I'm a Villainess, Can I Die?

At first, this behavior did not make sense, so he dismissed it as if it was just a coincidence, but as time passed and the frequency of appearances of monsters increased and the incidents became more frequent, he realized that this was a feature.

And one hypothesis derived from this feature was… The monsters’ purpose in the first place was to reveal their presence and create an atmosphere of fear.

To be honest, it was a ridiculous idea.

Did monsters have that level of intelligence? Intelligent enough to make its presence known and deliberately set out to create fear?

However, as the days passed, these features became stronger, and there was no better hypothesis to explain the anomaly.

This hypothesis was not made only by the Duke’s estate, but the researchers of the imperial family, those who participated in the vanguard of the monster subjugation in the past, and even the magic tower.

The same claim was made everywhere.

Lucas continued to read the questions with darkened eyes. Then, with his eyes fixed on the last question, he stretched out his hand and pointed to question number six.

“What happened to that orb?”

“I sent them to the magic tower and the imperial research room. Come to think of it, the time has come for them to get in touch.”

It was after they caught the monster that they started to discover the orb.

At the beginning of the monsters’ appearance, they couldn’t form a dedicated team of knights, so all they did was drive them out, but after a certain amount of time, they started capturing the monsters.

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Common things were found in the monsters’ bodies that were caught.

A strange red orb.

He asked his father, who had participated in the monster subjugation, about the orb’s existence, but his father replied that he had never seen those orbs before.

Therefore, this orb also meant that they newly appeared this time.

“What do you think of the orb’s identity?”

Lucas loosened his throat once at Aaron’s question.

Lucas, who had blinked his tired eyes a few times, answered while holding the expedition permit documents that had arrived from the imperial family today.

“Well…. It’s not normal.”

Confirming that Aaron’s eyes were sunken low, Lucas playfully curved his eyes while clutching the papers in his hand.

“I’ll send you more later.”

The ‘later’ he was referring to was during the subjugation war.

The monsters reappeared, and a season had already passed.

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To be honest, everyone wanted to avoid subjugation. A subjugation war was literally a war, and it was mandatory for many people to participate in this war, meaning that many people could be sacrificed at the same time.

However, as the days went by, the monsters were increasing in number.

Their population continued to grow until it was difficult to even figure out where they exactly came from. Even a passing dog would know that this was never a good situation.

In addition, there were no major casualties yet (of course, property damage continued to occur due to the destruction of buildings and structures).

Historically, winter made the monsters stronger. On the other hand, humans shrank in the winter.

And now, it would be winter in just one more season. Before this fall ends, the monsters had to be dealt with.

So, as soon as they returned from the capital, they started building a subjugation party. To be precise, preparations for the subjugation began.

The work proceeded in an instant.

In fact, since the subjugation war was also a war, it needed a thorough preparation period, so it wasn’t something that could be done so quickly, but thanks to help pouring in from here and there, it was possible to get things done quickly.

Although the monsters were now confined to the Duchy’s estate, it was not known when they would spread out to other places.

Once that happened, the damage would be unpredictable. An era of confusion unfolded with the confrontation between monsters and humans again.

To prevent this confusion, everyone gave generous support.

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The Magic Tower said they would sponsor a large amount of magic items along with a few wizards, and the imperial family helped with the support of the imperial knights and the distribution of funds while quickly issuing a permit for the subjugation.

It wasn’t just them.

Noble families all over the place also came out for support. To be honest, the Duchy didn’t need their support, but they didn’t turn it away.

If they later came and asked for the price of sponsorship, they could say that it would be like asking for the price while helping a nation-wide work, so there was nothing to lose.

Thinking that far, Lucas faced Aaron with a dark smile.

Unlike Lucas, who was excited at the thought of betraying the nobles, Aaron sighed deeply as he saw the expedition permit waving in his hand.

“Didn’t you say that the expedition dispatch schedule was at the end of this month or the beginning of next month?”

“Yes. As much as possible, we have to finish it before winter comes.”

Aaron sighed again at Lucas’s relaxed reply.

“Why? Are you worried?”

“…Yes. I decided to stay at the duke’s residence to handle the paperwork and manage things, but you and Father were supposed to participate as the commander and vice-commander of the expedition this time.”

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Hearing Aaron’s muffled voice, Lucas turned the paper he was holding towards Lucas.

Lucas, who slowly scanned the paper with a leisurely movement, blinked slowly.

“Don’t worry. I will protect the duke.”

Somehow, he felt that he was following in his father’s footsteps.

His father lost his left arm while helping the duke in a subjugation over ten years ago.

And this time, he himself went to the subjugation battle with the duke.

‘Am I going to lose my arm, too?’

Lucas gave a self-deprecating smile, set his paper down on the table, and met Aaron’s eyes.

He looked into his worried friend’s eyes, wondering if he was worrying about himself, and gave a half-hearted, half-joking comment.

“Rather than that, will you grieve if I lose my arm?”

“Hey, you!”

Lucas leaned back on the sofa, feeling satisfied at the sight of his friend’s startled and angry expression.

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Oh, it would be nice if Selena would be astonished and angry like this.

If his arm was cut off, would an expression appear on that innocent face? She showed Aiden her first smile, so he wished he could see her first frown.

Thinking that he was terribly ridiculous, Lucas straightened his posture.