I Awoke as an Imprisoned Villainess-Chapter 43 - Youre of unknown nature

“I was ordered to provoke Violet sama by making His Highness eat sweets containing a potion that could hide magic spells. But she mustn’t know about it. Then after His Highness died, ...I was to turn myself in. The grand duke threatened me, and I had no choice but to poison His highness”

“…!?”

“—I also don’t know what the grand duke has in mind. Just to get revenge, and then...”

Lily sama turned her tear-stained eyes to me as I looked at her, wide-eyed and confused.

“To make Violet sama the next queen. That’s what he said”

“—…!”

At Lily sama’s comment, my previous sense of discomfort disappeared with a resounding thud.

The peony flower, which meant ‘Champion’, was given to me at the tower. Then, there were violet flowers, which reminded me of Violet sama’s mother, and thistle flowers, which meant ‘Don’t touch’.

The priest had said, ‘The grand duke and I both think that Violet sama is the most suitable person to be the next queen’. And I think I now understand why he wouldn’t kill Violet sama, who is an excellent magician and the most troublesome of all, first and foremost.

What I don’t understand is the motive.

“Now you understand, right? The grand duke is not interested in saving himself. And he has no intention of stopping his revenge. Even just earlier.....ugh.....kyaaa”

“L-Lily sama!? Where does it hurt!?”

I ran up to Lily sama, who suddenly held her chest and screamed. She was struggling to breath and seemed to be in a lot of pain.

I looked around for something to medicate her, fumbling in my pocket with trembling fingers. I was about to examine, not knowing what kind of illness she was suffering from, when I heard a low, flat voice from behind me.

“…Count Redgrave’s Young Lady. I didn’t know you were so talkative”

I turned around, and before I knew it, the grand duke was there, with a cold smile on his face.

“Earlier you made it clear that you would help me to the end even with your wavering resolution” (*Here, he actually said she made a new resolution after throwing away the wavering one. Slightly different meanings)

Lily sama turned pale and trembled. When I involuntarily stepped in front of her, the grand duke turned to look at me and narrowed his eyes.

“…If you hadn’t switched places with Violet, it would be all over by now. Johannes would have been killed while she was imprisoned. And Violet, who would have seen the bouquet Lily gave her and realized I was the culprit, would have come to me as soon as she was released from prison, and I would have told her about the poisonous herb that never existed. An ancient poisonous herb that couldn’t be found even in ancient documents. A poisonous herb that could no longer be revived by magic, and that was used to kill Johannes and Olivia”

There are some people who would be troubled if Plauni and Replan disappeared after all, the grand duke smiled.

“Why would you do such a thing...”

“I told you. It’s revenge. I wanted to take something precious from the royal family who had taken something precious from me. —I wanted to tell them that my resentment was deep and that what had been taken from me would never return”

The grand duke, who said that, gave me a troubled look.

“Now then, Sophia Alcott. In light of treading upon that topic again...you’re of an unknown nature. I still can’t decide whether I should let you live or not”

The grand duke looked at me regretfully as he said this.

“…The last blood of Arbuthnot. A rare genius. I don’t want to kill you, but ...I have no choice. You are dangerous”

Saying this, the grand duke held out his hand to me. A pale light began to glow in the palm of his large hand. The moment I heard Lily sama’s scream, I closed my eyes as quickly as I could.

At that moment, a familiar, beautiful voice rang in my ears.

—Parin!

I heard what sounded like a popping sound, and a strong wind blew. But my body felt neither pain nor shock.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the grand duke looking behind me with his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

When I turned around, there was Violet sama, her pale blond hair swaying in the wind, and Claude sama, carrying his sword.

Then, there was the priest, His Highness, and His Majesty the king.

“—!”

“Claude sama! Violet sama!”

Claude sama called my name, and I tried to run out.

But at that moment, I felt a chilling, sharp blow on my neck.

“That was a good strike, Violet. —It’s also wonderful that you broke my spell”

I could feel the grand duke standing behind me and smiling at me.

“Truly fitted to be a king. Better than some scumbag. Don’t you think so, Russell?”

“Brother...no way...you really...”

His Majesty groaned as the grand duke called out his name. Beside him, His Highness looked at me, the grand duke, and Lily sama with a pale face.

“But, Violet. It’s not enough to strike just once. In a case like this, you have to neutralize them immediately after doing a surprise attack. Even if they are relatives. Softness can lead to such a reversal”

The grand duke, who said this matter of factly, looked around. The priest who seemed to have had eyes on him turned pale and staggered, and the grand duke, seeing his appearance, sighed, “Difference of Sophia Alcott, huh?”. My heart skipped a beat.

“…The apothecary, the king, and the crown prince. Then the knight and the priest. ...Let’s see. Let His Majesty the king and the priest survive as witnesses. The hero, the grand duke, was unjustly oppressed by the royal family and was continually deprived of things he held dear. ...Therefore, he has taken revenge”

The grand duke’s words sent tension through the place.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

—For a moment. If I can make him flinch for a moment, I’m sure Violet sama or Claude sama will do something about it...

I only have one chance. The question is whether or not it will go in properly.

As I squeezed my left hand with this thought in mind, His Majesty the king bowed his head with “I’m sorry!”