Please Leave The Sickly Villainess Alone

The snake, of course, did not easily open its mouth.

But rather, no one doubted that this silence meant affirmation.

Amidst the terrifyingly descended silence, someone clenched their fist tremblingly and soon stood up explosively.

“This is absurd! How dare a fake Duke’s daughter defame the Saintess!”

With that as the start, a commotion arose among the believers.

“I have no ill feelings towards Duke Rayes’s daughter, but trying to link Saintess Senia with that snake is a transparent ploy.”

“We cannot do this to the Saintess who went to war with a noble spirit for the Empire!”

“Hey, little one! Are you done talking? What does a fool who can’t even find his way know to run his mouth so lightly!”

The Sole Saintess Faction members who had been hiding their true colors began to appear one by one.

The worship hall that had turned into pandemonium was subdued by a cold voice tinged with anger.

“Everyone, be quiet.”

It was Duke Rayes, who reigned in the highest position of anyone present here.

He spoke, engraving each person who had caused this uproar into his azure eyes:

“Count, are you certain this snake used trickery?”

“Yes, yes! An unrighteous force clearly intervened during the ritual, and when I traced it, it was felt from this snake.”

Dad spoke facing the giant snake:

“I see. It seems determined not to open its mouth to the end.”

[Of course…]

“Then die.”

[What are you…]

The sword instantly summoned in Dad’s hand pierced through the snake in one go.

A dazzling sharp blade energy leaked out, and the snake, already weakened from escaping the sealed cage, could no longer maintain its form after receiving such a powerful attack.

[Arrrghhh!]

Everyone covered their ears at the terrible scream like that of a demonic beast.

The attacked snake turned into particles of uneven form, and soon disappeared into the air along with purple flames.

Disappearing with purple flames when vanishing was one of the characteristics of demonic beasts.

Thus, the snake that had lived for a long time disappeared without a trace, leaving only the white priestly robe.

“Wh-What is this…”

And at the same time, the High Priest spoke in a trembling voice:

“The color of the holy water has changed!”

It was as he said.

The purple holy water that had denied the bloodline turned into a clear blue color as soon as the snake disappeared.

Some people’s faces turned pale as they watched the High Priest raise high the golden cup filled with blue holy water.

It had become public knowledge that it was interference by a demonic beast.

I looked down at the blue holy water clearly reflecting my face and muttered:

“It’s true, right? I… I really am Dad’s daughter, right?”

“Yes, Saintess. Such a clear blue color cannot appear unless you are direct family.”

The High Priest answered my question with a gentle smile.

I looked at Dad holding the sword.

“Dad, they say I’m really your daughter. Of course, you’ve told me that countless times before, but…”

Before I could finish speaking, Dad dropped the sword from his hand and came to me in one step, embracing me in his warm arms.

Soon, Drehan and Miller also broke their promise to just watch from behind and came up onto the platform.

Miller, raising his trembling hand to stroke my head as I was embraced by Dad.

Drehan, unable to speak, lowering his head and dropping an uncharacteristic tear.

‘Finally…’

There was a time when I thought I would look like a foreign object in others’ eyes.

Nevertheless, there was a time when I felt the warmth of my family and decided not to care about such things anymore.

But had I unknowingly kept that in my heart and cared about it?

I wanted to show not only to me and my family, but to everyone that the Rayes family had become one again.

The victim of a historic kidnapping case, the three Rayes men who looked fine on the outside but were said to be too broken inside to function properly, a foolish family deceived by a lowborn con artist woman trapped in the past.

The daggers I pretended not to know about, but knew all too well.

‘Now I can finally shout loudly at all of that to stop talking nonsense.’

I smiled brightly without even thinking to wipe away the tears gathered at the corners of my eyes.

At the same time, teardrops scattered, but I didn’t care.

“Dad, Brother Drehan, Brother Miller.”

And Mom, who gave birth to me who looks just like you, who might continue to be with us.

