A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 25

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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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25.

Whoooosh—!
In that same instant, multiple streams of water erupted from the floor.
The Duke had activated his ability!
Torrents of water spun wildly around me, their tips honed sharp as drill bits.
‘What?! Why is he doing this all of a sudden…!’
I froze, utterly bewildered by what was happening.
The Duke fixed me with a piercing, glacial stare.
“An illusion ability? Or perhaps a form replication? I’ve never heard of such an ability existing.”
“W-what…!”
“Did Sephirot send you?”
That was when it happened.
Crash—!
“Y-Your Grace! What on earth are you doing?! Surely this is too much…!”
With a sharp metallic screech, the Aide who had gone to fetch the carriage came rushing back in a panic.
“Langton! Perfect timing. Keep her pinned down while I summon Ethan and the knights at once! We have an intruder wearing Edith Blake’s face!”
“An intruder…?”
At the Duke’s words, Langton turned to me with wide, stunned eyes.
“I sense no magical wavelength, but… what is your evidence, Your Grace?”
“She said ‘I apologize’ to me.”
“Pardon?!”
Langton gasped in shock.
“Are you certain? You didn’t mishear?”
“I heard it clearly with these two ears of mine!”
“I shall summon the knights at once!”
He flinched as though ready to bolt from the room, seeking final confirmation from the Duke.
“W-wait, please!”
I, who had been standing dumbfounded, unable to comprehend their exchange, hastily opened my mouth.
“You’re suspecting me… simply because I said I was sorry?”
“Our young lady has never uttered anything remotely similar since she first learned to speak!”
Langton explained in his measured tone just how thoroughly Edith Blake’s character had been corrupted.
‘Well, I suppose that’s… reasonable grounds for suspicion.’
I nearly nodded in agreement before the sound of water drawing closer jolted me back to awareness.
‘Reasonable grounds for what?!’
Recalling my past, I realized I’d been far too courteous from the very beginning.
I lifted my chin and adopted the arrogant tone befitting Edith Blake.
“It seems I haven’t done anything wrong after all.”
“…!”
“There’s nothing to apologize for, so why insist on saying it?”
A chill ran through the air.
Both men stiffened as if doused with cold water.
“…Speaking so brazenly, it seems you’ve analyzed my daughter quite well.”
The Duke, who had been studying me with unfamiliar eyes, spoke as if nothing were amiss.
Yet his pupils were already trembling like aftershocks.
The murderous intent that had pricked my skin moments before had vanished entirely.
I exhaled a long, weary sigh at this absurd situation.
“It seems both of you have forgotten that I’ve lost my memory.”
“Th-that’s classified information—how could you possibly…!”
“Exactly. How could I have known that?”
I offered Langton a self-deprecating smile before recounting everything that had transpired in the past day.
“I was confined to my quarters, so I secretly borrowed a maid’s uniform and slipped out through the back entrance, rode in a healer’s carriage to Tollen, got caught, and now I’m here being scolded. Yet I know all of this—what should I do?”
No spy, no matter how skilled, could know the details of my journey to Tollen in such precise detail unless they had followed me personally.
And I delivered this observation while mimicking genuine astonishment with perfect theatrical flair.
The Duke and his Aide could not possibly miss the implication.
“Edith…? Are you truly Edith?”
“Since Count Frederick didn’t kill me and brought me here instead, I suppose I’m still this household’s daughter.”
At my lukewarm response, Langton nodded slowly.
“Indeed. If she weren’t the real Miss Edith, the Count surely would have noticed….”
Dylan had served me for so long that he was, in a sense, the most reliable witness of all.
‘Whether I should be pleased about this or not….’
A solemn silence settled over the room.
I regarded the two men who were avoiding my gaze with a cold expression before making my demand to the Duke.
“Now that your suspicions are cleared, would you mind disposing of this? It’s rather frightening and uncomfortable.”
“….”
The Duke glanced at me with an odd expression and waved his hand.
Whoooosh—splash!
The water that had been held rigid like an awl lost its form and crashed to the floor.
He had controlled it carefully enough that none of it splattered onto me.
Instead, the Duke’s Study became a complete water-logged disaster.
Breaking through the prolonged silence, Langton asked cautiously.
“So… your loss of memory… it’s not a lie, but the truth?”
“Have I been someone who habitually lies?”
“….”
Again, no answer came in return.
Even without knowing the past, it was easy enough to infer that Edith was not someone given to deception.
She lacked the cunning for such schemes, and a noblewoman raised indulgently by her grandmother had no reason to resort to lies.
‘I could have simply insisted I was right or caused a scene instead.’
Regardless, the incident of me impersonating Edith Blake seemed to have been resolved for the moment.
‘Possessing a novel character, and I experience every conceivable calamity….’
It was exasperating, but honestly, I had been quite startled earlier.
I wondered if the Duke had seen through me instantly—that I wasn’t truly Edith Blake.
