How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 110

‘If the phenomenon from earlier wasn’t my innate ability, then perhaps…’  

 

The unanswered questions still lingered, but there was no time to dwell on them for long. A knocking sound interrupted my concentration.  

 

Knock, knock—

 

“Laura, are you awake? Morning prayers will begin soon.”  

 

“…!”  

 

Only then did I check the time, pushing aside the jumble of thoughts in my head as I abruptly sat up from where I’d been lying on the bed.  

 

“Just a moment, I’ll be right out!”  

 

💫

 

Morning and evening prayers could not be skipped even for a single day, but apprentice priests were still granted days off.  

 

‘And today happens to be one of them!’  

 

Though only a week had passed since being summoned to the Pope’s office and hearing the sudden news about selecting a saintess, the relentless barrage of mind-numbing events had left me no room to gather my thoughts. 

 

As a result, this rare day off felt especially sweet.  

 

Even if my dreams had been restless. I let out a deep sigh and lay down on the bed to take a nap.  

 

“Haa…”  

 

It wasn’t that I was lazing around in broad daylight to savor this long-awaited moment of leisure—there was a valid reason.  

 

The real purpose of trying to sleep under the warm midday sun was to see if I could return to Selene’s interrupted story.  

 

‘That’s why, even though the weather was perfect after morning prayers, I tearfully turned down Yves’ suggestion to go for a walk.’  

 

Part of me did want to stroll leisurely and hear his thoughts about what Huluppu had told us yesterday, but I made the excuse of not having fully recovered from fatigue and retreated to my room.  

 

All to return to that dreamlike, mysterious space.  

 

‘I still don’t know whether the visions I saw are related to my innate abilities or if another god intervened.’  

 

Truthfully, I’d been lost in thought the entire time during prayers.  

 

But no matter how I pieced together the mismatched fragments of information, all I ended up with were tangled conjectures—no clear answers.  

 

‘I feel like I’m getting somewhat close to the truth, but the crucial core of it all remains shrouded in mystery.’  

 

Nothing had been clarified—not the identity of the god who brought me to this world and granted me divine protection, not Nanna’s true intentions, nor the motives of the other gods.  

 

‘If this fails… Well, it’s a shame I missed that walk with Yves, but I’ll just consider it time spent recovering my energy.’

 

It was true that I had been so busy lately that I was exhausted. Thinking that it didn’t matter whether I slept or not, my eyelids gradually grew heavy.  

 

Worrying about whether I’d even be able to fall asleep now seemed pointless.  

 

‘Is it because the weather is so nice…?’ 

 

Since I hadn’t drawn the curtains, the sunlight had warmed the air inside, and the drowsy atmosphere made me lethargic in no time.  

 

‘This is truly relaxing.’ 

 

Though there were still many unresolved problems, this moment alone felt incredibly peaceful.  

 

As the world grew quiet, and my consciousness began to fade… Unfortunately, an unwelcome guest arrived to disturb my day off.  

 

Someone suddenly flung the door open without even knocking.  

 

“Oh? Were you asleep?”  

 

At the sound of a familiar male voice, my eyes shot open.  

 

“Wh-Who are you?”  

 

“Seems like you’re still half-asleep.” 

 

“Sorry for dropping by unannounced.”  

 

Having been on the verge of dozing off, I didn’t immediately recognize the intruder, but once I did, I frowned in disbelief.  

 

“More importantly, I think the biggest issue here is you barging in without knocking.”  

 

I pointed out their rudeness while glancing between the two, but their responses were completely opposite.  

 

“Something urgent came up, so I was in a hurry. My apologies.”  

 

“You’re the one who needs to wake up. This isn’t the time to be lazing around, taking naps.”

  

One offered a half-hearted, perfunctory apology, while the other had the audacity to act offended instead.  

 

Their reactions left me speechless, but I figured dragging this out would only waste more time, so I set aside their rudeness and asked why they were here.  

 

“Anyway, what brings you to my room? And in such a… peculiar combination?”  

 

‘Endymion and Xenon, of all people…’

 

Aside from the fact that they both had the authority to choose the Saintess, the two had little in common.  

 

‘Didn’t Endymion seem to dislike Xenon last time?’  

 

As if reading my thoughts, Endymion gave a slight nod and spoke up.  

 

“There’s no time to waste. We’ll explain on the way.”  

 

“Huh?”

