Becoming the Terminally-Ill Villain Who Torments His Disciples

Unlike Cielo, who felt that peace had returned after a few days, the situation around them was shifting rapidly.

A few weeks earlier,

When Ryan saw the official notice that the imperial healer would be dispatched to the front lines, he flew into a rage and demanded an audience with the emperor.

But even after their discussion ended, the emperor did not withdraw the order. In the end, the imperial healer and a few knights had no choice but to head out to the mountainous regions of the north.

“If I suddenly become emperor, that means the revolution worked.”

“…Keep that revolution idea to yourself. I’ll be the one mourning if someone close to me dies because of it.”

Cielo responded nonchalantly and looked around.

He had assumed all inhabited places would be more or less the same. But whether it was because this was the gateway into the north, or because monsters had frequently attacked here, something about the area felt chilling, like something might jump out at any moment.

“Would you be sad if I died?”

Ryan pulled a coat from his bag and wrapped it around Cielo’s shoulders.

“Of course. Then… should I laugh?”

Cielo slipped his arms into the oversized coat naturally as he answered.

“Laughing’s better than crying.”

“Then let’s make it fair. If I die, you’ll laugh too.”

Cielo spoke without much thought as he pulled his luggage from the back of the wagon.

“…That’s a bit much.”

The reply came quite some time later.

As people bustled around them and Cielo gathered supplies, he looked up and asked:

“What is?”

With a blink of innocent confusion, it was clear he didn’t even remember what he had just said.

Ryan let out a long sigh, his insides churning.

Eventually, he poured his frustration into aggressively ruffling Cielo’s blue hair.

Cielo’s face froze in surprise from the sudden hair attack, just as Oscar strode over from a distance, slapped Ryan’s hand away, and spoke:

“Stop touching my master’s hair. It took forever to untangle all the knots.”

“What, you two made up?”

“Why do you sound like you were hoping we’d never reconcile?”

It wasn’t Cielo but Oscar who answered Ryan’s question.

Cielo’s eyes widened at Oscar’s sharp tone, and Ryan let out a half-laugh.

“So we’ve dropped the act, have we?”

“I just realized I don’t need to pretend anymore. My master loves me either way.”

His voice brimmed with confidence.

Ryan, looking utterly dumbfounded, scanned Oscar up and down before clicking his tongue.

“Cielo, you’re in serious trouble now. You don’t realize just how unhinged this guy is.”

“You’re not exactly sane yourself, Lord Doberman.”

Cielo, listening quietly to the two, rolled his eyes slightly.

He was just standing there, caught between them, but the air felt charged like lightning was about to strike.

He figured he should escape before it became too much.

As Cielo quietly stepped away, Ryan shouted:

“It’s slippery with the snow, don’t run!”

Cielo waved a hand as if to say, Don’t worry about it.

There wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy about the healer dispatch.

The only thing that stood out was the large number of corpses, since this was the village hit hardest.

“There aren’t many patients.”

“…You’re right. Feels like we were sent here on purpose.”

Cielo stood beneath a temporary tent, his hands clasped behind his back.

They had set it up for anyone to come if they were hurt, but nearly no one—more accurately, no one at all—had shown up.

A healer could save someone just before death. But once dead, even a healer couldn’t bring them back.

The emperor must have known that when he sent Cielo and Oscar.

Sending the two most prized people of the imperial family was a show of effort—to make it look like the empire was doing all it could against the monster attacks.

“I talked to Lord Anderson earlier. Apparently, the monsters in this area have all retreated.”

“Lord Anderson? Wasn’t he the one you fought?”

Cielo’s eyes widened. Oscar shrugged as he replied:

“He suddenly came up to me saying he wants to serve me as his older brother.”

“…Older brother?”

“Yeah. Said he’s never been beaten like that in his life. Oh, but don’t worry. If Lord Anderson spouts nonsense to you again, I’ll just cut out his tongue next time.”