How to Live as the Terminally Ill Younger Sister of the Villain - Chapter 40
But just as Ante’s hand was about to touch its fur—
Patzchut-!
A large collision occurred.
Ante hastily withdrew his hand. His fingertips stung as if burned.
However, the stinging wasn’t the issue for Ante. He couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
“You can even create a holy power barrier…?”
At Ante’s murmur, Pudding snorted ‘kung’ and curled up, lying down. Seeing him close his eyes, it seemed he intended to sleep just like that.
“Even high-ranking priests can barely do that, yet a magical beast can?”
Ante’s expression turned serious as he muttered to himself in disbelief.
He had been sensing the holy power abundantly spread around the creature since earlier. But he hadn’t thought much of it, assuming it had been there from before.
Yet somehow, it had transformed into a barrier.
“Ha. I suppose it was foolish to think ‘holy power’ and ‘magical beast’ could coexist in the first place.”
Magical beasts were beings born with magical powers. In terms of sheer magical quantity, they possessed more than most mages.
However, magical beasts used this power differently from mages, which was why they usually had one unique ability each.
But for such a magical beast to use holy power, which was incompatible, certainly didn’t make sense.
Occasionally, there were eccentric mages who developed magic that fused with holy power, so when Ante first sensed holy power around this creature, he assumed it was of that sort. He thought it was unusual, but not something to be wary of.
However, if it could handle holy power to this extent, that was a different story.
“No wonder, I was wondering how it gathered so much holy power in the Dark Forest…”
Ante belatedly realized why the holy power around Pudding didn’t dissipate.
He had thought it had a unique ability to ‘gather holy power’ using magical power, like those eccentric mages.
But that wasn’t it.
This holy power was flowing from the creature itself.
A magical beast emitting holy power?
Just as darkness couldn’t illuminate, a magical beast containing holy power couldn’t exist.
At least, that was the law of nature.
Ante glared at Pudding for a long time with narrowed eyes, then slowly bent down. He brought himself to eye level with Pudding.
Perhaps sensing the presence so close, Pudding opened his eyes. Though he didn’t change his position, this time he didn’t avoid eye contact.
Ante’s golden eyes flashed once more. He was using his ability. But it didn’t work this time either.
“Don’t tell me you’re…”
But Ante didn’t seem displeased. Rather, as if he had found the answer, he withdrew his ability and slowly added a question.
“Not a magical beast, but a divine beast?”
The creature’s fluffy tail, which had seemed immovable, began to sway gently.
***
She overslept.
Angelina, lost in thought until dawn, only managed to close her eyes as the day broke, and woke up when the sun was high in the sky.
The chef brought lunch to her room.
“It seems you were fatigued from the long journey.”
Haley commented while helping the maids clear away the empty lunch dishes. Beside her, Lora was brewing tea for Angelina.
“His Grace left at dawn.”
“I couldn’t even see him off.”
“He said not to wake you, thinking you’d be tired.”
Ante had deliberately not woken her. Understanding that she would have done the same, Angelina empathized with him.
‘He must have gone to the Black Land of Kadenhart Duchy, as expected.’
Angelina speculated about his destination.
A place where magic had accumulated so much that it had liquefied, forming a lake.
‘I heard it’s dangerous…’
According to the original story, only exceptional mages unaffected by magical power or those with holy power strong enough to overcome it could approach the area.
That’s why even the male lead could only go there in the latter part of the novel, after Mason, his right-hand man, had perfectly regained his ability to use holy power. Even then, it was quite an arduous journey.
It was natural to worry about her brother going to such a place.
‘Or maybe it’s fine.’
But on the other hand, worrying seemed foolish. It was because of ‘that fact’ she had noticed while talking with Ante yesterday.
“Haah…”
She couldn’t sleep last night because of it.
As her thoughts became complicated again and she let out a long sigh while rubbing her face, Lora’s expression darkened as she handed over the teacup.
