Chapter 30

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: Chapter 7. The Villainess Originally (8)

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Edelaine was the one who gave Genevieve her turning point.

If Shane was her first savior, then Edelaine was the one who had paved the solid ground for Genevieve to stand on.

There was no need to even weigh which one she relied on more.

She had lost that person right before her eyes. And she had died trying to protect her. It left a massive scar on Genevieve, and unable to forgive herself, she threw herself into work to the point of exhaustion.

But even that didn't feel fulfilling. Edelaine's death had fully awakened her purification powers, but compared to her predecessors, they were still paltry.

That was why she couldn't endure hearing that Edelaine had nearly faced danger again.

To the weeping Genevieve, who apologized for her own lacking abilities, Edelaine had said in the most matter-of-fact tone that she could do it.

When Edelaine said she could, somehow it felt like she really could.

Genevieve wanted to live up to Edelaine's expectations and faith in her, and that always became her trigger.

Genevieve's quarters were the same room she'd stayed in as a guest, so it wasn't in a great location. The outer palace was mostly empty now with hardly any visitors, but soon it would fill up with guests invited to the Winter Founding Festival.

The crown prince had asked if he should allocate her a section of the imperial palace as a wedding gift with her Guard Knight, but Harrison had nearly died of shock at the idea, so it was dropped.

The pope kept pleading to have the Saintess returned, but Edwin drew a firm line, saying he wouldn't send her back for a while.

Both attacks had happened within the church's own walls.

They had no rebuttal to the point that he couldn't leave her in a place where her safety wasn't guaranteed.

Thanks to that, Genevieve had paused her main duties to handle imperial schedules.

It wasn't the social season, so grand events weren't frequent, but cozy salon gatherings and tea parties were common in warm indoor venues. Occasionally, families with some leisure time would host balls.

Today's event was one of those.

Guard Knights were forbidden from attending parties during duty, so Edwin naturally became Genevieve's partner.

"It's not bad having a married woman as my partner. Feels a bit illicit."

"Don't say such filthy things."

"Genevieve, you've gotten strangely sharp-tongued since Edelaine came back."

"Me? No way."

Genevieve brushed off Edwin's peevish jab with a light laugh. Over five years, even the walls between people who once seemed impossible to breach had crumbled.

"You could go alone if your husband's not around."

"It's standard to take an unmarried sister as a partner, but... escorting a princess when we have a Saintess would be a joke. Besides, you're our top protection target right now."

"......"

Genevieve hadn't yet told Edwin about the black magic curse she'd mentioned to Edelaine.

Edwin would have caught and interrogated the culprit long ago but hadn't said a word to her, so she figured it was a wash. Edelaine had said she could handle anything, but nothing was proven yet.

"Dressed up like this..."

"......"

"No one would even guess you're the Saintess, Genevieve."

Edwin grinned. Genevieve blinked, unsure how to respond.

"You look like some noble young lady."

"Ah, yes..."

Unclear if it was praise or not, Genevieve decided to let it slide. Taking everything Edwin said seriously would fray her nerves. She'd learned that in her second year.

"Ah, there they are. Stealing the spotlight from me like that—what nerve."

Genevieve perked up her ears.

The reason she and Edwin were bothering with this tedious party was those two.

The Duke and Duchess of Blancard, who had holed up at home after their marriage, had suddenly started going out as if they'd been biding their time.

Everywhere a couple could attend together—except women-only venues—they showed up.

'Lady Edelaine seems to be looking into something.'

But with Shane letting it happen, it probably wasn't dangerous.

They mingled with the Bertrand family now and then, making appearances at every ball in Delmuse. Thanks to that, in less than a month, Edelaine's popularity had skyrocketed just like five years ago.

"She's got real savvy. Her eloquence isn't even that great—how does she charm people so effortlessly?"

"Is that weird?"

"It is. You wouldn't get it, Genevieve, but Edelaine wasn't that noticeable before."

"......Lady Edelaine was like that...?"

Genevieve muttered in disbelief.

"She was Shane's fiancée. Since they were very young."

"Ah..."

"Plenty of girls admired Shane. Youngest duke ever, full member of the council of elders, one of barely two dozen sword masters in the empire, plus filthy rich. Blech."

"Yeah, sure... whatever."

"Shane was too busy chasing after Edelaine—who wouldn't even glance at him—to notice, but jealousy is another story. Lots of girls bullied her. Shane guarded her from the shadows, so they couldn't do much."

It made sense. That sly man wouldn't have let anyone who tormented Edelaine off the hook back then.

"Rumors that they got along poorly didn't stick because Shane trailed her everywhere, and explaining every time was a hassle, so she played the quiet type and got by. She attended the minimum parties and social events, citing poor health. Still, thanks to Marchioness Bertrand's halo effect, she stayed popular with a decent reputation. But look at her now."

Edelaine entered on Shane's arm, flashing knowing smiles, and young girls flushed and swarmed her. Genevieve felt a strange pang.

It was like seeing herself from five years ago.

Edelaine didn't have the spine-chilling eloquence or wit Edwin mentioned, but she had a knack for slipping into people's soft spots. Her kind smiles and gentle demeanor made you mistake it for affection—at least, it made you feel special.

'No wonder they fall for her...'

She was living proof.

Edwin muttered in a slightly queasy tone.

"She's openly seducing women now..."

"Those young ladies... Aren't they scared of His Grace's gaze?"

"Some of them probably have Shane as their target. Deluding themselves that he's eyeing them despite his wife."

That took some guts.

"What's her game? It's not like she's deliberately trying to rile Shane up."

"She must have some other plan cooking..."

Genevieve sniped with bite in her words.

"Cut it out already, Edelaine."

"What'd I do?"

"Stop fooling around."

Shane said through gritted teeth.

"When have I ever fooled around? You've been glued to me the whole time—how could I?"

"Flirting with women counts."

"Flirting..."

"Don't hug them. Don't smile at them. Don't even talk to them."

"......"

Edelaine reflected on her behavior.

To naturally get close to people on Lloyd's list, she'd needed to be friendly all around, so yes, she'd deliberately worked to win goodwill.

But she hadn't been clingy like some drunken uncle, as Shane put it.

About to laugh it off as a joke, Edelaine paused when she saw Shane's eyes weren't smiling.

"What's your angle, Edelaine?"

"No angle."

"You used to hate crowds."

"After five years cooped up, I missed people..."

"No lies now. I'm about to burst from jealousy—it's hard holding back."

And if you don't hold back...?

Edelaine answered herself. What else? He'd lock her up again.

'I went out on purpose so it wouldn't seem suspicious if I stayed home.'

Edelaine looked up at the sulky Shane.

She couldn't claim all dangers were gone until the warlock was caught and killed.

A flicker of hope that maybe she could indulge in the male lead, but she had no confidence she wouldn't run if the nightmare restarted.

'Even if I could escape or not...'

It was still too hard to commit.

Pretending to accept him only to dump him again would be too irresponsible.

For Edelaine, vaguely rejecting Shane was the best for now.

But moments like this weakened her resolve. She scrambled for excuses.

"I haven't hugged anyone. At most, I put a hand on a shoulder."

"......"

"That doesn't count as a hug."

Edelaine leaned into Shane's chest and whispered. Tension shot through his body. Then he let out a deep sigh, pulled her waist close, and kissed the top of her head.

"Do whatever the hell you want."

Is that a go-ahead or a no?