A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 116

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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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116.

***

I emerged from the Measurement Chamber with a lightness in my chest.
Unlike when I’d arrived, the Corridor and offices were completely deserted.
It appeared to be lunchtime.
As I climbed the Staircase toward the First Floor, I recalled the conversation I’d just had with Marquis Clonella.

“I… I don’t understand. Are you saying you won’t perform purification at all under normal circumstances?”
“Not that I won’t do it at all. I’m saying I’ll conserve my strength unless the situation is urgent enough to threaten the nation’s security.”
“But that’s not something you can decide so arbitrarily, Your Highness. Faithfully fulfilling one’s duties is the very essence of being an Awakener, and the price of the privileges you enjoy!”
“If I exhaust my abilities and my health deteriorates, losing the last Purifier we have—wouldn’t that be worse? After all, you said I receive special treatment.”
“Special treatment doesn’t mean that! There are obligations you must fulfill as the Purifier. Abandoning them is no different from shirking your duty!”
“Think of it in the same context as the Ancient Dragon’s Heart, Marquis.”
“What do you…?”
“Until now, the Empire has blindly relied on a single Purifier. If I hadn’t awakened right after Ruellin’s death, what would you have done?”
“…”
“And is there any guarantee such a crisis won’t happen again? I believe it’s urgent to prepare for a situation where there is no Purifier.”

Constantly purifying whenever and wherever, like a heroine in a novel—that was simply beyond my capacity.
I still hadn’t overcome my chronic condition of collapsing after using my abilities, and if I pushed myself like Ruellin, I’d be the first to die.
So I’d taken the gamble, but the negotiation hadn’t been easy.
The Marquis said a meeting was necessary and left me behind, disappearing once more into the observation room beyond the glass wall.
After an intense meeting with the executives and other key figures, the Marquis returned with a grave expression and spoke to me.

“…Very well. I will accept your proposal, Your Highness.”
“Thank you.”
“However, there is one matter you must keep in mind.”
“What is it?”
“Should the Security Bureau determine that a task is essential for you to perform as the Purifier, you must prioritize it above all else, regardless of circumstances. This applies even if it’s not a situation like an Awakener’s rampage.”

In the end, it meant I had to kneel whenever the Security Bureau demanded it.
A wave of frustration rose within me—what use was my declaration not to abuse my abilities?—but I simply nodded in silence.
Still, this alone amounted to an extraordinary privilege.
‘Let’s just see how things unfold from here.’
Marquis Clonella then led his executives back into an emergency meeting.
Thanks to that, I managed to slip out of the Measurement Chamber without being cornered by Serge.
‘But I still can’t tell if this EX-grade thing is actually good or bad….’
As I reached the building entrance, a thought struck me, and I let out a quiet sigh.
Becoming the Empire’s sole Purifier was already maddening enough, but now my grade had to be special too….
Since possessing this body, I couldn’t fathom where my life was heading, and just as I was about to step outside—
“Miss Blake.”
A cool, low voice called out to me.
I stopped and turned, catching sight of brilliant crimson hair rippling like flames in the breeze.
It was Dylan Frederick.

