I’m a Villainess but So Popular

Editor : Aru

‘I’m screwed. I’m not ready at all yet.’

If Cassius really confessed to me, I couldn’t figure out how to answer him.

‘And I wanted you to know. There’s someone who thinks of you like that.’

Rayl’s voice echoed through my head.

I couldn’t make eye contact with Cassius.

My face got so feverish.

“Wha, what do you mean important?”

In the end, I uncharacteristically stammered the words.

When I looked up, Cassius was closer.

His eyes, which seemed to have melted gold, had moonlight.

“There’s something you need to hear–”

Now, it seems like it’s almost impossible.

‘I think he’s really trying to confess…….’

A warning light came on in my head.

Nevertheless, it was impossible to stop Cassius’ eyes from looking more faint than usual.

Cassius, who was smiling with his eyes, flicked his finger lightly.

In a moment, the atmosphere shook like a haze from the hot ground, and then returned to its original state.

‘What, anti-tapping magic?’

I wondered if he was trying to confess his love by even using that magic.

‘No, it’s not the time to think about it. How should I answer–’

“Yerini.”

A deep voice passed through my ears.

I thought it was really inevitable now.

Cassius called my name in a sweeter voice than I usually heard, and my heartbeat, which was already beating faster, began to accelerate more.

“I did some research.”

Yes?

‘Research?’

I looked up at Cassius, but his expression remained unchanged.

“The monster that broke into your castle at the time, there was something strange.”

“Oh…….”

For a moment, I thought it was a relief, but soon there was a sense of shame that surpassed what I felt when I used the blue fire magic.

‘I made a mistake by myself.’

Fortunately, I knew it by myself, I would have been made fun of for it if others had known it.

The opponent had no intention of doing so, but I thought I would get a confession by myself and was thinking about how to answer.

Seriously, I wanted to tear my head off.

‘No, it’s about monsters. I have to be serious.’

For a while, I decided to bury my shame and embarrassment in my mind.

Now is not the time to argue about that.

I closed my eyes for a while and took a deep breath, and my mind calmed down a little.

When I thought I was ready, I asked Cassius.

“Cassius, what did you think was weird?”

“By any chance, do you remember what I said about the colour of mana last time?”

I nodded at Cassius’s words.

“Yes, you told you that most of the people in the Empire have white colour in their mana, and only the imperial family has golden mana.”

“That’s right.”

Cassius answered with a slight narrowing of the forehead.

Unlike when we just met before, he looked a little worried.

As soon as I saw his face, a great idea passed through my head.

“Cassius, you don’t mean there was a monster with golden mana, did you?

Cassius, who was licking his lips at my words, nodded.

“Unfortunately, it’s true, Yerine.”

“Oh, my God, isn’t that a big deal? That means someone in the royal family was killed.”

It was shocking.

When the talk of the monster came out at the Housekeepers meeting, it was said that the monster would soon touch up to the heir of the 7 imperial families. And indeed, the monster has attacked one. When I saw it again, I said that the monster might now touch the imperial family.

‘And now, it is.’

However, I didn’t expect the story to become a reality so soon.

‘Who was the victim? The empire would have been turned upside down if the imperial family had been killed or injured.’

As far as I remember, no such incident was reported.

I wondered if the incident was covered because it was related to the imperial family.

Still, if that much of an incident occurred, it was normal for an emergency meeting to be held.

“Well, it looks like someone’s mana has been taken away, but it’s a small amount, so it doesn’t seem to be much damage. Fortunately, no one is dead or injured.”

Cassius answered in a calm voice.

“The amount of golden mana I saw during the battle was small.”

“By the way, do you have no idea whose mana it is?”

“Yes, I have no idea.”

Cassius sighed back.

“I thought it was a serious matter, so I told my father directly, and I think the imperial family itself will be investigated, but I don’t know if it will work.”

“But Cassius has fought the monster twice. I’m sure it’ll help.”

In addition, his status as the Second Prince will give much effect to his testimony.

If I lead the investigation to take place on the part of the Housekeepers Conference and Cassius does it on the part of the imperial family, I may be able to get more information about the monster.

“Oh, that’s true, but……”

Cassius scratched his cheek and made a difficult voice.

“I’ve only fought with a monster with golden mana once. And we didn’t get the body of the monster that had the golden mana.”

“What?”

Come to think of it, if Cassius saw a monster with golden mana when we were first attacked by the monsters in the Academy, he would have told me already.

“Oh, that one which ran away had a golden mana.”

“That’s right. That one which was incredibly fast.”

Cassius gritted his teeth.

“And that one who hurt you.”

