A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 182

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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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182.

The moment relief washed over me—grateful that the intruder meant no harm—the air froze solid.
The man glaring at me appeared deeply offended.
I found the situation absurd.
Was my silent departure while he was away truly worthy of such anger?
“Why is returning to my own home considered fleeing?”
“Because you vanished without a word of gratitude to the one who saved your life. You took everything offered and sealed your lips shut—that’s fleeing.”
“To be precise, I didn’t ask to be saved. Your Majesty simply chose to pursue me of your own accord.”
“So I was the meddler? Perhaps I should have let you be dragged away. Had I known you were acquainted with the Princess, I would have left you breathing.”
His sarcasm was infuriating.
I glared back at him, then exhaled a quiet sigh.
Though I’d confronted him in anger, the truth remained—had he not appeared when he did, the situation would have been perilous.
I had no idea where those cult members would have dragged me, and I’d even wounded Sephiroth in the process.
Had I been taken away as they intended, I would never have returned unscathed.
I might have ended up like Dylan, drained of blood.
Contemplating the worst that would have occurred without Serge’s intervention, a chill ran through me, and I shuddered involuntarily.
“Regarding that matter…”
…
“I am grateful. For summoning Eston as well.”
I refrained from adding that I would have been even more grateful had he returned me directly to the Duke’s Mansion.
Only then did the man’s fierce expression finally soften.
…In any case.
We had agreed to a transaction, and I’d vanished without warning. Moreover, Vincent—that damned fool—had reduced the Grand Duke’s Residence to ruins, and I bore some responsibility for that.
“Your condition.”
“…I’m fine.”
“Good to hear.”
The man smiled with satisfaction, as though he’d been concerned all along.
Did he feel no shame whatsoever for sneaking through the window into a noblewoman’s bedchamber at this ungodly hour?
Watching his shameless, almost arrogant demeanor, I let out a hollow laugh before belatedly asking his purpose.
“More importantly, why have you come here?”
“I had urgent news to convey, but someone fled like a thief in the night.”
A thief? Who was he to say such things?
Frowning in exasperation, Serge finally revealed his improper reason for visiting.
“You’ve surely heard the news by now. About your brother fleeing the Imperial Palace with that commoner woman.”
“…I heard today.”
“They found the woman.”
“Already?”
If he were so easy to capture, why would he go through all that trouble in the first place?
Once it’s revealed that he lost his abilities, I honestly thought Ruellin would never return.
As I pondered this unexpected turn, Serge nodded and continued speaking.
“The Security Bureau dispatched a teleportation user. We should be able to see results by tomorrow morning at the latest.”
“I see.”
“…But that woman said something strange.”
“What did she say?”
“She claimed she didn’t lose her abilities and ran away to prove it. Apparently, she demanded a rank assessment.”
At those words, my eyes widened.
“That’s odd. When I checked, she clearly had no abilities whatsoever…”
There was no magical aura reading that an Awakener should have displayed, and she couldn’t do anything even when I insulted her.
In fact, didn’t she desperately beg me not to reveal that fact?
‘What did Sephiroth do? Did he transfuse her with an Awakener’s blood…?’
But only Erosion Beings could gain abilities from an Awakener’s blood.
I wasn’t sure if Ruellin was a normal human, but she was definitely not an Erosion Being.
‘But how did Sephiroth perform teleportation? And blocking all those Awakeners’ attacks on Equinox Island… was that magic?’
Yet according to the report Serge gave me, his heart was removed, so he couldn’t use magic.
There were too many inexplicable things.
“Anyway. The Security Bureau will likely visit soon, so keep that in mind.”
While I was absorbed in serious thought, Serge put a period to the purpose of his visit.
It was certainly urgent information I needed to know.
If Ruellin, upon her return, was determined to be an Awakener in the rank assessment, I would be falsely accused of slander.
If Serge hadn’t given me this advance warning, the situation would have been reversed, and I would have been branded a villainess without recourse.
I hesitated before opening my mouth.
“…Thank you. For telling me.”
Though I’m not sure why he needed to climb someone else’s wall in the dead of night just to deliver this.
Still, since it avoided a formal visit from the Grand Duke that would further inflame the already furious Duke, I decided to take it in good faith.
I offered my gratitude sincerely, but for some reason, Serge suddenly averted his gaze.
I looked questioningly at his eyes, which had taken on a faint reddish tint, when he suddenly asked.
“What will you do now?”
“About what?”
“If that commoner is determined to be an Awakener, you’ll be in trouble.”
“At worst, I’ll just become The Purifier.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