“I really love you all…”

For keeping my place intact until I returned.

For enduring all that long time.

* * *

The sound of arrows flying sharply could be heard from all over the battlefield.

Soon followed was the noise of metals clashing.

In the desolate, sandy wind-blown Iberico region, the border between the Greffin Empire and the Selon Kingdom had long since crumbled.

Unlike two years ago when simple numerical battles were rampant, the current war employed sophisticated military tactics and strategies.

The Greffin Empire’s military power was formidable, and its commander, Crown Prince Arzenluka, was such a sharp tactician that he truly deserved to be called the genius of the century.

However, from the early stages of the war until recently, the Selon Kingdom’s allied countries had sprung up like mushrooms after rain, growing their forces as if they hadn’t prepared the rebellion carelessly.

If the enemy’s numbers don’t decrease but rather increase even after dozens of battles, nothing could be more dispiriting than that.

Even though they had won this battle too, the atmosphere in the Greffin Empire’s camp wasn’t entirely victorious.

In the center of the strategy meeting room where tents were pitched, a tall man sat with his legs crossed and brows furrowed.

He was a beautiful man who didn’t look like he had been rolling on the battlefield for two years.

On his white, fine-textured skin, distinct features that gave both a delicate and strong impression were clear.

A sharp nose, lips holding a sardonic smile.

There was not a single imperfect corner, but what made it impossible to take one’s eyes off the man was his blood-red eyes.

A color as if pure, noble blood droplets had spread, not the enemy’s dull blood smeared here and there on his uniform.

Though not sure about when he’s called the murderous demon of the battlefield, in the past, there were numerous enemy soldiers who lost their lives after being captivated by his appearance when his helmet was removed.

“Your Highness, how about charging into their camp this time? We need to dig into the anthill to know its depth.”

Heild said, seemingly fed up with the long war.

“Didn’t those bastards from the Delta Kingdom who joined the Selon Kingdom’s camp this time take up the blind spot we were aiming for? We might end up being the ones in trouble if we’re not careful!”

“That’s true, but… Hah, they only see soldiers as mere pawns. If the soldiers they send out to battle are annihilated, they’ll just deploy new troops.”

That was the reason why the war was prolonged despite the Greffin Empire having the upper hand both tactically and in military strength.

After Heild’s words, a terrifyingly quiet silence fell over the meeting room.

It was because their lord and the overall commander of the war, the Crown Prince, had spread out a map.

He was the material to become the Emperor of the great Greffin Empire once this war ended.

Moreover, the generals who had rolled on the battlefield with him for two years could not doubt the Crown Prince’s excellence in the slightest.

Even now, the meeting room that had been briefly noisy became quiet in an instant as his red eyes quietly scanned the map.

“Here.”

Soon, Luka, putting down the map on the table, pointed to one place.

“Let’s end it here.”

“…!”

“When you say end…”

Until now, the Crown Prince had never mentioned an end.

For him to mention the end without any hesitation meant that there really was a possibility.

Essil Claire had said that the Delta Kingdom, which last joined the Selon Kingdom, had filled their blind spot, but there was still one place left that could be broken through.

“Unlike other places, only a small elite force is deployed here. We’ll create a path by continuously deploying attack forces before reinforcements arrive. As soon as Heild and Essil lead the 1st and 2nd divisions into enemy territory, the remaining forces will start attacking from the outside.”

If they could successfully target this military stronghold guarded only by the strongest elite forces, they could bring down the camps of the Selon Kingdom and its allies in one fell swoop.

“Let’s start the operation next week as soon as preparations are complete.”

“We obey your command!”

As the meeting that had boosted morale after a long time adjourned, and the generals came out one by one, there was a figure watching from a distance.

It was none other than Senia.

She gritted her teeth and inwardly raged as she waited for Sion Claire to come out.

‘How dare that lowly fake!’

Senia, feeling the connection with the snake suddenly cut off, wanted to pour out all kinds of curses towards Ria into the air.