I’m a Villainess but So Popular

Editor : Aru

The worker on the tree was still unconscious and drooping.

Cassius wanted to use healing magic, but he was a little reluctant to reveal his secret.

Finally, Cassius uses magic to clean up the debris, take out the workers under the tree, and end with giving him simple first aid.

“Thank you very, very much for your kindness, Your Highness, The 2nd Prince.”

“Your heavenly blessing is immeasurable, Your Highness. Thank you very much.”

Two workers repeatedly thanked Cassius for the unconscious worker.

Cassius asked those workers urgently.

The call wasn’t important now.

“Did you see, by any chance, something that hit those trees?”

At Cassius’s words, the workers spoke in quicksand.

“I saw it. Some black cloak-flapping thing flying from the sky, scratching through the trees.”

“Giliam is right. The monster-looking thing caused the tree to break down. We managed to avoid it, but poor Grayson…….”

The two workers spoke sadly looking at the unconscious worker.

But their expressions did not catch Cassius’s eye.

‘They broke into the palace? At this time?’

Cassius was blank in the head as if he had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.

‘Of all days, today.’

Today was the day when important figures from the royal palace gathered in one place.

If it went wrong, it could take away a large amount of golden mana, which could strengthen the monster’s movements.

Even their lives.

“Uh, Your, Your Highness!”

Cassius began to run, forgetting the existence of the workers.

“Yerine.”

The monsters’ goal was mana.

It wasn’t too far from the Imperial Palace to the Noble State Field.

Monsters could jump out of the palace and move on to Noble State Field, where Yerine was at any time.

All the monsters who found her were bound to flock to her.

Yerine Spade is the person who has the most mana in the Empire.

No, no, no.

‘No. I have to stop it at all costs’

Traces of mana shed by the monsters remained in several places.

It was Cassius, who had always thought it was pretty by looking at the sparkling mana, but now felt nauseous when he faced that sparkle.

‘If it’s golden magic, it means that the monster was that guy she missed at that time.’

He sharpened his teeth and cast his defensive magic.

Feeling the transparent shield surrounding his body, Cassius moved forward.

If he followed the mana that the monster had spilt, he could see the movement.

Once he knew where they were going, he was going to notify the royal family and Noble State Field to evacuate everyone.

Cassius, who was running so fast, noticed that the mana the monsters shed was unusual.

‘Isn’t it just one……?’

As he followed the rim of the garden, the magic power was scattered sporadically so that it was hard to think that one was spilt.

And as soon as he turned the corner, Cassius stopped walking.

“What is this………?!”

It was where the palace’s hunting ground and magic battlefield were located.

Mana was scattered throughout the space where the target for hunting practice and the building of the battlefield was located.

Not only was it buried in a particular location, but it was really evenly, almost everywhere.

Although the amount was not large, Cassius’ eyes were sore because of the sparkling mana everywhere.

It was the worst.

‘With this number, it’s meaningless to figure out the movement.’

He couldn’t even imagine how many were going around.

The appointment meeting was overdue because of the accident that happened with the workers and the monster chase.

He had to go to the main palace right now.

‘Please.’

Cassius’ body was sucked into the air in an instant.

Using teleport magic, Cassius prayed earnestly inside.

“Please, I hope everyone is safe.”

***

“Let’s wrap up today’s meeting here.”

I thought it might end earlier than usual because it was an irregular meeting, but it was the opposite.

The special committee’s findings did not contain as much new information as I thought.

Nevertheless, thanks to the special committee’s investigation, measures to fight monsters have become more concrete than before, and making countermeasures has become faster.

Therefore, the meeting ended later than usual because there were many agendas and votes to be dealt with.

‘Oh, but it’s really worth it.’

Although the meeting ended later than usual, the overall process was fast.

We omitted unnecessary procedures as much as possible, and we were able to handle double the amount of work we usually do today thanks to our focus on the agenda.

“If we keep doing this, won’t we be able to get rid of it someday?”‘

When the monster-related agenda came out, it was doing much better than a few months ago, when it was ignored.

If we keep going like this, it could lead to good results.

“I’ll tell you one more thing before we close. Make sure everyone’s security is at its highest level and cares about emergency contact.”

Everyone nodded their consent and the meeting was over.

“Duke of Spade.”

I turned my head to a graceful voice.

“Duke of Ale Club.”

“I’m sorry to hold you up when you have to get back to the Academy as soon as possible.”

The Duke of Ale Club looked at me with her fingers crossed and said.

At that time, her expression was very similar to Rachel when she sometimes offered me an apology for something trivial.

“No, Duke. I’d rather talk to the Duke more.”

“Thank you for saying that. I have a favour to ask you, will it be okay?”

“Of course.”

When I answered with a smile, the Duke of Ale Club responded with a bright smile.

“Then can you say hello to Rachel for me? Tell her that I’m fine, so don’t worry.”

“Oh, I will. It’s not a big favour.”

