How to Live as the Terminally Ill Younger Sister of the Villain - Chapter 13
Angelina boarded the carriage, engraving a deep resolve in her heart.
Soon, the grand procession began to move, and Ante didn’t take his eyes off them until they completely left the Marquis’ estate.
And when they completely disappeared from view, his eyes turned cold.
The pure and restless gaze he had shown in front of Angelina was nowhere to be seen.
Then, at the sound of teeth grinding, the shoulders of his aide Jacob, who was waiting behind, flinched.
Although he had served him for a long time, even Jacob found it difficult to deal with his causeless anger.
But fortunately this time, he could soon identify the cause of the anger from the name that flowed through Ante’s teeth.
“…Blake Kadenhart.”
What on earth did that monster of a bloodthirsty bastard whisper into his sister’s ear?
What nonsense did he spout that made his sister say she would enter the Dark Forest herself?
A child who still often has nightmares due to deeply ingrained trauma, even after erasing her memories.
‘Artoas’ seal.’
Ante couldn’t dismiss his suspicions as he watched his sister pack that sword while claiming that finding the Tower Master had nothing to do with the seal.
He was overjoyed when his sister, who rarely asked for anything, requested money. He could buy her the world if she wanted.
But all that child did was take care of her people a bit and look after the territory.
How lovely yet upsetting it was that the result of her first request was ultimately for the sake of others.
Still, it wasn’t bad since it brought some vitality to the market and his sister liked it. If only that duke bastard hadn’t shown up that day.
Ante’s blood boiled when he heard Laura’s report. Because he could tell that damn bastard was trying to use his sister.
Although Angelina seemed to have handled it cleverly, the mere fact that he tried to exploit his innocent sister’s heart was enough to incur Ante’s wrath.
Thinking of him, Ante was reminded of other bastards who had irritated him that day.
“Jacob.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“What I mentioned before.”
He asked as he moved towards his office.
Although Ante had ordered many things from Jacob, Jacob immediately understood which task he was talking about.
This kind of intuition was the secret to being able to stay by Ante’s side for so long.
“Regarding the Black Scorpion Faction, we’ve dealt with the leader and executives, but some underlings escaped as they scattered.”
The very ones who unpleasantly interfered with Angelina’s outing and caused her to clash with Kadenhart.
Not only that, they dared to raise their heads high and confront his sister.
Naturally, they must pay the price.
“Currently, the ‘Shadows’ are pursuing them, so it should be handled within two days.”
One of the gangs that ruled the back alleys disappeared into thin air in just a few days. For the reason of touching Angelina.
It was good news to hear amidst his displeasure, and Ante’s murderous intent subsided a little. Just then,
Ding-! Ding-!
As soon as he entered the office, the communication device on the desk rang.
So Jacob, unlike usual, didn’t follow him in and closed the door.
Alone in the room, Ante briefly flicked his fingertip, and with that gesture, the door locked and the curtains closed.
In the sealed space, Ante breathed mana into the communication device.
-Reporting to the Tower Master.
No image appeared. The voice flowing out was that of a middle-aged man.
“Speak.”
With permission granted, the middle-aged man in the device continued.
-It has been confirmed that Duke Kadenhart has entered the Dark Forest with his closest aides. It is expected that they will cross the forest without using the ‘Tower’s Path’.
At those words, Ante’s golden pupils gleamed. It was an eerie light.
“…Have you ever seen such a bastard who deserves to be torn apart.”
A guy who should be busy cleaning up his territory suddenly heads to the Magic Tower? Coincidentally overlapping with the time his sister is going?
Could this be a coincidence?
Ante didn’t think so.
As it became clear that the bastard had spouted nonsense to use his sister, Ante couldn’t hide his killing intent.
The aura was so intense that even Jacob, who was outside the door, flinched.
“How dare he……”
-……
The communication device trembled at his muttered words. It became unstable, reacting to the overwhelming mana.
But when Ante quickly contained his energy, the device returned to normal.
Soon, one corner of Ante’s mouth curled up. It was a bloody smirk as if he was about to kill someone.
“A guest has come, so it would be courteous to welcome them properly, wouldn’t it?”
