AVHN 03

Chapter – 03

In the Kingdom of Tenebrin, the incompetent were called “Unawakened.”

Even such a small difference in wording carried a very different feeling.

And since there were many Unawakened, discrimination was minimal, right?

“A new life begins in a new place.”

Lilian pulled a small sketchbook from her bag.

Flip, flip… every page held a draft design for an artifact.

“Hehe… oh, these are so pretty.”

My future livelihood!

Artifacts, which contained control stones, were essentially medical devices and accessories in one.

“They can suppress the rampages of superhumans and even calm supernatural illnesses.”

In this world, Controllers were extremely rare compared to superhumans.

“I think it’s roughly a three-to-seven ratio?”

If you couldn’t find a compatible Controller, you had no choice but to rely on artifacts.

And the Tillard family was the leader in this field.

At the expense of Lilian’s own hard work.

“They sold the artifact I designed under Iris’s name and didn’t give me a single coin.”

It should have been for Iris, of all people.

They said she couldn’t do anything on her own.

Yet, in her previous life, she had even run a workshop herself.

So, after remembering her previous life, she hurried to prepare.

She secretly made a fake ID and secured a way to earn money in a new place.

Now that Lamio and the knights were neutralized, she had to quickly head to the border checkpoint.

After a frantic journey, she eventually reached the forest path leading north.

“I need to meet the mercenaries who’ll help me hide from my party.”

Lilian pulled a map from her shoulder bag.

Both paths led to the meeting point.

“Which should I choose? Take a guess.”

From the right-hand path came a scent that gently stimulated her senses.

It was clean and mysterious, like a snow-covered forest, and even cozy.

“Phytoncides are good for mental health.”

She would need all her mental strength in the days ahead.

She chose the right path and stepped forward.

For the minor villainess in the “original work,” this was a small yet significant leap.

Aeterna, the region bordering the northern frontier.

Though winter had just begun, the forest of conifers was dense and lush.

It was a refreshing scene, aside from the colorful blood of monsters splattered around.

“Don’t let a single one escape.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“Kill cleanly. Don’t damage the core.”

Following their leader’s orders, the “shadows” swung their weapons swiftly.

Meanwhile, the first prince, Evren Tarandia, who gave the orders, sliced through the monsters with little effort.

He even hummed casually as he fought.

“Heh hehm…”

His long silver hair was loosely tied near the nape of his neck.

The front of his black uniform hung open.

He looked quite dandy.

But the fleeting beauty of his face made it hard to notice the true danger.

His green, emotionless eyes followed the fleeing wolf-like monster.

“Just one more.”

It was a bit comical, but the monster gave off the scent of a pale, delicate flower.

Evren ignored it and swung his sword.

The monster was cleaved in half in an instant.

Splash. Blood sprayed everywhere.

“…Hm?”

His low humming abruptly stopped.

A pink-haired woman in a robe stood there, staring blankly beyond the monster.

She was drenched in purple monster blood.

A few minutes later, Lilian thought to herself:

Phytoncides were pseudoscientific nonsense.

There were monsters here—what kind of mental health is this helping?

And she had even been drenched in monster blood.

“Ugh… disgusting…”

Still, she hadn’t screamed seeing the monsters slaughtered.

A living “original villain” was far scarier than a dead monster.

And above all…

“Huh… she saw it. She saw it.”

“May the blessing of the Creator be with you. Thank you for the nice towel.”

“Milady, you saw what we did, right?”

“Of course. Your Highness, the First Prince, I am more grateful and honored than anyone in this world. Watching you slay the monsters showed me the utmost elegance in the Empire.”

“Even when extracting the cores, did you feel elegance? How embarrassing.”

“Oh my, there’s still monster blood in your eyes. Ew.”

So, they boldly committed an illegal act and pretended no one noticed?

They had extracted cores from monsters they killed themselves.

