I Reincarnated as My Favorite Villainess Saint (Magic Marza), So I’ll Use Game Knowledge to Smash Every Doom Flag! - Chapter 5

My righteous argument, a bomb by any other name had blasted a magnificent crater into the stage of this condemnation play.

Crown Prince Alphonse stood on the podium, biting his lip as he struggled to find a rebuttal. The assembled nobles alternated their gazes between him and me, holding their breath as they awaited the outcome. The one-sided atmosphere of denunciation from earlier had vanished without a trace.

(Good, the tide has turned…!)

Perhaps unable to bear the stalemate any longer, the white-haired Prime Minister stepped forward with solemn gravitas.

“Your Highness, Saint Lydia, I have duly heard both sides. However, this is a celebratory ball for the graduation. I believe it would be best to continue this discussion at a later date.”

His authoritative voice instantly eased the tension in the room. Everyone had been waiting for this resolution.

(Saved…! Truly a Buddha in hell no, a Prime Minister in hell!)

The Crown Prince continued glaring at me with clear dissatisfaction, but it seemed even he couldn’t defy the Prime Minister’s words. Clicking his tongue in irritation, he descended the podium with the heroine in tow.

As we passed each other, the heroine, who had been clinging to the prince with apparent concern briefly turned her gaze toward me.

Her eyes held no kindness, no worry, no emotion whatsoever. Only a piercing, icy sharpness, as if probing my true intentions.

A shiver ran down my spine. In the game, she was always a gentle, soft-spoken saint who smiled warmly. What were those eyes just now?

One thing was certain: she was no naive saint. The condemnation play had been temporarily suspended, and I had no reason to remain in this bed of nails any longer. Without a word to anyone, I swiftly exited. Behind me, I sensed my maids scrambling to follow.

The cool night air felt soothing against my flushed cheeks.

“Lady Lydia, where are you?”

“To the Ansbach Ducal House. Arrange a carriage immediately.”

My maid gasped. She likely never imagined I’d head straight into “enemy territory” like this. But time was running out.

I boarded the carriage emblazoned with the academy’s crest, its heavy door closing behind me. The moment I was alone, all the strength drained from my body.

“…I’m exhausted…”

The admission slipped out unbidden. Overwhelmed by fatigue, I sank deep into the seat. It felt as though the taut thread supporting my spine had finally snapped.

(I can’t take this anymore. My stomach hurts. I just want to go home, take a warm bath, and sleep…)

Beneath the flawless mask of the perfect villainess saint, Lydia, I was nothing more than a burnt-out former corporate drone. At this rate, the cognitive dissonance might just split my psyche in two.

As the carriage rattled along, I organized my next steps. First, break the curse on Claude’s sister. That was the most certain first move to avoid my doom flags.

The carriage came to a stop before the imposing gates of the Ansbach estate.

Despite the late hour, Claude himself greeted me, his face haggard.

“…You truly came, Saint.”

His voice carried a mix of doubt, relief, and the faintest glimmer of desperate hope. Unlike at the ball, his gray eyes held no trace of hostility.

“Of course. I keep my promises.”

Donning Lydia’s mask once more, I answered firmly.

“Take me to your sister’s room.”

The sickroom smelled faintly of medicinal herbs. On the opulent canopy bed lay a girl of about ten, her breathing labored in sleep.

Her pallid face, her tightly shut eyelids, it was clear the curse was steadily whittling away her life.

“…No renowned priest, no healing magic, has had any effect on Elise,” Claude forced out.

“But at the ball… you knew something. Something I didn’t.”

“Yes.”

I nodded and stepped to the bedside. This was it. The moment I’d wield this unique power I only knew of from the game for the very first time.

(It’s fine. I can do this. For Lydia’s sake too!)

“Claude von Ansbach. Do you swear never to speak of what I’m about to do? This stays between you and me.”

Under my intense gaze, he swallowed hard, then nodded with resolute determination.

“…If you can save my sister, Elise.”

“Good.”

I gently placed my hand over Elise’s small, icy fingers.

Closing my eyes, I focused my consciousness. The power flowing through me as a saint wasn’t some gentle healing force. It was the power to physically “eradicate”, disease, curses, malice.

(Please, work…!)

With a silent prayer, I wove the incantation.

“By my name as Saint Lydia, by the laws of the Sanctuary, I pierce the distortion within thee, Sanctuary Pierce!”

In that instant, a dazzling light erupted from our joined hands. My vision whitened, the world warping around me.

Though I stood, I no longer felt the ground beneath me. A strange sensation of weightlessness, as though freed from gravity.

My consciousness peeled away from reality.

When I came to, I stood on damp, dimly lit cobblestones. Before me yawned the gaping maw of an ancient labyrinth entrance.

This was the cursed dungeon festering within Elise’s mind.

The true battle of the villainess saint was about to begin.