Fated to Be Loved by Villains

Empress Cecilia the 11th puffed on her pipe with a grumpy look.

Although she was generally considered the most down-to-earth among the emperors in history, it was still rare for her to be directly involved in such a difficult task.

“That man really loves to make others do rough works such as these... Don’t you think so too, Radu?”

This place was the front gate of the bunker where the pope was expected to be, near the Void Zone. It was filled with hand-picked combatants from the Holy Kingdom.

The moment their side had found out this place’s location, the pair was immediately deployed to draw the other side’s attention. All so that it would be easier for Dowd to infiltrate the place.

“Your Majesty, with all due respect, please shut the fuck up!”

“...”

It was a surprisingly fiery act of insubordination, but instead of flaring up at it, Cecilia the 11th just puffed on her pipe with an embarrassed look.

That was because the Sword Saint was in the middle of slaughtering all the notable combatants from the Holy Kingdom all by himself.

Besides, it was her who insisted on tagging along despite his repeated begging for her to stay out of places like this.

“Even for me, trying to fight while protecting Your Majesty against opponents of this caliber would break my bones. That’s why I asked you to stay back...! Just why did you have to be so stubborn...?!”

“...Hmm.”

Hearing the Sword Saint’s words, Cecilia’s eyes narrowed.

For someone who usually had a gentle atmosphere, her gaze was laced with quite the hostility.

“Do you know how the previous emperor died, Radu?”

“...”

The Sword Saint’s face went blank for a moment.

“...I don’t think this is the time for that, Your Majesty.”

“But it is. That’s why I’m telling you this. Right now.”

Despite his words, the empress continued indifferently.

“The ‘Dragon Bloodline’ flowing through the imperial family is quite a famous curse. That curse is also officially the cause of death for the previous emperor.”

“...”

“Of course, dying from the curse isn’t an impossibility. After all, the Dragon’s Bloodline isn’t something that a human could easily handle. However...”

A bitter smile crept onto her lips.

“Around the time of his death, something strange happened.”

“What do you mean by strange....?”

“This isn’t a very widely known fact, but the previous emperor suddenly became an especially religious figure in his later years. In fact, barely anyone knew about that, but I, his daughter, knows.”

“...”

“Around that time, all of a sudden, his pre-existing illness suddenly worsened, and my own too.”

Cecilia exhaled a deep puff of smoke from her pipe.

“Now, what if, in that situation, the Devil’s Fragment or whatever it is inside me had also gone haywire?”

“...”

“I would have died. If that man hadn’t firmly suppressed this Devil or whatever it is inside me, I would have died.”

If that were to happen, the ruler’s bloodline would be cut off right there and then, and the empire would’ve descended into utter chaos.

At that time, it was probably around when the Upper Nobles Association was eagerly waiting for an opportunity to start a civil war.

If Dowd hadn’t managed to stop it, the entire continent would have already fallen into a horrifying state of chaos.

“That pope bastard has probably pulled quite a few continent-level stunts like that. My guess is that he also had his dirty fingerprints on the Crimson Night Incident.:

The incident where the Guardians, the empire’s greatest fighting force, were completely torn apart.

That alone significantly crippled the imperial military’s combat power.

“...”

As the empress continued, the Sword Saint swallowed dryly without realizing it.

“...Are you saying that the Holy Kingdom had a hand in that?”

“That’s the suspicion that came to mind now that things have come to this. To be honest, I hadn’t even considered such a possibility until now.”

If one were to suddenly come up with such suspicions out of nowhere, it could be seen as paranoia.

But, the important point to note was...

In the empire, more specifically, in many of the special situations that occurred in the empire, there were quite a few traces of the Holy Kingdom’s involvement.

“You could call this revenge. That’s why I’m trying to contribute directly, even if it means pushing myself like this.”

“...”

Hearing those words, the Sword Saint’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

“What’s with that reaction?”

“...I’ve known you for more than a year or two, Your Majesty.”

“...And?”

“Is that truly the only reason?”

The empress chuckled before she puffed on her pipe again.

“Well, I do need to make a good impression. The competition is rather fierce, you know.”

“...”

“If I had a son, I’d love to name him Radu. Do you like it?”

“Go to hell, Your Majesty.”

With those words, the Sword Saint began to cut down the reinforcements rushing out at them again.

Seeing this, Cecilia the 11th, grinned.

