A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 196

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

196.

“Where are you hurt? Did you lose consciousness? What in the world happened down there to leave you in this state…!”
Vincent fired off his words like a machine gun.
Fortunately, Serge must have sensed my reluctance, for he didn’t stop walking.
I heard hurried footsteps following anxiously behind him as he simply ignored and passed by.
“Please, sir. I’ll take her.”
“Mind your own business and go do your job.”
“Shouldn’t you have plenty of work yourself?”
“Yourself? It seems you’ve lost your sight.”
Whether he was trying to forcibly snatch me away, my body, which had been resting securely in his arms, suddenly lurched.
Just as Serge finally stopped, irritation seeping into his voice.
I had no choice but to lower the cloth I’d been covering myself with.
“Stop it.”
“Edith Blake!”
Poking my face out and speaking irritably, he brightened immediately.
“Are you alright? Come down. If you can’t move, I can fly you to the Duke’s Mansion like last time….”
“You were outside—why didn’t you stop her?”
“What….”
“Ruellin. You must have seen.”
At my sudden question, he fell silent, bewildered.
While the bloody battle raged in the underground facility, Vincent was nowhere to be seen.
Likely, after losing the contest of wills with Serge before the rating assessment began, he’d stormed off in frustration.
Despite an S-rank Awakener being outside, we ultimately let the major criminal escape.
‘The Monster was nearly dead too….’
Perhaps it was because my gaze toward him was so unfiltered in its contempt.
Those golden eyes trembled once, understanding the intent behind my question.
“I, I….”
“….”
“…Suddenly the building collapsed, and the Monster burst out, so I was too flustered to see properly.”
A hollow laugh escaped at his fumbling excuses.
In any case, he had seen something.
What came after was predictable.
Even knowing she’d impersonated the Purifier through some strange sorcery, seeing it with his own eyes, he would have denied reality.
That she—so kind and affectionate—was the mastermind behind all of this, the true culprit.
That it wasn’t Ruellin riding the Monster. Or that there must be some reason for it.
In the end, his caliber extended only that far.
Unlike Serge and Dylan, who attacked without hesitation the moment Ruellin summoned the Monster.
‘Even if I had been at that scene, would I have counterattacked like those two?’
I shook my head sharply, my words cutting like a blade.
“Then you should have pursued them. What exactly were you doing?”
“…I was clearing away the collapsed debris and moving the wounded.”
“You’re the only S-rank Awakener outside, and all you did was menial work like that?”
“….”
“And then you move me? A person who can’t even properly execute their own duties, what….”
I trailed off mid-sentence. There was no point in continuing—it would only exhaust me.
When I glanced up, I saw Vincent standing rigidly in place.
No one had ever blamed him for his dereliction of duty so openly before.
Serge’s operational sphere didn’t overlap with his, and the old Edith Blake would have simply covered it up and worried instead.
In any case, since everyone had made some show of effort, the others would have done the same.
‘What a waste of ability. Some people want to fight but can’t do anything because they lack the power….’
The moment came back to me—watching people dissolve in the Monster’s venom right before my eyes, yet unable to move an inch.
Perhaps this was nothing more than a twisted outpouring of anger at my own helplessness.
But regardless, if Vincent had done his job properly, the situation would certainly be better than it is now.
I patted Serge’s chest to signal that we should leave.
Without hesitation, he resumed his steps.
Fortunately, Vincent did not pursue us further.
“Quite impressive, isn’t it? That one seemed oddly soft somehow.”
Once we had put some distance between ourselves and the Security Bureau, Serge spoke with a look of genuine interest.
I hardened my expression.
‘Soft, he says.’
Every time I met Vincent, I fought with him and mocked him—that was all I had done.
Yet I had accepted his earnest apologies each time, so I had nothing to say in response.
Perhaps not expecting an answer, Serge wordlessly made his way toward where the Carriages were lined up.
The station was unusually crowded, likely due to the major incident that had erupted in the heart of the Imperial Palace.
Amid the chaos of those departing and those hastily entering, he somehow managed to locate the black Carriage bearing the Grand Duke’s Residence emblem.
