When the Villainess Died, the Male Lead Went Crazy - Chapter 86
“What?”
“Didn’t you hear? The one currently inhabiting your body is the saint of goddess Julias.”
Anais froze in shock. She thought she was staring directly at Leviathan, but as Leviathan looked back at Anais, she had bewildered eyes shaking with confusion.
Exactly as he intended—she was deeply hurt.
“Why would Lilith do such a thing?”
“How would I know? Are you questioning it after witnessing what the Emperor is like?”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
Anais tried to deny it, but in her mind, everything started to fit together like a completed puzzle.
“Do priests have such abilities to see something like that?”
“Occasionally, such powers manifest among high priests.”
“But you’re not a high priest.”
“I may not receive revelations like Phileal, but I received God’s eyes.”
She thought it was foolish to believe in the words of the priests of death. However, at this moment, it seemed strangely true.
“Can you swear on your power?”
“I swear by Lord Decarve that the soul within your body is Lilith.”
“It could be my original personality.”
“Sorry, but there’s only one soul within that body, and the same goes for you.”
Leviathan took a sip of the liquor as if her words were trivial. The taste entering his mouth was bitter compared to the strength she had given him earlier.
“Why did Lilith do such a thing?”
“If you want an answer, you’ll have to pay the price. Will you offer your hair?”
Anais opened her mouth as if he was about to cut all her hair.
“No, I’ll tell you what you’re curious about instead.”
“What is this so-called original personality you mentioned?”
“I originally came from a different world.”
“So, that’s why you pretended to know the future?”
“You go first, Leviathan.”
He liked that she wasn’t as composed as he had initially thought. She didn’t show that she disliked him, unlike Phileal.
“Everyone’s energy has its own ‘color.’ This color is visible not only in the flesh but also in the soul. In your case, it’s white. The aura emanating from your body is white, and the color of the mixed soul in between is purple.”
Leviathan met Anais’s gaze again as he continued speaking.
“Having two different colors means that the body and soul are mismatched.”
“Then…”
“The light flowing from your body now is purple. However, the light inside is white, as if the bodies have been swapped.”
“….”
“Now it’s my turn. What do you mean that you come from another world?”
Anais had more questions to ask him, but she decided to stay rational and gather her thoughts.
“I died in another world. After my death, I became Anais Percival. However, I don’t know why that happened.”
“As I mentioned, the colors of your physical form and soul are the same. Crossing dimensions alters the flow of time.”
“What does that mean?”
“In simple terms, you might think you’ve possessed that body, but that body is, in fact, one of your many lives, the rightful home for your soul. Didn’t basic theology teach you about such things?”
“I know the basics of theology.”
“Then it should be easy to understand. Even that body is ultimately connected to the lives you repeat.”
Anais suddenly felt a chill in her chest, as if her heart had been opened and ice was poured over it.
“It’s my turn. You asked why the Saint did such a thing.”
“Right.”
‘I’ll share what I’ve seen.”
Leviathan looked again at the light emanating from Anais before speaking.
“After you died, the Emperor resorted to using painkillers. The painkillers made at Temple of Morphis show the most desired hallucinations. That way, he could alleviate his pain.”
“Right.”
“And do you know what the Emperor did after taking them?”
He disliked the white light that he saw from Anais. His eyes were dazzled. It felt like it alone shone the brightest in the world.
“He sought you out, begged not to be abandoned, pleaded with you.”
“…”
“The Saint of Goddess Julias played along, pretending to be you, pampering the Emperor.”
“What?”
“Encouraging the Emperor to take painkillers and acting as if you were there during the hallucinations—that’s what the Saint did.”
Leviathan found joy in the expressions Anais made. Her face looked bewildered, as if she had just realized that the world she knew had been wrong all along.
“The Saint wished for the Emperor to forget you.”
“Lilith…”
“Forget you and welcome his destiny.”
“…”
“The destined person created by the Saint is quite obvious.”
Anais unconsciously clenched her fist. The bottle she held seemed colder than before.
“So, Lilith…”
“You were used, even when you died and came back.”
“…”
Anais closed her mouth and looked at Leviathan.
He casually tilted the bottle and drank until it was more than halfway empty. While doing so, Anais remained silent.
“Finish that bottle. Then I’ll tell you why Lilith did such a thing to you.”
Anais felt a profound sadness as everything seemed to fall into place. Lilith’s habits, the pigeons she feared, the piano in the Empress’ palace that Lilith loved—all matched.
The hostile reactions Anais received from the High Priest of Goddess Julias.
If that’s really Lilith. Was everything she saw of Lilith during her lifetime fake?
〈i〉‘I am willing to do anything as long as it makes Lady Anais happy.’〈/i〉
Were the tears shed at that time all lies?
