A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 41

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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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41.

“…Brother?”
I recognized him and bolted upright.
“How did you get in here….”
“You weren’t in your room.”
“…What’s this about?”
“I wanted to talk.”
His response left me utterly bewildered.
‘You want to talk to me? Why?’
Ethan and I rarely had one-on-one conversations, and hadn’t we raised our voices at each other just two days ago?

― …Who were you fighting with again.

As I recalled what happened at the Imperial Palace, irritation surged through me once more.
‘What am I supposed to do? I have nothing to say.’
I wanted to smirk and mock him.
Truthfully, being alone with him in this confined space felt rather awkward.
But the reason I didn’t coldly turn him away was.

70%

It was because my Runaway Index had risen slightly again.
‘I need to ask him anyway, just to confirm.’
Ethan had left early on the day of the Ballroom to ask Ruellin to be his partner.
Perhaps he knew something about her disappearance.
After brushing myself off completely, I led him to a table set in one corner of the Greenhouse.
“Please, sit.”
Unlike my hesitation, he sat across from me with an indifferent demeanor.
“Would you like some tea?”
“No.”
When I gestured toward the call bell on the table and asked, he shook his head.
And then he added,
“Are you… feeling better?”
I thought he wouldn’t care whether I was ill or not, so this was unexpected.
I glanced at him and nodded.
“Yes. I received healing from a healer.”
“….”
Then a moment of silence fell between us.
‘This is suffocating. So uncomfortable…!’
I didn’t know what to say, but I wished he would just leave already.
Unable to bear the silence, I spoke first.
“I was going to ask about that….”
“What happened the other day….”
But our words overlapped at precisely the same moment.
It only made things more awkward!
I rolled my eyes, gauged his reaction, and laughed awkwardly.
“You go first.”
“… At the Imperial Palace.”
After a brief hesitation, he said something that made me want to fall over in shock.
“I misspoke.”
“… What?”
“I asked because I was worried seeing you hurt, not because I was trying to pressure you.”
“….”
My mouth fell open.
‘So… he came to apologize to me?’
As I stared blankly at Ethan, for some reason he flinched and turned his head away, avoiding my gaze.
In doing so, the tips of his ears flushed a reddish hue.
‘Is he… embarrassed?’
Even though I was seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe it.
That he could be embarrassed.
That cold and arrogant Ethan Blake…?
Something felt terribly off.
I regarded him with an odd expression before poking at him slightly.
“So… did you find out who I fought with?”
“That’s impossible.”
I’d asked half-seriously, but he narrowed his brows and answered irritably.
“I saw flowers scattered throughout the Ballroom. You tend to become sharp-minded when you’re having an allergic reaction.”
“…”
“I had medicine on hand and was looking for you when I found you in that state…”
“…”
“I misunderstood what I saw. You might not remember, but you’ve clashed with other noble ladies at the Ballroom more than once or twice…”
“…”
“I didn’t investigate further. I only asked to confirm, not because I didn’t believe you.”
It was a confession that left me speechless with astonishment.
‘That’s what he calls believing me…?’

― Tell me now. Don’t make this bigger later.
― Are you hoping this reaches Father’s ears?