The enemy of Lady Iris and the second prince—an S-rank superhuman with the power of “Erasure”—had casually received a first-class forbidden monster core.

That should have required the emperor’s permission. It wasn’t possible.

“I thought he was in the east, but he lied.”

Lilian had made sure to avoid him before the original story even began.

There were many reasons she wanted to avoid Evren Tarandia.

First:

“He caused the war that destroyed Hall, and I died because of it.”

He had raised an army to seize the palace.

Of course, Lilian had been abandoned by her family.

But the cause of the incident lay with him, so it was inevitably awkward.

Second:

“That man is a true villain, even Lady Iris’s love can’t save him!”

If you were captivated by his casually smiling, beautiful face, it would be disastrous.

He killed the useless, disposed of the uninteresting.

A god of impulsive destruction who calculated but also acted on whims?

He was a living, warm iced Americano.

But at least an Americano is harmless.

He was an S-rank weapon.

Only the Controller who could handle him would be pitiful.

“Not that it matters— Iris will handle him anyway.”

In the original work, his occupation of the palace was to take Iris with him.

But now, it was Lilian who had to face him.

She continued pretending not to notice the illegal acts, rubbing her eyes diligently.

Rub, rub.

“Why was the young lady passing through here…?”

“Uh… I’m here because… I ran away, Your Highness. Ah, my eyes.”

“I see… ran away…”

“My fiancé was having an affair with my cousin. My heart hurt, so I snuck out a bit—”

What if the mercenaries she was supposed to meet had already left?

At that moment, knights in black uniforms appeared along the forest path.

“Your Highness! This side is also cleared!”

“Have you caught them all?”

“Yes. We captured and transported all mercenaries without permits.”

“They won’t listen even if you tell them they’ll be imprisoned without renewed permits.”

…Why?

He was committing illegal acts himself, yet catching others?

Life was unfair.

Evren tilted his head.

He was a man as beautiful as snow.

His eyes smiled, but they were as chilling as a graveyard.

“Why is it so hard to believe that the quiet Miss Tillard ran away…?”

“Even loyal subjects have the freedom to run away, Your Highness. Quiet people, too.”

“Then how can I trust your loyalty? I can’t very well use superpowers on an innocent like you…”

“…”

“I only know how to use them on monsters and fools. I can’t use them on the precious Miss Tillard, which frustrates me.”

Was he really frustrated?

It looked more like he was ready to use his power of Erasure.

“With that ability, you could dream of a perfect crime.”

Impressive—but being the target of that crime was not.

“Think quickly.”

Why was he here? She needed a way to trick him for now.

A flash came to Lilian’s mind.

“Actually, I was heading toward the northern Aeterna region.”

“Oh…?”

“Recently, a new control stone vein was discovered there.”

For the first time, the villain’s smile disappeared.

Bingo!

The main ingredient of a control stone was the power infused by a Controller.

But a mineral to store that power was also necessary.

However…

“The Tillard family monopolizes it, and would never sell to a villain.”

Moreover, he had yet to find a compatible Controller.

“So he used monster cores as a substitute.”

Unlike control stones, the rampages had short cooldowns, and once unleashed, they were more dangerous.

But it was better than nothing.

…Then!

“I ran away that way because news of me would reach them late, so I was heading that way.”

And it wasn’t far from the border checkpoint…

“What a coincidence. That side also leads to Aeterna.”

A lie.

“Oh my, that works out perfectly!”

But she was also lying.

Clap!

Lilian smiled and clapped her hands.

“I want to run away for a long, long time. I want my family to burn with worry. Your Highness, you wouldn’t mind if the Tillard family’s nerves are frayed, right?”

“…”

“I humbly accept the honor of joining Your Highness’s party. When shall we depart?”

Wasn’t the original story supposed to start later?

“If I can’t avoid it…!”

She would use the villain from the original story to move under the protection of elite knights for free.

Then, at the right moment, she would escape!