Please Leave The Sickly Villainess Alone

The elite troops of Greffin were strong enough to make their name known across the continent.

Living up to that reputation, the armies led by Essil and Heild advanced quickly, breaking through the countless knights pouring out from the Selon camp.

It was a smooth start.

However, Philip, Heild’s subordinate and vice-captain of the 2nd Knight Order, still couldn’t relax his guard.

Among the majority of knights whose morale was boosted by the thought of this being the final battle, the Crown Prince, whose thoughts were impossible to gauge, stood out.

Between a boy and a man, yet a transcendent being who could never be seen as just young.

Philip looked at the Crown Prince, who was stronger than anyone, with worried eyes.

There was no big reason why Heild had left Philip by his side.

‘Watch over His Highness carefully. I hope it’s just my concern, but he seems unstable…’

Philip could now understand those words.

The unfocused red eyes were indeed dangerously sunken.

‘It’s just like the calm before the storm…’

At that moment, a knight who had been scouting the situation approached Luka and said:

“Your Highness, the army has reached the target point.”

Luka nodded slowly, his eyes flashing.

“All remaining troops, prepare for the final battle.”

“Waaaaaaah!!”

A wave of cheers followed, strong enough to shake the earth.

That momentum must have reached the enemy camp.

Luka’s horse started galloping, and the lined-up vanguard ran towards the Selon camp, narrowing the encirclement.

Philip guarded his side, continuously watching Luka’s movements.

Upon reaching the camp, a fierce battle unfolded with the encountered Selon allied forces.

The countless Selon troops who stood in the way of the invaders were gradually pushed back and had no choice but to give way to Greffin’s powerful forces.

In the midst of this pandemonium was Crown Prince Arzenluka.

While precariously avoiding the numerous swords coming at him, he showed no hesitation in wielding his own sword.

Someone muttered at his relentless advance:

“A monster… No, that’s a murderous demon. A murderous demon with only a splendid shell!”

It didn’t take long to realize that he was a being humans couldn’t handle.

It was a repetition of haphazardly blocking his way, then falling to the side like paper.

‘Fortunately, he seems fine so far. Unlike Lord Heild’s concerns.’

Philip also swung his sword, covering for Luka.

The Greffin army finally entered the enemy camp following the path that Essil and Heild had opened in advance.

Like digging into an anthill, Selon allied forces popped out from all directions, but they were no match for the Greffin army ready to end the war.

‘The end is in sight…!’

The end of the war truly began to appear.

The King of Selon must be trembling in fear, hiding in the luxurious tent visible in the distance.

Even as allied forces appeared one after another trying to tie down the Greffin army’s feet, they eventually turned their backs before Crown Prince Arzenluka.

That’s when it happened.

‘Huh, what’s that…?’

Philip, who was covering Luka’s back, noticed a black pattern climbing up Luka’s neck.

Was it always there? No. There was nothing like that until just moments ago.

The pattern gradually took shape, looking almost like letters at a glance.

It was the moment when it began to emit a purple light.

“Ugh, aaargh…!”

Luka let out a scream and collapsed on the spot.

Philip, seeing this, deflected all the falling blades and approached Luka.

“Your Highness, Your Highness! Are you alright, what on earth is happening!”

Luka continued to writhe in pain and scream.

“Everyone, guard His Highness! Protecting His Highness from the enemy is our top priority!”

Philip shouted urgently as he supported Luka and retreated from the front lines.

The Greffin army was taken aback by the unexpected situation, but they quickly hid their surprise and began protecting Luka from the Selon allied forces.

Now, instead of advancing, the goal was to not give even a step for anyone to approach Luka.

“Your Highness! Come to your senses, Your Highness! Can you hear me!”

Philip tried shaking Luka, but his voice didn’t seem to reach him.

“Ugh, aaaargh!”

Like a beast caught in a trap, Luka writhed in pain.

As he did so, the pattern engraved on his body glowed.

Philip, suspecting the pattern was the cause, lifted Luka’s armor to check.

His eyes widened in an instant.

“Wh-What is this! This is…!”

The pattern wasn’t just on his neck.

It appeared all over his body, from his back to his arms and legs, tormenting Luka.

It was undoubtedly black magic.

Philip urgently called out to a knight.

