A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 217

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

Special Side Story Episode 2
I let out a short exclamation of admiration.
Not because he was my younger brother, but because he’d truly grown splendidly.
The thirteen-year-old boys in my mind didn’t possess that radiant, endearing quality that Enrique Simone exuded.
“That’s Enrique Simone, apparently.”
“Wow….”
“He’s beautiful….”
The Academy’s female students whispered among themselves, gazing at Enrique with the same admiration I felt.
‘My brother’s handsome, isn’t he? Keep going.’
Realizing Enrique’s popularity, I stood behind with my arms crossed, grinning—until my expression hardened.
“Tch! What do these girls see in that pretty-faced fool?”
“If he weren’t from the Simone Family, nobody would give a second glance to such a frail weakling.”
The envious mutterings of jealous mediocrites reached my ears in succession.
“But you know, the other presenters had their parents attend, yet Enrique Simone didn’t.”
“Not all Simones are the same. Louis Orleans said that Enrique has no presence whatsoever in that family.”
“True, compared to Louis Orleans, the family head’s eldest son, Enrique is only popular with girls—his future prospects aren’t remarkable.”
‘How dare they.’
My fists itched to deliver a barrage of knuckle strikes to these fools with their loose tongues.
Part of me wanted to tear off my robe immediately and reveal my identity, but since Enrique’s presentation hadn’t started yet, I exercised rare restraint.
“This Academy Principal fellow certainly loves to talk.”
Father seemed to share my sentiment, muttering coldly before adding with sinister undertone.
“Someone should teach him how to keep his speeches brief.”
After the Academy Principal’s address—which tested the Simone Family’s meager patience relentlessly—the presentation finally began.
Unfortunately, the Sword Department and Magic Department, which boasted the Academy’s largest followings and attendance, were scheduled last.
Standing there with mounting boredom, I heard the name of the Sword Department’s first presenter called.
“Next, we have a sword demonstration by Louis Orleans, who achieved second place in the Sword Department this year.”
-Louis Orleans said that Enrique has no presence whatsoever in that family.
…Wait, Louis Orleans? Wasn’t that the disagreeable name mentioned in those fools’ conversation?
Curious to see what kind of wretch he was, I fixed my gaze on the Grand Hall when suddenly Servants rushed up and began setting up numerous wooden training dummies.
This fellow named Louis went through warm-ups, striking the air with his sword in all manner of ostentatious poses.
“Hmph! How gaudy.”
Duke Simone furrowed his brow in disdain, clicking his tongue.
“Indeed. His movements are sluggish, and his shoulders are far too tense.”
As I, having lived with the Sword Master and grown insufferably discerning, coldly assessed his skill, the loud-mouthed fool shouted and consecutively cleaved two dummies.
“Wow!”
“Impressive!”
The fellow, having left clean cuts, spun his body about like a ruffian, severing the neck of every remaining dummy one by one, then brushed off his hands and descended from the Grand Hall.
As applause erupted from various corners at the thirteen-year-old swordsman’s remarkable display of power, Enrique took the stage last.
Gazing at the wooden dummy heads scattered messily across the Grand Hall, I ground my teeth.
‘That damned Louis has made Enrique’s stage filthy.’
I’d hoped they would clear the stage and proceed with the presentation, but Enrique opened his mouth calmly with an unperturbed expression.
“I shall begin.”
Soon after, Enrique from the Magic Department drew a sword from his waist, and the Grand Hall erupted into confusion—my jaw dropped as well.
‘I knew he was learning swordplay from Isidore, but… a sword demonstration all of a sudden?’
* * *
“Student Enrique. A sword, all of a sudden! Wasn’t this supposed to be a magic demonstration?”
Enrique regarded the Academy Principal’s shock with indifferent eyes, then fiddled with the sword’s hilt.
“I can demonstrate magic just as effectively with a blade as with a staff.”
Mana soon began swirling across the blade’s surface in a vortex formation.
In the same moment, Enrique executed a horizontal slash with precise, elegant movements.
Crash!
The sight of magic coalescing on the blade, combined with the deceptively effortless yet flawless swordwork, was astonishing enough—but what happened next left everyone in the Grand Hall speechless.
Following the trajectory of the mana Enrique released, the wooden dummy was shattered into pieces so fragmented that its original form was barely recognizable.
“Just now, didn’t Louis Orleans struggle tremendously to cut through even a single one of those wooden dummies?”
