Stop Hypnotizing Me, Villainous Princess!

Chapter 129: Love Is the Most Unreasonable Thing in the World

Late at night, Milanie gently pushed open Yveste’s door.

She paused, taking a deep breath to suppress the many words she wanted to say as her eyes fell on the white-haired woman sitting by the desk, staring out the window.

In Milanie’s view, the reason Her Highness had summoned her tonight was simple:

It must be about Lynn and the memories he had forgotten.

Although repeated probing into his mind in such a short time could cause him harm, the Princess’s increasingly erratic state suggested she might disregard the risks and forcefully search for answers.

This was the last thing Milanie wanted to see happen.

When had everything started to go wrong?

Perhaps it was when the news of Lynn’s death swept through the estate, and Her Highness lost the power she had always taken pride in.

The bold, sharp-tongued woman in uniform was gone, replaced by a paranoid and fragile patient.

The dual blows had shattered her willpower, leaving her so insecure that she resorted to unhealthy, obsessive methods to cling to their distorted relationship.

But distorted was distorted.

No matter how beautifully it was dressed up, one day the illusion would break, and she would have to face an even harsher reality.

What was the right thing to do?

“Sit.”

Milanie, caught up in her thoughts, was startled by Yveste’s calm voice.

It wasn’t cold or detached; in fact, it carried an extremely rare note of gentleness.

She blinked in surprise, wondering if she’d misheard.

Without a word, she sat down on a nearby chair, awkwardly clasping her hands on her lap. Her slender legs, hanging off the edge of the seat, swung slightly in a subconscious rhythm.

The room fell into silence as the moonlight bathed Yveste in its pale glow.

After a long pause, a quiet voice broke the stillness:

“About what happened last time... I’m sorry.”

What?

Milanie’s head shot up, her expression stunned. She stared at Yveste’s back, her lips moving as if to respond, but no words came out.

Her Highness... was apologizing to her?

This was something she’d never imagined happening before.

For reasons she couldn’t explain, Milanie felt a warmth well up in her chest, her eyes growing damp with emotion.

Although it might have been her imagination, tonight’s Princess seemed different from the person she had been in recent days.

Before Milanie could muster a reply, Yveste spoke again:

“Have there been any updates from the lab about his missing memories?”

“If you intend to probe his mind, I’ll cooperate with you to minimize harm to him...” Milanie bit her lip hesitantly.

“That’s not what I meant,” Yveste interrupted, shaking her head lightly. “From what I know, the memories he has of me were sealed by what seems to be a divine entity. Do you have any way of breaking that seal?”

Milanie froze for a few seconds before shaking her head.

“Your Highness, if you hadn’t told me about it, I wouldn’t have even noticed the seal’s existence.”

“However... it may not be entirely hopeless.

“If the divine entity that applied the seal isn’t very powerful, or is in a weakened state, it might be possible to enlist the help of the major churches for a price.”

“To my knowledge, the Silent Church has a Sealed Artifact that’s particularly effective against negative mental effects.”

“If you need it, I can...”

Milanie offered her suggestion tentatively, but Yveste shook her head after a brief silence.

“No... forget it.”

This response puzzled Milanie.

Given Yveste’s obsessive possessiveness, it seemed unthinkable for her to tolerate any external interference with her “belongings”—especially regarding her memories.

Unless... what might happen if those memories were unlocked was something Her Highness could not bear to face.

Milanie cast a worried glance at Yveste.

Her intuition was eerily accurate.

Even Yveste herself hadn’t realized that the reason she rejected the idea was a faint undercurrent of fear.

So long as the current situation persisted, she could cling to the excuse of a sealed memory.

But if the seal were broken, her final veil of denial would be stripped away.

Yveste was running away.

Deep down, she dreaded the thought of Lynn regaining his memories and telling her that, in truth, it was the Witch of the End who had always been his most cherished master.

What neither of them realized, however, was this:

If the divine entity were so confident, why would they have needed to seal those memories in the first place?

Unfortunately, this crucial point escaped both Milanie and Yveste entirely.

“When will my lost power start returning?”

After a moment’s pause, Yveste raised the question she cared about most.

Milanie pressed her lips together and answered softly,

“According to the results of your physical examination, the core traits of the Wishing Jar that had mixed into your body have long been purified by your Annihilation Force.

“Logically, your powers should already be starting to recover.”

