A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 155

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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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155.

Those worthless things held no power over me—neither bargains nor threats could sway my resolve.
Ruellin’s lips fell open, her expression blank as she finally grasped my meaning.
The grip of her nails—dug so viciously into my leg—loosened slightly.
Only then did I feel the sharp sting of pain, realizing her nails had torn through the thin fabric of my skirt and drawn blood from my skin.
I shook my leg irritably, still not freed from her grasp.
“Let go.”
“You… you…”
Ruellin stared up at me with vacant eyes, her words faltering.
“You’re not Edith Blake.”
I had made a critical mistake.
She had read the hesitation that flickered across my face, and now her voice rang out with even greater certainty.
“Edith Blake would never do this. Edith Blake would never refuse the conditions I proposed!”
“…”
“Who are you? Are you perhaps… Yu—ugh!”
The panic was overwhelming.
Before she could deduce my true identity, I wrenched my leg free with all my strength.
Thud!
The sudden motion sent Ruellin—who had been clinging to me—tumbling forward onto the floor.
At that very moment, the door burst wide open.
Bang!
“Ruellin!”
People flooded into the room in a rush.
Ethan was naturally at the forefront.
Dylan and Marquis Clonella followed close behind.
My cold, rigid stance. Ruellin sprawled ungracefully across the floor.
It was painfully obvious how this scene would appear to them.
“What… what have you done!”
As expected, Ethan rushed toward Ruellin in fury.
“Sir Ethan, ah…”
“Are you hurt, Ruellin?”
She leaned into his embrace as he steadied her, as though she had been waiting for precisely this moment.
As he examined her carefully for any sign of injury, his gaze turned lethal when it fixed upon me.

