A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 11
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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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11.
“Achoo! Achoo, ugh…!”
The moment I stepped into the corridor, the sneezes I’d been holding back came pouring out relentlessly.
‘From now on, I absolutely must avoid flowers!’
A new piece of information had been added to my understanding of this body: I had a pollen allergy.
My bronchial tubes had been itching the entire time I was in the reception room, so I’d suspected as much.
But feeling the symptoms intensify so severely only stoked my irritation.
“No, why isn’t something this important mentioned in the novel? Do you know how dangerous anaphylactic shock is, achoo!”
I finally managed to suppress my coughing and grumbled my complaints while sniffling.
This was all because of the male lead’s second-in-command I’d just met.
‘How could he claim to have known her for thirteen years and not know she has a pollen allergy?’
Vincent Leandro’s face flashed through my mind—the one I’d glimpsed just before leaving the reception room.
Golden pupils trembling like a candle before the wind, and a complexion drained of all color.
His expression looked exactly like someone who’d been struck hard by another.
As if he truly hadn’t known about Edith’s allergy at all.
That fact seemed to have shocked him quite deeply….
‘Though, even that could be an act.’
In the novel, Vincent Leandro only used his ability at Gate sites and in front of the female lead.
He was terrified of losing control due to childhood trauma.
Perhaps his entire relationship with Edith as a childhood friend was merely a setup designed to fuel the antagonist’s inferiority complex.
‘In reality, they might only interact frequently because of their families, and aren’t actually that close….’
As I pondered this, my brow suddenly furrowed.
“But why did he come to see me and cause all that commotion?”
The ‘flower rain’ was supposed to fall every time the female lead went on a date.
‘It seems he came both to see this body that had miraculously survived and to search for Ruellin’s whereabouts.’
Unless he deliberately manipulated his ability to trigger the allergy, there was no other explanation.
“Could it be….”
In that moment, his desperate shout from earlier suddenly came back to me.
― Who… who said that? What bastard would dare speak such nonsense…!
― It was, it was just an accident! The Gate, the situation wasn’t very favorable…! Look, you’re alive and well anyway!
The male leads, who had neglected the supporting female character while captivated by the heroine, were said to feel a certain guilt after her death.
If Vincent Leandro, too, had felt sorry in his own way and performed his parlor tricks with his ability to appease me….
“Ha!”
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity.
Recalling the crude remarks he’d spouted at me, it was far more convincing that he’d pretended ignorance and attempted assassination instead.
Yet the moment I thought that the real Edith would have simply been delighted regardless of allergies or anything else, sudden irritation flared within me.
“Don’t you have any sense of proportion? What on earth could that man possibly be…—achoo!”
Another sneeze burst forth, and I contorted my face in displeasure.
‘Damn it, this won’t do. I need to hurry back to my room and wash up!’
I quickened my pace with urgency.
It was just as I reached the Central Lobby.
“Ah….”
A tall figure strode through the wide-open entrance.
It was Ethan Blake.
Judging by his outdoor attire, he had just returned from Ezennia.
As he walked forward with an air of coldness, our eyes met directly—of all the terrible timing.
In that instant, his previously flat brow furrowed sharply.
‘Damn it, the timing is absolutely wretched.’
Neither of us wanted to encounter the other.
‘If that madman Vincent hadn’t held me back with his nonsense at the end, I wouldn’t have run into him.’
Since he’d already seen me, I couldn’t simply ignore him and pass by.
I had no choice but to give a casual nod and quickly ascended the landing.
“You’re already well enough to move about?”
That was when a low, measured voice called me to a halt.
Turning my head, clear blue eyes fixed directly upon me.
‘So he’s returned after meeting with Ruellin?’
I slowly stopped in my tracks and faced him.
Ethan’s blue eyes bore a superficial resemblance to Edith’s, but upon closer inspection, they were a lighter, more transparent shade.
Like ice crystals that mirrored his own ability.
‘With both legs intact, what reason would there be not to move about?’
Just as I was about to offer an affirmative response.
The Butler, who appeared to have come to greet Ethan, beat me to it.
“That is… the Viscount Leandro has come to visit. He expressed a wish to see the young lady….”
“Vincent Leandro?”
As he repeated the second male lead’s full name, the furrow between his brows deepened further.
