Banished Villainess – Under Observation!

 

Chloe replied that Leddorio had already done something for her happiness, but the prince had no idea of any. He wondered whether the ducal lady meant that his sentiments alone contributed to that end already.

His mouth was left gaping open, and before he even managed to ask the lady, she merely shove the stack of documents split in half.

‘I’m talking about this, sir.’

‘Huh? You mean these reform proposal documents of the crown prince?’

Leddorio inclined his head to the side, wondering what correlation do they have, but Chloe merely enthusiastically nodded in response.

‘That’s it, sir! The crown prince has exhausted severe efforts in converting the role of the Saintess to a civil position of a ‘Holy Chancellor’

First of all, he is solving the miasma problem by constructing a gate to the underworld in the Nansonia region. Next, he suggested expanding the common magic curriculum outside of the House Whitey to fill the deficiencies of sacred magic. He also strengthened the kingdom’s partnership with the Corundum Kingdom through trade. By doing these, he would lessen the kingdom’s overall dependency on Saintesses for its protection.

Of course, the holy chancellor also has new responsibilities that it didn’t have as a saintess. It does not only need to reform the church, but it is also responsible for propagating the faith to our neighbors. Or perhaps, it would be more apt to say that diplomacy was added to its responsibilities. As it is an undertaking that now requires performance both domestically and externally, it will not be able to do its job alone, which made it be paired with an adjutant.’

For a moment, Leddorio was lost in Chloe’s sudden explanations, but as he turned his attention to the stack of papers in his arms, he suddenly came to an understanding. Perhaps, the workload he had been suffering from as of recent are—

‘Are all these your doing!?’

‘Most tenets were consulted to his highness, the crown prince, my father, and the other ministers, but principally, yes, sir.

His highness, Prince Safir has provided a manor to Shin for us to use as a base of operation. Of course, that was also done for the improvement of his relationship with his long-separated family, as well as the other aristocrats.

The missionary work required of me is to keep the empire’s new faith in restraint and to spread the use of sacred magic. However, I believe I can also make a contribution to our exports through advertising by using baromets robes as the first. In this regard, I have already enlisted the cooperation of Sir Sei and his wife.

I would have liked Sir Dai to continue his tenure as his high—, Sir Benny’s guard but not only has he lost an arm, there’s also no telling his return. I was thinking he would prove to be useful to Sir Benny, given that the public order in Nansonia Region is quite poor. It is quite unfortunate, sir.’

Her explanation made Leddorio understand just what Keith meant in saying that he needed Leddorio’s cooperation. True enough, they were things that were required in fulfillment of Chloe’s wishes.

‘Did you… wish for me to become Nansonia’s archduke.’

‘That region requires forceful persistence in creating reforms, as opposed to the crown prince’s cautious implementations. I believe it will be a fruitious endeavor to sir Benny. The appointed abbess shouldn’t be a stranger to his highness too.’

Realizing that her words play a jest on his role in the ducal lady’s post condemnation observation, Leddorio bit his lip. It’s a region with both severe climate and public order—a demotion, above factors, considered—but given his history of harassing the lady by limiting her employment prospects, he thought himself more than willing to receive retribution for it.

‘But regardless of the position of holy chancellor’s nonrequirement of court rank, wouldn’t it be in the ducal house’s best interest to just have you inherit it. They would need to wait for Darck’s child no longer that way.’

House Sereknight has disinherited Darck and gave the succession rights to his first child with Lady Shiela instead. While Chloe and Darck will be holding up the house till the child’s adulthood, they are only permitted to do so as an agent and/or representative.

Suddenly the earlier sight of Darck holding his stomach with a pallid face resurfaced in Leddorio’s mind. While Darck’s situation seems to be quite fortunate to the prince, the young master of House Sereknight looks to be battling some inner self-conflicts.

‘The position requires single women, sir. You can have a lover, be a widow, or be divorced, but your tenure shall end upon marriage. Not to mention, taking over the house requires me to take a husband for myself, and I would not be able to frequently leave it when devoted to its affairs.

Well, the wait for my brother’s child is more of a stalling measure really, sir. After all, dearest sister-in-law consulted me that brother Darck must be feeling so cornered, he could easily decide to leave on a journey the moment she fails to keep her eyes on him. Looks like the marriage might not be coming any time soon. Don’t you think so, sir?’

Lady Chloe cheerfully laughs, wondering whether obtaining happiness through his younger sister’s means proved to be too humiliating for the young master’s liking. Leddorio, on the other hand, was busily sorting his thoughts on the keywords that he heard.

