A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 17

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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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17.

I stared at her in bewilderment, unable to fathom the reason for her distress.
Mercifully, Eston’s tears began to subside.
After composing herself, wiping away the trickling tears and mucus, she finally spoke some time later.
“When did your ability awaken?”
“…”
“I’ve never seen a case of manifestation after secondary sexual development before.”
She seemed quite curious about it. The fact that she was asking again, even after questioning me yesterday, made that clear.
Lest I upset her further, I answered with utmost sincerity.
“I’m not entirely sure myself. I’ve lost my memories, so I don’t know exactly when it happened.”
“I heard that when you were discovered, you were inside a monster’s mouth. The cardiac arrest and coma were likely aftereffects of the awakening.”
She spoke with the competence of a true healer.
I nodded silently in response.
Though I had already suspected as much, it hardly mattered now.
Watching my expression, she finally revealed what she had truly been curious about.
“You won’t report me to the Security Bureau, will you?”
“Ha.”
Despite my intention not to, a scoff escaped me unbidden.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Seeing you say something so naive makes me think you really are quite young.”
“What do you…”
“If I were you, before broadcasting my awakening to everyone, I’d first blackmail you into purifying my brother.”
At my words, Eston jumped to her feet and waved her hands frantically.
“B-blackmail?! Unlike some people, I would never do something so underhanded…! No, I’ve never even thought of such a thing!”
“…”
“You’re my savior, my lady. How could I possibly do such a thing?”
As she protested her innocence, she regained her characteristic shrewd demeanor and cast a sidelong glance.
“You don’t intend to tell the Duke or Prince Ethan?”
“No. Why would I?”
“Well, my lady always…”
She hesitated mid-response and hastily changed the subject.
“S-still, an awakening is glorious and something to be celebrated. And it’s not just any ability—it’s purification itself…”
“…”
“If it were me, I’d announce it to the whole world and bask in the praise.”
“There’s already a purifier. Why bother? Besides, before I could bask in any praise, I’d be dragged from Gate to Gate dealing with endless hardship. I have no desire for that.”
As I shrugged in response, Eston’s expression became peculiar.
“Truly…… you seem like a completely different person since you awoke.”
It stung a little to realize she had truly become a completely different person.
“…People can change when they’ve died and come back to life, after all.”
“The young lady has been jealous and envious of Ruellin all this time.”
“You don’t need to spell it out for me.”
As I glared and pressed her, Eston hastily averted her gaze.
Then she murmured with considerable dejection.
“I once saw the young lady hiding in the Greenhouse, crying in secret.”
“Me? Why?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but…it seemed to be after you quarreled with Count Frederick. After that, the Count stopped visiting the Duke’s Residence.”
“…Count Frederick?”
It was a name I’d heard many times before.
‘Wasn’t he mentioned yesterday as well?’

― If I weren’t here, my brother would burn to death in Count Frederick’s hands…!

Recalling Eston’s words, I tilted my head and asked.
“Who was that again?”
“Really, you don’t remember?”
Eston stared at me with wide eyes, then added an explanation.
“Dylan Frederick. He was the young lady’s attendant, but after awakening, he returned to the Frederick Family….”
“Ah.”
I remembered.
‘Male Lead Number Three!’
And.

― The funeral procession will be handled by Count Dylan Frederick, who was the young lady’s closest friend.

The bastard who nearly burned me alive on the very day I possessed this body!
As that memory surfaced, information about Male Lead Number Three automatically flooded my mind.
It was a common enough story, if anything.
The tale of a noble’s illegitimate child born from a single night’s mistake, abandoned in the Back Alley.
Fortunately picked up by a band of vagrants, Male Lead Number Three grew up as a petty thief, begging and pickpocketing.
Then, by sheer misfortune, he was caught stealing from young Edith Blake, who had come out to enjoy the Festival.
The boy caught by the escort knight was not punished by Edith Blake. Instead.

― With such a pretty face, and you’re a boy?
― Don’t turn him over to the Security Force. I’ll take him home with me.