Ethan, who had been scrutinizing me with a sharp gaze, suddenly twisted one corner of his mouth upward.
“So you’ve finally stopped pretending to have amnesia?”
“That is… I was the one who mentioned the Viscount to the young lady. She has been working all day to recover her memories….”
The Butler stammered in response.
Thanks to that, I was spared the need to offer lengthy excuses.
‘Why do Vincent and these fools keep harping on my amnesia? It’s getting tiresome.’
And they do it in such a confrontational manner, too.
‘Do they think I’ll claim innocence because I’ve lost my memory? Or are they worried I’ll endanger the heroine again?’
Edith dragging Ruellin to the Gate with intent to kill was merely one-sided testimony—there was no evidence whatsoever.
If such evidence existed, I would be languishing in the Imperial Security Bureau’s underground dungeons right now, not standing here.
As the perpetrator of attempted murder against the sole Purifier, a traitor threatening national security.
Of course, even if these male leads treat me as a criminal, I have no intention of meekly accepting it.
Shouldn’t they be grateful that I’m feigning amnesia instead?
‘What would they do if I exposed how they abandoned their duties as Awakeners and failed to protect civilians?’
Irritated, I raked my eyes over him from head to toe, just as he’d done moments before.
Noticing my silent, vacant stare, Ethan opened his mouth with a displeased expression.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“I was wondering if you’d just returned from Ezennia.”
“How could you possibly—”
His brow furrowed slightly before his voice turned glacial.
“You claim to have no memory, yet you seem to know my whereabouts perfectly well.”
His expression was one of utter exasperation.
It seemed he’d grown thoroughly disillusioned with Edith’s interference and obsession.
To me, it was simply absurd.
‘As if I wanted to know!’
As a reader of the novel, I already knew the dating location, and besides, Ethan’s whereabouts were hardly a closely guarded secret among the household staff.
“I simply recalled it on my own, that’s all.”
Rather than offer lengthy excuses, I shrugged with a smirk.
Ethan’s eyes widened sharply at that.
— Figure it out yourself, however you can.
It was what he had said to me yesterday.
“You….”
“Did you perhaps meet a Purifier there?”
Before that bastard could spout something I didn’t want to hear, I struck first.
“What?”
“I asked if you’d seen Purifier Ruellin.”
“Why would you ask about Ruellin——”
Ethan’s expression darkened at the mere mention of her name.
“Vincent Leandro asked me about the Purifier’s whereabouts.”
“….”
“I told him I didn’t know, but he didn’t seem to believe me.”
At my indifferent reply, Ethan’s eyes twitched ever so slightly.
He finally seemed to realize he was being overly sensitive toward someone with amnesia.
After a moment of silence.
“…I didn’t see her.”
He answered reluctantly.
“My purpose in going to Ezennia today wasn’t to meet her.”
“I see.”
Whether he went to meet the female lead or not, I honestly didn’t care about his motives.
“Then would you tell him that I’m innocent?”
Being a high-grade awakener had its perks.
My physical senses had activated, and I could feel footsteps approaching from the corridor—steady, deliberate ones.
I gestured with my eyes toward where Vincent was walking and continued speaking.
“He doesn’t even seem to believe that I only just woke up yesterday and only left my room today.”
At my casual tone, the approaching footsteps suddenly stopped.
Since he was also an S-rank awakener, he would have heard my words clearly.
“Well then.”
Having finished speaking, I gave a perfunctory nod and walked past Ethan toward the central staircase.
I was already exhausted enough without facing both male leads simultaneously—a nightmare I’d rather avoid.
That was when it happened.
“Wait.”
Ethan suddenly grabbed my shoulder and stopped me.
“…!”
Startled, my eyes widened as he furrowed his brow and asked rather urgently.
“Have you been exposed to the flower?”
“…Pardon?”
Not immediately understanding the question, I asked blankly in return, and he suddenly reached toward me.
‘What? Why is he suddenly trying to——!’
My eyes instinctively squeezed shut.
In the moment before the impact reached me.
Tap.
A feather-light touch grazed the side of my head before withdrawing just as quickly.
It was a swift yet careful gesture—as though the hand had deliberately avoided making full contact.
“You have a pollen allergy.”
“….”
“Even the slightest brush with flowers would have triggered a reaction. You didn’t notice?”
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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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