 

I had been lying down briefly to check if I could rewatch the footage, so I was still wearing my apprentice priest robes. Thanks to that, I managed to straighten myself quickly when Endymion urged me, though I remained dazed.  

 

‘What could have happened to make them look so restless?’  

 

Neither of them was usually the type to fuss over nothing, which made it even more puzzling.  

 

Even if I had dozed off briefly, if the commotion was serious enough for Endymion and Xenon to come looking for me in such a hurry, I should have noticed something amiss.  

 

‘But there wasn’t even the slightest sign.’  

 

Despite my doubts, I followed the two as they led the way, walking swiftly ahead with steady steps.  

 

‘Wait. Weren’t they going to explain on the way? Why aren’t they saying anything?’  

 

The two, their lips tightly sealed, only quickened their pace with grave expressions, refusing to explain why they had come for him.  

 

Then, I suddenly realized they were heading toward the Temple of Astarte.  

 

“Did something happen to Lord Huluppu?”  

 

Honestly, if something had happened to the divine tree Huluppu—who was under the protection of the Grand Temple and said to have existed since the creation of the world—there would have been an even greater uproar. She doubted it was possible, but still, she cautiously asked just in case.  

 

Given the connection to the Temple of Astarte, Huluppu was the first being that came to mind.  

 

“…”  

 

“…”  

 

Contrary to her expectation of a firm denial, there was no response.  

 

“Wait. Don’t tell me something really happened to Lord Huluppu?”  

 

When she stopped walking and pressed the question again, Endymion, who also halted, let out a deep sigh and slowly began to speak.  

 

“To cut straight to the point…”  

 

But after starting as if he would get right to it, Endymion couldn’t bring himself to finish. Even Xenon, who had been walking ahead, stopped in place and clicked his tongue, scolding Endymion.  

 

“Tsk, just say it simply. Why drag it out like that?”  

 

“Then why don’t you explain, Lord Xenon?”  

 

“Fine. To put it briefly—Selene killed Huluppu.”  

 

“…What?”  

 

It took time for his brain to process the words that had entered his ears.  

 

The story was simply too unbelievable.  

 

“Did I… hear that correctly, Lord Endymion?”

 

Even though Xenon’s face had stiffened, he looked far too composed for someone delivering news of Huluppu’s death, making it hard to trust him outright. So, I asked Endymion again for confirmation.  

 

At that, Endymion furrowed his brows deeply and denied the claim.  

 

“No. That’s oversimplifying it.”  

 

“If you just look at the key points, it’s not entirely wrong.”  

 

“Sigh… It’s clearly different. That’s why I said I’d explain.”  

 

“Come on, it’s not fair to blame me when you were the one hesitating.”  

 

“Both of you, stop it and just explain the situation properly.”  

 

I abruptly stepped in to mediate between Endymion and Xenon, who were busy pointing fingers at each other, then pressed for a more detailed explanation.  

 

“First, Laura, calm down. Astarte’s divine tree is definitely still alive.”  

 

Endymion, noticing the slight tremble in my fingertips, repeatedly emphasized that Huluppu was alive.  

 

“…Really?”  

 

“Yes.”  

 

His tone was firm, yet my unease didn’t completely fade. It felt like there had to be a reason Xenon had deliberately phrased it as if Huluppu had died.  

 

Endymion seemed to pick up on my worry, letting out a faint sigh before adding, “If you don’t believe me, check the branch you’re holding. That’s the proof.”  

 

“Ah!”

 

It was only later that he could recall the existence of the branch Huluppu had given him.  

 

In fact, just before lying down in bed today, he had tested whether his divine power had truly awakened by channeling it into the branch to change its form.  

 

I had reshaped it into a bracelet so I could always carry it with me.  

 

“Hmm… It doesn’t seem any different from before. Are you sure it’s really okay?”  

 

“Are you stupid? If there’s nothing wrong, then it’s fine. If it had changed, that would’ve been a bigger problem.”  

 

No wonder he was Fenrir’s contractor.  

 

Though his words seemed to carry hidden concern, his tone was so grating that it was exactly like Fenrir’s.  

 

“I see. That’s a relief.”  

 

Still, thanks to Xenon’s sarcastic yet comforting remark, the flood of negative thoughts clouding his mind began to fade a little.  

 

“But I do have some bad news to share. The… the main body of the Divine Tree has completely disappeared.”  

 

“Meaning what’s on your wrist right now is Huluppu’s last remaining life.”