A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 151

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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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151.

“Insane…!”
My eyes snapped wide open at the sensational headline.
I devoured the article with frantic urgency.

[Last night, during the medal ceremony banquet for Princess Edith Blake held at the Imperial Palace, an unprecedented catastrophe unfolded—an unexpected Gate manifested without warning.
What made it even more shocking was the emergence of the former Purifier Ruellin, who had been presumed dead.]

The article continued with details about Ruellin.
I skimmed past the familiar parts quickly.

[Grand Duke Belnac stepped forward before the Gate could fully open.
Rather than following standard subjugation procedures, he forcibly sealed the Gate using pure psychic power alone, according to reports.
This was an unprecedented feat… (excerpt omitted)
After the Gate vanished, Princess Edith Blake, the current and only Purifier, purified the remaining Magi, bringing the situation to a close.
It was confirmed that the two had participated in the banquet together as official partners.]

[What came next was the truly intriguing part.
Immediately after the purification, multiple witnesses spotted the two engaged in intimate conversation.
Some eyewitnesses reported, “The atmosphere was different from the tension of combat,” and “Their gazes toward each other were excessively tender and affectionate.”
Speculation that something extraordinary was transpiring between them spread rapidly throughout the venue.]

“Affectionate? Tender? What an ominous undercurrent!”
Crunch!
I didn’t bother finishing the rest of the lengthy article and simply crumpled the newspaper into a ball.
What kind of article reports a fabricated romance scandal more extensively than someone’s resurrection from the dead?!
“Is this journalist insane? What publication are they from?!”
“ARN, a third-rate newspaper known for sensationalist headlines, sir.”
“Contact them immediately and demand a retraction! Even if I let it slide, what in the world is the Grand Duke’s House doing? They can’t even properly vet a single piece of tabloid trash….”
And they call themselves the true power behind the Imperial Palace?!
My head was already spinning from complications, and now I’m entangled in this absurd gossip.
As always, this damned world has nothing worth approving of.
‘…Still, once that bastard confirms it, he’ll sweep everything clean.’
If it were Serge, he’d cause far more of a commotion than I would—he’d never let it slide.
Setting aside the ridiculous romance rumors, hadn’t his hidden skill, which was supposed to be classified, already been exposed to the world?
For instance, I’d heard that the newspaper which extensively covered his previous incident at the Imperial Palace was driven to the brink of bankruptcy.
The publisher was apparently imprisoned after being implicated with Baron Gavent, who was revealed as the culprit.
‘…Indeed, he’s someone you must never make an enemy of…’
As the actual culprit, it was an unsettling thought, but when he was on my side, it was infinitely reassuring.
As I mulled over that, I tried to calm my increasingly agitated mind.
Somehow, I felt a meaningful gaze from across the way.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…I’ve suddenly become acutely aware of how old I’ve grown, my lady.”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“It’s just that I realized far too late that it wasn’t merely a curse letter….”
The Butler let out a deep sigh, speaking in riddles.
“What curse letter? Butler, did you hold a grudge against someone?”
I asked in confusion, but the Butler only released another heavy sigh without answering further.
I frowned and hurled the crumpled newspaper bundle in my hand with a “whoosh.”
“Never mind. Hide this so Father doesn’t see it. Understood?”
“I wonder if hiding it will truly prevent it from reaching the Duke’s ears.”
“At least until he leaves the residence. After that….”
“After that…?”
“I’ll just have to run and hide from Father.”
If there was anyone in this Empire who despised Serge more than I did, it was the Duke.
If this news reached his ears, I couldn’t imagine how much he’d harass me….
The mere thought made me shudder involuntarily.
‘…Should I just say I’m moving to the Two-Story House right away? Ugh, why doesn’t anything happen in the Provinces at times like this?’
I would have preferred something to occur, like during the Acarna incident, so I could leave the Capital for a while.
Of course, that was just talk—I didn’t mean it sincerely.
But words have a way of becoming reality.
“…The National Director has sent word that you are to enter the Imperial Palace at once, now that Miss Ruellin has regained consciousness.”
The moment I arrived home, I was greeted by none other than a Security Bureau agent.
I responded with a bewildered expression.
“Ruellin has regained consciousness, so why do I need to go?”
“Well… we need to verify that she’s really Ruellin, so all related parties have been summoned.”
“Ugh…”
I had half-expected this to be a procedure I’d have to go through eventually.
But I never thought it would happen this quickly.
‘Damn Ruellin. Since you’re already pretending to be unconscious, couldn’t you have dragged it out a bit longer?’
