Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son-Chapter 528: Fate and Projection [3]

’...What the hell happened?’

I let out a tired sigh as I leaned back on the sofa in the main hall.

Elijah had already told me about what Amaury did in his kingdom.

’...Killing his own father.’

Even though he had no feelings for him, it was still fucked up.

I rubbed my temples, a dull ache pulsing behind my eyes.

"I should’ve checked on him," I muttered.

There were always signs of him turning to darkness.

I had neglected him because I was busy with my own life.

Who would have thought he would do such a thing again.

My gaze shifted to the boy who was affected the most by it.

Across the hall, Elijah stood near the window, arms crossed.

"This isn’t your fault," I said.

He turned, leaning on the window frame.

"It isn’t completely," he corrected. "But I can’t pretend it had nothing to do with me either."

I sighed, unable to speak anymore.

"He did it because Heather didn’t choose him, right?" Aimar asked, his eyes on Elijah.

Elijah stiffened at Aimar’s words.

"...Yes," he said after a moment. "I believe so."

I watched Elijah as it was clear he saw himself as the culprit for what happened to Amaury.

I closed my eyes.

"He made a deal with someone," I said slowly. "Didn’t he?"

Elijah didn’t answer immediately.

"...Yes," he admitted. "Someone helped him suppress everyone, probably a demigod."

So someone had pushed him, guided him, and used his resentment like a blade.

And if it was the same person as in the game, then the kingdom of Werewolves was doomed.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.

"If I ignore this," I said, "the werewolves will burn. If I intervene..."

"You’ll be dragged into another war," Elijah finished.

I let out a small, humorless chuckle.

"Seems like fate doesn’t give me good options anymore."

Ahh, this was much more troubling than I thought.

Sighing, I leaned back once again. "What were Casper and Drake going to do about this?"

"Father-in-law was being cautious about the whole thing." He replied, shaking his head. "Sir Drake didn’t plan to intervene as Amaury was still a legitimate king."

Even the demigod of Werewolves wasn’t intervening?

’That would be troublesome.’

If things went unattended, then it would lead to civil war between the Werewolves.

It would definitely destroy them, and the Werewolves on Akasha would not be safe.

’...I need to warn Drake about Amaury’s plans.’

Once they lost their only demigod, it would end in a catastrophe.

I let out a long breath through my nose.

"...Then Drake is making a mistake," I said quietly.

Aimar frowned. "You think Amaury will move that far?"

"Yes," I replied without hesitation. "I don’t think he would be satisfied with only a kingdom to rule."

Aimar clicked his tongue. "So what’s your plan? You can’t just march in."

"No," I agreed. "I just planned to watch from the sides."

I stood up as I walked toward Elijah, patting his shoulder.

"This is your problem as well." I said to him. "Deal with it how you see fit."

He didn’t respond, and I didn’t wait for his answer.

Instead, I walked out of the hall into the open ground.

"Hey, big boy."

I slowed down as I glanced back at Aimar, who was following me.

"What?"

"I have something I want to talk about." He said. "Something important."

I stopped as I turned around. "..Is it about Horus?"

He stopped just a step away and nodded seriously.

Aimar let out a slow breath, like he had been holding it in for a while.

"Yeah," he said. "It’s about Horus."

I crossed my arms. "Go on."

He hesitated, then looked away for a second. "I was seeing things about him."

That made me frown. "In your dreams?"

"...Yeah." He nodded his head. "More specifically, I was seeing his death."

I grew increasingly curious as I rubbed my chin. "How God Seth killed him?"

Aimar shook his head slowly.

"No," he said. "Not like that."

I paused. "Then how?"

He looked uncomfortable, scratching the back of his neck. "That’s the problem. It keeps changing."

I raised an eyebrow. "Changing?"

"Sometimes he’s torn apart," Aimar said. "Sometimes he burns. Sometimes he just... fades. Like he was never there."

That made my expression harden. "Do you think they might be possibilities?"

