A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 16

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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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16.

Nancy recited Edith Blake’s lines from that time without so much as a blink, her tone perfectly composed.
Since this scene didn’t appear in the novel either, I found myself at a loss for words.
“Nancy, that’s….”
“I know. You weren’t trying to defend me in particular.”
“….”
“You didn’t even remember my name back then, did you, Miss?”
My conscience pricked sharply at the sight of Nancy speaking with such genuine cheerfulness, as though she harbored not a shred of resentment.
‘Edith Blake, you wretch… if you were going to bring her along, you could have at least remembered her name.’
I shook my head inwardly in disapproval.
“…Still. From that moment on, I decided to serve you as my master for the rest of my life.”
“…Nancy.”
“Don’t worry about word getting out! I’m already an outcast anyway. So….”
Nancy carefully folded my outstretched fingers closed.
The glimmering ring vanished into my fist.
“Give this to me later, Miss. You’ve already given me one before.”
At those words, I realized that Edith Blake had never taken back the ring she’d given to Nancy.
Something felt strange.
Now it was I whose eyes wavered, not her.
‘This isn’t right. I need to make sure she stays silent….’
Even as I thought this, I couldn’t bring myself to press the ring upon Nancy again.
Her face gazing up at me was far too tender and radiant.
‘Is this even correct?’
It felt like sincerity so undeniable that I couldn’t deny it….
‘Can a villain even do this?!’
I grew somewhat confused.

***

Rustle, rustle.
With the steady sound of pages turning, the woman’s eyelids fluttered.
“Mm….”
“If you’ve come to your senses, you should get up.”
“…Gasp!”
At my cold voice, the woman’s eyes snapped open.
She scrambled to her feet, looking utterly bewildered.
Understandably so.
Not only had she been lying on the floor of my chamber, but her clothes had been changed as well.
“Th, this is, what….”
Click.
I closed the book I’d been reading and turned my gaze toward her.
“You must have been quite exhausted. I was startled when you suddenly collapsed.”
“…My lady.”
“It’s gotten terribly late. Now that you’re awake, you should leave.”
At my composed voice, her brown eyes wavered like ripples on water.
“Eston, get up quickly.”
Nancy whispered urgently, hastily pulling Eston to her feet as she remained sitting with a vacant expression.
“I, I have something to ask you!”
It was then that she suddenly lifted her head and spoke in disjointed fragments.
“Did you perhaps use your ability earlier… I mean, you said there was definitely 4% remaining….”
“….”
“I’m worried I might have harmed you in some way….”
“What are you talking about? Were you dreaming?”
I cut off her faltering words and asked irritably, and Eston’s expression turned ashen.
After a moment of silence, she finally composed herself.
“…I apologize, my lady. I’ve been accumulating fatigue lately and caused you great trouble.”
“….”
“Since it’s gotten so late, I’ll head home now and return to work tomorrow to see you again.”
As she continued, her words grew increasingly hurried.
Seeing how anxiously she gazed out the window at the gathering dusk, it was clear she wanted to leave quickly.
I was tempted to prolong the moment out of spite, but I refrained.
“Very well. Go on.”
At my casual response, she bowed her head to me and immediately turned to leave.
Just as Eston grasped the door handle, I slowly opened my mouth.
“Eston.”
“….”
“You’ll have to pay the price for my help soon.”
The woman’s movements froze as she was turning the handle.
As she slowly turned back to face me, her youthful features gradually filled with dawning dread.
I smiled at her with a subtle curve of my lips and spoke.
“Don’t return to your home. Wait at the Duke’s Residence until tomorrow morning. That’s an order.”
Found it—my loophole.

***

The next day.
With Nancy’s assistance, I obtained a maid’s uniform and slipped discreetly through the servants’ passage to escape the mansion.
With a bonnet and mask used for cleaning concealing my face and hair completely, no one recognized me.
‘I thought they’d keep me under strict surveillance to prevent me from leaving…’
It was far easier than I’d anticipated!
‘Then again, if it were Edith Blake, she would have thrown a fit, insisting no one dares block my path.’
She would never have conceived of disguising herself in a maid’s uniform and slipping away like this.
Having effortlessly passed through the final checkpoint—the rear gate—I calmly boarded the carriage waiting ahead.
Tap.
“Hello?”
“Who…?”
When I revealed my face by removing the mask to the bewildered passenger, her eyes widened in shock.
“Y-Your Highness?!”
“Call me Nancy while we’re out.”
“What on earth…!”
Fortunately, she appeared to have recovered considerably overnight, her complexion looking quite well.