At least there was one silver lining—the Duke had left at the crack of dawn.
‘Well, a bomb fell in the middle of the Imperial Palace, so everyone must be in chaos.’
I sent the agent away first, then headed straight to my room to wash up.
With Nancy’s help, as I soaked in the hot water, one thought kept circling through my mind.
‘…What in the world am I supposed to say when I meet that damned Ruellin?’
The problem wasn’t that I had nothing to say—it was that I had far too much.
If I had my way, I’d grab her by the hair and shake her while demanding to know what happened to my body.
But I couldn’t decide whether revealing that I wasn’t Edith would actually benefit me.
‘…And what if she still knows how to use mind manipulation? Then what?’
From staying up all night, my head felt heavy and sluggish, refusing to work properly.
“Ugh… this is really damning.”
As I muttered a curse under my breath and tilted my head back, Nancy, who had been quietly attending to me, trembled with a flutter.
“Miss, are you… alright?”
“No.”
At my blunt answer, Nancy lowered her head dejectedly.
At that sight, I burst into hearty laughter.
“I’m joking, Nancy. I’m fine. What else could possibly be wrong?”
“…Your body still isn’t fully recovered, and it seems you keep getting swept up in troublesome matters. I’m worried about you.”
Nancy spoke indirectly, but I understood her meaning immediately.
That the news of Ruellin’s return had already spread widely throughout the Capital, not just among the servants.
‘Goodness, rumors really do travel fast.’
How was it that this damned world couldn’t even grant privacy, let alone give a person a moment’s peace?
I responded with a sigh of agreement, “I know.”
Then Nancy pulled something from her pocket and held it out to me.
“Please take this.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a fatigue recovery potion. Eston said to give it to you as soon as you arrived. And please don’t drink coffee.”
The moment the bath ended, I was about to down some cold coffee, but I’d already been found out.
Caught red-handed, I took the bottle from Nancy and drank it all down.
As the bitter medicinal taste made me frown slightly, Nancy quickly popped a candy into my mouth.
She really was a maid born with impeccable intuition.
As I rolled the plum-flavored candy on my tongue, Nancy continued to murmur with a worried expression.
“…If it’s truly difficult, perhaps you shouldn’t go, Miss.”
“Not go? They might all chase me directly to the Duke’s Residence.”
“Then… what about taking refuge at the villa in Ezennia for a while? We could say you need to recuperate!”
Seeing her suggest even that, it seemed my condition looked rather pitiful to her.
‘True. I’ve only just been recognized as The Purifier, and now my natural enemy has returned….’
She had watched over Edith Blake for a long time even before my possession, so her concern was understandable.
She wouldn’t want to witness her sole mistress descending into jealous madness again….
Nancy’s suggestion to flee was quite tempting.
But unlike before, I had no reason to run.
“Are you telling me to flee like a coward?”
“Not fleeing—buying time to counterattack.”
I replied playfully, but Nancy spoke with grim determination.
“…Eston said so. That it would take some time to make poison….”
“What?”
I was dumbfounded by this unexpected remark.
Poison? For whom?
Surely she didn’t think I was planning to kill Ruellin?
“…Ha. What exactly do you take me for….”
I couldn’t help but laugh incredulously.
“Do I really seem like such a vicious person who poisons people just because I dislike them?”
“Oh, oh, it was just something I said! B-but you never know….”
Nancy startled and shook her head frantically.
Yet she still murmured with lingering concern.
“I… once overheard Miss asking the physician about it….”
“Really….”
Edith Blake had quite the range of schemes.
She had despised Ruellin so intensely that this was entirely in character for her.
And Nancy, who had remembered it all this time and conspired with Eston about it.
‘Like master, like maid, as they say….’
Separate from the terrifying implications, the thought that someone cared for me this much stirred something in my chest.
Since arriving here, I had felt only lonely and weary….
Yet I did have people I could trust and rely upon.
People who would at least flee with me if things fell apart.
I never knew such comfort could be so profound.
“Don’t worry.”
I smiled at the Maid, whose eyes were filled with trust and concern for me.
“There are plenty of ways to keep her from acting out like before without resorting to such dangerous measures.”
For now, at least.
Nancy, who had spoken with such fear, finally relaxed her expression and whispered.
“No matter what happens, you know Eston and I are on your side, right Miss?”
“…Thank you, Nancy. And Eston.”
I replied with a noticeably more relaxed expression.
I would keep the method she had suggested as a last resort.
The grim thoughts I had just entertained, I carefully concealed.
And I earnestly prayed that such circumstances would never come to pass—that Ruellin would not drive me to such extremes.
I truly prayed for it.

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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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