A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 102

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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102.

“Gasp…!”
Not only did the Grand Duke appear out of nowhere, but the moment he hurled a man through the air with his ability, every face at the door drained of color in an instant.
I too was horrified by the sudden turn of events.
“Cough! Ugh…”
The Space Ability User who had crashed to the floor coughed violently, groaning in pain.
“L-Lois!”
The Crown Prince’s knight, who had been frozen in shock, rushed to his companion and helped him up.
Serge, watching from behind me, spoke with clear displeasure.
“Exaggerating, are we? A member of the Imperial Guard, no less, and yet so pathetically weak? Why don’t you get up already?”
Though I’d say the wall being caved in suggests otherwise…
As expected.
The impact had been considerable—the second knight struggled to rise.
Provoked by Serge’s attitude, the first knight suddenly shouted.
“What is the meaning of this, Grand Duke!”
“Meaning? I’m stopping those attempting to abduct the Princess.”
“A-Abduct?! We are merely carrying out the Crown Prince’s orders to bring the Princess Blake here! Surely you understand that defying a royal command, even for a Grand Duke, is an act of treason?!”
“Defying a royal command? Our ancestors would be disappointed to hear such words.”
With that reply, Serge suddenly said, “Move aside, Princess,” and pushed me away from the doorway as he stepped forward.
Under normal circumstances, I would have stopped him, but this time I did not.
After all, I harbored my own resentment toward those who had tried to drag me away so recklessly using their spatial ability.
‘…Surely he won’t kill them right here in front of everyone?’
Why were these people—the Aide, the Maid, Boradoli—still lingering to watch instead of leaving…
I observed Serge with anxious anticipation.

