The Villainess is a Marionette

Translator: thursdays PR: scarcecrow

Zenon clenched his fists so tightly that they trembled. However, his voice was as calm as ever.

“How unfortunate. You think I’m so incompetent that I can’t even cover up this incident.”

Yester saw through his bluff. He laughed as if Zenon was being ridiculous.

“It seems that Prince Rezef treasures the princess. He even broke out of his probation like this.”

Yester tapped on his mask as if he found this strange. He continued, “I was honestly surprised. Why did he do something like that, when it’ll definitely cost him more?”

The jewel on his fox mask sparkled as he moved his head.

Zenon wanted to tear off that mask, which concealed Yester’s thoughts, and throw it away.

But he forcibly swallowed his anger.

Yester was larger than that tall Raphael by half a handspan.

Yester was over 190 centimeters and had a menacing build. His muscles could be seen even with his suit on.

Breaking someone’s head was nothing for someone like Yester. He was like a beast.

“That’s because Princess Cayena has many uses…”

“No, no.”

Yester shrugged, opening his arms excessively wide.

“Do you really think so? Is Princess Cayena so useful that he would break the Emperor’s orders?”

“……”

No. Zenon didn’t think so.

But he couldn’t just confess that. Seeing that, Yester grinned.

“There’s something about Princess Cayena. Right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, it’s just that it’s entertaining. Just what makes everyone madly attached to the princess?”

As he said that, he pointed his finger at Zenon.

“You, Prince Rezef, Henverton Gillian… Even Kedrey.”

Yester’s golden eyes gleamed bleakly.

“I’m so curious about her that I’m going crazy.”

‘Mad son of a…’ Zenon thought.

Yester’s eyes and voice weren’t normal.

He was a total maniac.

He was a dangerous human, qualitatively different from a junkie like Henverton Gillian.

‘Damn, damn it!’

In the end, Zenon began to get angry with Princess Cayena. She attracted crazy men like the pied piper in fairy tales.

Then, Yester spoke again.

“Treat the princess well.”

“…What?”

‘What kind of crazy noise was this?’

Yester said in a lonesome voice, “If you do something irresponsible, I’ll be so scared and sad that I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Then, he cocked his head and looked at Zenon.

“Don’t touch my toys.”

At that moment, Zenon wanted to punch Yester’s face.

“My close friend Zenon will do that for me. Right?”

“Why would I…!”

“Because I have evidence that you tried to kidnap the princess?”

Yester giggled and said to a frozen Zenon, “Don’t worry too much. I’ll make sure to shut Henverton up, all right?”

He had tried to get rid of a burden but ended up with another.

“…Fine.”

Zenon was forced to accept the proposal.

Scene 11. Turbulence

The sunlight tickled her eyelids.

She didn’t usually feel the sun like this when she was in bed because the curtains would be drawn.

Then, Cayena felt a careful hand sweeping through her hair. Who was it?

Before opening her eyes, Cayena unintentionally thought of Raphael.

“Are you awake?”

Contrary to what she imagined, Rezef was the one beside her.

“Rezef…?”

She tried to get up.

But her whole body was throbbing. In particular, her entire upper body, wrists, and ankles were sore. She recalled that she had been abducted.

“Please keep lying down some more.”

Rezef helped his sister lie back down as she briefly frowned at the discomfort.

His touch was soft but restraining. Cayena lay back down and let out a small sigh.

Seeing that she woke up on the bed in the princess’s palace like this, it seemed that Raphael coming to save her wasn’t a dream.

Her mind was a little befuddled. Why did he do that? Was it because Raphael is a gentleman? Because he was someone with morals?

Or maybe she was making a big deal speculating on something that had no deep meaning.

“What happened to the kidnappers? Especially…”

She paused for a quick breath.

“What happened to Henverton Gillian?”

“The kidnappers were arrested and locked up in the imperial prison. Henverton included. Viscount Gillian and Duke Kedrey will also be summoned to hold Gillian family responsible for this incident.”

