A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 198

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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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198.

He would undoubtedly tease me about my nightclothes, yet for some reason, heat flooded my face at his words.
I awkwardly averted my gaze and stammered out a question.
“…How did you get here?”
“I came to rescue the Princess. Fought monsters, punished wicked men.”
As if he hadn’t just sneaked over the perimeter wall of someone else’s estate.
His shameless retort was so absurd that a hollow laugh escaped me.
“But you said you had to depart immediately.”
“That’s right.”
Yet when he looked at me with eyes that seemed to ask if we really had time for this banter, he broke into a grin.
“That’s why I came to fetch you. We need to leave now, so get ready quickly.”
“Right now…?”
“You said if I didn’t take you, you’d go on your own. Who knows what trouble you’d cause alone.”
“When have I ever caused trouble….”
I bristled, but quickly made my way toward the Dressing Room.
I’d been worried about how to reach the Caspian Gorge anyway, so this was an unexpected breakthrough.
Fortunately, the clothes I’d worn during my secret outings were neatly laundered and tucked away in a corner.
Nancy must have done that.
I hurriedly changed into a comfortable one-piece dress and threw a loose robe over it, afraid he might change his mind.
I also grabbed the small bag I used to carry when I had money pouches.
After finishing my preparations and stepping out of the Dressing Room, I stood before the desk.
I unlocked the last drawer with a key and gathered what was inside when the man who had approached asked me a question.
“Why are you taking that?”
I was just stuffing the Book of Prophecy into my bag after the crystal orb when I answered casually.
“Just in case.”
“In case of what.”
There might come a moment when I desperately needed to make a wish—when the world faced its end and the Duke and Serge and everyone faced death.
For instance, if the apocalypse came and we all stood on the brink of annihilation.
But I was too embarrassed to say it outright.
He was already the type to pester me for favors and kisses whenever he got the chance.
Not only had I given up on returning, but if he learned I’d already grown somewhat attached to this place…what nonsense would he spout then.
“…It’s just that there might be a way back, so….”
So I dodged the question, and Serge’s expression darkened immediately.
I quickly added more.
“Sephiroth said so. If all dimensions were combined, the place where I lived might be the same land…and if that’s the case, I might be able to find my original body….”
“You didn’t listen to a word I said. Do you need to experience firsthand what those things crossing the double Gate look like? Do you need to see an X marked on your grave?”
“…That’s exactly why I said ‘just in case.'”
“So you really want to go back to where you used to live?”
He, who had been pressing me relentlessly, suddenly asked in a quiet, subdued voice.
His expression remained fierce, yet his eyes held a wounded quality that momentarily stole my words away.
Just as I was about to protest, my lips parting—
He abruptly extended his arm and hooked it around my waist.
Then he slung me over his broad shoulder like a sack of grain.
“Eek! W-what are you—!”
“Hold on tight, and keep your mouth shut if you can.”
He moved forward with an indifferent murmur.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t care if we’re discovered.”
“Wait, just a moment!”
The open window loomed directly before my eyes.
Though the Second Floor wasn’t particularly high, the darkness outside made it seem like a sheer cliff, vertiginous and endless.
And with my vision inverted, dizziness swiftly overwhelmed me.
“You’re going out this way?”
“Well, what other method would there be?”
“Just tell the Butler and use the front entrance—!”
Before I could finish, he carelessly positioned me on the window sill outside the frame.
It was barely wide enough to sit on—the sort of ledge meant for flowerpots and decorations.
“Ugh…”
Terrified of falling, I gripped the protruding exterior wall with all my strength.
In the meantime, he nimbly leaped onto the window frame and squeezed his large frame through the opening.
“Damn it. With all that money, why make the windows so small?”
Unlike me, who passed through without any obstruction, he seemed to scrape against the edges, muttering irritably as he cursed.
“Are you laughing?”
The sight was rather amusing, and I couldn’t help but let out a soft giggle—which the man caught instantly, his eyes narrowing.
Then he reached for me again.
Crouching beside me on the window sill, he still managed to hoist me onto his shoulder with ease.
As the blood rushed to my head again, I couldn’t help but complain.
“Can’t you just carry me on your back?”
“No, you can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I need my hands free.”
With that, he leaped downward without hesitation.
Whoosh—!
A dizzying sensation of weightlessness engulfed my entire body.
“Mmph…!”
Despite the unexpected action, I desperately stifled my scream.
The Duke might not care about being discovered, but honestly, neither did I—though it was partly stubbornness.
I simply didn’t want the household to see me dangling like cargo from an unfamiliar man’s shoulder.
Tap―!
Fortunately, the fall was brief.
Carrying me effortlessly, he landed with grace and deftly evaded the patrol, heading toward the rear of the Estate.
It seemed he intended to slip out through the Garden rather than risk the heavily guarded main entrance.
Whether this was deliberate or truly urgent, I couldn’t say.
My disheveled hair swayed helplessly with each bounding stride.
Serge said nothing until we reached the side door where the Servants came and went—the same one where I’d once had a fierce argument with Vincent.
He’d never been considerate to begin with, but this uncharacteristic silence was undoubtedly due to our earlier conversation.
I hadn’t answered his question about whether I truly wanted to return, and now he was upset.
This man who had consistently urged me not to go.
‘His temperament is really something….’
If he didn’t want me to leave, shouldn’t he be the one to take the initiative and beg me to stay?
Please don’t go.
I would kneel and plead for you to remain by my side….
“…Ah.”
A quiet realization struck me mid-thought.
He had already knelt and pleaded once.
Just the other night.

