A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 113

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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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113.

At my words, the Duke froze like a statue.
He looked utterly bewildered.
‘Did he really not know? That his daughter might say something like this one day? After looking down on her as a non-Awakener all this time?’
I couldn’t understand it.
Even if I were the real Edith Blake, she might have tried to break free at some point.
Just as I left that household the moment I graduated from university.
Perhaps she could have thought that living only as a Princess wasn’t the only answer.
“That’s enough, Edith Blake.”
Then, unable to bear it any longer, Ethan shot me a look and spoke.
“Yes, I’ve just finished anyway.”
Screech—
I pushed my chair back and stood, adding:
“I’m not particularly hungry, so may I be excused?”
“We’re not done talking yet. Sit down.”
“Is there more you wish to say?”
I stared at the Duke with an expressionless face.
Then he glared at me with furious eyes and spoke through gritted teeth.
“…What was your intention in bringing this up at this table?”
…
“Are you telling your father, who was congratulating your Awakening, to go to hell? Are you seeking revenge?!”
“Why would I seek revenge against Father?”
I answered as if genuinely puzzled.
“I have no power, and I’m not in a position to do so. That’s why you’ve always done as you pleased without giving me a single explanation.”
“You brat, even so…!”
“Why are you angry? If a troublesome burden says it will leave on its own, shouldn’t you be pleased instead?”
When I looked at him as if I truly didn’t understand, the Duke, who had been about to explode, closed his mouth.
Soon he sighed and waved a hand dismissively.
“Fine, go. Leave.”
…
“Go out there and struggle, starve if you must—do whatever you please!”
He didn’t mean I should leave the house immediately, but at least he was telling me to go, which was fortunate.
If I’d eaten in this atmosphere, I would have certainly gotten indigestion.
I bowed respectfully to the Duke and left the Dining Room.
As I walked down the Corridor toward my Room, an uncomfortable feeling settled over me.
‘This was something I’d been thinking about all along…’
Recalling the Duke’s face, frozen as if in shock, my heart grew heavy, as though I’d done something I shouldn’t have.

— Leave? As if someone like you could manage on your own.
— Fine. Stop wasting food and go on your own two feet—how generous of you. But remember this: once you step out of my house, don’t you dare go around claiming to be my daughter. Understand?

Honestly, I’d expected a reaction similar to my biological father’s.
Should I have tried persuading him more gently?
‘No. No matter what I’d said, we would have clashed eventually.’
As a creeping sense of regret washed over me, I shook my head.
Spilled milk. There was no point dwelling on it now.
That’s when it happened.
“Edith Blake.”
Tap-tap-tap.
Hurried footsteps approached, and suddenly my wrist was seized, my body spun around forcefully.
“…!”
Startled, I froze as a silver-haired figure loomed over me with a piercing gaze.
“Go back and apologize to Father right now.”
He was barking orders at me.
I stared up at him blankly before responding belatedly.
“…What?”
“Spouting off about leaving home without thinking. Is that something you say to your parents?”
“Declaring independence isn’t something you can’t say to your parents.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
Ethan’s voice rose suddenly, then he clenched his teeth.
“…Is this because the Duke took me in as an adopted son? Are you still that resentful about it?”
It wasn’t entirely because of that.
But I had no reason to explain everything to him.
I gestured to my wrist, which was beginning to ache, and spoke.
“Let go first.”
“Answer me first.”
“Then what?”
“What?”
“Then what are you going to do about it? You’re not going to make me apologize and then disown you as my brother.”
At my words, Ethan drew a rough breath.
After staring at me with wavering eyes for a moment, he finally exhaled deeply and spoke again.
“The Duke adopting me wasn’t simply because you couldn’t awaken.”
…
“There were complicated circumstances back then….”
“That’s enough. I don’t really want to know.”
Sensing the conversation would grow longer, I cut him off.
“It won’t change anything anyway. Didn’t I already say? It’s strange to suddenly be all warm and fuzzy just because I’ve awakened now.”
“…You.”
Ethan stared at me with an expression that screamed confusion, then blurted out the words.
“Why have you changed so much?”
“….”
“Severing ties with Vincent, becoming entangled with someone like Grand Duke Belnac. Not even offering a word of thanks for the gifts I gave you, and now spouting nonsense about independence.”
“….”
“You’re nothing like the you I knew. Is it because you awakened? Now that you’ve become The Purifier you so desperately wanted, does the entire world feel like it lies beneath your feet?”
As I listened to his rambling, a hollow laugh escaped me.
“Why? The me you knew should still be pathetically trailing behind you all like a fool. Isn’t it strange that I’m not?”
Startled by my sudden outburst, his eyes widened.
Regardless, I continued my tirade.
“Clinging desperately for attention like someone starved for affection, throwing tantrums, causing trouble. I should have been cursed endlessly, left to die miserably with no one to save me.”
“….”
“Now this wretched girl clawed her way back to life, awakened, and became something—and it irritates you? You can’t manipulate me like before, so you’re getting anxious!”
“Edith Blake!”
Unable to contain himself, he shouted.
“What do you mean by that?”
Suddenly, another voice interjected.
I turned my head sharply and saw the Duke standing before the Dining Room.
“Left to die miserably with no one to save you? Who….”
“….”
“Don’t tell me you’re talking about the Tollen Gate incident?”
He asked, his expression clouded with confusion.
I glanced sideways at Ethan, and his face twisted with discomfort.
His expression crumbled pathetically.
Those lake-blue eyes trembled helplessly, like a child terrified of being scolded—it was almost amusing.
I regretted it. I hadn’t intended to reveal this myself.
“I don’t remember much. Why don’t you ask my brother about it?”
Slap!
I wrenched my arm free from Ethan’s grip and murmured.
“Whether you truly attempted to save me back then.”
Now it’s your turn to make excuses.
I whispered barely audibly, then turned away.
And I slipped out of that mess with perfect composure.