“But strangely enough, no matter what stimulation methods we try, the energy within you remains completely dormant.”

Yveste fell silent for a moment.

“What’s your take on this?”

Without her powers, she felt like a drifting leaf with no roots.

Everything around her—every relationship she maintained—was built upon the foundation of her overwhelming power.

If that power ceased to exist, it was only a matter of time before everything collapsed.

Perhaps the reason Yveste had been spiraling lately wasn’t solely due to the insecurity Lynn brought her.

The loss of her power had undoubtedly played a significant role.

Having no power and choosing not to use it were two entirely different concepts.

Milanie gently shook her head as she listened.

She wanted to suggest that the issue might be related to Yveste’s state of mind.

But as a scientist, she couldn’t bring herself to believe in such idealistic notions.

Besides, she was convinced that no one—not even Lynn—could pull Yveste out of the dead-end she found herself in.

When Yveste heard Milanie’s words, she neither grew angry nor showed disappointment. Instead, she suddenly shifted the topic.

“I… have a friend. She’s been dealing with some things lately.”

This so-called “friend” was undoubtedly Yveste herself!

Milanie immediately noticed something off.

She lifted her gaze in a daze, staring at Yveste’s slightly gaunt figure, and found herself at a loss for words.

Is Her Highness... opening up to me? But why?

Under the quiet and gentle moonlight, Yveste began speaking.

The reason she chose Milanie was simple—she was probably the smartest person in the entire estate.

Carefully rephrased and disguised, Yveste recounted many of the recent dilemmas she couldn’t resolve, presenting them from a unique perspective.

Yet no matter how much the story was altered, Milanie, one of Yveste’s closest confidantes, instantly recognized its true origin.

This circle... is a mess.

The whole situation—future Yveste, past Yveste, and two women vying over one man—was enough to make Milanie break out in a cold sweat.

She found herself speechless, her mind overwhelmed by the absurdity of it all.

But Yveste wasn’t about to let her off so easily.

“What do you think about what I just said?” Yveste asked softly.

“Just casual thoughts—pretend we’re chatting.”

Her voice was calm, betraying no emotion.

Milanie hesitated for a moment, then bit her lip and mustered her courage:

“I think... that poor little dog being fought over by two women is quite pitiful.”

“They… uh, I mean, those two women, never seem to care about his feelings. They just impose their will on him, manipulating him however they like.”

“But no matter how you dress up that kind of relationship, he’s still a person—a free individual with his own will.”

“And between people, there needs to be understanding and…”

Milanie stopped herself before finishing.

There needs to be understanding and love.

But she knew Yveste’s upbringing had left her clueless about what love truly was.

“An independent individual…”

Yveste repeated the words softly, then fell silent.

After a brief pause, she changed the subject.

“Let’s talk about something else.”

As expected, Her Highness’s twisted views wouldn’t be reversed in just a few words.

But if she kept walking down this wrong path, the distance between her and that “little dog” would only grow wider.

Your Highness, when will you realize this? Milanie sighed inwardly.

Yveste, however, remained oblivious to Milanie’s thoughts.

“What do you think the past version of that woman could do to beat her future self just once?”

Milanie hesitated before answering.

“In my opinion, it’s impossible.”

Her words caused the atmosphere to grow cold instantly.

Milanie pursed her lips, then began to explain.

“The past version of her is like a highly unstable First-Level Sealed Artifact. While powerful, it often brings unsatisfactory outcomes. Rather than trying to contain it, most people would prefer to destroy it once it’s served its purpose.”

This analogy struck a nerve, and Yveste immediately thought of herself.

“On the other hand, her future self is like a Zero-Level Sealed Artifact—not only possessing all the abilities of the First-Level Artifact but far stronger and with much easier containment conditions.”

“With such a clear distinction in quality, if someone had to choose between the two, I don’t think there’d be any hesitation.”

“Logically speaking, there’s no reason to abandon the superior version in favor of a flawed one.”

Milanie tried to frame her point as delicately as possible, but it was still sharp enough to cut deep.

Yveste unconsciously clenched her fists, sinking into silence.

“If you quantify the two in numbers,” Milanie continued cautiously, “the future version would completely crush the past version in every aspect. From a mathematical perspective, the past version will never win.”

“That’s the most logical conclusion,” Milanie said quietly.

After Milanie left, Yveste sat alone, her gaze calm as she stared out the window.