― Will you permit me to help ensure peace and tranquility in your life here?
― Please.

Though not quite as earnest and fervent as my imagination had painted it.
No, far from earnest—in fact, I’d spouted nothing but mad ravings about strangling and piercing my own throat….
But regardless, I had begged.
To remain here, at my side.
The memory of it sent an unbearable, ticklish sensation coursing through me.
I reflexively twisted my body, but the man who had been rushing forward suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
“What is it? Did you hit something?”
“No, no….”
I startled and shook my head frantically.
Only then did I realize we had already passed through the side gate and escaped the Duke’s Household.
A handful of figures lay sprawled before the side gate, now distant behind us.
“Did His Highness do that…?”
“For daring to obstruct the Grand Duke’s path.”
The answer came back with utter confidence—that he had beaten down the knights standing guard and forced his way in.
I could only sigh, gazing toward distant mountains, when he gently set me down on the ground.
“Your Highness.”
In that same instant, five or six men materialized silently around us.
I flinched in surprise and pressed close behind Serge, only then noticing they wore black armor.
Judging by the numbers floating above their heads, they were all Awakeners.
Then Serge opened his mouth to address his subordinates.
“Are you ready?”
“The remaining personnel are currently departing from the Imperial Palace with the other Awakeners.”
“Upon arrival, you are to escort the Princess.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And you.”
Serge pointed directly at the man standing at the head of those who had bowed.
“Should any danger arise, immediately relocate the Princess to the Duke’s Household. If she resists, suppress her. Rendering her unconscious is permissible.”
“Understood!”
Madman! What on earth was he saying with me standing right here?
Bewildered, I contorted my face into a glare, but he seized my hand firmly.
“Then let us depart.”
He turned to me with a desolate smile.
“Let us go tear apart the wicked villain who dares steal away the princess.”
“What….”
Before I could even question his madness, my vision suddenly flooded white.
The narrow alley scenery blurred away in an instant, and dizziness crashed over me as though my body were being swept into a vortex.
It was a sensation I had experienced before.
‘So this is how he intended to travel….’
It seemed one of his subordinates possessed the ability to teleport.
That was why he had specifically ordered me to be relocated to the Duke’s Household.
‘All teleportation Awakeners belong to the Imperial Palace or the Security Bureau. How is this madman serving under someone else? Did he recruit unregistered users?’
The fleeting doubt scattered immediately as my vision returned.
The brilliant light vanished, and when I opened my eyes again.
Boom, rumble―!
We arrived at a place where countless Gates unfurled as if the sky itself had been pierced with an infinite number of holes.
It was the Caspian Gorge.

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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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