[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-am-i-the-villain-or-not":3,"chapter-am-i-the-villain-or-not-am-i-the-villain-or-not-chapter-388":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Am I the Villain or Not?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},571597,820,"Chapter 388 - 391: But the Snow Drifted into Her Eyes","am-i-the-villain-or-not-chapter-388",388,"\u003Cp>Strange words came out of her mouth, and Aurelian froze in this graveyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She covered her mouth in shock, her pupils slowly shrinking as she stared straight ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man's body seemed to shrink in the rain, growing more and more hunched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if in a single breath, he had aged several decades. It looked incredibly strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when his body stopped bending further did Aurelian finally feel a sense of familiarity as she looked at the old man in front of her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was her grandfather.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Festian Barlow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faint green flames were pierced by the torrential rain, and the icy rainwater struck her body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in her undead state, she could still feel a chill that seeped deep into her bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cold breeze swept through. Around this graveyard, a biting chill was always stirred up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her body trembled. From the cold, goosebumps covered her skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though, in her undead state, no one could see her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, the pouring rain stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian looked up. The densely packed tombstones before her were still being battered by heavy rain, splashing chaotic droplets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the edge of her vision, the figure of the Grand Duke appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Duke stood beside her, holding an umbrella, shielding Aurelian from the wind and rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His murky gaze was also directed toward the scene ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That is my daughter, Shelly, and also your mother.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know, you came here because of her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian fell silent for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, she had come to the Kingdom of Cant to visit her deceased mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But her grandfather had never directly given her that chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian didn't even know where her mother had been buried after her body was sent back to the kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, she finally understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why she had never been able to find her mother's grave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was because her mother's grave was right here, within this estate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Existing within this empty, silent domain of the dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, she stood here, like a viewer, watching everything unfold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She witnessed the coming together of her mother and father's love, and their painful separation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the one suffering the most was clearly right beside her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene before her still lingered, but the Grand Duke Barlow standing before the grave, letting the torrential rain pour over him, was completely soaked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was Barlow as a father, personally placing his daughter's body into the grave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other than him, no one knew what kind of pain he had endured at that time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real Grand Duke Barlow beside her slowly spoke, \"After she died, I used necromancy to summon Shelly's soul, to hear her final wish in life.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That sentence just now was what she wanted to tell me in the end.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don't blame him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shelly wanted to use her final wish to erase the resentment in Grand Duke Barlow's heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kingdom and the empire had already gone to war once before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn't want the two nations to fall into war again because of her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I agreed to her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Duke's voice continued beside her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian's heart trembled like shattered crystal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a casually spoken agreement hid an unimaginable amount of pain behind it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She couldn't even begin to picture it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the Barlow who represented the past disappeared from before the gravestone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go and take a look at her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Duke's voice sounded softly, like a gentle breeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Aurelian dragged her heavy body forward step by step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing before the gravestone, she carefully looked at the marker standing over the place where her mother was buried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carved on it was her mother's name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shelly Barlow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian reached out and touched the cold gravestone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath it, buried in the soil, was her family, her biological mother, the one who brought her into this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, she felt a loneliness that cut deep into her bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her undead state, she seemed to truly understand the solitude of death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, an even deeper thought rose in her heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A longing surged straight into her mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a torrent bursting out between shattered cliffs after a landslide, it flooded her entire being.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She clearly knew her mother had long since rested here and should not be disturbed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She also knew that the body beneath the gravestone had already decayed, perhaps even the bones had long turned to dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she possessed necromancy, a power that stood above life and death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, she desperately longed, longed to revive her mother, to hear with her own ears about her passing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The dead are destined not to return.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if the path of her mind had been blurred by a deep canyon, the madness about to erupt was pulled back by the echo of Grand Duke Barlow's voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian suddenly lifted her head, as if waking from a dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just now, she had almost stepped into madness, straying onto the wrong path of necromancy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like those necromancers buried beneath the lower levels of Guanta Prison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mad and blasphemous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet she couldn't imagine it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If even she, a daughter who had never met her, could have such a powerful urge, then as a father, Grand Duke Barlow...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he looked at his daughter's grave, how shattered and how utterly despairing must he have been?