A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 140

—————

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

—————

140.

“…What?”
Remarkably, nothing happened at all.
The faint vibration I’d felt beneath my palm faded so quickly I wondered if it had been an illusion.
Blinking, I stared at the book for several seconds before removing the hand I’d placed on top of it.
And then.

【How to Save the Forsaken World】

The title, unchanged and looking like an X, made me contort my face in frustration.
Whoosh—!
I flipped through the pages frantically, but nothing had changed, as expected.
“You said making a wish would work, so why isn’t it?”
I tossed the book aside and collapsed limply onto the desk.
‘Should I just meet with Sephiroth and ask?’
I hadn’t intended to reveal that I’d found the Prophecy immediately….
Besides, there was no way that woman had told me about Ruellin stealing my body out of pure altruism.
According to Serge, she clearly had some ulterior motive.
But regardless, there was no other way to escape this place and return to my original body.
I had no choice but to do as Sephiroth commanded.
“Sigh….”
Perhaps it was from staring at the crystal orb these past few days without eating or sleeping properly.
Suddenly, a crushing fatigue pressed down on my entire body.
When I witnessed Ruellin stealing my body in Acarna, my eyes nearly rolled back in my head, but at the same time, hope surged forth.
Hope that I could finally escape this damned place and return to my original life.
The exhilaration of not having to deal with these lunatics anymore.
I believed that if I could just find that cursed Prophecy—wherever the hell it was—everything would be resolved, never mind calling Ruellin back to this side….
‘No. Somehow it will work out.’
I forcibly suppressed the anxiety that suddenly welled up.

***

The day of the Imperial Palace ballroom that Ethan had mentioned arrived sooner than expected.
As always on ballroom days, I was awakened at the crack of dawn, scrubbed like a doll, and kneaded relentlessly.
Who on earth kept adding new steps to this wretched ballroom preparation? The process had become far more elaborate than before!
After enduring a third full-body massage and being submerged in the bath, I pleaded with the Maids in utter exhaustion.
“Can’t you just… do it roughly…?”
“Absolutely not today, Miss!”
Just then, Nancy, who had just entered the bathroom, narrowed her eyes and cried out.
“This ballroom is where you’re the star, Miss! Your skin must be so radiant that even standing still will dazzle everyone’s eyes!”
“Nancy, even you…?”
I was mildly shocked by Nancy’s resolute attitude.
The kind Nancy who would quietly approach the Butler and negotiate to skip a few steps whenever I whined about being exhausted—why on earth was she like this now?!
She deliberately avoided my betrayed gaze and suddenly clapped her hands with a sharp snap.
“Next: two eyebrow creams, one rose oil, and one honey massage!”
And she was shouting orders as if she’d completely possessed the Butler!
“Yes, ma’am!”
Watching several hands reach toward me all at once, I cried out pitifully.
“Please… have mercy…!”

***

Meanwhile, in the Front Courtyard of the Duke’s Mansion.
Ethan, returning to the Estate after morning training, witnessed an unexpected situation.
“…What’s going on here, Butler? Don’t you know who I am?”
“Ah, yes, I’ll go inquire about the situation right away.”
“Why do you keep asking? Just move aside so I can get in. I’m exhausted from preparing early.”
A blue-haired man in an ivory suit was engaged in a dispute with the Butler.
The Butler’s expression was twisted with bewilderment.
Beside them, an ornate Carriage bearing the crest of Marquis Leandro’s House stood imposingly in the Front Courtyard.
Ethan, grasping the general situation, furrowed his brow and walked toward them.
“What’s the matter?”
“M-Master Ethan!”
The Butler brightened as if he’d found a savior.
In contrast, the blue-haired man, Vincent, frowned like a sulking child upon seeing Ethan approach.
But that was brief; he quickly changed his expression and smiled brightly.
“It’s been a while, brother. Have you been well?”
When they’d met recently during a visit to Edith Blake’s sickbed, he hadn’t even greeted him.
The way he now pretended as if nothing had happened was utterly shameless.

― I’m sorry to you, brother. We should be in frequent contact, but I worry I’ve made things awkward for you because of me.

Contrary to the misunderstanding of Edith Blake, who had lost her memory, the two were never particularly close.
Still, there was once a time when they shared Ruellin as common ground, and the three of them—including Dylan Frederick—would venture out together to conquer Gates with some regularity.

“What do you know?”
“I met her first. How much could you possibly understand, when you were nothing but a mere vassal’s son?”