Then why did Lewarren bring her here? Anais tightly gripped the bottle she held. Then, she began to gulp it down, the alcohol burning down her throat as if it intended to set her on fire.
“Ugh….”
After emptying the bottle, Anais glared at Leviathan.
Leviathan found her defiant expression intriguing. Consequently, his desire to torment Anais subsided slightly.
“Since you entered that body, everything has gone according to the plan the saint set. Considering the connection between the two individuals said by the goddess as destiny, doesn’t it all make sense?”
“Lewarren…”
“The High Priest of Destruction already has God’s eye. He can see energies, so he probably knew that the person in your body was Lilith.”
Anais thought Lewarren abandoned her due to some circumstances.
〈i〉“Everything was for you.”〈/i〉
Was even the escape at that time a lie to conceal the truth? Anais couldn’t deny it.
“If you knew everything, why did you stay silent until now?”
“No. My ability manifested only a while ago. Thanks to your hair.”
“…why were you silent then?”
Anais spoke coherently despite being drunk. She seemed to have reached a strange state where her head was dizzy, but her mind was clear.
“Do I have an obligation to speak?”
“Because it was fun to watch from the sidelines?”
“…”
“I found your indifferent attitude fascinating. It’s as if you’re living someone else’s life, completely uninterested in your own.”
Leviathan’s body trembled for a moment as Anais erased the wounded expression from earlier. Her eyes seemed to pierce through her.
“If you live your life as an observer, you’ll remain eternally free and bored, just like now.”
“Are you cursing me?”
“No, just sharing my experiences.”
Anais was talking about the sense of powerlessness, the boredom she had experienced in her previous life and the unhappy life that came from it.
“It would be nice if others became unhappy, wouldn’t it?”
“…”
“Because you’re not happy.”
Leviathan thought she was making premature judgments without really knowing him, perhaps as a form of revenge for the pain he caused her.
“I lived that way too, and it was meaningless. Even if you hurt others, hate them, and live as if it’s someone else’s life.”
“…”
“In the end, it’s empty, and nothing remains.”
He realized that she wasn’t warning him with those words.
“Why are you saying this?”
“Because I can see you being happy in hurting me.”
“Is it revenge?”
“How could this be revenge?”
“…”
After saying that, she stood up. Leviathan, lost in confusion, asked her.
“Why don’t you blame me for not helping you?”
“You mean nothing to me. So, you can’t hurt me.”
“…”
Leviathan closed his mouth and looked at Anais.
“Don’t hate Phileal too much.”
She said that, put on her shoes and left.
〈center〉* * *〈/center〉
Anais had to meet Kylian. If the Empress was purified every time she fell asleep, she would return to her original body. Anais had to convince Kylian after making him feel the fact that she was Anais.
If Lilith did such a thing to Kylian.
Anais knew that Lilith would be connected to Kylian. But using her death, pretending to be someone else, and corrupting Kylian was shocking. Moreover, she might have treated Anais’ father in the same way.
〈i〉“If you come any closer, I’ll die.”〈/i〉
Duke Percival’s words as he held a cutlery knife to his throat, came to mind.
“Why?”
Anais had to admit that the kind sister-like image she had of Lilith, even if she tried to deny it, was fake. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, the evidence was too clear.
Anais felt tears welling up in the shock, so she put on the mask. When she put on the mask, her eyes were no longer purple. They were a perfect blue, just like the color her original body had.
Anais headed back on the first floor, stood by the door, listening to the sounds coming from inside.
〈i〉Ting, ting, ting, ting!〈/i〉
Someone was hitting the champagne glass with a fork, getting everyone to focus.
Inside the banquet hall were the Emperor and the Empress. And in front of them, a man who seemed to be hosting the party was smiling brightly, receiving attention.
“We will begin the hide-and-seek game!”
Anais found it strange to experience the imperial palace ball event that she had only heard about. She had never dreamed of such a thing before her engagement to Kylian.
“In five minutes, all the lights in the banquet hall will go out. Ladies, you may hide!”
Everyone was buzzing with excitement, as if they had been waiting for this moment.
“When the lights come back on, gentlemen, you may find the lady who captured your heart.”
The banquet hall was enormous, spanning five floors.
“Then, let’s begin!”
With that, all the lights went out. Simultaneously, Anais approached Kylian. Since she had kept her eyes closed before the lights went out, she didn’t need time to adjust to the darkness.
“Wife.”
After taking Kylian’s hand, Anais wrote something on his palm. The same message she had written before I fell asleep.
“Wife…?”
Anais then took Kylian’s hand and led him. He followed willingly, smiling as if excited about where she was leading him.
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