Cayena thought back to how Henverton greedily wanted her while she was drugged.

Like in her last life, he was willing to kill her if necessary.

Did this mean that whatever happened would still happen, but in a different form? In an instant, fear overwhelmed her.

‘That’s wrong. I didn’t die.’

She tried to stay calm.

There was no need to fear something that didn’t happen. Wasn’t she back in the familiar rooms of the princess’s palace now?

Didn’t that mean everything went well?

“It’s all right now.”

She recalled Raphael, who appeared with a light in the pitch-black darkness. Her hands, which had been trembling minutely, became warm again.

Rezef quietly watched all this happen.

‘I should have blown off Henverton’s head, too.’

It wasn’t too late to do so now. He would kill Henverton as painfully as possible.

It was the first time he had seen Cayena show such a vivid terror. The anger that he had held back while watching over the sleeping Cayena soared back to life.

Rezef would somehow tear apart Henverton’s house as well.

‘But I can’t get rid of my anger.’

The anger flooded him. Only when Cayena glanced out the window did he return to his senses.

“How long have I been out?”

The curtains were drawn aside, and she could see the bright golden sunlight. It seemed that it would be sunset soon.

“It has only been a day. Sister, you should rest more.”

Cayena’s face was still paler than usual.

The doctor also emphasized the need to rest, saying that her physical condition was messed up by the stress and trauma.

Knock, knock.

Then, Vera entered.

“Your Highness!”

Vera looked like she would burst into tears when she saw Cayena.

“You’re awake! Are you hungry? How is your body?”

Vera approached Cayena as if she was running.

“I’m fine, so calm down.”

Cayena suddenly remembered something.

“What about Olivia?”

Vera replied hoarsely, “Olivia is unharmed. She was keeping watch over these chambers until just now, when she stepped out for a moment.”

Vera reported that the day before, Olivia had been attacked by someone and that she ran to the imperial palace to report the princess’s kidnapping. It was also Olivia who persuaded Prince Rezef to mobilize the army yesterday.

Vera was about to explain that, but Rezef cut her off.

“Sister.”

Rezef called Cayena like a sigh and gazed at her.

She was trying to take care of others as soon as she got up instead of taking care of her body.

Her complexion still looked unhealthy.

“Don’t bother yourself with miscellaneous matters.”

“How could I not?”

Cayena looked at Rezef. Confused, she said, “By the way, if your probation is over, you should report to the Emperor. Why are you here?”

Additionally, his outfit was weird. Why was he wearing a red cape and a uniform?

Her gaze reached in the space of the open cape. A gun was visibly on his waistband.

“You couldn’t have—!”

She realized that Rezef must have run from his probation because he heard about her kidnapping.

The fact that it was his last day and the princess was in distress was no excuse.

The Emperor’s orders were more important than the Imperial children’s safety. It was clear that their father would not consider the specifics of the situation and punish Rezef.

And Rezef wouldn’t let such an Emperor be.

“Everything’s fine, sister.”

If needed, he would assassinate the Emperor right away. Cayena couldn’t let that happen.

There was no way that someone who sat on a blood-stained throne would be all right. The tragedy would only repeat again.

“Even if something bad happens to me, His Majesty’s orders come first. Go back now. I’ll talk to him.”

Saying that, Cayena stood up, disregarding her pain.

“It’s okay, sister.”

Cayena tried to leave the bedroom, pretending she hadn’t heard.

“Sister!”

Rezef’s face twisted and he grabbed Cayena.

“Ah!”

Even though her wrists had been bandaged, they couldn’t recover from being tied in just one day.

Rezef flinched at Cayena’s brief scream and pained face. He quickly released his sister’s wrist. Instead, he held her in his arms, face still crumpled.

“Rezef!”

“Please listen to me.”

Then Cayena turned to him with a dumbfounded expression and said, “You should listen to me.”

The two clashed their stares in an odd confrontation.

~~~

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