Became the Patron of Villains Novel MTL - Chapter 289

C289. Treatment (8)

Virang stared blankly ahead.

What filled his field of vision was the Blood Flame, which continued to expand even at that very moment.

Thud—

A monotonous sound echoed repeatedly in his ears.

Sometimes loud.

Sometimes weak.

But even so—

Without exception, monsters and soldiers fell while drawing the Blood Flame with death as the price.

And amongst them, a woman entered his gaze.

White hair soaked in blood, dyed by the light of the sunset.

Then, eyes completely devoid of emotion.

And finally—

Five severed heads in her hand.

“……Ah.”

A faint breath escaped Virang’s lips.

Was it because he felt cruelty upon seeing those five heads, which hadn’t even been able to close their eyes?

No.

For that, he had already sacrificed too many in this plan.

The reason for his sigh was something else.

The heads that the Great Race held… were faces he knew too well. Especially the one in the center—a face impossible to forget.

‘Are you really sure it will work?’

‘Do not worry, Prince. No matter how much of a Great Race she is, she won’t be able to withstand the combined attack we have prepared.’

‘…Aren’t we underestimating her too much? She is the Great Race. That monster is capable of splitting a mountain with a single strike.’

‘We know that too. But do not worry. If you knew how much we have prepared to get rid of her, you would be surprised. We have even prepared the Great Sealing Talisman.’

‘The one they say can imprison even mountain spiritual creatures without effort?’

‘That is correct. It doesn’t matter if she is of the Great Race: once sealed with the talisman… I think you know what will happen.’

The conversation they had days ago flashed through his mind. And with it, a memory from his childhood emerged.

The first image to appear—

A spiritual creature in the form of a snake so enormous it could wrap around an entire mountain.

The second—

The Great Sealing Talisman, which had imprisoned that absurd snake without effort.

That was why Virang had obtained conviction in that conversation.

Even the Great Race could not defeat Cheonga and the other Great Generals if she was completely sealed.

Virang stared fixedly at Cheonga’s face—no, her severed head.

A dazed expression, as if she hadn’t even understood how she had died.

Had the plan failed?

Virang denied that idea instantly.

The repulsion of the blue energy emanating from the Great Race—

It was too clear a proof of what had happened.

Cheonga had executed the plan.

No—she had succeeded.

She had correctly used the Great Sealing Talisman, capable of imprisoning even creatures that wrapped around mountains. And most of the other traps had also worked.

And yet—

The Great General was defeated.

Without understanding what had killed her.

“This makes no sense…”

With a hollow laugh, Virang began to back away, his body trembling.

His eyes filled with pure terror.

Historia, seeing this, raised her sword without the slightest doubt.

“Aaaaah!”

And in that instant—

“Wait! Please, wait!”

Urang, who until recently was only watching the situation in shock, stopped Historia.

All gazes turned to him.

Trapped by the soldiers, Urang said:

“Lady Historia, I beg you… please, forgive my useless son…”

He bowed deeply, pleading.

An unthinkable request for a king who had just been betrayed.

Alon’s group observed him with evident bewilderment.

Historia looked at him with a blank expression.

And then, the one who spoke first was—

“I, I was the fool! I am sorry, I am so sorry!”

Virang.

Just moments ago he burned with ambition, and now he was prostrate, banging his head against the ground again and again, desperate to survive.

Blood began to flow, creating a stain on the floor. An ugly wound opened on his forehead, but Virang did not stop begging.

He knew well that this was his only chance to live. That was why he kept striking his forehead with all his might.

“Raise your head.”

Upon hearing Historia’s cold voice, Virang smiled unintentionally.

He was alive. That simple fact burned his body with euphoria. But he couldn’t let her see him like that, so he feigned tears and began to lift his head—

“…Ah?”

Virang felt something strange.

Before him was the face of the Great Race.

But no matter how much he raised his head…

He could not see her.

The more he tried, the lower his line of sight became.

It didn’t matter how much he strained his neck.

He could not see her.

And then—

“If you keep your head down, it is harder to cut you.”

Those words were the last thing he heard before his consciousness sank into absolute darkness.

Historia killed the first prince Virang without hesitation, and in less than a day, she completely eliminated all the rebel factions.

The next day—

Amidst the tense atmosphere, Alon began preparing to leave the Eastern Kingdom.

Actually, he wanted to speak with Urang, but it was impossible. It was logical.

Barely a day had passed since the rebellion.

The palace was in chaos, and Urang couldn’t attend to anything.

“But why did he try to save that guy? Is it that thing about a father never abandoning his son?”

“How cute you are.”

“Eh?”

“I don’t mean it because of that. I say it because of what you just said.”

