Living As the Villainess Queen

“You opened it last night, right?” she asked. “And there was nothing in it?”

He nodded. “It was empty.”

“Open it.”

Slowly, Kasser opened the box. He handed it back to her and Eugene found that it was empty. Confused, Eugene closed the box then opened it again. The leather was back.

She handed it back to him and he gaped.

“There was nothing a moment ago,” Kasser said.

“Try to close and open it again.”

He did as he was instructed. The box was empty once more.

They tested the box a few more times and realized that, when Kasser opened it, it stayed empty, when Eugene did, however, the leather appeared. So long as she was the one that held the box when it was open, anyone could take the leather and hold it until it eventually disappeared.

Kasser examined the insides of the box. “I think when you press the button, it activates it,” he said. “When you open it, it seems to become deeper. There must be a bottom that opens up when you activate it.”

“What do you think activates it?” Eugene asked. “It’s not members of the Arse family because Mom thought it was empty too.”

“It reacts to you.”

“Because… I’m an Annika?”

Kasser nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe an Annika with Arse blood.”

“Maybe that’s why the nanny stole it,” Eugene said. “Maybe I just happened to be able to open the box.”

She had heard that the nanny had been Mara’s follower. She was so committed that she gave everything she had to him, although no one really knew about that. It was said the quieter people tended to be a lot scarier when they revealed their darker natures. When she realized how unusual the formula was, her commitment to Mara must have come out.

The problem was that she wouldn’t have been able to steal the formula by just taking the box.

“Did she kidnap me just to get the formula?”

Kasser mulled it over, then he shook his head. “She was a nanny that spent a lot of time with you. She could’ve asked you to open the box while you two were alone and just copied it.”

Eugene nodded. “That’s true.”

She tried to think of another reason why that could have happened. She wondered if maybe having a copy of the formula wouldn’t be enough, maybe you needed the leather itself if you wanted to activate it.

“I wonder what kind of magic this formula is,” she murmured.

Kasser continued to fidget with the box as he thought. “I’m sure there’s a correlation between the formula and your kidnapping,” she said. “The magic your kidnappers activated—”

They looked at each other and spoke simultaneously.

“Ancient magic.”

“The magic to open the world’s door.”

Eugene felt goosebumps at the thought. That formula probably had something to do with the magic that opened a door to another world.

“Perhaps this is one of the original sealed ancient magic?” she suggested.

Kasser nodded. “One of the three.”

“Why did the Arse family have it then?”

“Well, they could have either gotten it from somewhere else or they were the original owners.”

“If they were the original owners, then the Arse family must have roots in—”

The third tribe where Annika originated from. Unlike the other two tribes that tried to uphold their traditions, the third tribe joined the rest of society and disappeared into it. They were the tribe that tried to learn how to resurrect the dead. They were the only tribe interested in death.

And Annikas gave larks the ability to die.

There must have been something to that.

“She would know more if I showed her this formula,” Eugene said. They both knew who she was. Alber.

“You can find out where she’s locked away, right?”

Kasser nodded, already considering places where he could look. “It shouldn’t be too hard.” She must have been somewhere near the Holy City, somewhere people didn’t go, but close enough for Sang-je to watch over. It would be easy to find places like that.

As Eugene looked back at the box, Kasser’s arms suddenly wrapped around her waist. She looked up at him in surprise. His face was right in front of hers. Their noses were almost touching.

“I know I’ve told you this before, but our marriage is completely legal now,” he said. “You agree to it, right?”

“Sorry?” Eugene watched him in confusion, nodding when she realized that he was waiting for an answer. “Yes, I do. What are you going on about?”

“I just felt like I needed acknowledgement—in case you thought this marriage was unfair.”

“What are you talking about?”

Kasser smiled. “Well, your Ramita is historical with your Muen blood from your mother’s side being connected to the ancient tribe and now even your Arse blood coming from another ancient tribe. I’m a lowly human compared to you.”

Eugene laughed and said, pompously, “So treat me well.”

“Yes, My Queen,” Kasser told her, still smiling. He leaned down and kissed her as she giggled in his arms. Their gentle kisses soon turned to passionate kissing, and Eugene had to come back to her senses when her back hit the sofa.

She pushed his chest away with her hands. “I told you that I have to go to the Holy City’s palace today,” she said. “I have to get ready.”

He continued to kiss her. “Can’t you go tomorrow?”

“I sent someone this morning.”

Sighing, Kasser moved away, and they said their goodbyes. After Eugene left, he called for a servant to prepare a carriage. He was going to follow her and wait around the palace. Now that he knew what Sang-je was, he wasn’t comfortable staying at home and sending his wife by herself.

***

Eugene walked through the hallway with a priest leading her. She had been told that Sang-je was in the meeting room today, not the prayer room.

When they turned the corner, Eugene’s eyes widened when she saw the man that was walking out of the room. He was at least a foot taller than the priest that accompanied him with a shocking shade of red hair.

Fire King Riner.

It was the first time she was meeting him in the Holy City.