The Villainous Noblewoman Is About to Be Forced into Love, Isn’t This Wrong?

At that moment, an unwelcome voice interrupted them.

"What’s going on?"

Hearing that Grand Princess Mepeilu was at Duke Venus’s chamber, Countess Ruth hurried over—her expression betraying a hint of panic.

"It’s nothing," Mepeilu replied calmly. "I just suddenly wanted to take a look at… Miss Ambis’s room."

"I understand. I’ll open it for you now," Neybert said as she stepped forward.

"But the room hasn’t been cleaned in a while, has it? There must be quite a lot of dust. Perhaps it would be better to wait until after it’s tidied up?" Ruth suggested.

"Countess Ruth, you don’t need to worry. While I don’t clean it every day, I ensure that it is tidied at least once a week. In fact, I just cleaned it yesterday. So there’s no need to be concerned about cleanliness," Neybert responded.

"Countess Ruth seems quite unwilling to let Grand Princess Mepeilu enter," Minoja suddenly spoke. "Why is that?"

"N-no, no, no, no! Of course not!" Ruth frantically shook her head.

At that moment, Neybert unlocked the door.

"Grand Princess Mepeilu, please come in." She pushed the door open.

"Aren’t you coming in?" Mepeilu asked, glancing back at Neybert.

"There’s no need. Grand Princess Mepeilu and Lady Minoja may enter freely. Miss Ambis has always said that you are welcome to this room at any time.

"Besides, Grand Princess—you have the key to this room yourself, don’t you?

"I’ll stand guard outside to prevent any unwanted visitors from entering."

"Alright," Mepeilu nodded and stepped inside.

The room was spotless—so pristine, in fact, that everything matched Mepeilu’s memories perfectly.

The familiarity was almost unsettling.

But the room felt colder, emptier.

Mepeilu didn’t waste time. She moved straight toward Ambis’s study.

But along the way, she paused—her gaze falling upon a framed photograph on the desk.

"A nostalgic picture, isn’t it?" Minoja commented.

"Of course—it was you who took it, after all," Mepeilu replied, running her fingers over Liana’s face in the photo.

She was so close.

Mepeilu felt herself on the brink of uncovering the truth.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Reluctantly, she set the photo down and continued into the study.

"Miss Ambis still kept so many books," Mepeilu muttered.@@novelbin@@

"Are you searching for a book, Grand Princess?"

"Yes—the book that recorded the drug we saw earlier.

"I believe… it might have some answers."

"But how do you intend to find it?"

With no leads, searching through hundreds of books would be impossible.

And there was also the chance that someone else had taken it.

At that moment, Mepeilu pulled out a single golden strand of hair.

"Wait… is that…?"

"Just pretend you didn’t see anything."

"I understand."

Mepeilu clutched Liana’s hair and whispered the same incantation Loraviel had used earlier.

"O all-knowing, all-powerful God of Wisdom, guide this lost lamb to the correct path."

This was a spell that Ambis had taught her.

Or rather, it was the first spell they had learned together—a spell rich with meaning.

But something was strange.

The golden light didn’t lead to the bookshelves.

Instead, it floated around the study, lingering in various places—but never over any books.

"That maid…"

Mepeilu immediately thought of Loraviel.

Since Liana couldn’t use magic, it was highly likely that the maid had taken the books.

"A month ago, Liana came here and took something.

"If I can find out what books she took, I might find the answer I’m looking for."

But for now, the trail had gone cold.

"Minoja, can you help me track down something related to Loraviel?"

Minoja snapped her fingers—and a pile of books materialized in her hands.

"I found these in Liana’s room. I’ve seen them before in Miss Ambis’s study, so I brought them along.

"Maybe they’ll be of some help to you, Grand Princess."

"Minoja!"

Mepeilu’s eyes lit up.

She didn’t notice the pink-covered book Minoja had hidden behind her back.

Wasting no time, Mepeilu recast the spell.

This time, one book’s glow burned brighter than the rest.

She flipped it open—and within a few pages, she found her answer.

"Cave Spider’s Silk, Forest Scorpion Venom, Desert Lone Wolf’s Fang…"

It was the formula for the forbidden drug.

And on the next page—

The antidote.

The ingredients… were exactly the same.

"Then Liana… she…"

"She definitely took the drug," Minoja confirmed.

During their earlier encounter, Minoja had been able to verify it herself.

Mepeilu sank to the floor—

An expression rarely seen on her face.

She looked like a child who had made a terrible mistake.

Which meant—

She hadn’t just failed to protect Liana.

She had rejected her plea for help.

And on top of that—

She had spoken down to her as if she knew better.

The materials were rare, yes.

But as the daughter of the Venus family, Liana could have obtained them on her own.

The fact that she had come to Mepeilu meant one thing—

The person who had done this to Liana was in the Venus estate.

Someone with power.

Someone Liana couldn’t fight back against.

But why hadn’t Liana just told her?

Why?

Didn’t she know that Mepeilu would do anything for her?

That she would sacrifice everything to protect her?

Maybe…

Maybe the other books would hold the answer.

Mepeilu rapidly flipped through the other volumes, with Minoja assisting her.

And soon, she noticed something strange.

All of these books contained high-level magic techniques.

But Liana couldn’t use magic at all.

Meaning—she hadn’t taken these books for herself.

And they all had one thing in common—

They were all about gravity magic.

Ruth and her son, Kalen.

Both of them used gravity magic.

The answer was right in front of her.

"It’s Countess Ruth!"

Mepeilu was certain now.

Countess Ruth was behind all of this!

Her rage erupted.

"Minoja! Kill Countess Ruth!"

For the first time, Minoja felt true bloodlust from Mepeilu.

The air grew heavy with her murderous intent.

Minoja crossed her arms and leaned against the bookshelf, sighing.

It had come to this, after all.

"Since this is Grand Princess Mepeilu’s command," Minoja said lightly,

"Then I shall go."