I suppressed my fluttering heart and uttered the words I had prepared.
“In any case… I’ve been reflecting deeply on this incident. I haven’t been awake long from my comatose state, and I realize now that what I did was reckless and dangerous.”
“….”
“I will be more careful to ensure such a thing never happens again.”
Though there was some injustice in the matter, a mistake was a mistake, so I admitted it cleanly.
At that, the Duke and Langton regarded me with rather peculiar expressions.
It seemed they were thinking that the real Edith Blake would never have said such a thing.
In truth, before coming here, I had deliberated carefully about my relationship with the Duke.
‘In novels where someone possesses another’s body like this, do they usually improve their relationships with those around them?’
Since I wasn’t the protagonist, there was no need for me to get along well with the male leads.
But the Duke was directly connected to my immediate needs—food, clothing, and shelter.
Moreover, he was Edith Blake’s biological father, was he not.
‘It feels like meeting a friend’s father.’
I knew their father-daughter relationship had long since reached its breaking point, but I couldn’t bring myself to behave as recklessly as Edith Blake did.
‘He’s already probably an eyesore to me as it is. If I make myself more disagreeable here, I might actually be thrown out onto the streets.’
And since I had conveniently lost my memories, this was actually a rather opportune moment to reestablish my relationship with the Duke.
But as I actually tried to think about how to get along well with him….
Nothing came to mind whatsoever!
Regrettably, I myself had never once been on good terms with my own father.
‘And I can’t just pretend to be close out of nowhere… especially when I’m already heading toward another scolding, damn it!’
Thus the plan of ‘getting along well with the Duke’ was promptly abandoned.
Besides, I wasn’t the type to deliberately seek him out and speak warmly to him.
So only one option remained.
‘Just maintain proper courtesy as I would with a superior, and avoid drawing any unwanted attention!’
That was all….
“Langton.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Can memory loss actually change someone’s personality as well?”
“I’m not certain. I myself find it hard to believe that Miss would say such things….”
I hadn’t expected them to gossip about someone right in front of them.
‘Excuse me. Shouldn’t you save that conversation for when I’m not here…!’
As I stared at them in bewilderment, both men flinched and averted their gazes once more.
“I-I shall clean up the broken things and bring fresh refreshments!”
Fearing the sparks might fly his way, Langton hastily excused himself.
Only the Duke and I remained in the Study.
“*Ahem! Ahem-hem!*”
The Duke, embarrassed by the earlier situation, kept clearing his throat with reddened cheeks.
After a long silence, he finally began to speak.
“…Why did you go to Tollen?”
“Tollen was Eston’s destination, and I was trying to go to Ezennia.”
“Ezennia? Why would you…?”
“I wanted to recover my memories. Nancy mentioned I used to visit the Villa there frequently.”
It wasn’t an unreasonable explanation, so he nodded in acknowledgment.
Then his brow furrowed sharply.
“Still, you should have at least informed someone before leaving. How could you be so reckless when you’ve barely been brought back from the brink of death…!”
“I apologize.”
When I offered my apology obediently, the Duke stared at me as though seeing something peculiar.
Then, with a cough, he changed the subject.
“…Ahem! Nothing serious happened, I trust?”
“No. I only happened to meet Count Frederick and then lost consciousness.”
“Tsk. Of all people to encounter…”
It seemed Dylan, who had once been Edith Blake’s attendant, was equally troublesome in his eyes.
“What was the healer doing, not treating you immediately!”
“What could healing magic do about unconsciousness?”
Healing magic could mend wounds and slow the progression of illness, but it could not restore physical stamina.
With a displeased expression, he clicked his tongue before finally uttering the words I had been waiting for.
“Since nothing serious occurred, I’ll overlook it this time. Refrain from going out for a while. Even within the house, be careful with your behavior.”
“Yes.”
“Edith Blake.”
Suddenly, he called me by my full name in a grave tone.
“Circumstances are developing in an ominous direction. Are you aware that The Purifier has vanished from the Imperial Palace?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Marquis Leandro came to see me a few days ago and asked about The Purifier’s whereabouts, but…”
“I’m asking just to be certain—you truly have nothing to do with this, correct?”
His sharp gaze swept across my face, as though he would tolerate not a shred of deception.
I felt deeply wronged.
“I’ve only been awake from my coma for four days, Father.”
“No one cares about that, Edith Blake.”
Yet contrary to my expectations, the Duke spoke coldly.
“Whether you truly abducted The Purifier or not is irrelevant. Merely falling under Grand Duke Belnac’s suspicion is enough to have you branded a criminal and executed. This time, you escaped by the skin of your teeth thanks to your funeral, but…”
“…”
“No matter how noble your birth, an unawakened member of the Nobility has no such luxury.”

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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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