“Is it not logical?”

“Do you really believe the king acted out of concern for his son?”

“No?”

While they prepared their things, Evan and Penia talked.

“Of course not. It is evident that he needed an example.”

“An example?”

“Yes. If a rebellion occurs and the king does not resolve it personally, but with external help, what do you think they would say?”

“But if no one intervened, his own son was going to kill him.”

“From the moment Historia arrived, that possibility no longer existed.”

If Virang had been provisionally pardoned and then publicly executed, even if it was a farce, it would have served to show that the king still had authority.

Penia finished the explanation with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Wow… you are smarter than you look.”

“It’s not ‘more than I look’, I have always been smart!”

Penia replied indignantly.

While they continued arguing, Alon left the palace.

“God.”

“Historia.”

They found her waiting for him in front of the entrance.

“Did you finish your work?”

After stopping the rebellion, Historia had left saying she had something to do.

At Alon’s question, she nodded.

“Yes. And this.”

She handed him a small bluish jewelry box.

“…This?”

“A gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yes.”

Historia nodded with an ingenuous expression.

“Why do you give it to me?”

“…Because I obtained it to give it to you.”

“This?”

“Yes. I cannot present myself before God empty-handed.”

Her response made Alon finally understand why Historia had come to the Eastern Kingdom.

“…Did you come here just to get a gift for me?”

“Among everything I know, this is the most valuable treasure.”

Her voice was as pure as a child’s.

Alon replied:

“…I truly appreciate it.”

He squeezed the box in his hand.

Historia’s tail began to wag happily.

“Will you not open it?”

“The content does not matter. What is important is the gesture.”

Hearing that, her tail wagged even faster. The difference between her expressionless face and her sincerely happy tail made Alon smile.

Then he asked:

“Historia, do you plan to leave the Eastern Kingdom already?”

“Yes.”

“Then let us go together.”

“No.”

“Do you still have work left?”

Historia nodded.

“God, you go first. I will finish what is missing and catch up to you.”

“Then I will wait for you at that place.”

“There is no need to wait. I will go quickly.”

After agreeing on the meeting place, Alon abandoned the Eastern Kingdom.

Once he left—

Historia entered the palace again to see Urang.

“You have come.”

Urang bowed his head respectfully.

“What do you mean?”

Historia showed no change whatsoever in her expression or her gaze, as if Urang’s courtesy meant nothing to her.

She only asked directly. She had come solely at his request.

Normally she would have ignored such a request, but she had received a treasure from the royal family of the East, so she agreed to listen to him.

In the face of her expectant silence, Urang bowed his head deeper and spoke:

“I wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me for what?”

“…Because in our agreement, it was not contemplated that anyone would survive except Cheonga and the martyrs.”

And it was true.

Historia had received two requests from Urang:

One—kill the Great General Cheonga.

The other—kill the “martyrs”.

Nothing more. She had no obligation to intervene in anything additional. That is why—

“Thank you for thinking of the Eastern Kingdom.”

Urang spoke sincerely.

Historia observed him fixedly.

“No.”

“…Eh?”

She replied coldly.

Urang was bewildered.

Then—

“I did not do it for the Eastern Kingdom.”

Her affirmation struck the room.

Before Urang could ask, Historia spoke again:

“Because they aimed their sword against God.”

That was the entire reason.

Historia murmured that and then asked:

“Was that all you wanted to say?”

“Ah? Y-yes.”

Urang replied quickly.

“Good.”

Historia turned around and left.

Urang watched her leave, then collapsed into his seat, remembering the previous day—

Historia’s eyes when he asked her to forgive Virang.

“…I see.”

There was no emotion in them.

Only a sensation that she was weighing something.

Urang believed then that she was considering the future of the Eastern Kingdom.

Whether she should kill Virang right there…

Or leave him alive and execute him later.

But he was wrong.

He understood it now.

None of that mattered to her.

Not the future of the Kingdom.

Not Virang.

In that moment, her eyes were judging him.

She was evaluating whether Urang was related or not to the assassination attempt against Alon Palatio.

That is to say—

She was deciding if he too should die.

A chill ran through Urang’s entire body.

Knowing that death had grazed his neck without him noticing filled him with indescribable terror.

He took a breath and composed himself.

To him, Marquis Palatio was a former benefactor of the Eastern Kingdom.

But in truth, he was just that: a benefactor of the past.

He respected him, yes, but there was no greater feeling involved.

But now—

Urang was sure.

That he must never turn Marquis Palatio into an enemy.

Because the Marquis had by his side someone capable of turning an entire kingdom into an enemy without blinking, just because someone had offended him.

Urang held his head.

…It hurt a lot.