Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!

Chapter 283: Chapter: 282 Immortal Velentina.[2]

"Huh?"

Kathlyin tilted her head in complete bewilderment.

"Why would you even say that?" she asked, staring at the unusually serious expression on her sister’s face.

Elizabeth was rarely this tense unless something truly troublesome had happened, which only made the question even stranger.

Kathlyin frowned and genuinely began searching her memories. Had she accidentally killed someone from the Valentina Clan recently?

She had certainly killed a few people several days ago, but that had been on the Continent of Vahana.

She had merely been enjoying herself in a lively tavern, gambling with a group of strangers while steadily emptying everyone’s pockets through an incredibly lucky streak.

Then a couple had entered the establishment, and something about them immediately caught her attention. The resemblance was... unsettling.

It felt almost like she was looking at another version of herself and Nathaniel.

Their names were different, yet strangely similar. The woman was named Katherine, while the man was called Nathan.

There hadn’t been anyone named Elizabeth with them... at least she didn’t think so.

She hadn’t intended to eavesdrop at first, only catching their names because the tavern was noisy and they happened to be sitting nearby while she rolled her dice.

"What a coincidence..." she had thought at the time before returning to her gambling without another glance.

That coincidence would not remain a coincidence for long.

A single familiar name drifted across the tavern.

Julius.

The moment she heard that name, every bit of interest she had in gambling vanished.

Without turning her head, she quietly sharpened her hearing while pretending to remain focused on the game.

Piece by piece, their conversation entered her ears. They were assassins. A husband-and-wife pair searching throughout the Floating Continents of Vahana and Alasker for Julius, discussing routes, gathering information, and calmly planning how they intended to kill him once they found him.

Kathlyin had felt her temper explode almost instantly. They already had names that reminded her of herself and Nathaniel, and now they wanted to murder her precious boy?

The only amusing part had been that "Nathan" wasn’t with someone named Eli... but with Katherine. For one dangerous moment her thoughts started wandering somewhere completely unrelated.

"...Ahhh... let’s not go there."

Even her own conscience stopped that train of thought before it could continue.

After that...

Well...

She simply walked over and killed them.

That was the beginning and end of the entire incident.

Frowning deeper, Kathlyin finally looked back at Elizabeth and cleared her throat.

"I did kill a few people," she admitted honestly.

"But they weren’t from the Valentina Clan. They were just some assassins in Vahana. That’s all. Why? Did someone from the Valentina Clan die and they’re trying to shove the blame onto us?" She spoke with complete indifference.

Frankly, she couldn’t care less if that were the case. Neither would most members of the Hayes Family.

Their relationship with the Valentina Clan had never been friendly to begin with. If anything, most of the Hayes Family spent more time imagining ways to kill the Valentina elders than maintaining diplomatic relations with them.

If the Valentina Clan truly suffered a loss, plenty of Hayes members would probably celebrate instead of mourning.

Which made Elizabeth’s expression even stranger. Why would she look worried over something like this?

Elizabeth remained silent.

Her brows slowly knitted together as countless thoughts passed through her mind.

’Kat is already at the Fourth Heavenly Trial...’

There was simply no way.

No matter how absurd Kathlyin could be, even she couldn’t possibly kill him.

Then...

Who could?

Apart from a handful of monsters hidden across the world, there was barely anyone alive capable of accomplishing such a thing.

"Eli?"

Kathlyin’s voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

She blinked before looking up.

"Did something serious happen?" Kathlyin asked, this time without any trace of joking.

"...Mm."

Elizabeth slowly nodded.

"The Supreme Elder of the Valentina Clan... the Immortal Valentina, Thirst Valentina..."

She paused briefly before finishing.

"...has died."

"...Or rather..."

"...he was killed."

"What?!"

Kathlyin’s jaw nearly hit the ground.

"That old geezer died?"

Her eyes widened until they looked like dinner plates.

For several moments she simply stared at Elizabeth in disbelief, almost expecting her to laugh and admit it was a joke.

Elizabeth did no such thing.

She merely nodded again, though this time there was unmistakable tension hidden beneath her calm face.

The shadows beneath her eyes seemed heavier than before as she quietly continued, "His body was discovered with a single sword wound piercing straight through him."

Kathlyin’s expression immediately changed.

"But... who in the world could kill that leech?"

Her voice was no longer playful.

The man they were talking about wasn’t an ordinary spell caster.

He had personally witnessed the era of the Second Saint.

That alone meant he had already been alive more than seven hundred years ago. There was a reason the entire world referred to him as the Immortal Valentina.

For decades, rumors claimed he had secluded himself while attempting to surpass the limits of the Infinite Core Realm. Whether those rumors were true or false hardly mattered anymore.

Someone had actually killed him.

That was the unbelievable part.

Monsters of his level didn’t simply die quietly.

If two experts like that fought seriously, mountains would collapse, rivers would change course, and entire regions would be erased from existence.

Yet now Elizabeth was calmly telling her that the old monster had been found dead with nothing more than a sword through his body.

The more Kathlyin thought about it, the more impossible it sounded.

"And why," she continued, unable to hide her confusion any longer, "did you ask whether I’d killed someone from the Valentina Clan? Do you seriously think I could kill that old fu—"

"Kat."

Elizabeth raised a single finger and pointed toward Rosel.

The little girl had unknowingly stopped several meters away and was staring at them with obvious curiosity, her bright pink eyes practically glowing as she listened to every word.

"Don’t curse in front of children."

Kathlyin’s eye twitched violently.

’Hypocrite.’

She was the last person qualified to lecture anyone about swearing.

Julius had learned nearly half his curse words from Elizabeth herself.

Now she was pretending to be the responsible adult.

The injustice nearly made Kathlyin argue on the spot, but after taking one long breath she forcefully swallowed the complaint.

There were more important matters.

She turned toward Rosel.

"That’s enough training for today. Go get some rest."

Rosel immediately sensed the heavy atmosphere surrounding the two sisters.

She obediently nodded without asking any questions, picked up her wooden practice sword, and hurried away, wisely deciding that whatever the adults were discussing was far beyond her place to hear.

Only after she disappeared into the distance did Kathlyin return her attention to Elizabeth.

"Now tell me." She folded her arms.

"Why did you ask whether I killed him?"

Elizabeth released a long, weary sigh.

For a brief moment she rubbed her temples before finally speaking.

"Your shape-shifting spells....are among the finest in the world."

Kathlyin blinked.

"So?"

"If it had really been you..." Elizabeth lowered her hand.

"...things would actually have been much simpler."

Kathlyin frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"It means..." Elizabeth said quietly, her expression growing heavier with every word, "you couldn’t possibly have killed him. Which leaves only one conclusion."

A long silence settled between them.

Even the wind crossing the training ground seemed to lose its voice.

Elizabeth slowly lifted her head.

"...It’s true then."

Her eyes darkened.

"The killer...

...was a Zlycon."