He threatened to tattle to the Duke, yet claimed he was only asking to confirm. The audacity was remarkable.
No matter how you frame it, it was shameless.
I was swallowing my complaints while marveling at his glib tongue.
“Regardless… if my unfounded suspicion upset you, I apologize.”
“…”
“I’m sorry, Edith.”
Unlike his rambling excuses, Ethan apologized quite cleanly.
I scrutinized him, wondering if there was some hidden agenda, but his expression remained sincere.
‘Perhaps he’s been through too much with Vincent.’
I’d reached a point where even the male leads’ apologies didn’t ring true.
“Thank you for bringing it up first.”
It wasn’t entirely satisfying, but I decided to accept Ethan’s apology graciously.
It was surprising that someone who seemed perpetually arrogant and rude would apologize first.
We’d have to keep living under the same roof and seeing each other’s faces anyway, so there was no point in remaining awkward.
‘At least he’s not completely devoid of common sense.’
Surrounded by madmen, he could be considered civilized by comparison.
So I offered a suitable excuse and reciprocated what he’d given.
“I was sorry about that incident too.”
“…”
“I was in a heightened state due to people’s stares, and with the breathing difficulty, I wasn’t in my right mind.”
“…”
“I didn’t mean what I said sincerely, so please forget it.”
It wasn’t an incorrect assessment. I had indeed been struggling to breathe.
“….”
This time, he stared at me with a look of speechlessness.
“…Why?”
“Truly… it seems as though you’ve become an entirely different person since waking from that coma.”
He muttered as if he could scarcely believe it.
I had grown sufficiently accustomed to such remarks that they no longer stung.
“I hear that quite often these days.”
“You were originally someone who… well, didn’t even understand what an apology was.”
“I suppose nearly dying and coming back has taught me some sense, hasn’t it?”
At my indifferent retort, Ethan’s face went pale and he fell silent.
After a moment of quiet, Ethan spoke again, his voice more subdued than before.
“…Your memories.”
“….”
“When did they return?”
Given how obsessed he had been with my memories, he was bound to ask. I had steeled myself for this.
So I answered with composure.
“They haven’t fully returned. They’re just coming back in fragments.”
“There’s a misunderstanding about what happened at the Tollen Gate.”
“What misunderstanding?”
“The circumstances truly were beyond my control at that time.”
It was something I’d heard before.
“I don’t know why you thought as you did, but I swear I never turned away from you or deliberately tried to hurt… injure you.”
“….”
“If necessary, I can bring you the incident report and the testimonies of the witnesses who were present.”
It was quite an earnest declaration, but it wouldn’t change anything regardless.
‘As if they didn’t all coordinate their statements anyway. What good would that do?’
At his transparent attempt to wash away his guilt with such trivial gestures, a scoff escaped my lips.
“…Why are you laughing?”
“Because you’re saying exactly what Vincent said.”
“What….”
“That it was a misunderstanding, that it was an accident, that the circumstances were unfavorable….”
As I repeated the same words Vincent had spoken, Ethan’s expression hardened.
Unlike him, I tilted my head slightly and smiled sweetly.
“Isn’t it strange, brother? That despite experiencing the same situation, people’s memories can differ so greatly?”
His blue eyes wavered like ripples spreading across a clear lake after a stone is cast into it.
‘It was perfect right up until we exchanged apologies.’
My mood plummeted in an instant.
Suddenly, I recalled the dream I’d had when I first awoke at the Duke’s Residence.

―Take me with you! Huh? I was wrong about everything!
―Brother! Ethan, brother! *sob*, I’m scared. Please, don’t leave me behind!

The terrified, trembling voice gradually transformed into my own anguished cry.

―Yu Ji-han! Wait! You crazy bastard, no, brother! Ji-han, brother―!
―Yu Ji-han! Yu Ji-han, you son of a bitch―!

Those who leave know nothing of the terror, fear, misery, and despair left behind.
If I hadn’t possessed this body, if Edith Blake had truly died as the novel dictated.
Could you really have spoken so carelessly then?
“I still remember calling out for my brother so desperately that my throat bled. The memory is so vivid.”
“….”
“So vivid that I suffer nightmares about it every single night….”
“….”
“So vivid.”
I met Ethan’s gaze directly and spoke each word with deliberate precision.
Perhaps he was feeling pangs of conscience now, or something.
The ripples in those jade eyes grew stronger and stronger.
That only twisted my heart further.
“Isn’t that strange? Don’t you think?”
“…Edith Blake.”
“Are you finished saying what you needed to say? I’m done.”
*Screech!*
I shoved the chair back roughly and stood, and he hastily rose to follow me.
“Wait.”
“….”
“Calm down. Just wait a moment. I’ll give you what I owe and then you can go.”
It seemed like he was the one who needed to calm down, not me. What a ridiculous thing to say.
Ethan grabbed me and frantically searched his chest.
For a moment, his hand seemed to tremble.
Or was I mistaken?
“Take this.”
He pulled something out and thrust it toward me abruptly.
It was a small box wrapped in luxurious velvet.
By its shape alone, it was clearly meant to hold jewelry, and my expression soured.
“What is this…?”
“I noticed you were missing one earring.”
An earring?
As I stood there bewildered, he opened the box’s lid and continued.
“I cannot match the gift your father gave you, but I’ve done my best to procure something as similar to the necklace as possible.”
“If it’s something Father gave me….”
The Duke had given me only one gift.
‘A blue diamond set?!’
I turned to Ethan urgently.
“That day, I was missing one earring, wasn’t I?”
“…You didn’t know?”
Of course I didn’t know.
I had simply collapsed and only woke up the next day!

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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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