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the most legendary necromancer in this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had even personally admitted before\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That necromancy was magic capable of reviving the dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, he still restrained that raging despair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All for the line in his heart, the resolve that life and death must never be desecrated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian stood quietly where she was, looking at the gravestone washed by the rain, complicated emotions showing on her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grief and reflection intertwined, flowing through her heart like a gentle stream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had never seen her biological mother. She didn't even know what her mother's eyes looked like.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to that, never having received maternal love made it feel distant and unreal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet she knew, beneath this silent land lay one of the two closest people in her life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian lifted her head and took a deep breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Grand Duke Barlow, as if gathering courage, she asked, \"Can I give her a gift?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grand Duke Barlow didn't say anything more. He simply nodded quietly, giving his consent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Aurelian took out a small gift box from her clothes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She crouched down and took out the item inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a small crystal ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the crystal ball, a tiny red-brick house was covered in thick white snow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around it stood several small but lush conifer trees, their branches also weighed down by snow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snowflakes drifted inside the crystal ball, as if reflecting a peaceful winter day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grand Duke Barlow looked at it, his cloudy eyes opening slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps this was also something new he had never seen before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian gently turned the winding key at the back of the crystal ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next moment, snow began to fall slowly inside the sphere, and the base of the crystal ball emitted a glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along with it, music like that of a music box began to tick and play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian stood up again and turned to explain to Grand Duke Barlow, \"This was a birthday gift Teacher Viktor had custom-made for me from a dwarf council member.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crystal ball glowed brightly in the light, both eye-catching and precious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though its value couldn't be measured, Aurelian cherished it deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because to her, it carried a warmth that could touch the heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next second, gentle starlight bloomed from the crystal ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a blossoming flower of colored light, it flooded the surrounding space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thick green mist in the space was pierced by countless tiny glimmers, dissolving into the endless void in all directions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky submerged in starlight became like a gently rippling lake. The light swayed softly, and soft white flakes fell, vast enough to cover the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gravestone before her also became illusory, and a massive red shadow flickered faintly in the center of the space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, within the vast graveyard, a warm red-brick house covered in snow appeared out of thin air, replacing those cold tombstones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around it, several conifer trees also grew into existence, their branches bent under the heavy snow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each snowflake that landed in her palm carried a unique warmth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the rain in the sky stopped, leaving only the snow that turned into a warm embrace, filling the sky and gently holding this space within it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian lifted her head, looking at the sky, a trace of reluctance passing through her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She closed her eyes, carefully feeling the bits of warmth landing on her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To me, this is the best gift.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>———\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky was still filled with softly falling snow carrying warmth, and a red-brick house stood at the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But standing before the house was only Grand Duke Barlow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The warm snow covered his entire body. Aside from its gentle warmth, there was not a hint of cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Near this domain of the dead, light and gentle music rang out second by second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding! Ding! Ding!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grand Duke Barlow looked at the small crystal ball placed on the windowsill of the house, closed his eyes, and seemed to listen to the delicate music.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian had already left, but here, she had left behind a gift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a gift she gave to her mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grand Duke Barlow raised his head, feeling the warmth falling on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You gave birth to a wonderful child.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She is very much like you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of the wind rose within this warm domain of the dead, and the drifting snow in the sky gently swirled along with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if responding to the Grand Duke's words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if he heard something, the Grand Duke spoke, \"Do you want to see her one last time?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a deep breath and remained silent for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if making a difficult decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, he opened his cloudy eyes, looked toward the house ahead, and lightly pressed his cane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next moment, a ghost-like shadow flew out from the house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow drifted gently in the sky, falling onto the intangible body of the spirit, revealing the outline of a woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But her face could not be seen clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She circled around Grand Duke Barlow's body a few times, then finally gave him a cold embrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the spirit drifted away toward the sky, until it left this domain of the dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving this graveyard, leaving the sky full of heavy snow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the Grand Duke completely closed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood in the wind and snow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hunched body seemed to have shed much of its burden, slowly straightening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Letting himself merge into the swirling white flakes, he let out a heavy breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had waited here for sixteen years. On the day Aurelian arrived, her sixteen-year-long attachment was finally released.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The heavy snow continued to fall, and the branches of the conifer trees bent even lower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the snow drifted into his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blurring away even the slightest trace of peace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[🎉 Shoutout to Ph4t0m for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]\u003C\u002Fp>",1873,"2026-05-30T15:48:18.711Z","2026-06-01T04:31:37.164Z",1,"novelbin.me","f5c69c48ad8683da581f188d35767cecbdbe6e551e1ba7544907793ad47089a5","am-i-the-villain-or-not-chapter-389","am-i-the-villain-or-not-chapter-387",393,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fam-i-the-villain-or-not-cover.jpg"]