61%

The rampage index I’d kept below half seemed to have surged dramatically, perhaps from the combined effects of his participation in both the Gate and the subjugation operation.
As I stared at it with widened eyes, Dylan closed the distance with long, purposeful strides.
“May I have a word with you?”
Only then did I lower my gaze from above his head.
I met his dry, shadowed gray eyes.
“…Aren’t you attending the meeting?”
“I sent the Vice-Commander in my place.”
At those words, I glanced around in surprise.
‘If he can send a proxy, then Serge might have that option too!’
I needed to leave this place quickly.
Besides, I had business with Dylan anyway.
“Let’s go somewhere less conspicuous.”
“….”
Dylan regarded me with a peculiar expression, seemingly taken aback by my immediate acceptance.
But that lasted only a moment before he passed me and took the lead.
Circling around the Security Bureau Building toward the rear, Dylan walked in silence along a narrow path beyond a side gate for some time.
After quite a while had passed.
He finally stopped at the edge of a quiet forest.
I halted a few steps away and, dispensing with pleasantries, went straight to the point.
“You speak first.”
Dylan hesitated slightly before opening his mouth.
“…That time in the Volner Slums.”
“….”
“Was it the Young Lady who purified me?”
It wasn’t a surprising question—I’d anticipated it.
Seeing my composed reaction, he deliberately hardened his expression.
“So you didn’t awaken on Equinox Island.”
A sigh escaped me as he pierced through the secret I’d been hiding.
“…Will you report this to your superiors?”
Dylan didn’t answer my question immediately.
Given his rigid nature, he could have rushed off to expose me without hesitation, but I wasn’t particularly worried.
‘If I reveal that I awakened first, you’ll have to expose your own rampage as well.’
Would you really take on such a risk?
I waited silently for whatever answer Dylan would give.
“So on Equinox Island, you pretended not to know because of that?”
Suddenly, he blurted out something completely unexpected.
“…What?”
“When I asked if you’d seen The Purifier, you didn’t say you hadn’t.”
“Ah.”
I’d been pretending not to know so many things that I didn’t immediately understand.
I nodded and answered truthfully.
“That’s part of it, but….”
“….”
“More than that, I didn’t want to get entangled with you anymore.”
“….”
“I didn’t want to suffer ridiculous misunderstandings—that I was trying to attract your attention again, or that I was acting like I knew you well.”
“Then you shouldn’t have purified me in the first place.”
My words seemed to have struck a nerve, and he shot back with an irritated voice.
“You could have just left me alone and pretended not to notice.”
“I was trying to….”
You grabbed onto me and wouldn’t let go!
The memory of that moment made my frustration flare up again.
But there was no point in spelling it out and prolonging this pointless argument.
With this persistent man, I needed to keep the conversation as brief and concise as possible.
“…It was something I had no choice but to do to avoid getting caught up in your rampage and dying. There’s no deeper meaning to it.”
I spoke evasively, mixing in just enough truth.
“Is that all you have to say?”
Now I was about to say something myself, but he spouted more nonsense.
“The Charbloom you sent through the Aide….”
“….”
“Why did you refuse it?”
“There was no reason to accept it. I even told the Aide to relay that.”
“….”
“We’re not the sort of people who exchange such things, are we?”
As I murmured with an ambiguous smile, his expression crumbled like a statue losing its form.
But it was so fleeting I wondered if I’d imagined it.
“…You weren’t interested in jewels, were you?”
He returned to his original emotionless face in an instant, speaking rapidly.
“You said the Charbloom I picked for you was the most beautiful gift you’d ever received.”
“What a shame.”
Since those words weren’t mine to begin with, I simply shrugged.
“Before I lost my memory, I may have been simple-minded, but now I like jewels. I like money too.”
“…So you accepted it for that reason?”
“…?”
“The Tears of Queen Talos.”
I was grateful he brought it up first.
It was exactly the subject I wanted to discuss.
“I actually wanted to ask you about that.”
“What….”
“Why do you keep giving me such things? Including that bundle of flowers?”
I hadn’t understood it since Equinox Island.
Why someone who claimed to despise me kept doing such things.
“You hate me, don’t you? On Equinox Island, you clearly said we should pretend we barely knew each other….”
“….”
“I don’t understand why you keep acting like you know me well and sending gifts.”
“Consider it gratitude.”
“Gratitude…?”
“I owe you my life. I can’t simply pretend not to know that, can I?”
It was unexpected.
‘So he does know I saved him.’
The way he pressed me for answers made me think I’d done something wrong.
Gratitude worked well enough.
Convinced I was right, I quickly attempted a negotiation.
“If you want to show gratitude that way, wouldn’t it be better if you pretended you didn’t know I awakened before the ceremony?”
“….”
“I’ll burn the evidence of your rampage that day too.”
As I smiled wickedly at those words, his ashen eyes flickered faintly.
He seemed quite flustered by my proposal.
Of course, there was no evidence. It was merely a false threat disguised as negotiation.
Watching him move his lips without speaking, the smile at the corners of my mouth deepened.
“Think carefully about what might benefit us both.”
“….”
“I’ll return the Tears of Queen Talos you gave me by messenger soon. Then.”
My business here was finished.
I bowed respectfully and turned to leave.
“…It wasn’t that I abandoned you.”
That was when he suddenly uttered something strange.
“At the Tollen Gate, I didn’t deliberately turn away from you.”
“….”
“I was truly in combat with a demon at that time.”
I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at him with a peculiar gaze.
I couldn’t fathom why he was bringing this up now.
“…What does that matter at this point?”
Dylan bit his lower lip hard at my bewildered expression.
“Because I hate that you misunderstand me like that.”
Then he answered in a suppressed voice.
I stared at him blankly before finally opening my mouth.
“I’m somewhat taken aback.”
“….”
“For now… I’ll keep that in mind.”
Dylan’s sudden change in demeanor left me quite flustered and my thoughts muddled.
It seemed better to return quickly and sort through my feelings.
The moment I turned away again.
“Why are you being so cold?”
“….”
“Even if you’ve lost your memories, you must have heard something about what we were to each other. So why….”
Thud.
Suddenly, a dull sound echoed from behind me.
Startled, I reflexively turned my head.
“I….”
“….”
“I was wrong, Edith.”
“….”
“Please forgive me just this once.”
The male lead was kneeling on the dirt ground.

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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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