Now, then—

Truth be told, she was quite excited.

Although that was probably a rather weird feeling to have considering that she was facing a formidable foe like the pope, she had a good reason for that excitement.

Let’s see how that lowlife gets crushed to pieces.

Because she’d be able to watch from the best seat as that cocky bastard gets annihilated by the ‘real deal’.

●

I scratched my cheek with a troubled look.

“...Cheer up.”

So...

It was all good up until we wiped out the chimeras with the 3-Demonic Aura Combo Bug Extermination Spray.

The problem was that the mood of the ones who joined us afterward didn’t look good at all.

“...”

Saintess Lucia and Yuria, who were still covered in sticky bodily fluids, glared at me as if they wanted to eat me alive.

“We need compensation.”

“...What compensation?”

“We’ll think about it later.”

“...”

No.

Seriously though.

Do you really need to complain about every single little thing even in this urgent situation?

“You know, even though we look like this, we are about to face against the strongest priest—”

“Will you give it or not?”

“...”

Their expressions were too intense for me to say no here.

Also, the Severer that Yuria was holding was glowing even brighter than usual, and somehow my stomach that had been stabbed by it before was aching...

“...I’ll decide after seeing how well you perform.”

I answered while turning my gaze away.

“Promise?”

“You promise, right?”

“...Please focus for now.”

I let out a sigh and chided them as they asked that with voices sparkled with enthusiasm.

At that moment, armed combatants poured out from inside the bunker, having sensed our presence.

Thanks to Her Majesty the Empress and the Sword Saint working hard at the front gate, the numbers weren’t shockingly high, but it was still plenty—

“DIE—!!!”

“GET LOST—!!!”

“...”

With shouts that were hardly befitting of people devoted to religion, those soldiers were all bisected in one strike.

“...”

You know, the other side has prepared various things too. At least pretend to face them properly out of respect for their efforts.

[These ladies are killing people without even blinking, unlike usual...]

‘I don’t feel particularly sorry for them though.’

[Same.]

Anyway, these motherfuckers were probably the first ones among the others who’d shove the innocents into the pope’s biological experiments.

It was clear from Yuria’s and Lucia’s eyes that were filled with ‘personal grudges’ vibes.

I’ve heard many times before about what these two’s childhoods were like, and it was obvious without even looking that these fuckers contributed to those horrific experiences.

So, I couldn’t give a flying fuck about these guys dying.

Also, by extension...

The one behind the door I was striding towards now; the cause of all that misfortune.

“COME OUT—!!”

I feel like this is becoming a habit.

Thinking that, I kicked the door open, revealing the Pope sitting quietly with his eyes closed and his chin resting on both hands.

Seeing how he was still so composed even with enemies at his doorstep, I gotta praise that, not gonna lie.

“Ah, you’re finally arrived.”

His following voice was also thick with that attitude.

“Why don’t we have a little chat? We must have a lot to talk about—”

“HAAH–!”

The pope’s neck, who was about to say that, twisted right around from the punch I threw as I approached.

Like a cartoonish scene, his neck twisted round and round, and I can clearly see all the bones, muscles, blood vessels, etc. inside being crushed.

“...”

“...”

Lucia and Yuria look at me stupidly from the side. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

[...Didn’t you just say to at least pretend to acknowledge their efforts?]

‘This guy’s a special case.’

The fucker definitely wouldn’t die from just this much.

“That was something like a greeting.”

I said calmly, before taking a step back .

“I know you’re not dead. Get up.”

Yuria and Lucia’s faces soon changed from the ones that said ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ to ones filled with shock.

Because the pope...

...Let out a deep sigh, even with that grotesque appearance.

Then he adjusted his twisted neck with both hands, making cracking noises. I could see Lucia’s complexion turning pale at that grotesque sight.

And as if that alone restored him to full functionality, he glared at me full of contempt.

“...How utterly barbaric. Do you not know even the most basic etiquette?”

“Nope, don’t know about that stuff, no.”

I said that while checking over my plan again.

This motherfucker probably has tricks up his sleeve, but so am I.

This is a fight to see which side can play their cards more effectively.

In other words...

There’s no reason to drag this out. The one who lands his decisive strike first wins.

“Let’s have our conversation with our bodies, shall we? Oh, of course, not in the weird way, alright?”

Yosh.

Let’s kill this cock-sucker and get this over with.