89%

The Magi readings fluctuated erratically, mirroring Ethan’s turbulent emotional state.
‘Good grief. Anyone watching would think I’d struck him.’
I found myself without even a moment to feel embarrassed by this absurd farce unfolding before me like some tragic comedy.
‘Even if I had hit him, what exactly do you think you could do about it?’
In the past, I might have worried somewhat.
Feared that the male leads’ misunderstandings and hatred would lead me down Edith Blake’s path.
Feared that rumors of my misdeeds would spread far and wide, leaving me with nowhere to stand.
Yet strangely, none of that mattered to me anymore.
Even if it came to that, wouldn’t there be at least one place I could turn to?
Along with that thought, someone flashed through my mind, and I quickly erased them.
Then, as if to prove a point, I smoothed out the wrinkled hem of my skirt with sharp, deliberate movements.
At my composed demeanor, Ethan asked in a voice that barely contained his anger.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“I asked you not to interfere.”
“You expect me to stand by when I hear screams from inside?”
“You could simply assume there was good reason for it.”
“Good reason? You threw a person in poor health onto the floor—you call that good reason?”
“Who said I did any such thing?”
I let out a cold laugh and turned my gaze toward Ruellin.
“Did you, Ruellin? Did I throw you onto the floor?”
“Edith Blake!”
“Don’t raise your voice so rudely. We’re not alone here, are we?”
At my cold warning, Ethan finally seemed to notice the other two present, and he clenched his teeth.
I turned away sharply from that pair, as if they were cockroaches.
I could see the Marquis with evident shock written across his face, and Dylan with an expressionless countenance that revealed nothing of his thoughts.
I approached them with measured steps and spoke.
“Unfortunately, there was a bit of a dispute.”
“A, a dispute of what sort…?”
“It seems Ruellin can no longer use her abilities.”
“That’s a lie―!”
Before I could finish, Ruellin sharply denied it.
Rather than have her mental manipulation and role as the Purifier exposed, hadn’t we already agreed beforehand that she would be said to have lost her abilities?
I felt a sigh threatening to escape at her foolish response.
Yet I continued speaking calmly, as if I had simply done what needed to be done.
“Still, as the Purifier, I felt I needed to verify this, so I tried to examine her body, but when Ruellin refused, it came to this.”
“That’s absurd! You don’t believe her, do you, Ethan? Dylan…!”
Since I was turned away, I couldn’t see Ethan’s expression.
The Marquis showed reluctance at this unexpected news, while Dylan seemed less disturbed than I expected.
He simply regarded me with quiet, ash-gray eyes, as if gauging whether my words held truth.
“Can you prove that claim?”
“Why should I be the one to prove it?”
“What….”
“The Security Bureau has artifacts, doesn’t it? You can verify with those, or bring in an Erosion Entity and release it in a room, or send her to the Gate Site.”
“….”
“Do I really need to spell out every little thing for you, Marquis Clonella?”
I let my displeasure show plainly, and the Marquis flinched, scrambling to appease me.
“Y-yes! Of course, Your Highness. We shall prepare everything at once.”
He had always been respectful toward me since I became The Purifier, but he seemed particularly astounded by how I had instantly grasped Ruellin’s unawakened state.
His eyes held not a shred of doubt—he believed my words implicitly.
Perhaps it was because he had only just learned that even Ruellin, the spare, had vanished.
The legitimate daughter of Blake, the sole Purifier of this nation.
This was what power truly was.
Look—now there was not a soul who dared contradict me, no matter how brazenly I behaved.
I glanced back to check on Ruellin.
Cradled in Ethan’s arms, Ruellin stared at me with wide eyes, her face frozen pale.
She seemed profoundly shaken by how different my position was from the Edith Blake she had known.
And what of Ethan beside her?
Even the National Director, the highest authority in the Security Bureau, was bowing and scraping—what right did he have to raise his voice to me?
His expression, which had been rigid as a statue, now wavered; his lake-blue eyes trembled with dawning comprehension.
I found this version of him far more pleasing than any I had seen before.
I added in a somewhat softened tone.
“In any case, it doesn’t seem like someone is impersonating Ruellin. Though I’ll need to investigate further the circumstances that caused her to become separated from the Gate.”
“Ah, what a relief! I was so worried that perhaps an intruder had infiltrated the Imperial Palace… This is all thanks to you, Your Highness.”
The Marquis, showing no shame about having suspected Ruellin, flattered me shamelessly.
I smiled faintly and replied.
“Well then, my work here is done. I shall take my leave.”
“Thank you for sparing us your precious time, Your Highness. Allow me to see you to your carriage.”
“You must be terribly busy with the investigation. There’s no need.”
I left the room after extracting every last ounce of satisfaction from the situation.
Of course, I had not even bothered with a courtesy greeting to anyone but the Marquis.
As I crossed the corridor and retraced my steps with a light gait, my heart felt wonderfully unburdened.
Just as I was about to leave the Guest Palace with my newfound lightness of spirit.
Tap-tap-tap!
“…Edith Blake!”
Suddenly, urgent footsteps and a voice calling out to me echoed through the passage.
I paused and turned, only to see an unexpected figure rapidly approaching.
It was Ethan.
‘What about Ruellin—did he just abandon her?’
As I tilted my head in confusion, he reached me and caught his breath, panting heavily.
“Wait. We need to talk.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I….”
He hesitated for a moment, struggling to find the words, before finally forcing them out.
“…It seems I’ve misunderstood something.”
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over me at those words.

― There’s a misunderstanding on your part regarding what happened at the Tollen Gate.

He’d said something similar before.
How conveniently comfortable such thinking must be.
To believe that a single word—misunderstanding—could resolve everything, even death itself.
Strangely, I found myself no longer angry at his arrogance.
Though I’d been quite heated back in Ruellin’s room….
Now, I felt nothing at all.
I wanted nothing more than to turn around and leave, but too many eyes were watching.
I responded flatly.
“It seems circumstances didn’t work out this time either. Don’t worry about it.”
“That’s not what I mean… Yes, I’ll admit it.”
At my indifferent tone, he sighed and began making excuses.
“Things aren’t always as they appear. Ruellin has only just awakened, and I reacted oversensitively.”
“….”
“…Before, you didn’t dislike Ruellin at all. You were always looking for opportunities to harm her.”
“….”
“Of course, I know you’ve reflected on those actions and changed from how you were before… but since you’ve only recently recovered your memories, I was concerned that perhaps your mind and heart might have undergone some change….”
“So?”
I cut off his words with an expression dripping with boredom.
“Did you stop me just to recite how wickedly cruel I was?”
“Don’t be sarcastic. You’re old enough to know that’s not what I meant….”
He, who habitually offered unsolicited advice, fell silent at the cold glint in my eyes.
After a moment of hesitation, he finally offered an apology as costly as it was rare.
“…I’m sorry, Edith Blake.”

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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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