“Is something troubling you?”
“Just worried about my brother. He’s always busy with work.”
Angelina deflected with a mix of truth. After all, she did sigh because of thoughts about Ante.
Thanks to this, the concerned look on Lora’s face disappeared.
Instead, Haley approached.
“Actually, His Grace left this for you before he departed.”
After confirming that the maids had left with the lunch dishes, Haley presented what she had been keeping.
It was a box that looked perfect for holding accessories, so Angelina immediately knew what it was.
“I suppose it’s the red diamond necklace he mentioned.”
“Yes!”
At Haley’s bright response, Angelina received the box with a laugh close to a sigh. Opening it, she saw the red diamond flaunting its presence.
“…This isn’t what I need.”
Angelina muttered so quietly that no one could hear. Her voice, which flowed out unknowingly, was quite gloomy.
“Don’t you like it?”
When Haley worriedly asked about her dark expression, Angelina shook her head with a pretty smile.
“How could I not? How could I dislike a gift that shows my brother’s thoughtfulness?”
Angelina put the necklace box down on the table. Then she took out a notebook hidden deep in a drawer.
Seeing this, Lora spoke.
“Then we’ll step out for a moment. Please call us when you need us.”
Since Angelina had previously mentioned that the notebook was her diary, they were giving her privacy.
Left alone in the room, Angelina opened the notebook and rested her chin on her hand.
[Bucket List]
After staring at the list she had started writing after learning about her terminal illness, Angelina turned her gaze to the side.
She stared blankly at the red diamond necklace, which sparkled brilliantly as if claiming to be the most magnificent jewel in the world.
An ordinary noble would have to go to great lengths to obtain this. Perhaps only a duke or empress could buy it without worrying about competition.
But she had easily acquired such an item. Even though she never wanted it.
Even now, seeing it in person, she had no thoughts other than ‘it’s pretty’.
“This is why number 1 is impossible.”
Angelina crossed out [1. Spend money recklessly] and wrote beside it [Failed because brother is too kind and rich].
She had wanted to feel the catharsis of overspending, but there was no way to succeed when no amount of spending made an impact.
At least she had experienced something similar by wasting 1 billion at the auction, but it wasn’t the exhilarating feeling she had wanted.
Eventually, Angelina turned her attention to item number 2.
After pondering for a moment, she wrote below:
[1st attempt failed – Got a pet instead.]
Who would have thought that the magic tower master she considered as a friend candidate would turn out to be her brother himself. It was an unexpected variable.
As this thought occurred to her, Angelina’s mind became complicated again.
“I’ll ask for you.”
She belatedly realized the meaning behind the conversation she had with her brother over dinner before departing for the magic tower.
At the time, she didn’t think it was particularly strange. After all, any noble could send a letter to the magic tower master. The problem was that the magic tower master wouldn’t read it.
‘Of course, it’s possible that my brother isn’t the magic tower master himself, but simply in a cooperative relationship.’
Clearly, when her brother was young, he was diagnosed as having no magical power. Since magical power couldn’t develop later in life, the premise that her brother was the magic tower master was flawed from the start.
But Angelina didn’t think her speculation was wrong.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for her brother to suddenly go on such a long business trip.
Especially at this time when the magic tower master learned about the lake containing the shadow of the sun.
And it would explain why in the original story, whenever Ante, who was the villain, tried to do something, conveniently the magic tower master would cause trouble at the right time.
Above all, no matter how close a cooperative relationship, it was impossible to have the same habits and mannerisms.
Angelina recalled the image of the magic tower master rubbing his index finger with his thumb when lost in thought.
When she recalled her brother’s image alongside it, that habit indeed overlapped to the point of being completely identical.
His knowing Pudding’s name was merely the final confirmation of this realization.
‘Then what happened to his magical power?’
Is there a way to hide magical power? Did Uncle make a mistake in measuring it?