Even if I ended up falsely accused of slander, I wasn’t particularly worried.
Since I hadn’t yet had my blood drawn by Sephiroth, Ruellin couldn’t possibly gain purification abilities no matter what she tried.
What did concern me was the possibility that she might use mind control again like before…
I gazed intently at the mountain-like man standing before me.
Whether he was avoiding meeting my eyes or harboring some ulterior motive,
he was calmly scrutinizing my private space thoroughly.
He was rude, obstinate, and utterly lacking in common sense.
Yet strangely, I felt an odd certainty that he wouldn’t simply fall prey to Ruellin’s mental manipulation.
‘If worst comes to worst… I can simply erase his abilities through purification.’
I’d already done it once to the Middle-aged Man who had been under Sephiroth’s command.
Someone capable of instantaneous teleportation across vast distances would have possessed a fairly high rank, yet I’d rendered him a non-Awakener with remarkable thoroughness.
Moreover, I possessed the ability to inflict fatal wounds even upon Sephiroth, whose Magi barrier reached 999%.
Whether Ruellin manipulated another’s mind again or acquired some new ability.
I could eliminate them all without anyone knowing, one after another…
Sizzle—
Just then, the soft sound of pages turning cut short the dark fantasy unfolding in my mind.
“It seems you received the compensation I gave you.”
I lifted my head abruptly, and there stood Serge, who had approached the desk.
He scanned the papers I’d carelessly scattered with an indifferent gaze before turning back to me.
“Well? Did it prove helpful?”
I answered a beat too late.
“…Honestly?”
“If not honestly?”
“To some extent.”
“Honestly speaking.”
“Not particularly.”
At my candid response, he furrowed his brow and clicked his tongue.
“I went through considerable trouble retrieving it from the depths of the Emperor’s archives, and it seems it was all for nothing.”
“It wasn’t entirely pointless…”
I protested quietly.
The report he’d given me had helped me understand how Sephiroth had come to this state, but his true intention remained opaque.
Why merge dimensions to resurrect a dead husband?
I was about to ask whether Serge knew the answer when he beat me to it.
“Your wish wasn’t granted, then?”
“…As you can see.”
“Why. Isn’t seducing all the high-ranking Awakeners and living lavishly as the Princess the standard approach?”
“…”
“Here, I even appeared as one of your targets. Was I fourth?”
Whoosh—
He flipped through the book with the same indifference as before, his expression turning playful.
I’d assumed he’d read it all before bringing it to me.
But hearing the novel’s contents recounted through his mouth was utterly absurd and mortifying.
Embarrassing enough that I’d once firmly believed I’d possessed a body in that very story.
That was never my wish at all.
“…They say it can only be granted if you’re willing to sacrifice your life, praying desperately enough that you’d have no regrets even dying this instant.”
I deliberately changed the subject.
He stroked his chin thoughtfully and nodded in agreement.
“Hmm. True enough—he wouldn’t grant wishes without some price.”
“But it seems my desire isn’t desperate enough to stake my life on.”
“A reasonable thought. Life isn’t something I have two of, and I know what could happen if I’m careless with it.”
“…So I was deliberating on what to do next.”
He nodded along with every word I spoke, then suddenly raised one eyebrow.
“What do you mean ‘what to do’? Have you already forgotten what I said?”
“What….”
“Just live well here.”
With me.
If not for that added remark, it might have been comforting.
I responded irritably.
“I thought I already refused that.”
“Then what will you do?”
With his arms crossed, he smiled crookedly and laid bare my predicament.
“Your brother spirited away a criminal without authorization and nearly went berserk. And the Princess’s guarantee that you have no abilities might be exposed as a lie.”
“….”
“You’re in the perfect position to be collared by the Security Bureau and used like a dog. Do you think the Duke can do anything about it?”
Looking at the situation alone, he was right.
He didn’t know that I could eliminate my abilities through purification.
I could normally brush it off with a dismissive comment, but I couldn’t this time.
Defiance surged up unexpectedly.
At a man who made such unreasonable demands of me, yet was so utterly powerless himself.
“Can Your Majesty do anything about it?”
“I can. The Imperial Palace is in the palm of my hand.”
“….”
“If I can access the secret vault in the Emperor’s Private Chamber, doesn’t that say everything?”
Infuriatingly, he was right, and I glared at him indignantly as he spouted nonsense.
“Plead with me like last time. Ask for my help.”
“I refuse.”
“You refuse?”
He leaned forward across the desk toward me.
Before I could react, the distance between us narrowed until our breaths mingled.
“Then kiss me instead.”
“….”
“Who knows? Maybe like in this novel, I’ll be so blinded by you that I’ll lay all my gold and silver, my imperial throne—everything—at your feet.”

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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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