How to Live as the Terminally Ill Younger Sister of the Villain - Chapter 67

Angelina also handed over a prepared envelope.

“Shouldn’t we give those damned bastards a proper taste of their own medicine?”

Aesi checked the paper inside the envelope.

A moment later.

“Ha.”

After scanning it, he let out a dry laugh.

“Ha… Are you serious about this?”

“Yes.”

“You want to do this?”

“Yes.”

“Ha, hahaha!”

Then he burst into laughter.

It was a clear laugh that seemed to make the already bright night sky even more refreshing.

“Alright.”

He tucked the paper into his chest.

“Hey, fake saint. Come here, let’s go.”

He extended his hand towards Catherine.

Catherine stared blankly at Aesi with surprised eyes. She looked as if she was entranced by something.

Then, suddenly coming to her senses, she shook her head vigorously and turned to Angelina.

“Aren’t you afraid of turning the Order into an enemy?”

“It seems too late to worry about that now.”

Angelina examined Catherine’s confused face. She didn’t remember the female lead being a particularly timid character.

“Why? Are you afraid?”

“I ran away because I wanted to live. As you said, I have nowhere lower to fall, so I’m taking a chance.”

It meant she had no choice, so there was no room for fear.

“But you’re the young lady of a Marquis family. It doesn’t seem like you have any reason to do such dangerous things…”

At that mumble, both Aesi and Laura’s gazes turned to Angelina.

It was what everyone was curious about.

“I have a reason.”

However, Angelina answered with a bright smile. It was a refreshing and clean-looking smile.

“A reason more important than my life.”

There was no hesitation.

“Don’t say such nonsense.”

The response came from Aesi.

“There’s nothing in this world more important than your life.”

The hand that turned Angelina around was a bit rough, and his voice contained a hint of anger.

“No, there is.”

“There isn’t.”

“Don’t you have anything more important than life, Aesi?”

“I…!”

Aesi’s words were suddenly cut off.

“My case is different.”

“No, it’s the same.”

“I’m telling you it’s different.”

Aesi spoke as if he absolutely couldn’t agree. His voice had also risen.

But Angelina’s smile didn’t waver.

Why don’t you understand that just as I’m more precious to you than your life, you’re more precious to me than my life.

But unable to honestly convey her feelings, Angelina raised her hand and stroked Aesi’s face.

“It’s the same. Because you’re the reason my life has been happy, peaceful, and enjoyable.”

For a brother who I’d give the whole world for and still fall short, what’s risking just one life of mine.

…It’s a life that’s going to end anyway.

Angelina could see his eyes wavering behind the mask.

How strange. Brother’s eyes are golden, but Aesi’s eyes resemble the silver of the moon. Come to think of it, weren’t they red last time?

Hallucinations were truly fascinating.

“I still don’t like the beard.”

Angelina, who had been staring intently at him, suddenly withdrew her hand and turned her head sharply.

If she kept looking, she felt she might start treating him like her brother.

“With Aesi having three sacred objects, it should be worth a try. As for the other two… I have a bit more to look into.”

In fact, only three sacred objects appeared in the original work.

The remaining two were only vaguely mentioned, so their names weren’t even properly known, but there were aspects worth investigating, and Angelina planned to start there.

“And my role probably…”

That’s about where it ends.

Angelina sensed that her role was gradually coming to an end.

She had successfully brought together the male and female lead, and made her brother aware that they had nothing to do with the Sun God’s Order. Instead, she had laid the groundwork for them to stand together and fight against the Order.

“From now on, Catherine, your role will be quite important. You’ll meet frequently with Duke Kadenhart, and Aesi here will help with that.”

She had connected all the important relationships.

As an extra character, her role was to be like a supporting spice, dropping useful bits of information here and there until her death.

Just light taps that wouldn’t cause any impact even if she were to fade away quietly.

Bucket list item #2 was steadily racing toward completion.

‘I should think about what to do for bucket list item #3.’

She had gained some breathing room.

But… why did one corner of her heart feel empty?

Angelina suppressed her complicated feelings, gently pushed Catherine toward where Aesi was, and stepped back with a smile.

“Congratulations on gaining your freedom, Catherine.”