49%

I caught sight of the number above his head that I hadn’t managed to see earlier.
The last time I’d checked it was ‘44%’, so it had risen by 5%.
Compared to usual, it was quite a favorable figure.
“Listen here.”
A sharp rebuke.
In that moment, Serge stood imposingly before the Crown Prince’s knights across the corridor.
“Ugh….”
Knight 1 broke into a cold sweat, frightened now that the Grand Duke actually stood before him, despite his earlier boldness.
Crash―!
A massive boot print was driven into the wall directly beside Knight 1’s face.
“Gasp!”
“So our glorious Crown Prince, who fled to Tejerone the moment the Gate burst open, apparently still hasn’t learned that he must protect the nation until the Awakeners finish their ceremony?”
“…Y-Your Highness the Grand Duke. That is….”
“Strange, isn’t it? In a dire situation where monsters could emerge at any moment and any place, with the Gate already open—even four-year-old orphans understood that much….”
The Grand Duke tilted his head curiously before suddenly bending down.
Knight 1’s face went ashen as the Grand Duke’s visage drew uncomfortably close, and he hastily averted his gaze.
At that sight, the Grand Duke let out a snort of derision before abruptly contorting his face into something sinister.
“But then. The Crown Prince’s so-called Imperial Guard would try to smuggle out our one and only Purifier from the island during this emergency?”
“N-No! We weren’t trying to smuggle…!”
“Don’t you realize that’s an act that undermines national security? Huh?!”
Serge hissed at Knight 1’s ear like a demon.
The man trembled pitifully at his words.
“Go tell him this: since the closing ceremony needs to happen, stop your nonsense and crawl back to the island immediately. Tell him your uncle is waiting with bated breath.”
“….”
“Do you understand?!”
“Y-Yes!”
“Then get out of my sight.”
Only after extracting the answer did Serge finally remove his foot from beside Knight 1’s face.
Knight 1 immediately sprang to his feet, his complexion ghastly pale.
He then hoisted his still-dazed companion onto his shoulder with superhuman strength and disappeared down the corridor in a panicked scramble.
‘Phew….’
I clicked my tongue at the spectacle that unfolded in the blink of an eye.
‘Whether I should call it impressive or sinister….’
The Crown Prince must have carefully selected and sent these men.
Yet the skill with which Serge drove away knights who seemed quite stubborn—with merely a few words—was truly… formidable.
I myself would probably panic and flee with my tail between my legs if someone screamed in my face with that expression of immediate death.
‘And yet, who exactly is calling whom sinister….’
I regarded him with an astonished expression.
“There.”
Serge, who had by now concealed his menacing aura, turned to face the remaining people with quite a pleasant expression.
“Anyone who objects to what I’m saying.”
“….”
Naturally, no one raised an objection.
A profound silence descended upon the corridor.
“If there are none, I’ll verify it myself.”
Thud—
Serge stepped forward before them and spoke.
Whoosh!
In that same instant, Dylan’s Aide’s arms shot upward with a violent jerk.
As a result, he found himself thrusting forward the bouquet—or rather, bundle of plants—he’d been holding, just as Serge had done to me moments before.
“Wh-what…!”
“What is this? Grass clippings that can’t even be eaten? Disqualified.”
Whoosh!
In that instant, the bundle of plants the Aide held flew out through the open corridor window.
There was no time to react.
“Ah, no…!”
Realizing what was happening a moment too late, he quickly reached out, but it was already gone.
“The Count’s Charbloom….”
The Aide, gazing down with a sorrowful expression at the mangled bundle of plants three stories below, suddenly spun around to face me.
“…?”
I was utterly flustered by that resentful gaze.
‘Ah, why are you looking at me like that?!’
Dylan’s Aide, who had regarded me mournfully for a moment, soon bowed his head deeply and rushed off.
It seemed he was going to retrieve the bundle of plants Serge had thrown away.
“You said chocolate?”
“Yes, Grand Duke.”
Meanwhile, Serge stood before Marchioness Clonella’s Maid.
Perhaps because she had witnessed what happened to the Aide, she stood with a tense expression, already holding out the box herself.
“Hmm. It might conflict with the medicinal broth the Princess is taking, so disqualified.”
“No, wait! I actually like that chocolate…!”
Whoosh—!
Before I could stop him, the beautifully wrapped box flew out the window.
‘Hey! Why are you deciding disqualifications on your own!’
Remembering the Duke’s request, I had intended to build some rapport with the noblewomen, so my irritation surged.
I glared at him immediately, but he was absorbed in conversation with the Maid.
“It’s quite light. Perhaps you should have hidden gold coins inside the chocolate instead? Tsk, your taste is lacking….”
“Thank you for your opinion, Grand Duke. I’ll be sure to relay it to the Marchioness!”
“Good.”
Surprisingly, the two got along well.
Unlike Dylan’s wounded Aide, the Maid listened seriously to the Grand Duke’s advice, then bowed respectfully and quickly departed.
It was absurd.
“Next.”
“H-hic….”
Boradoli, whom I’d introduced as the eldest son of some noble house, trembled with fear.
“You said you captured Caldur?”
“Y-yes. That’s correct, but….”
“Hmm… I haven’t heard anything about Caldur appearing in this subjugation.”
Serge stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“I was hunting for him myself.”
“…*hic*!”
“Hand it over.”
“*Hic*!”
Boradoli, who had finally broken into hiccups, handed over the box he’d brought without protest to the Grand Duke’s outstretched hand.
Inside the box lay a horn the size of a palm, colored a dull beige similar to ivory.
Serge picked it up and examined it from every angle, then suddenly—
*Crack!*
He slammed the horn violently against the wall beside Boradoli.
“Aaaah! *Hic*!”
Boradoli screamed at his sudden outburst.
I too stood with my mouth agape.
*Crumble, crumble….*
Naturally, the horn shattered into pieces and fell pathetically to the floor.
Boradoli’s expression suggested he was on the verge of fainting as he whimpered.
“Sob! G-Grand Duke! What on earth is this…!”
“Fake. Disqualified.”
“Y-yes?”
“It’s a forgery.”
Serge smiled with absolute certainty and clicked his tongue.
“A Caldur horn breaks cleanly in two when struck—it doesn’t crumble so crudely like this.”
“B-but….”
“You’ve been swindled.”
He clicked his tongue with a *tsk tsk*.
I remained skeptical.
After all, he was someone who could toy with people without batting an eye….
But then.
“Nooooo!”
Boradoli suddenly shrieked and collapsed before the shattered horn fragments.
“Th-this can’t be! The Caldur horn I bought from the Black Market for 500 gold…!”
Then he began wailing as if the world had crumbled.
‘Hey! You said you captured it during the subjugation!’
I was just parting my lips in bewilderment.
The man who had suddenly turned around winked at me with one eye.
“Just cast them out like this—why bother engaging with each one individually?”
Though his tone carried a note of reproach, the face drawing near to mine was insufferably smug.
As though he had single-handedly resolved all my troubles in one fell swoop.
‘Logically, I should be grateful….’
Yet strangely, I felt no gratitude whatsoever.
Not in the slightest.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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