”
“How could we not know when they were trying to abduct us outright?”
Recalling Idel’s cheeky response, she blinked and looked at Vilred.
“Oh, speaking of which, Vilred. Do you know anything about the ‘Merchant’?”
“The Merchant? Oh, that’s the guy who tried to kidnap Sigmund… He’s obsessed with money. I don’t know him well since I avoided him, but he sold whatever the buyer wanted as long as they paid. He was known as ‘that Merchant’ among us.”
“Do you know anything about his gender?”
“He’s a man. He always hid his body in a long robe, so no one knew, but thanks to a crazy guy, it got revealed.”
A man, huh…
With the clue Vilred provided, Idel’s mind raced.
‘Since this is a messed-up world, I thought maybe I could be the child born between Melisa and the Merchant…’
But now that she knew the merchant was a man, that thought could be discarded.
After all, two men couldn’t have a child together. Didn’t Farell end up unable to get pregnant too?
‘In the end, Melisa is neither my biological mother nor my biological father.’
Idel, with her lips tightly sealed, gazed intently into the air, twisting the corners of her mouth.
‘No, this is actually good.’
She felt nothing but gratitude for the consideration that erased any hesitation. While Idel was thinking this alone, Sigmund also concluded the hypothesis he had only been speculating about.
“The fact that you know this in such detail means that Master is indeed affiliated with ‘Nox.’”
“That was true in the past.”
Despite the sarcasm in Sigmund’s tone, Vilred remained unfazed. He poured water from the kettle with a look that seemed to say there was nothing to hide at this point.
“It’s already been ten years since I became a traitor.”
“Ten years?”
“Because I ran away with you.”
Perhaps having let everything go, Vilred gradually regained a tired and languid atmosphere. Moistening his parched lips, he let out a light sigh.
“First, let’s confirm something important, Sigmund. Whether you reversed the curse or whatever, it’s true that Melisa’s curse has been etched onto you, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And you know they succeeded in etching the curse on their side too?”
“Yep.”
“Then soon we’ll hear news of the crown prince’s death, and at the same time, Nox will take you to the palace.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
Hearing Sigmund’s rough reply, Vilred pressed his fingers against his temples. Just opening his mouth seemed to make his head throb.
“Sigmund, you’re the twin brother of the current crown prince, and using you was part of our plan.”
After spitting out the most crucial words, Vilred tightly closed his eyes. Closing his eyes like this, memories from ten years ago vividly unfolded in his mind.
The moment he first held Sigmund, the moment he covered his mouth and escaped from madness—all of it.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Ten years ago, a great event occurred in the Belnias Empire.
The empress, who had long been unable to bear children, finally gave birth to the empire’s heir.
Outside the imperial palace, a festival was being held to celebrate the newly born crown prince, and people from foreign lands had come to offer their congratulations.
However, in stark contrast to the overflowing joy outside, the empress’s birthing chamber was filled with silence.
“…Is it true?”
“Yes…”
“How can this be… Twins, really…?”
With the emperor’s sigh, darkness also clouded the empress’s face. Rubbing her hands over the two deeply sleeping children, she issued a stern command to her attendants.
“From now on, no one inside this room is to leave until I command it. Do you understand? Head maid, ensure that the lower servants do not hear our conversation.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Everyone, cover your ears. Not a single sound must be heard. If anyone disobeys Your Majesty’s order… you understand without me saying more, correct?”
“Y-Yes, we will remember.”
The attendants shuddered lightly in the serious atmosphere and hurriedly covered their ears and closed their eyes.
Once the empress confirmed there were no listening ears, she rose and called for the emperor. Given the difficult labor, she felt as if she might faint at any moment, but now was the time to hold on with sheer willpower.
Looking at the emperor with piercing eyes, she bit her lower lip and spoke.
“Your Majesty, we must make a decision. Nox has already completed all preparations. If this continues, not only the crown prince but the entire empire will fall into their hands.”
“It is my mistake. Even if I had allied with them when I ascended the throne, I should not have left them unchecked.”
“Back then, they cleverly concealed their true identities. This time, we cannot allow them to manipulate us at will.”
The empress, who spoke resolutely, lowered her gaze to her two children.
With hair as dark as hers, tiny fingers, and adorable little noses—there was nothing unlovely about them. They were her children, deserving of everything she had, but she was not just a woman; she was the empress.
[Your Majesty, Nox has discovered that there are two blessings of the empire in your womb. It seems there are many spies within the palace.]
[…The situation is not good. Nox is planning to kidnap one of the princes and cast a brainwashing curse. After that, they intend to assassinate the remaining prince in the palace and install a puppet…]
[It seems difficult to thwart their plan given the current circumstances.]
They said that the spies they had planted in Nox were entangled in too many interests, making it hard to stop this plan. Then…
“We must abandon one of the children.”
The empress’s eyes gleamed coldly.
If Nox intended to devour them from beneath the surface, then they would do the same.
