A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 163

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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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163.

Whoooosh—
A sharp gust of wind swept through.
The steady stream of water from the fountain swayed and scattered in all directions.
Water droplets, refracted by the noon sun, glimmered and dispersed.
I thought I must have seen it wrong.
By the time the wind finally ceased.
I froze at the sight of Vincent’s face, still glistening with water droplets.
“You….”
“….”
“Are you crying?”
Tears fell silently from his brilliant golden eyes.
Vincent wept pitifully, miserably—like an abandoned child.
Even as I watched it unfold before my eyes, it felt utterly unreal.
That he, who had stabbed and torn into me so viciously, now stood there weeping….
Whatever grievance consumed him, he stared at me with eyes full of meaning and slowly opened his mouth.
“…It’s Vincent, not ‘you.'”
“….”
“Why do you keep—ugh… why do you keep calling me ‘you,’ ‘hey,’ like that.”
“Ha….”
Such a petulant complaint—I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
I raised my hand to my forehead.
The irritation and anger that had filled me moments before suddenly dissipated, formless and gone.
In its place came exhaustion and disbelief.
I waited for his tears to subside, then spoke without conviction.
“I don’t have a handkerchief. Dry it yourself.”
“…That’s changed too. You’re so cold now. You used to wipe them all away for me.”
“Vincent.”
I fixed him with a warning gaze.
“You know as well as I do—we can’t go back to how things were.”
“….”
“When you were manipulated by Ruellin and tried to kill me, our relationship ended right then and there.”
“But…!”
He flinched as if he might lunge at me at any moment.
“But that wasn’t my will.”
“You’re right—it may not have been entirely your fault.”
After all, Edith Blake was manipulated too.
So now, dwelling on right and wrong had become meaningless.
What mattered was this:
“But my feelings have changed, and there’s nothing I can do about that.”
“….”
“I don’t care for you anymore.”
“…Edith Blake.”
He called my name in a voice that trembled faintly.
His golden eyes wavered aimlessly, as though searching for something to explain.
Before this familiar conversation could repeat itself again, I resolved to sever this cycle decisively.
“That’s why I find it so uncomfortable and humiliating every time you act like this.”
“….”
“I even considered trying to get along again for the sake of old affection, but honestly, I don’t even know how we’re supposed to do that. Since losing my memory, you’ve become…”
“….”
“Just a stranger to me, nothing more.”
Those restless golden eyes finally stilled.
He stared at me with a pallid, frozen expression.
I averted my gaze appropriately and continued speaking.
“Besides, in the ‘past’ you speak of, there was never any surveillance or restraint between us. This contradicts even ordinary friendship….”
“Then what am I supposed to do…? What am I…?”
He abruptly cut me off.
“I… I care for you.”
“….”
“I only just realized it now, only now.”
His face contorted with anguish.
I was utterly stunned by this unexpected confession.
“Should I kneel before you?”
Thud—
Without waiting for my response, he dropped to his knees at once.
“Or perhaps I should injure myself until the day I die? Would that ease your heart? Hmm?”
“….”
“I’ll do whatever you ask. I won’t even mention returning to how things were. So please….”
“….”
“Can’t you just let me stay by your side…?”
He gasped roughly, his face on the verge of tears.
I stood speechless, watching him with a vacant stare.
Honestly, I was dumbfounded. It was absurd.
‘Care for me?’
Now, of all times?
And what part of me is he even looking at?
Since possessing this body, all Vincent and I had done was fight bitterly, reconcile at his insistence, and maintain civility out of necessity.
Yet I couldn’t fathom how those feelings could possibly culminate in something he actually desired.
‘Is he acting again? Trying to make me take him back?’
Concealing hatred and contempt while feigning tenderness was something he’d grown quite skilled at.
He didn’t want to lose this amusing, ridiculous toy—one that would cry and rage when pricked, yet follow him like a dog the moment he showed a little kindness.
But the Vincent kneeling before me now didn’t seem to be performing some false act.
He appeared devastated, desperate.
Like someone who had only just awakened to a terrible truth and didn’t know what to do.
I exhaled softly and spoke.
“Get up. I didn’t tell you to do this.”
“If I don’t cling to you like this, you won’t even acknowledge me, will you?”
“You know I can’t accept this.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
His voice trembled with moisture, thick with tears.
“Please tell me. What am I supposed to do…?”
.
“I have no idea what to do…”
Scrape, scrape.
He crawled forward on his hands and knees until he lay prostrate at my feet.
Despite his hunched posture, his large frame trembled like an aspen leaf, impossible to conceal.
I was at a loss myself.
How was I supposed to handle a man who’d killed his own childhood friend with his own hands, only to regret it now?
The Book of Prophecy said nothing about this.
My heart hadn’t softened at the sight of him kneeling there so pitifully, weeping.
In truth, my honest feeling was that I wanted to ignore him entirely, whether he regretted his actions or not, and never see him again.
Yet I couldn’t do that, and the reason was my own fault.
I’d accepted his apology carelessly, without regard for sincerity, simply to bring Ruellin back.
Moreover, if I didn’t settle this somehow, he seemed determined to remain prostrate and immobile.
For someone like me who needed to send him away quickly and escape the Grand Duke’s Residence before Serge arrived, this was an unwelcome situation.
“…I can’t give you as much of my company as you want.”
I reluctantly opened my mouth.
“Still, I said with my own lips that we’d forget everything and get along well.”
.
“I’ll make an effort going forward. I can at least associate with you.”
“…Really?”
What was that worth.
At my words, offered like charity, he wore an expression as though grasping at a thread of hope.
I nodded and added.
“So you make an effort too. Stop acting recklessly without any sense of propriety, and quit watching my every move. What kind of behavior is this in someone else’s home? And in the Grand Duke’s Residence, no less.”
“Ah, understood. I’ll do everything you tell me to. I’ll listen well.”
Vincent repeated his promises earnestly.
I frowned at the sight of Vincent still kneeling and prostrate like a slave.
“Get up now.”
Only then did Vincent stir and push himself to his feet.
All that remained was to send him away quietly, but his beige trousers had already been soiled by the dye that had seeped into them.
I clicked my tongue softly, then suddenly recalled that the front of the Grand Duke’s Residence had been completely empty.
“Where’s the carriage? Don’t tell me you walked here naked?”
At my question, he hesitated for a moment before answering.
“…I flew here.”
“What?”
“Taking a carriage would have taken too long, so I used my ability…”
Well.
His ability did involve manipulating wind, but I’d never known he could use it to fly like that.
Still, what could possibly be so urgent about my coming to the Grand Duke’s House that he’d resort to using his ability to rush here?
‘This is truly ridiculous…’
As I was glaring at him in exasperation.
A brilliant idea suddenly struck me.
“You said you’d do anything I ask, right?”
“Huh? Y-yes.”
After crying his heart out, Vincent nodded like a docile lamb, clearly not in his right mind.
“Then wait here for a moment.”
“…Why?”
“You came to pick me up, didn’t you? Let’s leave together.”
I had a way to slip out discreetly without the tedious business of bringing Eston along and changing clothes.
It truly was remarkable how even the most useless things could find a purpose.
“I have some things to gather, so wait here for a moment. I’ll be back soon. Stay quiet and still as death.”
If you cause any more trouble, I won’t take you with me.
I emphasized this several times, just to be sure.
It was practically a threat.
It was obvious that I intended to use him.
“Okay, Edith Blake.”
He broke into a bright smile.
“I’ll wait.”
Seeing him grin foolishly with tear-stained cheeks, I felt an odd heaviness settle in my chest.

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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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