Lessening the dependency on the Saintess; the Saintess’ new role as a diplomat; the base of operations in the Corundum Kingdom; the requirement of a groom to take over the ducal house; the lady’s desire to freely and frequently leave it; the stalling measure of Darck’s son— the combination of all these words gives Leddorio a bad premonition.

‘Chloe, what do you need stalling for?

‘Sir? I am referring to my pressing need to get married, of course. After all, I am no longer engaged with you, my atonement is already finished, and I have already returned to the ducal house. I heard that there were mountains of wedding proposals waiting.

But I… I wish to chase after Locke, sir. That’s why I will marry no one.’

Her boldly fired declaration had left the prince’s mouth gaping open in sheer astonishment. He knew the circumstances. The lady had just confessed to Locke and would likely not see the foreign adventurer anytime soon. He even relished at the assertion that she will not desert her country.

‘I thought you had no plans on leaving!?’

‘Not now, sir. I did say that I would need to prepare and pass things over, didn’t I?

I am the Interim-Saintess, and a lady of a ducal house, sir. It may not look like so, but I have many ties of obligations. It may have been different if I have remained a banished criminal, but remaining that way would leave me vulnerable to the kingdom’s whims.

If it comes to that, I decided that I’d rather lawfully leave the country with some of my connections intact.’

Which is to say, the lady’s desire to leave remains still.

She will remain for a while, but all the lady’s thoughts now concern Locke with no room for other men. Leddorio thought his expectations were wasted.

(No, expectations? Of what? I’m not really…not really…)

As Leddorio combated the thoughts in his head, Chloe mistook his silence as reproach for her desire to leave the country.

‘Sir Benny, I love the Coloflare Kingdom. It may be riddled with mountains of problems right now, but it is still the country where I was born. I cannot ever abandon it. I still mean to perform my role as one of its functional gears.’

‘….Chloe.’

‘But that’s as far as it goes, sir. As a woman, I still desire to chase after my own happiness. I am sure my avarice isn’t much of a stranger to Sir Benny, is it?’

The lady giggling with such a devilish smile on her face gave Leddorio a headache. The stack of documents being split in half should have lightened his burden but now he felt them even heavier than before for some reason. All of these papers are akin to symbolizing the ducal lady’s love for the young adventurer, and now he is exhausting his everything towards its fulfillment.

‘…You’re quite the wicked woman. To use me like this.’

‘Fufufu. To think that the time when Sir Benny would tell me that he wants to make me happy. I daresay, I am quite moved, sir. The previously shunned villain and her united front with the hero, in overcoming a greater evil(or heroine), and afterward, their joint service of the kingdom. On top of it all, the hero’s devoted support to the villain’s quest for love. That sounds so exciting, doesn’t it, sir?’

‘Wait, you’re saying as if I…’

‘To recompense sir’s offer of invaluable friendship, I will certainly shoot Locke’s heart mine!’

Chloe enthusiastically declares, not minding Leddorio’s mumbles. Perhaps due to realizing his intimacy, or due to otherwise maybe, the lady spoke with a deep emphasis on the word ‘friendship’ in the face of the seemingly unpleasantly warped facial expression of the prince.

‘Sir Benny’s short-lived romance with Momo is quite unfortunate, but I’m sure you will find yourself a pleasant encounter soon.’

‘Mind your own business!’

‘Oh, do not be so sour, sir. When your fated sweet heart dawns on you, I will surely repay your unbridled support with blessings from my very heart and soul so…let us work our hardest, the both of us.’

Unaware of the prince’s struggle to respond, the smile Chloe radiated on Leddorio struck him to the very core.

He fell to his knees and remained planted to the ground. The throbbing pain in his chest grew ever severe and painful as he struggled to breathe. 

(What the hell. What is this empty sense of loss in my chest? I’ve never felt this severe when I fell for Momo—

When I fell for Momo!?)

That was when the prince noticed them for the very first time.

‘Huh? What happened, sir!?’

Chloe raised her voice in utter shock.

The flood gates within the prince’s eyes opened up without his permission. He held the documents to his chest with one hand, while his other hand wipes his tears to prevent them from spilling to the paper. They did not make any sense to him. He was helpless in the face of the overwhelming feelings resurfacing in his chest. He grits his teeth tightly to resist the urge to scream.

The realization was far too late. 

The same goes for random fits of irritation that he deemed inconsequential, as well as the sense of danger in seeing her intimate interactions with another man that accompanied it.

The same goes for his forgiveness of Chloe, as well as his desire for her pardon.

