A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 187

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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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187.

Vincent appeared quite delighted as he whispered insidiously with an innocent face that knew nothing.
It had been quite some time since I’d seen him behave like a mischievous child committing such petty acts.
‘I think I saw it often when I first possessed this body….’
That contemptible expression with which he’d tried to entangle my disappearance with Ruellin’s and paint me as a villainess.
The sharp daggers he’d hurled to wound me in any way possible had been replaced by attempts to sow discord between Serge and me.
Separate from my displeasure, that transformation felt strangely poignant.
I wondered when so much time had passed.
‘Back then, I couldn’t fathom why he was like that….’
Now it was crystal clear.
The true intentions hidden behind his feigned composure, the anxiety gleaming in his eyes….
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
He asked irritably, noticing how I simply stared at him without responding.
Dealing with Vincent in such moments was simple.
Ignore him.
But with so many eyes watching, I averted my gaze from him and spoke coldly while staring straight ahead.
“So what.”
“…He went to find her at dawn and has been with her ever since. Aren’t you curious what the two of them talked about?”
“Not particularly.”
“Really? I’m curious.”
“Then why don’t you….”
I was about to snap at him to go ask directly himself, but then I worried he’d be pleased by even that, so I closed my mouth.
And with my brows deeply furrowed, I issued an order to leave.
“Why are you here? Go to your seat.”
“Your side is my seat. Where else would I go.”
“I saw Marquis Leandro arrive on the way here.”
“My father, well. Things would be even worse without me.”
Unlike before, he replied in a dispirited tone.
The rumor that Marquis Leandro viewed his son—who had killed his wife in a rampage during childhood—as a thorn in his side was well-known.
Though his only heir had long since come of age, the fact that he still refused to pass down the title spoke volumes.
Because of this, Vincent, despite being an S-rank Awakener, held no respectable position.
Even when he distinguished himself as an Awakener, he was repeatedly passed over due to fears of his rampage.
Thus, though he had awakened far earlier than Dylan and Ethan, he still remained unestablished and was often treated as a burden even within the Security Bureau….
“Are you anxious the Grand Duke will go to Ruellin, Edith?”
In such circumstances, behaving without a shred of sympathy was itself a skill.
Despite my resolve to ignore whatever he said, I found myself glaring at him.
“If you’re anxious, what will you do about it.”
It felt as though he had struck a nerve, leaving me deeply displeased.
And I found myself strange and pathetic for feeling such an emotion.
Whether the man who had knelt in my chamber last night and pleaded—if one could even call it pleading—went to see Ruellin afterward or not, what did it matter?
What difference did it make?
What business was it of mine?
“Should I pour out my grievances to you instead?”
Before I could stop myself, sharp words spilled forth like venting frustration.
“The man embroiled in rumors of a passionate affair with me spent the entire night with someone else, and now I’m jealous and upset. Won’t you comfort me?”
“….”
“So is that your role? To pretend to console me as my one and only friend while you seize the opportunity?”
Vincent’s face, which had been twisting with emotion, froze solid as a statue.
What reaction had I been seeking from him with such words?
And why should he wear such a wounded expression?
It was everything he himself had been doing until recently.
“Haven’t you heard this story somewhere before?”
I let out a scoff and turned my gaze away from those wavering golden eyes.
Only then did his babbling mouth close.
In the silence that followed, I quickly composed my turbulent emotions.
‘It’s nothing.’
This emotional turbulence was not due to jealousy or anxiety, or any such nonsense.
I bit my lip and hastily grasped for an explanation.
‘It’s because Ruellin might use her ability again.’
Yes, that was it.
Ruellin possessed mind control, and she herself had said she hadn’t lost her ability.
If he were exposed to it even once, he could suffer dangerous aftereffects like Dylan.
If Serge joined hands with Sephiroth in a situation like this, it would become terribly troublesome.
It would be even worse if he became blinded by Ruellin like the others.
That was all.
Nothing more than that….
“You….”
That was when it happened.
Just as I thought Vincent had finally fallen silent, he stirred up my carefully regained composure once more.
“Why are you only so cold to me?”
“….”
“You weren’t like that with Ethan. You’ve been playful and affectionate with Frederick….”
At merely hearing a few sharp words, his golden eyes glistened with tears that threatened to spill.
‘I’m hearing that a lot these days.’
I gazed at Vincent, who looked as though he might burst into tears at the slightest provocation, with complete indifference.
Before I was taken away, Ethan had said the same thing to me.