The most logical conclusion…

Her crimson eyes reflected a hint of emptiness.

Even Milanie, who valued logic and reason above all else, had concluded that there was no chance of victory.

Then it really was impossible.

Yveste had even considered using her body as bait to tie her “little dog” to her side.

After all, based on their interactions so far, this body still seemed to have a certain allure to him.

But she dismissed the idea almost immediately.

If she and he ended up in bed, it would be no different from her future self doing the same.

In a way, such an act would only draw him closer to that detestable woman, breaking down the barriers and distance that currently existed between them.

And Yveste wanted nothing more than to kill that woman. How could she possibly do something that would bring her satisfaction?

Alternatively, she thought about imprisoning him again—

Denying him any chance to escape, even cutting off his hands and feet to ensure he belonged to her forever.

But... no, that wasn’t right either.

For some reason, a voice deep within her heart rejected the idea outright.

In her mind’s eye, she saw Lynn’s calm and indifferent gaze from that moment.

That look treated her as nothing more than a stand-in for the Witch of the End.

The thought sent a stabbing pain through Yveste’s chest.

Simply imprisoning him would never change that gaze.

But if not that… what else could she possibly do to pull him back to her side?

Or was Milanie’s perspective correct after all?

An imperfect replica can never surpass the original.

Yveste stared blankly at the moon.

Just then, a gentle breeze swept through the room.

With a soft rustling, the pages of a book on her desk flipped open, stopping on an unknown section.

In that moment, a sudden sense of clarity washed over Yveste.

She raised her wrist lightly, slowly maneuvering her wheelchair toward the desk.

Moments later, she saw the book lying there.

The Chronicles of Xino.

It was a book she had always disliked, yet here it was, resting in the corner of her desk. The breeze had flipped its pages, leaving it open to one particular passage.

Instinctively, Yveste reached out, intending to close the book.

But with a casual glance, her eyes caught the text on the open page, and she froze.

It was a scene where the protagonist, Xino, explained his reasoning to a friend after rejecting a marriage proposal from a powerful duke’s family.

“Are you out of your mind?! You turned down the duke’s olive branch for the sake of some country noble’s daughter? You even made Lady Lilia cry!”

“My dear Grey, I did indeed do that. But why does it baffle you so?”

“Of course it baffles me! You’re always doing such unreasonable things!”

“Unreasonable things?”

“You’ve said time and again that you would one day rise above all others and achieve greatness. You’ve risked your life repeatedly on the battlefield with that goal in mind, narrowly escaping death over and over, until finally you’ve caught the attention of the influential elite.

“This marriage to the duke’s family is your chance to ascend in one step!

“And for the record, this isn’t even a political marriage—Lady Lilia genuinely adores you! Compared to your childhood sweetheart from some backwater noble house, Lilia is better in every conceivable way.

“By all logic, you had no reason to refuse!”

“But I refused all the same.”

“And that’s what’s infuriating!”

“Calm yourself, dear Grey. Before I answer your confusion, let me ask you a few questions.”

“What is it?”

“By all logic, would a young and beautiful woman kiss an old man with an ugly face?”

“Of course not.”

“By all logic, would a perfectly healthy individual marry someone missing all four limbs?”

“No, they wouldn’t.”

“By all logic, would a noble of high status give up their privileges and inheritance to pursue a prostitute from the slums?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Exactly. By all logic, such things shouldn’t happen. And yet, they occur every day in this world.”

“Why do you think that is, dear Grey?”

“Because of money?”

“No, certainly not.”

“Thinking it’s about money shows you’re still trapped in the mindset of an ordinary person—assigning value to everything and believing the better, more exceptional choice is always the logical one.”

“But there’s one thing that defies such logic.”

“And what is that?”

“Love.”

“Love?”

“Exactly.”

“It is because of love that a young and beautiful woman can look past society’s standards and embrace an unattractive old man.”

“It is because of love that a healthy person can devote their entire life to someone missing their limbs.”

“You all talk about logic, about what makes sense.”

“But love is the most unreasonable thing in the world.”

Yveste stared at the words on the page, her crimson eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

“Love is the most unreasonable thing in the world…”

The phrase seemed to reverberate within her, touching a part of her heart she hadn’t realized existed.

Her hands rested lightly on the desk as she remained motionless, her expression unreadable.

In the moonlit room, silence hung heavy as the words lingered in her mind, stirring something deep within.