“I don’t think I can reach her because I’m busy now. There’s nothing I can do but ask you.”

“So you’re going to start preparing for the March Festival, right?”

“Yeah, there’s a monster case to handle right now, so I think we should be careful about security.”

Duke of Ale Club patted her finger.

“Oh, look at my mind. Isn’t there a carriage waiting outside?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Then let’s talk on our way out.”

There was already only the Duke of Joker in the Sacred Hall.

Everyone else had left the conference room.

“See you next time, Duke Joker.”

“Yes, see you next time.”

After leaving the hall together, the Duke of Joker headed toward the main gate.

The Duke of Ale Club and I walked the other way because the carriage was waiting at the back door.

“By the way, Duke, can I talk to you about something? It’s not something I can finish right now, but I’ll write a letter again to you later.”

“Well, anything is fine.”

I don’t know if all the Ale Club family members are all like that, but Rachel and Duke of Ale Club were both optimized for counselling.

Talking to them not only made me feel comfortable but also my mind was neatly organized.

“These days, the whole empire is in chaos because of monsters.”

“That’s right.”

“And the results of the investigation earlier said that monsters are appearing in multiple locations simultaneously. They don’t come out of nowhere.”

The Duke of Ale Club nodded to me, and I went on with my story.

“So I’m worried that there might be another monster on our territory sometime. Unlike the others, I’m not in the territory and I’m in the Academy.”

The Duke of Ace had said to strengthen security to the highest level.

However, as I, like the control tower of the security system, remained away, it was questionable whether I would be able to deal with the emergency situation properly.

“We’ve already had our territory invaded once before.”

“That’s right. What’s the emergency manual when you’re not here?”

“To put it simply, the chief security officer will have command until I get back. As soon as there’s an emergency, contact me on the phone.”

“You get access control right away?”

“Yes, but it takes time for me to get there anyway, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it.”

“Did you maintain it around magic that can generate light and heat?”

“Yes, I did, but…….”

The memory of the winter raid passed through my head.

“When I fought, it was too much for me.”

The Duke of Ale Club didn’t immediately answer what I said.

Instead, she put her finger on her lips and pondered something for a while.

“I’m also thinking about taking a short break from the Academy until things calm down.”

“Well, that would be a way, but you want to avoid it as much as possible, right?”

“That’s how I feel, but there’s nothing I can do if there’s no other way.”

After a slight sigh, the Duke of the Ale Club said with a serious face.

“If it doesn’t work, there’s only one way. It’s very inefficient, but it’s a sure thing.”

Inspired by her words, I looked at her with my eyes shining.

“I don’t care. It’s not the time to be picky about cold food in an emergency like this.”

“Well, it could be a little hard, but you could do it.”

The Duke held my hands neatly together and spoke.

“Why don’t you memorize the entire way from the Academy to the territory, Duke of Spade? Then you can arrive by teleport as soon as you get a call.”

It takes almost half a day by carriage from the Academy to the territory Duke of Spade.

I knew it would be very difficult to memorize the whole road.

“Oh, I didn’t think of that. I’ll have to go back and forth a few times while referring to the map.”

Still, the method could reduce the time I took to get to the territory as much as possible.

“I’ll give it a try, thank you, Duke.”

The Duke of Ale Club smiled kindly at my answer.

“No, I was the one who did the favour…….”

At that moment, I was surprised.

This is because the Duke of Diamond popped out right behind the Duke of Ale Club.

“The Duke of Diamonds?”

Surprised by the Duke of Diamond standing without a word, the Duke of Ale Club stepped back.

His green eyes, which lost their radiance, rolled slowly.

He then raised his long, slender arms and held them out for the Duke of Ale Club.

“Co….me…….”

The Duke of Diamond, who had never spoken before me, was speaking.

“You mean me, Duke?”

He nodded very slowly at the words of the Duke of Ale Club and said yes.

It looked very unnatural like a broken clockwork doll.

“Okay, let’s go now.”

“Let’s go together, Duke of Ale Club. I’ll wait.”

But as soon as I tried to follow her, the Duke of Diamond reached out his scrawny arm and blocked me.

“Not…..you…..”

“What?”

Is he saying he didn’t call me?

“Okay, Duke of Diamonds. Sorry, I think we should break up like this today. Go back to the Academy.”

The Duke of Diamond kept reaching out and urging without a word, so I had to greet the Duke of the Ale Club in a hurry.

“What the…?”

I mumbled to myself in the hallway where the two were gone.

***

The smell of blood.

The hall was pulsing with the smell of blood.

“Dear father, mother.”

As he moved, the smell of blood grew stronger.

“Yerine.”

Their faces passed through his head.

When he arrived at the banquet hall where the appointment was, Cassius sat down on the floor.

Blood was flowing through the crack in the open door because it was smashed.

“How did this happen…….?’

It was just then.

When Cassius, who sensed the strange energy, looked back, what caught his eye was a monster flying with several bizarre arms.

To him, with greedy mouth open.

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