He sniffingly shook his head in response. "I think so."

I rubbed the back of my neck in frustration. This didn’t look good.

"There is another thing that I noticed." He said softly. "His army of ’conspirators’ might breach through the barrier soon."

"..."

So he was going to send his minions soon.

....This was getting troublesome.

I turned to look at him once again. "What do you plan to do then?"

"...I think I am ready to break through." He said. "I just need some guidance."

I nodded my head as I instructed. "Go look for Arawn, he will help you with anything you don’t understand."

Aimar looked relieved, even if just a little.

"Alright," he said. "I’ll find him."

He turned around and began to walk away.

"Aimar." I called him, making him glance back. "...You can always ask me if you think you can’t win."

He smiled. "Don’t assume I would lose."

He waved once and walked off, his steps lighter than before.

I watched his back until he disappeared beyond the pillars.

For someone who joked and teased all the time, Aimar carried far more weight than he let on.

Hah, this was such a pain.

I let out a sigh as I began to walk alone in the garden.

The things that were happening weighed heavily on my mind.

Amaury wasn’t just acting out of hatred.

He was being directed.

Someone had seen his cracks and pushed a blade into them.

Things would not completely go as in the game, but I wasn’t really sure about it.

"I really wanted a break," I muttered.

My steps halted as I turned my head to the side.

Far from the edge of a window, I found a girl staring at me like a hawk.

’The fuck is wrong with her?’

I stared back at Kaelia without blinking, and she didn’t look away.

I raised my hand to greet her, but she turned around once again.

’No you don’t.’

I let the space fold around me, shifting my body through the emptiness.

In a split second, I was standing in front of the girl, blocking her path.

Kaelia didn’t look surprised as she coldly stared at me.

"...You’re persistent," I said at last.

"So are you," she replied flatly.

I tilted my head. "You’ve been watching me for a while now. Care to explain why?"

She didn’t answer right away.

Her eyes flicked past me for a brief second, checking the space, then returned to my face.

"I don’t know what you are talking about." She said with a straight face.

"Don’t play dumb." I said. "I can always feel you stalking me."

"You really overestimate yourself," Kaelia said. "If I wanted to stalk you, you wouldn’t feel a thing."

I chuckled softly, finding her words quite absurd.

Still, I didn’t let her go. "Start talking, Kaelia."

"Or what?" She tilted her head. "Would you force me?"

I smiled faintly. "No."

That seemed to catch her off guard, if only for a split second.

"I don’t need to force you," I continued. "That would break you completely."

Kaelia stared at me, her expression unreadable.

"...You’re annoying," she said.

"I hear that a lot."

She exhaled slowly, shaking her head. "I have nothing to say."

Without saying anything else, she walked away.

I could have stopped her, but I didn’t, as I felt something odd about her.

Like she was hiding a lot more than she was showing...

I let out a sigh as I looked toward the hallway where a maid was walking toward me.

She reached me, bowed, and passed me a letter. "It’s from Akasha."

"Thank you." I said. "You may leave."

She bowed once again before walking away, leaving me alone.

I looked down at the sealed letter in my hand.

The paper felt heavier than it should have.

"...Akasha," I murmured.

I broke the seal with my thumb.

The moment the letter opened, a faint ripple of mana brushed against my senses.

’Mariam...’

I began reading the letter with a blank expression.

"...."

I rubbed my temples as I stared at the letter for a long second.

I exhaled slowly through my nose.

The mana within Akasha was draining, and its density was also decreasing.

In the game, this signified the beginning of the end.

After this, all the families living in Akasha began to die like flies.

....That meant the time had come.

Starting with the Werewolves, all the inhabitants would begin dying.

"...It’s the beginning."

In the game, I played a significant role in the downfall of Akasha.

Now that I was not her puppet...I wondered what Esmeray would do.

Her goal of destroying Akasha was still in effect.

I let out a sigh as I rubbed my temples.

Looks like I would have to make a visit to Akasha.