Somehow, I wondered why he was so much faster than the others, and there was a reason.

‘Yeah. If that one had royal mana that’s more concentrated than normal mana, it makes sense why that guy’s moving so fast.’

“I tried to find out if any of the royal families in the imperial palace saw the monster or were bitten by the monster. No one came out as a result.”

For the imperial family, it included Iker.

‘Are you saying you went to ask Iker, too?’

Cassius always had difficulty with Iker.

Although it must have been uncomfortable for him to have Iker around him the last time, he seemed to have been in contact with him because he was aware of the seriousness of the issue.

“Did you look into the Crown Prince, too?”

Surprisingly, Cassius nodded his head coolly.

I felt that Iker would not have given him a proper answer no matter how much I looked at it.

‘I’m sure he’s spinning around like he was talking to me. Like making fun of people.’

“We had a hard time meeting, but he answered me when I asked him in person. He said he’s never seen anything like that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

And Cassius added, scratching his black hair.

“And my brother is not the type to stay still after losing his mana to such a monster. Even if it was his magic, he wouldn’t not notice that he was deprived of the monsters.”

But I didn’t quite understand.

The mere sight of a monster that looked like a giant black cape gave me goosebumps all over.

It was strange that no matter how much those monsters hid, no one could notice those creatures of such a huge size.

“Then, wouldn’t it have stolen magic from the royal family living outside the Imperial Palace?”

“Well, that’s what I thought at first, but I don’t think so.”

Cassius leaned against the back and spoke in a slightly cracked voice.

“Actually, there were some invisible mana on the ceiling or corners of the palace building. There’s no way human hands can reach that.”

“So you’re really saying that the monster is already inside the palace?”

I asked Cassius in surprise.

If the palace, which boasts ironclad security, had been breached, it would have been only a matter of time before 7 Imperial Families homes or the Academy were breached.

To my question, Cassius replied cautiously with a mixed expression.

“Uh. In the worst-case scenario, it’s very likely.”

“Oh, my God. Aren’t all the Imperials family members in danger?”

Cassius did not immediately reply to me.

Cassius, who had his eyes on the ground, spoke in a calm voice a moment later.

“Maybe.”

“Then Cassius is in danger, too.”

The answer did not come back.

Cassius, who always talked to me while looking at me, was avoiding my eyes for this moment.

“Cassius…”

“It’s all right, Yerine, I’m sorry to worry you.”

Cassius, who spoke in a heavy and low voice, rose from his seat.

I could see his black hair and wide back flying in the night breeze.

‘Why you of all people?’

A spark seemed to boil in the corner of my chest. I couldn’t bear to see his back anymore.

“But, it’s really okay.”

A quiet voice came in the night breeze.

“I’m never going to lose it to them.”

The golden eyes glistened at me like a small sun shining in the dark.

“So, you don’t have to worry. Even if I die, I won’t give them my mana.”

As soon as the word passed through my ears, my heart sank.

But Cassius’ face looked so serene.

“No.”

I jumped up from the bench and said.

“Huh?”

Cassius opened his eyes in surprise. A very anxious thought crossed my mind. I don’t know why I thought that.

The moment I saw Cassius’ face, I thought it might just be so.

Without realizing it, I got up and pulled his hand because I was so afraid that the idea would come true.

“What do you mean by ‘even if I die’. Don’t say that.”

“Yerine…”

“Don’t ever think about that. You need to save your life even if you were deprived of your mana.…….”

I stopped in the middle and shook my head because I thought the words kept coming out in vain.

“I’m sorry, I can’t speak properly. Anyway, the point is to cherish your life.”

Cassius burst out laughing at what I said.

“Thank you for saying that.”

He said with his eyes bent like the moon.

“I understand you’re worried.”

A warm hand wrapped around my hand.

Cassius, who folded his other hand over my hand, somehow smiled a bitter smile.

“Because I’m not strong. That’s why you always stand up and protect me.”

“Cassius, that’s not–”

“I thought to myself every time you got hurt. Why am I not strong enough to protect you?”

Cassius’ eyes, with a bitter smile, were twinkling like a haze.

“If I were strong enough, you wouldn’t have to get hurt because of me, and you wouldn’t have to worry.”

Why? Why do I feel like something is going to flow out of my eyes?

Cassius is so calm.

I pushed something up from my throat and opened my mouth in a trembling voice.

“No, I don’t need it.”

I wanted to return what you said to me.

“You don’t have to overdo it. There is no need.”

The cool night breeze scattered my hair here and there.

In the dim moonlight, I spoke in a cracked voice.

“Just, just stay where you are. That’s all I need.”

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