“Go and bring Lady Senia! Time is of the essence. Hurry!”

The only certain thing was that Senia was the only one who could save Luka now.

Luka had to hold on until she arrived.

“Please…”

Philip gritted his teeth.

Meanwhile, whispers continued to reach Luka’s ears.

[Give up. Flee from there. Leave your army to be annihilated in the heart of enemy territory, and run away with your tail between your legs.]

It was a familiar voice.

The owner of the voice was none other than Duke Kablos. He was commanding Luka through magic from the Kablos mansion in the capital.

He had awakened the black magic that had been sleeping in Luka’s body for 5 years since the day he was kidnapped.

Pain poured from the ancient characters surrounding his body, enough to make blood seep out.

[If you want to escape the agony, abandon your army and desert the camp.]

Duke Kablos repeatedly said the same words, as if brainwashing.

* * *

Two years ago, when war was declared, Duke Kablos decided to use magic to assassinate the Crown Prince on the battlefield.

Senia noticed his intentions first and came to tell him.

“Father, I will join His Highness in the war.”

“No, Senia. It’s too dangerous.”

“You know, Father. I’ll do anything to get what I want.”

Duke Kablos knew this fact better than anyone.

He also knew that if what Senia truly wanted was on the battlefield, he could never stop his daughter.

The Duke asked Senia:

“What is it that you want to have?”

“The Crown Prince, Father. I want that Crown Prince.”

The Duke’s eyes widened.

He had planned to kill the Crown Prince on the battlefield and install one of Lady Jeria’s sons as a puppet Emperor.

And he intended to offer the Empire, plunged into chaos, as a sacrifice for the revival of the Magic Kingdom.

Senia was not unaware of this fact.

But she smiled brightly and said:

“I only need the Crown Prince, Father. I don’t care about the welfare of the Empire, so whether you make him a cripple or a beggar, please gift him to me.”

“Senia, you…”

As Senia finally revealed her true colors after pretending all this time, the Duke couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

To say she didn’t care about the Empire’s welfare, he never expected such words to come from Senia’s mouth.

Although he had dreamed of reviving the Magic Kingdom, his daughter had always been a concern.

She was a child who recoiled at immoral acts.

However, the current Senia had the most ecstatic face before the Duke.

“It was the Greluphien Kingdom that trampled on our roots first. I, too, am eagerly awaiting the revival of the Magic Kingdom, just like you, Father.”

Senia had heard about the great war of ancient times from the snake, or rather the black magician Belkin, to the point of near brainwashing.

As a result, Senia had also accepted the final duty entrusted to Kablos’s descendants: the revival of the Magic Kingdom.

“Father, how about we do this? Using the curse you placed on His Highness, let’s turn him into a cowardly Crown Prince who fled at the end of the war. Make him useless, defeated in war and unable to even dream of succeeding to the throne, and throw him to me as my toy.”

Senia whispered:

“After that, you can change the world as you wish.”

Looking at Senia, who spoke with an angelic face while narrowing her eyes, Duke Kablos felt a slight sense of déjà vu.

“Did you know I had placed a curse on the Crown Prince?”

“Of course. I know everything, including that you were the one who kidnapped His Highness. I really liked His Highness since I was very young, but one day he suddenly disappeared. It felt like the world was crumbling.”

The Duke, startled by words that seemed to reproach him, faced Senia.

“Senia, that… I didn’t know you had taken a liking to the Crown Prince…”

“It’s alright, Father. You just need to avoid making two mistakes.”

Senia’s eyes were coldly sunken as she said this.

Luka was kidnapped by the Duke and left at the orphanage, which led to his meeting with Duke Rayes’s daughter.

If that hadn’t happened, Luka would have fallen into Senia’s hands long ago.

The Duke, who had already made a mistake, had no right to decide.

Moreover, Duke Kablos never acted against his daughter’s wishes.

To the extent that he was known as a complete daughter-fool in society.

The Duke slowly nodded, accepting Senia’s request that bordered on brainwashing.

“Alright, I’ll do as you wish.”

“Really, Father? Thank you!”

The girl who hugged his neck was as lovely as ever.

The promise made that day, after two years had passed, finally tightened the noose around Luka’s life as the war entered its final stages.