The chilling voice indicated that this ‘welcome’ was definitely not meant to be hospitable.
-I will prepare at the ‘highest level’.
The middle-aged magician, who naturally understood, accepted the instruction without any further questions.
-Everything according to the Tower Master’s will.
With the Magic Tower’s unique farewell greeting, the communication device disconnected. The coldness that settled in the office along with the silence grew increasingly intense.
The Marquis’ estate without Angelina was like walking on thin ice.
━━━━༻❁༺━━━━
The carriage that had been diligently traveling every day arrived at a village near the Dark Forest without any incidents. It took exactly one week as planned before departure.
In a village with few visitors, the sudden appearance of a noble carriage drew attention. The villagers couldn’t stop glancing at it.
“Oh my, it’s the first time we’ve had such a distinguished guest…”
The innkeeper, in particular, deeply bowed to Angelina, not knowing what to do.
“I’m not sure if it will suit your taste, but we haven’t heard complaints about our food yet. Though the exterior is humble, everyone praises the beds for being comfortable.”
While proud of his inn, he couldn’t help but be cautious since the guest was a noble.
“I’m sorry, miss. This is the only inn in the village.”
When her maid sheepishly scratched her head and said this beside her, he felt even more nervous.
Haley, seemingly unaware of the innkeeper’s concerns, added an explanation to Angelina.
“I guess it’s because people rarely visit the Magic Tower.”
The magicians of the Magic Tower used teleportation, so they never had to cross the Dark Forest directly, and since the Tower itself avoided interactions, there were hardly any visitors.
Moreover, there were no profitable monster by-products from the Dark Forest, so even mercenaries or hunters rarely came to rummage through it.
It was natural that there were few facilities to accommodate outsiders near the Dark Forest village.
Haley looked dejected, seemingly upset about having to guide Angelina to such a humble place.
But Angelina spoke nonchalantly.
“As long as the inn can fill our bellies and keep our backs warm while we sleep, what more could we ask for?”
A bed fixed to the ground would be more comfortable than a shaking carriage, and she wasn’t particularly picky about food either.
Especially since she had often been locked up in dark and cold places, starving as a child, this level of accommodation didn’t bother her.
Meanwhile, the innkeeper, unaware of her childhood, looked impressed by Angelina’s words. He clenched his fists and said,
“If you need anything, I’ll prepare it for you.”
“There’s no need to be so tense, innkeeper.”
Angelina replied with an indifferent face, regardless of his attitude.
“I’d just like you to take good care of the knights’ dinner. They’re the ones who marched, after all. For me, any kind of meat will do.”
She waved her hand casually, trying to dismiss him as the innkeeper’s burning gaze was somewhat burdensome.
However, this made the innkeeper nod vigorously with an even more passionate face.
“Yes, I’ll prepare everything at the highest quality!”
“…?”
Angelina became perplexed.
Why so solemn? She meant to just serve something to fill their stomachs, but suddenly what’s this about the highest quality?
“Well, alright.”
But since it seemed to mean that the family’s knights would get to eat something delicious, she thought the result might not be bad and let it slide.
The innkeeper headed to the kitchen energetically, and after confirming he was gone, Haley opened her mouth.
“By the way, miss.”
“Hmm?”
“It might be a bit late to say this now that we’ve come this far, but…”
She hesitated before whispering.
“The Magic Tower isn’t a place you can visit just because you want to.”
“Yes, I know. We need to pass through three gates, right?”
“That’s right!”
“One is to state the purpose of the visit, one is to pay the visitation fee, and the last one is to evaluate all of that and decide whether to issue a permit or not.”
“Oh? You know it well.”
Haley looked surprised, wondering how she knew.
It was difficult to know about the gates unless one had an acquaintance who was a magician of the Magic Tower.
People usually used communication devices or messenger birds to contact the Magic Tower, and it was rare for someone to visit directly like this.
“Well, I have a lot of interest in it.”
Angelina couldn’t say ‘I saw it in a novel’, so she gave a vague answer.
But as a result, Haley’s imagination went in a completely wrong direction.
“I didn’t know you were interested in magic, miss! Perhaps you want to learn…!”
“No.”
