A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 44

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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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44.

As if asking, what will you do now?
He wiped the smile from his face and stared at me intently.
Thump.
My heart sank to my toes under that piercing gaze.
I reflexively looked toward the Duke and shook my head.
The Duke also seemed puzzled by his nonsense.
“Pardon? Speak directly to Edith Blake, Your Highness?”
“Yes. The Young Lady is the earring’s owner, isn’t she?”
“That is true, but… wouldn’t it be better to play a game of chess with me while we wait for our eldest son to arrive, and then dine together?”
Well done, well done!
I silently cheered the Duke with all my heart.
‘What will you do now?’
It would be difficult for him to insist when the master of the house extended such a polite invitation.
But he was a madman who far exceeded my imagination.
“Tsk. Why are you so oblivious, Duke?”
“Pardon? What do you…?”
“I mean I want to speak with the Young Lady alone.”
“…”
At words that could easily invite misunderstanding, silence descended over the Lobby.
Everyone, including the Duke, turned to look at me with peculiar expressions.
‘This madman…!’
In shock, I soon cried out in exasperation.
“No, no! I want to have a conversation with Father…!”
“Yes, Your Grace. I am ashamed to say it, but my daughter is still too young and lacks much in receiving guests alone.”
Fortunately, the Duke worked to smooth over the awkward atmosphere.
“She’s not at an age where she doesn’t understand propriety, is she? I fear I’ve been too indulgent in raising her… haha.”
“Yes, Father is absolutely right!”
I quickly nodded in agreement.
“I have nothing worthy to offer Your Highness as thanks!”
“Well, I don’t mind.”
“…”
“Then, in front of the Duke here, shall we discuss that breathing exercise you did back then…?”
“Wait, please!”
I cried out again, cutting off his words like a scream.
And with tears brimming in my eyes, I spoke calmly to the Duke.
“…Father. I just remembered that I have something to tell His Grace the Grand Duke privately.”
“Huh? You spilled wine on the Grand Duke?”
“Yes. I accidentally spilled a bit of wine on His Highness at the ballroom, but I didn’t get a chance to apologize.”
“What? What? If something like that happened, you should have told me right away!”
The Duke’s face contorted at my hastily concocted excuse.
I muttered again with a vacant expression.
“I was disoriented from fainting. I only just remembered it…”
“That’s exactly why I told you not to be so reckless… *ahem*!”
The Duke, his face flushed and about to explode in anger, caught sight of the Grand Duke and cleared his throat in displeasure instead.
I felt a deep sense of defeat wash over me as I added:
“…Perhaps I should apologize to him first, and then we can have dinner afterward?”
“I’m terribly sorry, Your Highness. I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me, if only for the Duke’s sake.”
“Hmm.”
The male lead, watching my lie with fascination, stroked his chin thoughtfully.
He seemed to be deliberating whether to play along.
I silently cursed him.
‘You bastard, you said you wanted to talk alone! At least cooperate a little!’
He grinned with amusement at my anxious fidgeting.
“Of course. Spilling a bit of wine is nothing.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“But Duke, have you heard anything? Why does my head look like this…?”
“Butler! Some refreshments, please!”
At the sight of him opening his mouth again, I hurriedly called for the Butler.
Then I quickly turned my attention to the Duke.
“It’s rude to keep our guest standing in the entrance hall for so long, Father.”
“Ah, you’re right! Your Highness, please come inside!”
“This way, Your Highness.”
I glared at the male lead as I spoke through gritted teeth.
“Ha ha. I’m quite looking forward to seeing how you apologize, Princess.”
At that, he burst into delighted laughter.
I shuddered at the genuine anticipation in his expression.
I wanted to run away immediately.
Or at least cling to the Duke’s pant leg!
‘Please, someone save me…!’
It had been four days since my reunion with the male lead—the one I’d been so desperate to avoid.

