The Baby Fairy Is A Villain [EN]: Chapter 175

That day, the Pope barely escaped the snowfield. He fled like a hunted animal, desperately clinging to life.

He sacrificed all the Holy Knights who had come to carry out the execution, ensuring his own survival.

It was hardly surprising, given his nature.

Watching the Pope’s retreating figure, Haelion killed those who had once been his comrades.

They were loyal to the point of being brainwashed by the Pope, their faith absolute.

Knowing that no amount of persuasion would sway them from their blind devotion, Haelion did not hesitate in his grim task.

They cursed Haelion with resentment and fear as they died.

The vicious screams, filled with intense emotion, seemed to echo from the depths of hell itself.

However, Haelion felt nothing but a cold resolve.

He simply continued to judge with a blank expression, his duty clear.

After staining the white snowfield entirely with red blood, Haelion was able to return to the Holy Empire.

The reason he risked returning was simple: the child.

However, upon finally reaching the Holy Empire, he discovered the devastating truth.

The child had already been taken to the Fairy Kingdom.

“…….”

He had temporarily overloaded his divine power to break free from his restraints, pushing his body to its absolute limit.

He fought while his body was screaming from the forced burst of power, and then returned to the Holy Empire without rest, driven by a singular purpose.

His body was in such a state that collapsing on the spot would not have been surprising. Every nerve screamed in protest, but Haelion pressed on, ignoring the pain.

He moved without stopping, driven by a desperate need. He went to find the one who should have protected the child, even in his absence.

Count Vasillian was in a situation no different from Haelion’s, his own torment etched on his face.

“Inquisitor,” Count Vasillian said, his features sharpened by stress and sleeplessness. He offered a smile with fierce, bloodshot eyes.

“Or should I say, a traitor to the Holy Empire now.”

Haelion had been declared a traitor to the Holy Empire. It was only natural, given his attempt to assassinate the Pope.

He was expelled from the glorious position that only the most honorable Holy Knights could attain, but Haelion did not care. It was not a position he had ever truly desired in the first place.

He had only become an Inquisitor while chasing after Richessia, his path dictated by her presence.

Haelion, who willingly accepted the new title, spoke as a traitor to the Holy Empire, his voice firm and resolute.

“I will become the new Pope.”

Only then would he be able to eradicate all the corruption and rot at its source.

The reason he bothered to inform Count Vasillian of his intentions was simple: to ask for his support.

Since Kieren Vasillian’s desires aligned with Haelion’s anyway, there was no reason to refuse an alliance.

Count Vasillian smiled at Haelion’s declaration. It was a smooth smile, as always, but unlike his usual perfect mask, he could not hide a faint tremor of instability.

“Of course, I must help you. We are in the same boat, aren’t we? However, I have only one request.”

Count Vasillian’s breathing faltered, his composure cracking under the strain.

He forced the corners of his trembling lips up and smiled again, a desperate attempt to regain control.

“I know how to get to the Fairy Kingdom.”

He had once captured and interrogated a fairy, extracting forbidden knowledge.

At the time, he had pretended not to obtain any special information, but as expected, he had brainwashed her and scraped out every secret he could.

The reason he was releasing the information he had kept to himself now was singular and driven by desperation.

“But, that place… humans can’t go there.”

Count Vasillian, who was breathing heavily, ran a trembling hand over his face, his eyes filled with a haunted look.

“If I use black magic, there might be a problem with the child… so I couldn’t even try it, but I think divine power might work…….”

“I will go,” Haelion stated, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Count Vasillian was silent for a moment, then muttered with a pale face, his voice barely a whisper.

“I have never regretted my choices… but lately, I’m starting to regret it a little.”

He wished he hadn’t become a black magician, a path that had led him to this point of despair.

After muttering that, Count Vasillian told Haelion how to get to the Fairy Kingdom, revealing the secrets he had guarded for so long.

Haelion was also human, so he couldn’t directly enter the Fairy Kingdom. However, he could send the relic, the Chain of Atonement, into the kingdom.

He hoped it would be a warning to the fairies, a demonstration of his resolve.