But now that she was gone.
The distance between them, once stripped bare, had become so barren and futile.
“What’s been happening here since this morning?”
Ethan, regarding Vincent with a cold gaze, suddenly demanded to know his purpose.
There was not a single word of courtesy in his greeting.
Vincent’s brow furrowed unpleasantly as he keenly detected the hostility embedded in that look.
Yet it was only momentary—he soon broke into a disarmingly bright smile and spewed words like venom.
“That’s none of your concern, brother.”
“…”
“Maybe you should have your Butler retrained.”
“Why?”
“He keeps blocking the way even though I said I’d wait inside.”
“An outsider who won’t even state his business barges in without permission—of course he’d be stopped. Does Marquis Leandro’s House let in every stray that comes knocking without question?”
At Ethan’s uncharacteristic sarcasm, the smile playing at Vincent’s lips gradually faded.
Vincent looked him up and down as if taken aback, then let out a derisive chuckle.
“Can’t you tell from how I’m dressed? Why do you think I’m here?”
“I have no idea.”
“I came to pick you up for the Ballroom.”
“The Duke’s Mansion has its own Carriages. Why would you?”
“Because we’re partners.”
Vincent straightened his shoulders and replied with the self-satisfied pride of a child showing off a new toy.
At those words, Ethan froze for a moment.
But soon his eyes narrowed as he asked back:
“Did you get permission from Edith Blake?”
“Come on. We don’t need something as grand as permission between us.”
At Vincent’s carelessly light response, Ethan spoke with an expression of resigned understanding.
“That’s strange. She told me you two had severed ties. That she’d never be entangled with you again.”
“You still didn’t know? We made up ages ago.”
“…Made up?”
“Yeah. Edith Blake said to me herself that we should get along again.”
Vincent lifted his chin and wore an arrogant expression.
Meanwhile, Ethan’s face visibly hardened.
This was the first he’d heard of it.
Just days ago, when she had invited him into her Chamber to purify him, she had shown no sign of any such thing. When exactly had this happened?
“May I step inside now?”
Vincent turned toward the entrance hall with a cheerful spin.
Watching him move, something hot suddenly surged up from deep within my chest.
Ethan immediately turned to face the Butler sharply.
The Butler flinched violently and shook his head frantically.
“N-no, sir! The young lady never agreed to anything like that!”
Ethan, understanding the Butler’s stammering words in an instant, moved forward immediately.
A heavy footstep.
Vincent, who had been humming his way toward the entrance hall, was blocked once again.
“What, again?”
“…Just because I said let’s get along doesn’t mean I agreed to be your partner.”
“Huh?”
At Ethan’s stubborn objection, Vincent let out a hollow laugh.
“Why are you acting like a child, brother? If not me, then who would be her partner?”
“Me.”
“…What?”
“Why couldn’t I be the one?”
“…”
Vincent’s expression became peculiar at the response.
However.
“Ha… hahahaha!”
He suddenly burst into laughter.
Whether Ethan frowned or not, Vincent laughed while clutching his stomach for a long moment, then wiped his tears and spoke.
“Brother, you really have no conscience. How could you think of using her the moment she becomes The Purifier? Why, isn’t an ordinary family not good enough for you?”
“…”
“Ah, but I suppose… since your own daughter awakened and you’ve become a discarded rag, there aren’t many young ladies willing to volunteer as your partner.”
“…”
“Your situation must be quite difficult, isn’t it?”
Ethan’s expression hardened terrifyingly.
He stared at Vincent with a murderous gaze before finally speaking.
“And you?”
“What about me?”
“How long has it been since Ruellin died? Yet you’ve already changed your tune like a weathervane and are trying to cling to Edith Blake. That’s acceptable?”
“…”
“What, are you afraid now that she won’t purify you? Or that you’ll go berserk again?”
“What?”
The smile vanished from Vincent’s face in an instant.
He glared at Ethan with a murderous intent as if he might lunge at him at any moment.
But Ethan met that gaze without yielding an inch.
A crackling sound—!
The auras radiating from the two men collided, sending brilliant azure sparks cascading through the air.
“You commoner bastard…”
“M-Young Master! Sub-Duke!”
The flustered Butler squeezed his eyes shut and rushed forward to separate them.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud―!
The thunderous sound of galloping hooves erupted from somewhere in the distance.
All three reflexively turned their gazes toward the source of the noise.
A black carriage came barreling down the path leading to the front gate at full speed.
“W-What…”
Surely the driver could see the people standing directly in its path.
The carriage showed no sign of slowing, and the Butler’s face drained of color.
“A-Ahhh! S-Stop…!”
Just as the massive black horses were about to trample over the three of them.
“Whiiiiii―!”
Screeeech!
With a harsh whinny, the carriage ground to a halt mere inches before them.
Then, with a bang!
“Well now―.”
A man dressed entirely in black from head to toe descended from the carriage door with a casual wave of his arm.
And as he did, he remarked:
“I trust my partner is preparing well for the ball?”

—————

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

—————