***

The next day.
I finished preparing early in the morning and slipped out of the Duke’s Residence.
I was heading to register as an Awakener and undergo grade measurement….
In truth, I simply didn’t want to encounter the Duke or Ethan.
‘Sigh. I need to get out of this place as soon as possible.’
Fortunately, once I completed the grade measurement, the nation would provide financial support under the pretext of congratulating me on entering Hellgate.
Moreover, if my grade was high enough, they would even provide housing, so I desperately hoped to achieve at least B-rank or higher.
The carriage, which had been running without hesitation, finally arrived in front of the Imperial Palace.
I headed straight for the Security Bureau building.
Since it was a place that appeared frequently in novels, I fortunately had no fear of getting lost.
The moment I stepped inside the building, all eyes within turned toward me.
“Isn’t that… the Princess Blake?”
“I heard she awakened as The Purifier this time….”
Both the newly awakened who had come to register and the employees working there whispered among themselves without exception.
Since it was a familiar occurrence, I simply grabbed a passing person and asked without hesitation.
“Hey. Where am I supposed to register as an Awakener?”
A moment later.
The employee who had disappeared with instructions to wait a moment returned, bringing with him Marquis Clonella, the director of the Security Bureau.
“Welcome, Princess! Was the journey not too difficult?”
The excessively obsequious Marquis spoke in a manner oddly similar to the Butler’s.
I responded with a bewildered expression.
“I didn’t expect the Marquis to come in person….”
“Of course I must greet you personally—you are our one and only Purifier! If you had contacted me beforehand, I would have been waiting! But this is no place for such conversation. Please, come this way!”
I found myself registering as an Awakener in the director’s office.
The registration process was straightforward. I wrote down my personal information and received a badge bearing the Security Bureau’s symbol—a double-headed eagle—and that was all.
The more important matter was the grade measurement.
“For safety reasons, the measurement is conducted in the Underground Facility.”
Marquis Clonella, who had personally handed me the badge, then guided me down to the Underground Facility himself.
Judging by the way he was fidgeting, he seemed extremely curious about my grade.
The Underground Facility I descended into was less impressive than I had imagined.
I had vaguely pictured a modern secret underground base, but it was merely an extension of the offices above.
Employees bustling about with documents and Awakeners kept stealing glances at me.
Marquis Clonella cut through their midst with obvious pride, leading me to the end of the corridor.
At the end of the corridor stood an enormous, thick iron door resembling a bunker entrance.
“Please wait here for a moment, Princess. An employee will bring the artifact shortly.”
The Marquis seated me in what appeared to be a waiting area nearby and left briefly to attend to other matters.
‘This is quite tedious.’
I sat idly, pondering how the grade measurement worked.
I knew they used some sort of ancient artifact to do it easily here, but I couldn’t quite recall what that artifact was.
‘It was something like an organ from some creature….’
I was squeezing out a memory that hovered just beyond my grasp, my brow furrowed in concentration.
“Well, well—who do we have here? Our new Purifier, so overflowing with compassion that you concern yourself with other people’s… intimate ailments?”
At the familiar voice, my head snapped up.
A massive man strode through the open doorway as though it were his own chamber, utterly unbothered.
Those gleaming black eyes met mine—eyes I hadn’t expected to encounter here at all.
“You told my Adjutant to make absolutely certain he consumed every drop of the medicinal broth before revealing what ingredients were in it, didn’t you?”
“….”
“Thanks to that, I got to sample demon testicles myself. How deeply grateful I am. I owe you quite the debt, Princess.”
He bared his teeth in a ghastly grin.
I was doomed.

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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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