But Chesya did not return, his hopes dashed against the unyielding reality.

In the end, Haelion used the Chain of Atonement to capture fairies from the kingdom indiscriminately, his actions born of desperation and a burning need to find the child.

He believed that the child would appear for the sake of the fairies, drawn back by her compassion.

However, even after forcibly removing all the fairies from the kingdom, the child did not appear, his efforts proving futile.

“You cannot defy fate. No matter how much you struggle, she is our queen,” the fairies declared, their voices filled with a strange mixture of defiance and resignation.

Haelion slowly narrowed his eyes at the fairies’ words, a cold fury building within him.

A momentary dizziness washed over him, blurring his vision.

He realized then, in his swaying perception, that he had not slept for far too long, his body pushed beyond its limits.

He had not rested properly since the massacre of the Holy Knights in the snowfield, his mind and body consumed by his mission.

Haelion slowly closed and opened his eyes, biting the flesh inside his mouth to regain his senses, fighting against the encroaching darkness.

He swallowed the blood and extended the Chain of Atonement, his resolve unwavering.

He bound countless fairies with the chain and imprisoned them in the place prepared by Count Vasillian, his actions a testament to his unwavering determination.

He felt that his already strained and damaged body was irreparably breaking down, but he did not care. His only concern was the child.

If she had finally chosen to become queen, she would at least return to save the fairies, drawn back by her inherent goodness.

So Haelion waited for the child, doing what he could to prepare for her return.

First, he contacted the Holy Knights and brought them over to his side, swaying them with his charisma and conviction.

Daren, who had been Haelion’s adjutant, as well as Inquisitors, Holy Knights, and even some Holy Priests, all willingly participated in Haelion’s rebellion, their faith in him unwavering.

Also, with the help of the Vasillian family, he gathered nobles and royals from the continent who were dissatisfied with the Holy Empire to form a formidable force, ready to challenge the established order.

He waited, waited, and waited, preparing step by step for the inevitable confrontation.

But the child did not return, his hopes slowly fading with each passing day.

About a year later, Haelion suddenly realized the devastating truth.

That Chesya, and Richessia… might never return, his heart clenching with a pain he had never known before.

There was no basis for his belief that they would return, and it was only his own vain hope, a fragile delusion he had clung to in the face of despair.

It was truly foolish trust, he thought bitterly, his self-reproach cutting deep.

Haelion could no longer endure the agonizing wait.

“I must enter the Fairy Kingdom,” he declared, his voice filled with a newfound urgency.

Once he became the Pope of the Holy Empire, he would be able to access the vault where various relics were stored, a treasure trove of forgotten power.

He might find a relic there that could help him enter the Fairy Kingdom, a slim possibility, but one he had to pursue with every fiber of his being.

To do that, the first priority was to eliminate the Pope and seize his position, a necessary step on his path.

“I will end it at Emperor Palen’s birthday banquet,” he announced, his decision made.

It was an earlier date than planned, but Count Vasillian did not object, his own ambitions aligning with Haelion’s.

He simply smiled with a bloodthirsty grin and replied, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

“I will prepare accordingly.”

To infiltrate Emperor Palen’s birthday banquet, Haelion changed his hair color and cast a weak spell to interfere with recognition, masking his true identity.

Then, with some of the Holy Knights he trusted most, he hid in the Imperial Palace and checked the interior, including the banquet hall, ensuring every detail was accounted for.

He thought there would be no major difficulties in proceeding as planned, his confidence bolstered by his meticulous preparations.

Until the child suddenly appeared before Haelion, who was checking the preparations, shattering his carefully constructed plans.

The three Vasillian brothers, who were not scheduled to attend the banquet, suddenly appeared, their presence a mystery. Driven by an inexplicable urge, he followed them, his instincts screaming a warning.

He tried to drive the three brothers away, as they might become a variable that would disrupt the plan, his mind racing to assess the potential threat.

“…Chesya?”

He forgot everything upon seeing the existence he had longed for so much, his heart leaping in his chest. All his carefully laid plans, his burning ambition, faded into insignificance in the face of her presence.