BJ Villainess

Samuel’s eyes flickered with madness, his gaze murky and swirling with insanity. The elderly angels grimaced at the sight of him, completely overtaken by lunacy. Still remembering his past glory, the elderly angels treated him with as much dignity as they could muster.

“This is not the place for you. Please leave.”

Samuel had suddenly gone mad one day for unknown reasons. He claimed to have seen the creator and was abandoned. Like a cult leader preaching about the apocalypse, he asserted that the heavenly realm was on the brink of destruction.

“The creator knows what you have done. They will not forgive the heavenly realm.”

Unable to tolerate it anymore, one of the elder angels stood up and shouted at him. “If you’re going to spout nonsense, just leave! We’re already in a state of emergency because of Ilya; don’t waste our time!”

Samuel shrugged his shoulders. “The real issue is not that, how foolish. Even if you don’t die by Ilya’s hand, you will soon be judged.”

“Watch your mouth, Samuel!”

“But we won’t be saved even in death. It’s better to beg for forgiveness and live in this hellish heavenly realm than to not.”

After infuriating everyone, Samuel appeared to lose interest and was leaving the senate when he noticed Zakari. His twisted expression suddenly softened to one of tenderness and sorrow. “My son.”

Zakari was not fooled into thinking his father’s personality had suddenly become benign.

“Give me the authority to descend to the human realm. It’s not too late to seek forgiveness.”

Samuel persistently demanded, begged, and pleaded with Zakari to give him the authority to descend. Until now, Zakari had thought his father was just crazy like everyone else. But the moment Samuel mentioned the name ‘Theresa,’ the situation changed.

“Please, I beg you. I must see Lady Theresa!”

Then, Ilya appeared behind Zakari.

“You’ve become pathetic, Samuel.” It was a concise expression of contempt.

Samuel’s face twisted like a demon’s upon seeing Ilya. “It’s been a while, Ilya. Have you come to seek vengeance for your younger brother?”

Ilya’s eyebrows twitched at the mention of the younger brother. It was the only clue he had received that was different. So, he tested the waters. “Are you talking about avenging Clyde?”

“If not for that, why would you rush into the heavenly realm as soon as the stigma disappeared?” Samuel chuckled, mocking Ilya. “Or are you planning to sacrifice yourself on the altar this time? As you can see, the life force of Clyde, which sustained the heavenly realm, has suddenly disappeared.”

“…

.”

As Ilya listened, the whole story began to make sense.

“So, I had a younger brother named Clyde, and he was sacrificed for the heavenly realm.”

That’s why he became a demon and killed the elder angels. The missing puzzle pieces began to fit together.

Ilya asked Samuel. “Did Theresa make you unable to forget what happened in the dream?”

“Yes. It’s a punishment from the creator. Thanks to that, I realized who the true master of this world is.”

While it’s true Theresa is a creator, she is merely human.

  Ilya felt he needed to visit the Altar of Light, where the event occurred, to understand better.

Before leaving, Ilya struck Samuel. Samuel couldn’t even scream as he rolled on the floor like a ragdoll. Ilya then hung Samuel’s unconscious body on the wall in a cruciform. He didn’t kill him right away; unnecessary chaos might waste time before he could attend to more important matters. He could always deal with the elderly angels after returning from the Altar of Light.

As Ilya spread his wings to leave, Zakari, who had led him here, spoke up. “So, is Theresa Squire truly the creator?”

“It’s more accurate to say she’s the author than a creator. This world exists within a story she created.”

“…A story?”

“Yes. This world began as fiction, so there’s someone else who brought this story into a real dimension.”

Zakari felt dizzy, overwhelmed by the barrage of surreal explanations.

Before departing, Ilya addressed the confused Zakari. “The important thing is to find the lost ‘Clyde.’ It seems the story has become twisted since his disappearance.”

After explaining, Ilya promptly headed to the Altar of Light. The altar, still exuding a sacred aura, was as serene as if untouched by any misfortune, enveloped in a tranquil silence. Ilya stepped towards the altar, then paused, sensing something was off.

“Was it always this dark here?”

The light pouring over the altar remained, yet somehow it felt dimmer than he remembered.

Ilya soon found the answer. From where he stood to the wall, marks as if burned by fire appeared, not burnt but resembling shapeless shadows.

“…Butterfly wings?”

The faint marks resembled a pair of butterfly wings.

Puzzled, Ilya knelt and touched the wing marks when a voice spoke.

A flood of unfamiliar memories surfaced. He had thought he had eluded all pursuers, but a man with a black umbrella appeared right before him. The man spoke as if he knew Ilya well.

 The ‘dream’ the stranger referred to was undoubtedly the dream world.

As Ilya pieced it together, a new memory surfaced, this time of meeting the stranger in the dream world.

Along with the forgotten event, the stranger’s name came to mind.

“Ozworld.”

The moment Ilya uttered the name aloud…

! Suddenly, the wing marks darkened, converging rapidly towards the point Ilya touched. A powerful force flowed through his fingertips, seizing control of Ilya’s body. His cells transformed, reconfiguring into a completely different being.

Ilya’s wings disintegrated, his bright green eyes darkened, and his hair returned to its black-red color. He was reverting to the original form crafted by the creator, becoming a wholly different entity.

Ilya slowly rose, looking down at his hands, and murmured softly, “What on earth is this…”

An unidentified force coursed through his veins vigorously.

* * *

I eyed the mirror suspiciously as I dressed. My appearance in the floral dress was not bad. However, the question was whether this was really the ‘beautiful flower’ the emperor had mentioned.

Regardless, I carefully selected the flowers to take to the imperial palace and loaded them onto the carriage. I also prepared fine wine and cigars as gifts for Euges. Moreover, my etiquette had finally advanced to a high level. I was simply in impeccable condition.

Raul escorted me to the carriage, his brow furrowed with worry. “Are you sure it’s alright for me not to accompany you?”

“Of course. I’m going there to talk business.”

Only after reassuring Raul several times that everything would be fine was I able to board the carriage.

“I’ll be back soon.”

The carriage departed for the imperial palace.

“The weather is nice today.”

After days of oppressive heat, today felt refreshingly cool, and a brisk wind blew. It felt like a good omen.

Arriving at the imperial palace, surprisingly, the chief chamberlain, Bein, personally welcomed me at the entrance.

“Welcome, Princess. We’ve been expecting you.”

“We’ve been expecting you, Princess!”  The servants followed, loudly greeting me with proper respect.

That was strange.

Moreover, everyone had an oddly satisfied expression.

I tilted my head in confusion as I followed Bein into the Sun Palace, pausing involuntarily. The imperial palace servants were all covering their shoes with cloth.

Seeing me frozen, Bein, having been caught, explained as if he had no choice. “In truth, His Majesty has been in a foul mood recently.”

Ding!

[The Constellation ‘Emperor Euges’s Sunfish’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]

[Oh dear.]

The power of <Advance Etiquette> was indeed formidable. Inside, I cursed profusely, yet outwardly, I managed to speak softly, showing concern for the emperor. “It seems I’ve chosen an inopportune day for my visit. I’ll come back when His Majesty is more receptive.”

Just as I was about to make a quick exit, Bein stopped me. “I’m sorry, but no one is currently allowed to enter His Majesty’s chambers, so I cannot ask you to postpone today’s visit.”

“What do you mean…?”

Bein bowed. “Please proceed as originally planned.”

They’re planning to push me into the emperor’s bedroom, where no one dares to enter because they’re scared!