After delivering these final words – the ones the female lead had desperately wanted to hear in the original story – Angelina turned to leave.

Strangely, her feet felt heavy.

Though she felt like she couldn’t breathe, Angelina didn’t break down. She was used to hiding when things were difficult.

“Kyu…?”

Pudding, sensing her mood, tapped her cheek gently with its soft paw.

That’s when it happened.

“Excuse me!”

Catherine called out to stop her.

Angelina’s feet, which had been stepping into the room, stopped in place.

She didn’t turn around. She wasn’t sure what expression she was wearing right now. She didn’t want her brother to notice her complicated feelings.

However, Catherine didn’t mind that Angelina was only showing her back and finished what she wanted to say.

“Thank you.”

And those words she wanted to say were none other than gratitude.

“I don’t believe in fate, but the fact that you resemble my precious childhood friend is like a miracle to me.”

“….”

“Earlier, I said I came along considering myself tricked, but the truth is I came because it was you. I wanted to meet you once more, to confirm. In the end, it only revealed that you weren’t that child, but…”

Catherine took a deep breath.

“I don’t want to just keep hiding like this. I don’t know how to bring them down. But since you seem to know… use me.”

It was a resolute voice.

“If we can bring them down, I’ll endure anything. No, I’m truly grateful for giving me this opportunity.”

Angelina’s fingertips twitched noticeably.

「“Have you not considered that I might be using you?”

“Using me?”

Catherine scoffed at Blake’s words.

“So what if you are?”

“Well…”

“Use me as much as you want. Compared to that place where I was treated worse than an animal, this is heaven.”

Catherine spoke self-deprecatingly.

But there was strength in her voice.

“Whatever you say, I’m grateful to you for giving me the chance to bring them down. I mean it.”」

Isn’t this what the male lead should be hearing…?

Angelina turned her head towards Catherine with a face full of confusion, bewilderment, surprise, and various other emotions.

Facing such an Angelina, Catherine added:

“Even for the sake of that child who left first, I’ll do everything I can.”

It was an unwavering gaze.

Angelina’s gaze, on the contrary, wavered.

“I like that determination.”

Aesi grinned as he placed his hand on Catherine’s shoulder.

“Friend, see you again.”

With Aesi’s brief farewell, a wind whirled, and the two disappeared.

However, Angelina, left alone, was gasping for breath with her eyes wide open in bewilderment.

She was experiencing the greatest confusion of her life. It was as shocking as when she learned this was a world inside a novel.

How important that dialogue was.

A dialogue that comes at the crucial moment when love begins. A dialogue that forms the foundation of the relationship between the male and female lead…!

A dialogue that a minor extra like her shouldn’t hear!

Angelina, who had been staring blankly into space, slowly opened her mouth.

“…Laura.”

It was a deeply concerned voice.

“I… think I messed up.”

What should she do…?

It seems like a big problem.

Even with the beautiful night scenery of stars pouring down, Angelina’s face didn’t brighten.

And Angelina lost in bewilderment, didn’t notice that the tightness that had been squeezing her heart until just now had disappeared.

***

It was a bright day.

But Angelina’s face was haggard. It was because she hadn’t slept a wink last night.

It was more complicated than when she found out her brother was the Magic Tower Master. After all, she had touched an episode that was a pillar of the original story.

Unlike when she learned about the Magic Tower Master’s identity, she simply couldn’t understand it.

She had only slightly advanced the timing of saving the female lead. She had only tried to adjust things a little so that the protagonists would connect well with her brother.

‘I’m truly grateful for giving me this opportunity.’

‘It’s not even an opportunity I gave. I didn’t do anything.’

It was Laura who suffered disguising as a mercenary when they went to the Grand Temple, and it was Haley who struggled to use magic in the tomb building full of holy power.

Mason, who had visited the building’s interior once before and remembered its structure, directed them, and crucially, it was the male lead who spectacularly broke down the room where the female lead was trapped.

‘That’s why I deliberately made sure the male lead went in.’

When you’re in a desperate situation and feeling hopeless, wouldn’t anyone fall for a handsome man who coolly breaks down the door to rescue you?

To not miss that part, she had repeatedly insisted to the action team that it must be the Duke who rescues Catherine.

Everything had been perfect.