When the Villainess Died, the Male Lead Went Crazy - Chapter 129.1

“What a pretty girl.”

Lilith was not new to being sold as a slave. She understood well how to navigate life when she found herself in such a situation.

The more stubborn she behaved, the more miserable her condition would become. Already being a slave, one might wonder how much worse it could get, but life always had a deeper pit to fall into.

“Why am I here?”

To appear as though she was only ten years old, Lilith cried and pretended to be frightened.

After all, she possessed healing abilities, so no matter how much they tormented her, she wouldn’t die. She had lived as a slave several times before becoming a saint.

However, the current temple was more closed off than it had been in the past, and people had become selfish, rejecting the saint who had been outside for too long. Nevertheless, she believed that eventually, she would become a saint again and return to the temple.

Knowing everything was both a hope and a despair, and it would have been better for Lilith to live without knowing anything. If she had, she could have trembled like a child and innocently hoped for a better future.

Even if the despair hidden behind that hope would ultimately pull her down into the deepest misery.

“You will become my slave from now on.”

The heavy-set man who grabbed her hand made her skin crawl. He claimed to be a Count with lands near the capital.

“….I want to go back.”

“If you want to go back, you must listen to me carefully.”

She wanted to cut off the pudgy hand that caressed her cheek. But Lilith continued to cry, pretending to be a naive little girl.

Not out of pity for her own predicament, but out of the frustration of being unable to break free from this tiresome cycle.

After all, if this was her fate, trying to escape would only lead to a deeper fall, something she had experienced countless times before.

* * *

Slavery was abolished. However, Lilith remained a slave. Duke Percival had abolished the entire system of slavery for the sake of Anais Percival, and most of the slave traders quickly folded as he drew his sword to end it.

Yet ironically, because this was the capital, the saying ‘the darkest place is under the lamp’ rang true, and Lilith found herself unable to be freed.

“Who said you could wander around freely?”

Lilith struggled with the fact that her life as a slave was lasting longer than she had expected. Surely, she would return to the temple.

But when would that be? Perhaps she would live as a slave until the very end, only to return as a saint right before dying.

“Little Master has called for you…”

Smack!

“I am your master! You will listen to me!”

“I’m sorry.”

Lilith found herself on the ground, having been mercilessly struck by the heavy hand. At fifteen years old, she still seemed frail, likely because she had not eaten properly.

“Come with me.”

*Ugh…*

Lilith was fed up with being treated like livestock. Being dragged away was less painful than the stinging in her face.

However, getting hit in the face had become a common part of her daily life.

The place she was taken to had a doctor.

“Why hasn’t she started menstruating yet? At fifteen, she should be old enough.”

“It seems to be malnutrition. While her body can recover from injuries, it can’t resolve the issue of not eating.”

Lilith disliked the doctor who examined her. Being a saint, her body healed itself when injured. This doctor treated her as if she was a mere specimen without a proper place to treat.

“How do you expect her to eat when I refuse to feed her?”

“You still need to feed her. If this continues, she may never be able to have children.”

“That would be problematic.”

Lilith looked down at her feet. Her toenails had fallen off several times and were in a pitiful state. It wasn’t just her feet that were ugly; her hands were equally wrinkled.

“Is it true that the child of a saint can also wield divine power?”

“Yes.”

That was a lie. Lilith had never borne a child.

“If you manage to have many children, you could even establish a temple.”

“That’s only possible if this child grows up normally.”

Lilith felt disgusted by the doctor and the Count treating her like merchandise.

Forget the earlier incident where she had been struck for not listening. She clenched her fists and shook her head.

“As I mentioned before, if you have a child, I could make you the next Countess.”

“…”

“You would be going from a slave to a countess.”

The purpose was painfully obvious, so Lilith simply kept silent and nodded. They were only interested in breeding livestock born with divine power. If she grew up and was able to have children, she would be expected to produce them continuously.

Once they bought off the temple, it wouldn’t be difficult to gain admission.

Lilith resolved to endure the hell from which she could not escape once more. There was nothing she could do, and if she offered any futile resistance, her life would plummet into despair again.

Misery always followed her, entwining around her like thorns that tightened the more she tried to break free.