A Villain's Will to Survive novel Chapter 310

Chapter 310: Glass Flower (1)

The Imperial Palace of the Empire's garden was so wide that one could easily get lost wandering blindly because it was a magical space so immense that it might take a week to complete even after a week's walk, and within it, all four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—coexisted, while in the winter garden, its owner, Sophien, was sparring with a knight.

Boom, boom, boom!

Blades clashed with a roar like mortars, and though the dispersing mana was as dazzling as the sun, threatening to tear her eyes, Ria stared with her eyes wide open, persistently following the sparring match, wasting not a single moment of this precious scene.

Boom—!

Of course not. The two people engaged in this ferocious swordplay right now are Empress Sophien and Keiron. A duel between the world’s strongest—you couldn’t buy a ticket to see this, Ria thought.

Zzzzzzzzzaaaaaap—!

The Empress’s blade and the knight’s blade met and dragged against each other, mana erupted like a thunderbolt, and the ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.

"... Your Majesty, you grow stronger at a steep pace," Keiron said, looking at the Empress beyond his sword.

Sophien gave a chuckle and then, with great force, pushed Keiron's blade.

Claaaaang—!

The reverberation of metal shattering echoed, and steel scattered like fragments.

Pufffffff...

The fragments of what had been a striking blade scattered to the ground, and Keiron looked at the blade in his hand, which now consisted only of its hilt.

"Growing stronger at a steep pace, you say... I believe I have already transcended," Sophien replied, sheathing her sword.

Ria sprinted and handed Sophien a towel, while Ahan offered a cool water bottle, as if competing.

"Well," Sophien added, holding a towel and water in both hands and looking at Keiron. "Has Deculein gone to Rohakan now?"

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

"And Yulie, has she been cured?"

At that moment, Ahan's and Ria's shoulders trembled slightly.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Knight Yulie has been cured," Keiron replied, hesitating for a moment before nodding.

Yulie, now liberated from all painful memories, curses, and wounds, was effectively freed from restrictions, much like Sophien. Sophien was rather curious to see how rapidly Yulie would develop.

“Indeed.”

"However, fortunately, Knight Yulie does not remember her past," Keiron said in a reassuring tone.

However, Sophien's reaction was unexpected.

"Why is that fortunate?"

Keiron held his tongue for the moment, as it was unknown whether her words were merely the Empress's whim, a mischievous jest, or her genuine sentiment.

"That Professor, though he may not speak of it to me, will surely be distressed. If Yulie were to fall in love with some undeserving individual... even I would find such a sight unacceptable."

Keiron lowered his head in silence, but within, he smiled, for the precious gift of empathy was now being shown to the Empress.

"However, all is well. Ultimately, I shall set things right," Sophien concluded, a smile on her lips as she waved her hand dismissively. "Now, all of you, leave. I wish to rest comfortably alone. Only you, Ria, may remain."

“... Yes, Your Majesty.”

Keiron and Ahan, seemingly out of jealousy, stared at Ria with slightly narrowed eyes as Sophien singled her out before leaving the garden.

"Ria," Sophien called, taking her seat at the tea table.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Ria replied.

"I have seen, and I have heard."

"What, Your Majesty... do you mean?"

“That, with his own hands, Deculein burned Yulie’s diary to flames.”

The memory, once faint in her consciousness—initially appearing as a distant hallucination or phantom sound—rewound with increasing clarity as time passed and now settled in Sophien's mind as a concrete truth.

Ria's eyes, without a word, rounded in surprise.

"Deculein, it seemed, was of my kind," Sophien continued, a smile spreading across her lips. "Because Deculein loves Yulie, he desires naught but her happiness, to the furthest reach of his spirit."

Sophien, her face lost in thought, lowered her head and stared at the teacup on the tea table.

"Ria, all your advice was wholly accurate. It's a strange thing—how could you know Deculein so well when no one knows his true thoughts?" Sophien added.

Ria watched Sophien in silence, her eyes directed upward.

"Therefore, I am holding a certain thought," Sophien continued, meeting Ria's eyes.

Then, Sophien whispered in a faint voice.

“Yuara.”

Ria’s heart skipped a beat for a moment, and Sophien, finding her endearing, placed a hand on her small head.

“That was you,” Sophien concluded.

***

I walked through Rohakan's Vineyard, holding a pocket watch and committed to keeping her promise.

Whooosh...

From the other side, a clear breeze pushed in, and amid the fragrant, swaying scents of grapes, the person I sought soon appeared.

"Hey, you're here~?"

I saw a child looking up at me, waving their arms in greeting.

"... You've grown younger, Rohakan," I replied.

I silently looked down at Rohakan, the old man who had become a small boy.

"Haha," Rohakan murmured, his laughter filling the space.

Then Rohakan plucked two bunches of grapes—one for me and the other for himself—and tucked them into his robe.

"I was granting another protégé's request, you see," Rohakan continued, walking through the vineyard.

Shaking my head, I replied, "There was no necessity for you to have gone to such lengths. It was merely a single meal—"

"Merely, you say? That moment must have brought comfort to that child. Even if she did not make the request, I would have commanded it so."

Meanwhile, we reached Rohakan's cabin.

"Sit," Rohakan added, pointing toward the main wooden floorboards of the cabin.

"Epherene asked me to deliver it to you," I said, taking my seat and pulling out Epherene's pocket watch.

"Hmm. Just keep it with you," Rohakan replied, shaking his head as he looked at the pocket watch. "You won't be able to meet me anymore, anyway."

Rohakan's words were a definite declaration, and one could tell as much by looking at his current appearance. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Time has indeed flown, it would appear," I said.

"For me, it is merely a brief moment. I take my leave, but duties still await you, do they not?"

“Yes.”

I had my challenge of coming to a conclusion with Quay remaining.

"What comes next for you?" Rohakan asked.

What would become of me afterward, I knew not, and I was already aware that this body had little time remaining.

Therefore, if I were given the opportunity to return to Kim Woo-Jin's world...

"I am weighing options."

"Of course, that would be so," Rohakan replied, a bright smile forming on his lips. "However, that fellow Quay is a most unfortunate ancestor."

“Is that so?”

"He who served God could not acknowledge God's death, and therefore remained alone for too long."

Quay, the final boss, is the most faithful yet the most unfortunate follower. What decision will he make in his final hour? I thought.

"Deculein," Rohakan continued, turning to look at me, his face bearing its unusual gravity. "Little time remains."

"... Yes, I am aware."

The finale of this world’s main quest was now not far away.

Then, a mischievous smile once more graced Rohakan's lips.

"Before that, will you not meet Yulie anymore?"

“No.”

"Lies. You wish to meet her, do you not?"

“I will take my leave.”

Even knowing Rohakan was about to die, I stood up from my place because I had only a few words left to share.

With but a single Stride, they reached the mountainside of Freyden, and Allen merely offered a silent smile.

"... Shh. That story is for later," Josephine said, placing a hand to her lips and drawing Yulie along. "Then, I will take Yulie with me now."

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