Chapter 47

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: The Reason the Villainess Took Up the Sword
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Karon had arrived at the central hall of the Atenz Academy.

‘That’s strange. Why aren’t there any guards?’

The guards who were supposed to be watching the door were nowhere to be seen. Karon, however, didn’t think much of it and passed through the hall’s main entrance.

He was about to open the door to the conference room where Ferdin’s knights were likely gathered.

Amon’s voice reached him.

“How could Karon not know?”

His hand, poised to open the door, froze. What was it that he didn’t know?

He furrowed his brow, focusing on the conversation happening inside.

“Exactly. Even if he didn’t know about her back, the wound on her right arm must have been obvious. But Karon didn’t know? No matter what, they’re family. There’s no way he wouldn’t have known.”

Lilia replied to Amon’s words.

“Erin only said that she wasn’t the one who killed her brother. And… after she met the Marquis’s Wife, she said her brother went missing.”

“…”

“The Marquis’s Wife must have been the one who abused Erin.”

“Damn it. What kind of life has she lived? Does this even make sense? No one knows what kind of person she is.”

“…”

“It’s horrifying to think that I knew nothing and just assumed she was a villainess.”

Karon felt his breath catch. He couldn't comprehend what they were saying.

His hands began to tremble. At the same time, his heart started pounding rapidly.

It beat so fast that his chest ached. Karon involuntarily let out a pained groan.

“Ah… Ahh…”

* * *

Sensing a presence outside the door, Amon abruptly stood up and opened the conference room door.

“Karon Resus?”

With a surprised expression, he called out Karon’s name as Karon sat slumped in front of the door.

Karon looked at them, his face contorted.

‘How much did he hear?’

Amon was flustered.

The central hall of the Atenz Academy was guarded by alternating shifts of security personnel, meaning only authorized individuals could enter.

That was why they had felt comfortable speaking freely.

Amon hadn't expected anyone to come to a place where no meeting was scheduled.

Lilia was equally surprised.

Karon, snapping back to reality at their voices, asked in a trembling voice.

“What… what on earth are you talking about?”

“…”

“What do you mean by what you just said?! Mother would never do such a thing!”

Karon couldn't believe it.

No, it couldn’t be. It couldn’t be true. There was a limit to slander.

His mother’s face, always worried about his sister, flashed in his mind.

“Karon… I truly want to reconcile with Erin. I hope my child doesn’t hate me.”

“How can my lovely Erin come to like me?”

His mother loved his sister. She was always trying to open her firmly closed heart.

And *that* mother abused his sister?

At Karon’s words, Amon’s face twisted.

Allowing Karon to overhear the entire conversation was certainly Amon’s oversight for not being more careful.

Erin had tried to keep the truth about her terrible childhood a secret.

Amon, respecting Erin’s wishes, hadn’t told anyone the truth either.

But Karon Resus uttering such words even after hearing everything was unbearable.

“Karon Resus.”

Amon gritted his teeth and grabbed him by the collar.

Then he pulled Karon, who was slumped on the floor repeating "no," to his feet.

“You, you’re an utterly pathetic piece of trash.”

“What…?”

“If you cared about Erin even a little, you wouldn’t be arguing with me right now; you’d be rushing to your sister.”

Karon felt his breath constrict.

Amon knew very well how irresponsible his actions were.

He had effectively revealed a secret he had kept from Karon, and she might not forgive him.

But it was even harder to watch the fool in front of him deny and ignore the truth.

“Amon, calm down! Karon Resus didn’t know anything.”

“You need to find out what kind of suffering your sister endured because of the Marquis’s Wife!”

Amon roughly pushed Karon.

Karon, not resisting his shove, fell directly to the floor.

“Karon, as long as you’re happy, that’s enough.”

A memory of Erin’s words to him from a childhood he couldn’t even recall surfaced.

He still couldn't be sure.

Could it be true?

Lilia and Amon weren't the type to lie, but he couldn't immediately believe their outrageous claims.

There was only one reason Karon was wavering now: in truth, he had also been harboring some doubts about the rumors concerning Erin.

Especially after the Werewolf Tribe subjugation, the thought of whether everything she was said to have done was true filled his mind.

Karon, who had been lying on the floor, roughly stood up. There was no time to be like this.

If their words were true, he might have committed an irreversible wrong against Erin.

Karon had ignored her reluctance to meet the Marquis’s Wife and had lied to her.

Erin must be thinking he was waiting for her in the night garden.

Karon immediately bolted out of the central hall.

“Karon Resus!”

He heard Lilia calling his name from behind, but he couldn’t stop.

He had to confirm it right now.

* * *

Karon’s complexion turned pale, as if all the blood had drained from his body.

He ran like a madman.

Some people whispered as they watched Karon, but he focused more on finding Erin.

After confirming she wasn't in her room, Karon frantically searched the surroundings.

“Damn it, Sister! Sister!”

He had to find Erin before she met Corelia.

Just then, Karon paused, seeing a familiar back in the distance.

The woman walking in front of the dormitory was definitely Erin.

“Sister!”

Karon cried out and grabbed her wrist. Erin turned her head and looked at him.

“Karon.”

“The thing about… me meeting you in the night garden…”

“…”

“It was a lie.”

“I know.”

Karon froze at Erin’s words.

She *knew*?

Erin briefly looked around, then took his hand and started walking. The place they arrived at was her dormitory room.

Closing the door, Erin thoughtfully scanned every corner of the room. The incident with Roham a few days ago came to mind.

After confirming the room was clean, she sat Karon down in a chair.

He suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. Something similar had happened before he left for the monster subjugation.

Just as he thought that, a warm glass of milk was offered to him, just like that time.

Karon gripped the cup she offered tightly. His hands were faintly trembling.

He had to speak. Having made up his mind, Karon opened his mouth.

“I came because there’s something I need to ask.”

“…”

As he spoke, Karon slowly took Erin’s right wrist. He could feel her slender wrist.

Seeing Karon’s reaction, Erin realized that he had learned the secret she had kept hidden until now.

“Surely… Mother didn’t… Sister…”

Erin and Karon’s eyes met. She could read the anxiety in his gaze.

He probably wanted her to tell him that what he’d learned wasn’t true.

That Corelia wasn’t that kind of person, that she had become twisted after their mother died because she couldn’t accept her stepmother.

But Erin remained silent.

If she lied here, Karon’s heart would probably be at ease.

That had been her choice in her first life.

To keep quiet so her younger brother wouldn't get hurt. Because it was enough if only she suffered.

She had thought that if she stayed quiet, if only she was miserable, everyone else would be happy.

However, Erin decided she would no longer stop Karon from knowing the truth. She had realized something after the incident with Roham.

At that moment, Karon spoke as if he had made up his mind.

“Sister, please forgive my rudeness.”

He said that and lifted Erin’s sleeve.

And at the sight of the faint scar marks, Karon’s face contorted horribly. A tearing pain enveloped his chest.

Amon and Lilia’s words were true.

Karon’s hands trembled violently. But even seeing the undeniable evidence before him, he found it hard to accept the reality.

Did Mother truly do this to his sister? Did she torment Erin since childhood?

“Who… who did this?”

“…”

“Who on earth…?”

“Would you believe me if I said it was Corelia?”

“What did you say?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that the person you call Mother has been dragging me through hell all this time?”

“That’s, that’s nonsense.”

Erin’s voice cracked. At her words, Karon covered his face with both hands.

Erin’s words were tantamount to denying his entire past. The peaceful Marquisate. A busy but kind father.

A mother who, though not blood-related, was kinder than anyone and cherished her family…

That’s what he had believed all this time.

But… all of it was a lie?