The Villainess is a Marionette

Chapter 80

Translator: thursdays PR: scarcecrow

“…How could I call a duke by his name?”

“You say that, but I think you used to call me Raphy pretty easily before.”

Cayena glanced at Raphael, who had unhesitatingly brought up her dark history.

Beside her, Raphael knelt down and looked up at her.

“We don’t have to be lovers. Didn’t I tell you? Your Highness can do whatever you wish.”

“And you do what you want?”

Raphael smiled and kissed her hand. She wasn’t wearing gloves, so the touch felt trenchant against her bare hands.

Cayena flinched and frowned at him strangely. Now that she thought about it, he had been engaging in intense skinship with her as if it was nothing.

‘He isn’t stupidly enduring this, is he?’

Cayena leaned down, grabbed Raphael’s cheeks, and examined his complexion. Raphael looked at her with a puzzled expression.

‘His complexion seems normal.’

That was even more strange.

“Are you all right?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Do you feel nauseous? Since I’m holding your face like this.”

Raphael’s eyes widened in surprise. Cayena, just in case, took off her hands. But Raphael clung to her hands to keep them in place.

“I thought it was unusual how much you avoided me. It turns out that you already knew.”

“…I just happened to notice it somehow.”

Raphael was good at pretending to be unbothered by the touch. In fact, no one had ever noted his condition except Jeremy.

He was moved by the fact that Cayena did not take it poorly and was instead caring for him like it was natural.

At the same time, he was relieved. The person who found out was Cayena, and her touch didn’t repel him. Thank goodness.

Raphael said in a slightly lower voice, “It’s fine when it’s Your Highness.”

This time, Cayena was surprised.

‘Originally, he could only touch Olivia…’

Was this right?

Cayena didn’t know. Her guilty conscience bombarded her mind, scolding her that now wasn’t the right time for this.

Raphael recognized her hesitation and unknowable distress. He carefully held Cayena’s face and kissed her above her eyelids.

Cayena gently closed her eyes and focused on the ticklish sensation. All of the worries that were complicating her thoughts flew away in an instant.

“I am well aware that revealing my feelings will only incite outside forces.”

He kissed Cayena’s forehead.

“It might be possible to band together with Prince Rezef’s forces.”

It was a cold calculation of the situation, not a serenade for the woman he loved. However, his actions were sweet enough to soften his words. Cayena suppressed a sigh.

Raphael looked into her eyes.

“I’ll wait.”

Cayena frowned. She hesitated, then placed his name in her mouth.

“Raphael.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“…I may be unable to live up to your expectations.”

“So?”

“I may die earlier than others.”

She had said “may,” but it was actually a sure thing. Raphael understood that if she lost the battle for the throne, she would face death. Of course, he had no intention of allowing that to happen.

She continued, “You probably know this already, but I’m not a kind person. I’ll take advantage of the feelings you have for me.”

“I see.”

Cayena was grateful for Raphael’s feelings. She never expected her feelings to be mutual.

But things were different now. She didn’t want to lose the chance to get to know his heart.

Even if his feelings passed, it would be fine. Even if his feelings for her did not grow any further, it was all right.

Just this much was good. She couldn’t take any more. Cayena was not going to live long.

That fact was a little unfortunate. However, she did not regret going through with the magic contract.

The helplessness that had pierced her heart was too terrible for her to regret it. At the same time, she never wanted him to experience something like his lover dying first. It would wound him too greatly.

Cayena coaxed, “I’m telling you to back out.”

“Your Highness sometimes seems to regard me as an inexperienced child.”

“It’s not that…”

“You told me before that unhappiness is your due.”

Raphael looked at Cayena, his eyes steady.

“Don’t you care for me? Or is it that you can’t trust me?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then, that’s enough.”

This time, he tenderly kissed Cayena’s lips.

“Your Highness doesn’t seem to realize this, but I have an awful personality.”

At those words, Cayena briefly exhaled.

“Yes, I think you do.”

Raphael gave a little smile at her agreement.

His hand gently teased Cayena’s soft cheek. Instead of shaking off his touch, Cayena allowed it to some extent.

If they tried to restrain their rapidly blooming feelings, those feelings would only become more passionate.

‘If this is a momentary emotion for Raphael, shouldn’t it be easy to move past it? In any case, I’m the villainess, not a heroine…’

As she was quietly allowing him to caress her, Raphael slowly narrowed the gap between their lips.

It was when the two’s breaths were about to mix.

Knock, knock.

Startled by the sound, Cayena pushed Raphael away. Raphael slowly stepped away from Cayena with an unsatisfied expression.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Jeremy entered. He looked extremely grave.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your meal, but I have received a report that the emperor’s condition turned critical.”

Cayena bit her lips slightly. There were not many reasons for the emperor’s health to suddenly deteriorate.

‘It’s Rezef’s doing.’

“What do you mean by ‘critical’?”

“He’s coughing up blood.”

“…I’ll return to the palace.”

The emperor was suffering from complications.

Meanwhile, he continued to ingest small doses of poison, so his condition couldn’t help but worsen slowly.

And Rezef had been very cleverly controlling the emperor’s condition.

‘Did he increase the dosage?”

Rezef must have, seeing as the emperor was now spitting blood.

However, neither Zenon Evans nor the others in Rezef’s faction would want the emperor to be replaced right now. The Evans family’s influence in the palace had decreased over recent years, so if the emperor died, it would be difficult to defeat Yester’s faction.

‘Did he make the call himself?’

Cayena thought quickly.

‘Well, in my original life, Rezef was never put on probation.’

The events that occurred because of Cayena’s change, the things that did not exist in the original, seemed to be the catalyst for Rezef’s decision.

‘The emperor can’t pass away this early.’

Cayena had ordered Vera to commission several silver spoons to prevent Rezef from killing the emperor whenever he wanted. Rezef had twisted her plans, but she had originally intended to present the spoons to the emperor during her coming-of-age celebrations.

‘There’s one month left until my coming-of-age.’

She felt unusually fatigued.

Where did it go wrong? She had been trying to prevent things from happening like they did in the past.

However, the fact that their father abandoned and abused his children did not disappear.

Rezef was trying to kill such a father. No, he had already done so before she returned.

Then, what about her? What should she do?

‘Will things end up the same way again?’

Should she just run away? Suddenly, Cayena felt that she wanted to flee.

But how could she get rid of the countless eyes that have followed her every move?

‘Shall I steal a maid’s clothes?’

But maids did not cover their faces. There was nobody at court who didn’t know her face, so she would promptly be caught.

What if it was at night, when it was hard to recognize faces? But there would be even more problems if she managed to leave the imperial palace.

Everyone in the capital also knew Cayena’s image. And she couldn’t escape the capital without any help.

What was she meant to do? She remained a coveted target for everyone outside the palace. Within the palace, it was currently impossible to stay there and fight against Rezef.

She couldn’t resolve the situation completely with her magic, either. Could she fight off elite knights and gunmen with only telekinesis?

And what should she do with Olivia and Raphael?

Many thoughts littered her head in an instant. Question after question popped up in her head without any answers.

“Your Highness.”

Cayena raised her head in surprise. Raphael was looking at her unwaveringly.

“Don’t worry.”

Warmth began to spread throughout her body, which had been as cold as an ice sheet.

‘I had a weak thought for a moment.’

Until now, everything had been solved well without much difficulty. That would be true in the future, too.

Wasn’t that why she had acquired magic?

The fight to seize the throne had just begun. Cayena was determined.

‘…But when did he start holding my hand?”

She realized that Raphael was holding her hand again.