I brought her to my residence and made her my lady’s maid.
‘Was it… to show her off at social gatherings?’
I don’t recall the details, but Edith Blake was only twelve or thirteen years old at the time.
‘Regardless, a woman is a woman.’
Coincidentally, Edith Blake gave the new maid—who was the same age as her—a new name: Dylan.
It was taken from the name of the hottest male singer at the time.
Unfortunately, young Edith Blake didn’t know that the singer was a male courtesan who catered to noblewomen.
After the Previous Count Frederick died and Dylan awakened, achieving a dramatic rise in status, he grew deeply ashamed of his name and harbored resentment toward Edith Blake for years.
As I recalled all this, I suddenly furrowed my brow.
‘If he was so dissatisfied, he could have simply changed his name. But did that justify letting a person waste away?!’
After all, we had once served together as master and servant, growing close in that time.
If Edith Blake hadn’t taken me in, I would have spent my entire childhood begging in the streets!
“…How ungrateful.”
“Yes? Me, me, me?!”
Had my thoughts somehow spilled from my lips?
Eston startled and pointed to herself.
As I shook my head dismissively, she asked carefully.
“…Are your memories returning?”
“Not all of them, just fragments.”
“It seems they’re coming back gradually. Memory loss caused by psychological trauma typically returns within a short period.”
Fortunately, Eston accepted my explanation without further questions.
The reason I didn’t feign amnesia like Ethan or Vincent was because of the physical description of Dylan given in the novel.

「Blazing red hair like roaring flames, and ash-gray eyes as if scattered with the remnants of burnt embers.」

Red hair symbolized the Frederick Family, who had awakened the fire ability across generations.
That’s why they could easily identify the Count’s illegitimate child, who had been serving in another household.
‘Whether they found me or simply pretended not to know….’
If Dylan hadn’t awakened the fire ability, would they have truly sought me out and granted me the title of Count?
In any case, the novel established that the “Red-Haired Hero” was someone no citizen of the Empire could fail to recognize.
‘If I clumsily pretend ignorance and everything falls apart, that would be disastrous.’
As I pondered this, a sudden question arose.
Why did Edith Blake cry after fighting with Dylan, of all people—not Vincent?
“When I was a servant, was I very close with Count Frederick?”
I immediately asked Eston.
However, Eston shook her head.
“I’m not entirely sure. It was still early after I transferred to the Duke’s Mansion….”
“Then how did you learn about the Count’s past?”
“Well… it’s such a famous story, isn’t it? When I came to the Duke’s Mansion, I was shocked to discover it wasn’t just rumor but fact.”
I clicked my tongue.
Unfortunately, there was no useful information to be gleaned from Eston.
Since the novel unfolded mostly from the heroine’s perspective, it never detailed how Edith Blake and Dylan had interacted in the past.
Only that he deeply resented his past and harbored hatred for Edith Blake.
‘Edith Blake liked Vincent, so it’s not a love triangle… Did she perhaps confront him about the rumors of his servitude?’
What good is knowing the plot? There’s nothing actually useful about it.
Being reincarnated as a villainous extra was such a wretched situation!
‘Come to think of it… everyone except one had quite intimate relationships with Edith Blake, didn’t they?’
I began to understand why Edith Blake despised the heroine and clung so desperately to the male leads.
Whether they had been close in the past or not, losing what you originally possessed is always the most infuriating and sorrowful thing.
‘Should I also familiarize myself with information about the fourth male lead in advance?’
As I contemplated the male lead who appeared last, I soon shook my head.
My mind was already saturated with Dylan, and fortunately, the fourth male lead had no particular connection with Edith Blake.
Because she dies before his episodes properly begin.
‘As long as I’m careful not to clash with those three, I should be fine.’
I was grateful to have one fewer hostile person to deal with.
It was certainly fortunate….
Yet I couldn’t shake this nagging unease.
‘Am I missing something?’
As I tilted my head in confusion, a voice suddenly pierced my awareness.
“We should arrive in about thirty more minutes.”
Eston, who had been gazing out the window, delivered the good news.
I looked at her and suddenly asked.
“By the way, where did you originally work?”

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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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