Ignoring my protests, he forcibly carried me inside and immediately spoke.
“Getting you to the Duke’s Mansion will be difficult. With the National Director gone and now the Crown Prince dead as well, tsk.”
He clicked his tongue as though annoyed.
Only then did I recall that the Crown Prince had been among the people gathered at the Bunker entrance.
The Emperor’s sole heir was dead….
Only now did it truly sink in that Ruellin had committed something irreversible.
“I’ll just change clothes and be right back.”
I nodded, trying to appear unconcerned, but he furrowed his brow.
“Where.”
“Aren’t we departing immediately for the Caspian Mountains?”
“That’s exactly why you’re not going.”
He spoke bluntly, as though questioning whether I could possibly participate in a military campaign.
It was absurd.
Though my offensive power was pitiful, I was the one and only Purifier.
A situation where the unique and irreplaceable Purifier didn’t accompany them made no sense whatsoever.
“So you won’t go? The world might be destroyed.”
“I’ll handle it myself, so don’t even think about showing your face. That’s an order from the one in command.”
“Then I’ll go separately on my own.”
“You really….”
He glared at me as though I were a headache incarnate.
“That place isn’t just the Gate Wave—it’s already infested with monsters. What could you possibly accomplish there? Do you want to get struck by a monster’s tail and die again?”
“I’ll purify the Magic Barriers and the Awakeners. We don’t know how long the battle will last, and if someone else goes berserk, what then?”
“Just kill them all.”
This man who called himself the one in command spoke so casually.
There were countless reasons why I couldn’t be absent.
I was the only one who could purify, and the only one who could strike a blow against Sephiroth.
But looking at those stubborn eyes, it seemed no argument would get through to him.
So I changed my approach.
“…You could just protect me.”
“What?”
“Or… you could just keep me safe.”
It was nothing special to say.
It was only natural for an Awakener to protect the Purifier, yet for some reason I couldn’t meet his eyes.
“So I don’t get struck by a monster’s tail and die. Like you did today….”
My face burned, so I lowered my gaze and mumbled, when he suddenly let out a sharp “Ha,” openly mocking me.
“Are you wagging your tail right now?”
“…What?”
“Honestly, only at times like this do your eyes shine so prettily and you act so cute. You know I can’t help but give in.”
“What do you….”
I was bewildered by his incomprehensible words.
“Grand Duke, Your Highness!”
“Your Highness, where are you!”
Urgent voices calling for him echoed from a distance.
He clicked his tongue once more, then grabbed the wide-open carriage door and pulled it to cover his upper body.
Yet there was no way his tall frame could be completely hidden.
Even his head peeking above the door, he quickly bent his waist toward me and whispered rapidly.
“With meetings and assemblies and such, the expedition won’t happen for another two or three days.”
“….”
“Even if you go, you will remain in the rearmost position. I’ll hear no objections. You’ll listen only to me, stay beside the guards I assign, and promise not to recklessly step forward even if a blade comes at your throat.”
I didn’t know what change of heart had occurred, but it seemed like permission nonetheless.
Suddenly flustered by the closeness, I wavered uncertainly until I managed to nod my head.
Smack—
Without warning, a lukewarm warmth brushed against my lips before vanishing just as quickly.
Everything happened so instantaneously that I couldn’t immediately comprehend what had transpired.
I blinked with a dazed expression.
“Don’t bother responding to anyone who tries to talk to you. Red-haired ones, blue-haired ones—it doesn’t matter.”
“….”
“I don’t like it.”
Despite having just committed such an act against me, the man regarded me with unmistakable displeasure before slamming the carriage door shut.
Bang!
The sound jolted me back to my senses.
Only as the carriage began to move did I realize that he had kissed me.
“…Insane.”
Though the contact lasted less than a second, the soft sensation lingered persistently on my lips.
‘That madman! How dare he do as he pleases…!’
I cursed him the entire journey home, scrubbing furiously at my lips.
Yet despite my mind churning with endless indignation, my reflection in the carriage window revealed a face flushed crimson.
…Like a foolish girl trembling with excitement.
Six months since the possession began.
I was doomed.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————