71%

‘It seems I haven’t used my ability all night.’
Tap, tap.
After confirming my runaway index remained unchanged from yesterday, I knocked against the carriage wall.
The Coachman, understanding the signal to depart, urged the horses forward.
The carriage swiftly crossed the Duke’s Residence grounds.
As I watched the massive estate recede beyond the window, I eventually turned my gaze toward the opposite side.
“How long until we reach Tollen?”
At my casual tone, Eston’s face contorted sharply.
“Is this why you wouldn’t let me return to that house?”
“You already know, so why ask?”
“This is too much, truly!”
She, who had been staring at me anxiously, finally burst out as though she could endure no longer.
“You think this situation is all a game, don’t you? Sneak out, have fun, come back—that’s all there is to it for you!”
“….”
“But for me! I cannot go even a single day without returning home! I’ve given up half my wages and borrowed a carriage just to manage it―!”
“….”
“I felt as though my blood was drying up all night. And all for something like this…!”
“Enough.”
Considering the pitiful circumstances I’d heard yesterday, I was prepared to tolerate a certain degree of her discontent.
Yet this outing was an important engagement for me as well.
‘Do you think I want to be with you either? Does anyone choose to suffer like this?!’
I could not continue listening to her increasingly heated words.
“Your voice is far too loud when addressing your master.”
“….”
“Even a mere beast recognizes the benefactor who saved its life. I witnessed yesterday how you fall short of even that standard, so spare me further demonstrations.”
“…Ugh.”
My pointed remark, cold enough to freeze the air within the carriage, caused Eston to clamp her mouth shut.
After a moment of tense confrontation, she eventually hung her head low.
“…I apologize.”
“….”
“Lately, I… don’t feel like myself.”
Her voice, tinged with regret and self-loathing, emerged barely above a whisper.
Hearing that, my anger subsided somewhat.
‘That’s understandable.’
Anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and excessive mood swings were all typical precursor symptoms of runaway.
Though I had performed purification, Eston’s index remained far from stable, and lingering aftereffects of the runaway state likely persisted.
‘Right. What good would come from quarreling with someone who’s suffering….’
The moment I turned my gaze back toward the window, intending to drop the matter entirely.
Suddenly, soft sobbing sounds echoed from ahead.
“The truth is… I’m so frightened….”
“….”
“My mind keeps slipping away in fragments… and my healing power is becoming less and less effective on my sister… *sob*, *wail*!”
Eston suddenly burst into tears, her eyes glistening like dewdrops.
‘Sigh….’
I stared at her blankly.
I’d lashed out at her for her insolent behavior, but I never expected her to start crying!
‘She’s not a child, what’s… Ah. She actually is a child.’
Only then did I recall that Eston was around the same age as Nancy, and I sighed, fumbling to untie my apron.
“Here, use this to wipe your tears.”
“*Sniff*, *sob*! *Wail*!”
Eston obediently accepted the apron I offered. Then she immediately began blowing her nose loudly into it.
“It belongs to Nancy. Make sure you wash it clean and return it.”
I suppressed my furrowing brow and spoke as gently as I could manage.
“For now, you don’t need to worry. I’ve already purified it to a certain extent.”
“*Sob*, *wail*!”
“But don’t go recklessly overusing your abilities just because of that. You’re still not in a safe range.”
“Th, then….”
“I’ll gauge it by watching what you do. Since you’ve got leverage over me now, I need to take out some insurance of my own.”
“*Sniff*… *Waaaail*!”
I’d meant to reassure her, but Eston glared at me with glistening eyes and let out another loud wail.
“Mom… *sob*!”
And this time, she was even calling for her mother.
‘What on earth…!’

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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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