― …Why are you being so harsh with me alone?

These fools forget what they’ve done to me and blame me for everything at the slightest provocation.
And what kind of absurd logic is it to compare who’s been treated worse and complain about the unfairness?
I was tired of hearing that what he’d done to me was nothing compared to what I’d done to him.
I continued to ignore him, responding dismissively.
“I’m not being harsh with you alone.”
“Then did you do the same to Ethan?”
“That man….”
I hadn’t purified him, and I’d personally guided the knights who came to arrest him to his location.
I could have told him, but I didn’t want to indulge his childish tantrum.
As I shook my head, he let out something shocking.
“Did Ethan confess and then get used and discarded just like me? Dylan Frederick too, that bastard?”
“Are you insane?”
I quickly glanced around.
Since Vincent sat beside me, there were several pairs of eyes watching with interest.
Even the Crown Prince was pretending not to look while stealing glances in this direction.
‘Used and discarded—this madman!’
I could already see how this inflammatory falsehood, so far from the truth, would spread.
I gritted my teeth and hissed in a low voice.
“Please shut up.”
“Why? It’s true. You used me and threw me away.”
Finally getting the reaction he wanted from me, his lips curled upward.
When I’d sent him back after suppressing him with purification, I’d anticipated his resentment.
But if his goal was to spread sordid rumors and tarnish my reputation, it was the worst form of revenge.
I suppressed the urge to slap his face and quickly corrected him.
“You offered to help, so I accepted your help. I sent you back because you couldn’t go where I was going. If you felt that way during the process, I’m sorry. I apologize.”
….
“So let’s forget the conversation we had then.”
…Edith Blake.
The smirk that had been playing on Vincent’s face vanished as if wiped clean.
Though I’d spoken indirectly, he clearly understood what I meant by “forget.”
“It seems you’re quite upset too… but being afraid, how could you possibly associate with anyone?”
With those words, I abruptly stood up.
One doesn’t avoid filth out of fear—one avoids it because it’s repulsive.
If I stayed near him any longer, I’d gain a new charge of assault on top of my already tarnished reputation.
Tap―.
But before I could take a single step, my arm was grabbed.
“Let go.”
“Wait, just listen to me. That’s not what I meant….”
“Let go.”
“But—”
That was when it happened.
With a low murmur, the chaotic surroundings suddenly fell silent.
As I lifted my head in surprise, my eyes met those of a man whose entire frame was cloaked in black.
A man of towering build swept forward, radiating an ominous aura that dominated the assembly.
Despite his unhurried pace, he closed the distance in an instant.
After regarding Vincent and me in turn, he smiled with deliberate slowness.
“It’s been a while, Sub-Duke, Princess. Have you been well?”
The audacity of greeting us so casually when we had seen each other just last night was rather shameless.
“But tell me—what could you two possibly be discussing so intimately? Hmm?”
“….”
“With my rumored lover, the one who set fire to the iron heart of the Grand Duke himself.”
Yet his gaze, fixed upon the arm Vincent held, was anything but playful.
A chilling bloodlust swept across my entire body.
Though he spoke his usual nonsensical drivel with that languid smile, the killing intent that emanated from him was unmistakable.
I could barely breathe, let alone respond, when Vincent answered like a madman.
“It is a private matter between us that cannot be disclosed.”
“What—!”
My eyes widened as I hastily shook my head in denial.
If I didn’t, something catastrophic seemed certain to unfold.
Thanks to my quick refusal, Vincent’s face was spared from meeting the Grand Duke’s fist.
“Hmm.”
Serge’s murderous expression eased slightly as he tilted his chin with arrogant authority.
“Then move aside. Sit.”
“I arrived first.”
“Are you in any position to sit here? I had ordered a chair to be brought for me.”
“…That is—”
“If you sit here, will your elderly father stand in the back? I didn’t think so—what an ungrateful wretch you are!”

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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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