***

I had visited the Reception Room once before because of Vincent, so finding my way there was not difficult.
After taking a deep breath in front of the door, I turned the handle and stepped aside.
“…Please go in first.”
“Shall I?”
He entered the Reception Room without hesitation, his footsteps light and confident.
I followed behind him, quickly scanning the interior.
Fortunately, a decorative vase sat on a table right beside the door.
Its elongated spout made it perfect to grip.
I silently seized it and hid it behind my back.
And I left the door slightly ajar without closing it completely.
‘Just in case something happens, someone needs to hear and come running.’
It was when I lifted my head after making these preparations.
My eyes locked directly with a pair of gleaming black eyes a few paces away.
“…!”
I flinched in surprise and reflexively pressed myself against the door.
Thud!
In doing so, the door I had taken care to leave open slammed shut.
‘Damn it…!’
As I fidgeted anxiously, Serge let out a derisive laugh.
“So it seems not closing the door all the way is a habit of yours.”
“…It’s a minimal safety measure for my own protection.”
“Why? Are you afraid I’ll do something to the Young Lady now that I’m at the Duke’s Residence?”
He wasn’t asking because he didn’t know.
I stared at him incredulously while tightening my grip on the vase.
That was when it happened.
“It’s not what I’m going to do—it’s what the Young Lady is going to do, isn’t it?”
“Wh-what…!”
Whoosh!
Suddenly, as if controlled by someone else, my hidden hand was yanked forward violently.
I lost the vase in an instant.
It soared through the air, and the man caught it lightly with ease.
“I’m confiscating this.”
“…”
“Tsk. Were you planning to strike me with this? I don’t even have a weapon, so isn’t that a bit underhanded?”
“Isn’t it even more underhanded to disarm me like that?!”
I snapped back indignantly, and he shrugged.
“I don’t want my forehead split open a second time. Don’t you see this? It hurt quite a bit thanks to someone.”
“…I was hurt too.”
“I know. You collapsed, didn’t you?”
He spoke as though completely uninterested in that fact, then turned away.
My temper flared dangerously.
I frantically searched for another object I could use for self-defense, when he standing before the table gestured with his chin.
“What are you doing? Sit.”
Yet I remained frozen against the door, unable to move.
‘If I get any closer, will he strangle me again?’
As I stared at him with wary eyes, he suddenly exhaled a sigh.
“Sigh… I see why they say those raised delicately never listen the first time.”
He flicked his hand as though summoning a dog.
In that instant, my body—which had been perfectly fine moments before—lifted effortlessly as though caught by invisible threads.
And then I began moving toward the table at tremendous speed!
Whoooosh—!
“Kyaaaah!”
I reflexively screamed and squeezed my eyes shut.
The sensation of my body being flung about was always horrifying, no matter how many times it happened.
Fortunately, within moments I was dropped unceremoniously onto something hard, and the floating sensation ceased.
“Haa, haa…”
As I cautiously opened my eyes, I saw a man sitting across from me with his legs crossed, regarding me with obvious displeasure.
He had used telekinesis to forcibly seat me in the chair.
Still reeling from this magical turn of events, I quickly glared at him.
“What—what on earth are you doing?”
“You seemed to have no idea how a young lady should sit, so I was merely helping.”
“That’s hardly what I’d call—”
In that moment, curses rose all the way to my throat.
But the subtle shift in his expression above me held me back.

81%

Perhaps it was because he had used his ability, but his rampage coefficient rose slightly.
After experiencing telekinesis’s power firsthand, I finally understood why that number had reached ‘95%’ last time.
Since he could move objects without lifting a finger, I wondered just how carelessly he must have been squandering his ability in daily life.
“…If you keep abusing your ability like that, you’ll go berserk again.”
“Oh.”
At my warning, he wore an expression of surprise.
“Are you worried about me?”
“No!”
I immediately denied it.
And I dropped my gaze from where it had been fixed above his head.
The bandages wrapped around it were infuriatingly conspicuous.
“Why didn’t you call a healer?”
“The wound on my head is the only evidence to identify who struck me. Healing it would be pointless.”
“Have you found the culprit?”
“I came to catch them right now.”
He smiled faintly and pulled something from his pocket.
A small accessory box, no larger than a ring case. It likely contained my earring, which he said he had picked up.
“With evidence in hand, I could arrest the Princess here as an attempted assassin of the Duke without any objections, couldn’t I?”
Clack!
He set it on the table and spoke as though threatening me.
Yet I was merely astonished that he had resorted to such an obvious statement.
The worst-case scenario I had feared most was that the moment we were alone, he would strangle my neck again.
Or that he would try to kill me in a fit of rage.
Compared to that, even if he had used his ability somewhat, he showed no signs of wanting to harm me yet.
‘Come to think of it…I can actually sit across from this bastard and have a conversation?’
With the Duke present in the mansion as he said.
He couldn’t do anything to me immediately.
‘But he could still torture me by strangling my neck again…!’
However, as long as I didn’t die, I could repay him whenever the opportunity came.
I etched that into my mind and forcibly suppressed my fear.
“…And then?”
“Huh?”
“What comes next?”
“What do you mean, next?”
“How will you prove that I’m the culprit?”
At my audacious question, his eyes widened for a moment.
‘If you thought I’d be intimidated by a single earring, you’re sorely mistaken, you bastard.’
I let out a scoff and continued.
“You’re not going to testify that you were beaten unconscious by an unawakened person who isn’t even half as capable as the Duke, are you?”

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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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