“Five of them were obliterated in an instant, like they were swept up in a storm…!”
“The difference in skill is that stark.”
Amid the commotion, Enrique, having finished his demonstration, locked eyes with his classmate Louis Orleans, who stood beyond the curtain at the back of the Grand Hall.
His face had gone pale, clearly shocked by Enrique’s martial prowess.
‘Of course he’d be shocked.’
Louis had been spouting off that mages were weaklings, that they only fought from the rear in warfare, that they were cowards.
And he’d actually been viciously bullying Magic Department students who had weak physiques and frail bodies.
Enrique approached the trembling Louis and spoke softly, almost in a whisper.
“You’re from the Sword Department, yet you’re weaker than the mage you mocked, and you can’t even wield a blade properly—what’s that about?”
“…Wh-what, Enrique, you…! You must have used some kind of cheating. An artifact installed on the sword or something.”
“Cheating? That would be your doing.”
Enrique flicked the blade lightly and added with a sneer.
“I thought the wooden dummy you brought was made of oak, but it turned out to be weak material. It wasn’t the kind of wood used for actual sword training dummies.”
“Ugh…!”
“After all that posturing, if your little scheme becomes public knowledge, everyone will find it quite amusing, don’t you think?”
Louis trembled with shame and confusion, then spoke in a pitiful voice.
“I’m sorry. Please, don’t tell anyone. Enrique,”
As Louis begged desperately, Enrique shook a recording artifact and let out a short, derisive laugh.
“Why would I bother telling anyone? If I hear any more stories about you bullying the Magic Department students, I’ll just play this recording for everyone.”
“Y-you didn’t… you didn’t record what I just said, did you?”
“You already know the answer—why ask? If I ever hear again that you’ve been harassing the Magic Department, they’ll have quite the entertaining show.”
Faced with Enrique’s viper-like gaze—the same Enrique called the Silver Prince by the girls—Louis collapsed in shock.
Having finally brought the thorn in his side to his knees, Enrique turned with a sense of relief and headed toward the stage.
Clap clap clap clap!
But the moment he stepped onto the stage, a thunderous wave of applause poured down, and Enrique looked around with a puzzled expression.
He’d expected the Academy Principal to reprimand him for changing the presentation content without permission…
“Enrique Simone, you’re truly remarkable. Such devastating power!”
“It reminds me of Duke Visconti, the radiant Sword Mage. This presentation will be spoken of as legend for years to come.”
“Indeed, Enrique is our Academy’s greatest pride.”
Enrique observed the teachers lavishing praise upon him and soon understood why they were being particularly effusive today.
In the distance, his father and sister were clapping their hands with such fervor that their hands blurred together.
They cast murderous glances across the hall, silently demanding that everyone join in the applause.
And in that brief moment, something had transpired—Louis Orleans’s companions sat near his sister with vacant expressions, as though their souls had departed.
‘This wasn’t really a presentation so much as an opportunity to teach Louis a lesson, which is why I deliberately didn’t tell Father and Sister about it….’
Enrique, who still wished to be the beloved youngest in his father’s and sister’s eyes, quickly broke into a radiant smile and rushed toward them.
“Father! Sister!”
“Enrique. That was an excellent presentation. You truly are my son—impressive and magnificent.”
“When that wooden puppet shattered, it was so satisfying I couldn’t help but applaud.”
Watching his father and sister encourage him despite not knowing he would be here, Enrique felt his chest grow warm with a tender, swelling emotion.
“Ah, Enrique—and this is my gift for you. Congratulations on successfully completing your presentation.”
“Gasp….”
“Is that….”
The onlookers, who had been stealing glances at Duke Simone and Deborah the Saint—the Empire’s most renowned figures—could not suppress their astonishment.
The bouquet that Deborah the Saint withdrew from her subspace pouch was not fresh flowers, but rather a platinum bouquet that a celebrated artist from the Capital had recently exhibited.
Moreover, the jewels embedded in the ribbon binding the bouquet were unmistakably diamonds.
‘That bouquet alone must be worth an entire townhouse.’
‘I’ve heard the Simone Family has strong bonds, and it’s clearly true.’
“Thank you, Sister.”
Holding the platinum bouquet that complemented his radiant silver hair, Enrique’s flower-like smile caused the Academy’s Grand Hall to fill with endless applause and intermittent screams from the female students.

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