(Why? Why did I only realize it now? Someone! Please tell me this is just a joke. Not when everything is over! This is too late… is this… is this your revenge, Chloe!?)

The timing of the ducal lady’s recovery of her past life memories after her condemnation now almost seemed like spite to him.

Of course, the ducal lady hadn’t the slightest intention of taking revenge. The punishment they received for their transgression was so mild it couldn’t even pass for lawful karma. At any rate, Leddorio now had an idea of what kind of pain and despair did he previously caused towards her. Chloe would not have likely been able to bear it without the recovery of her past life memories, or turning into a witch, or any similar altering of personality.

‘Sir Benny, do you feel unwell?’

‘I’m fine. It just felt a little like my chest was being hollowed out from the inside.’

‘That sounds serious, sir! Let me soothe it with sacred magic…’

‘It’s fine. This cannot be fixed with magic.’

Leddorio’s strange behavior and Chloe who is worrying for him. If she was doing everything on purpose, it would be an act of splendid revenge, but the prince knows that the lady was truly worried about him as a friend.

Yes, a mere ‘friend’. 

Obsession, dependence, despair, and resentment—all of which strong enough to turn the Chloe into a witch. It was because she was able to turn these feelings into ‘friendship’ that she was able to forgive each one of them.

For the ducal lady, there is now a precise borderline that separates Locke from all other men including Leddorio. But the prince thought it natural. After all, there’s no possible way that she would fall in love again with the man who has pushed her towards ruin.

He knew he just reaped what he had sowed, and yet, intense regret and selfish lingering affections assaulted him nonetheless.

(Maybe I would’ve been better off if you were truly villainous… but to think that I would cherish you this much only after losing you—what a cruel joke. Now I have to ensure that you’ll be bound to another man while yearning for you all the same.

If only… If only I…)

If he only could stop caring about anything.

If only he could throw all these documents away and shatter Chloe’s dreams, love, friendship, and all. If he could just bare his unsightly and disgusting heart to the surface again.

‘…Sir Benny?’

Chloe peered into his face due to his unresponsiveness. He saw the reflection of a warped figure of a wretched man within its surface.

(—As if!!!)

Leddorio forcefully held down his rampaging impulses. His pride refuses to allow him to trample over Chloe’s childish and willful heart once more.

He merely replied that nothing was amiss, turned his head, and walked away, before soon arriving to knock at the door to the minister-to-the-right’s office. As they entered the room, Chloe took a step ahead of him to discuss something with her father, which he thought the lady must have done to cover his swollen eyelids. Leddorio placed the stack of documents above a table, then turned his attention to the parent and child’s affairs. They were still frugal with their words as usual, but unlike before, he could feel a warm atmosphere enveloping the two.

A person could mend the mistakes they made, but they could never turn things to the way they were before. Chloe is now freed from her past and is chasing a new love and bright future as she charges forward.

Everything was the result of his choices. There’s nothing Leddorio can do about it anymore.

‘Sir Benny!’

Leddorio who was already about to leave the room suddenly heard a call from Chloe. He turned around and saw the lady promptly bowing her head.

‘It was nice to talk to you today, sir. Let’s be good friends from today onwards.’

‘I see.’

Perhaps the lady found so many pleasant things in that idea, but Leddorio still chose to be friends with her, regardless of the bitter feelings welling up within him. He forcefully put his facial muscles to work in order to respond with a smile but ended up with cramped one.

If that’s how things will be, at the very least, he’ll pay his last tribute to his feelings, in a manner very much like him, just like the old times.

‘Chloe, I am aware of just how terrible you are with the bow. I do not know whether you’ll be successful or not, but you may struggle with your sorry bow with all your might.’

Even if it makes him sound like a sore loser.

Her obsidian eyes as beautiful as the night itself went wide, then dazzlingly flickered.

‘Those words may very well be your greatest gift to me, sir! You better watch my work, Sir Benny!’

Uttering her defiant words, the way his former fiancée shone upon him were almost odiously beautiful.

Welp, that’s it. I don’t think I will be translating the extra chapters nor Chloe’s perspective. I still love the work very much, although I have my fair share of contempt for some parts of it, but we can never fully agree with what we read, really. I did not mind that. It was mostly trouble-free to translate though, save for the parts when it becomes too vague for me to understand. But I have to admit, I took my liberty of using the opportunity to work on my writing skills, which is the main reason for varying quality. (My apologies if they were quite a pain to read lol.)

I’m gonna be looking for my next work now, although I’m not sure if it will still be a villainess-themed one. If you have any series to suggest, feel free to mention them—that is, if you don’t mind my sluggish and inconsistent pace lol.

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