A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 45

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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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45.

It was a blatant provocation.
I knew full well that such words would ignite his notoriously volatile temperament.
But I wanted to know.
‘…What exactly brought him all the way here? Does he remember that I’m an Awakened?’
If this were the male lead I knew, he wouldn’t have visited the Duke’s Residence so courteously with an earring in hand—he should have seized me without warning.
Or else, he should have burned with rage at my provocation and already had his hands around my throat.
“Hmm… That’s quite a reasonable point, Princess.”
This measured, intellectual demeanor never appeared in the novel.
So I found myself engulfed in an unsettling strangeness.
“I’ve been thinking since before—unlike the rumors, you seem quite capable of rational thought.”
The words I wanted to say hovered on the tip of my tongue.
“What is the Duke doing? Letting a daughter with such formidable abilities rot away at home.”
“Formidable….”
“When did your ability manifest?”
His sudden, unprompted attack made me stiffen involuntarily.
‘…As expected. A monster.’
On the verge of a rampage, yet still retaining his memories even after being struck in the head with a stool—I clicked my tongue at the sight.
‘Does he know I’m the Purifier?’
The fact that he’s left me untouched without the slightest threat suggests he may be testing me.
But the worst outcome would be falling into his scheme to ascertain my ability and revealing it from my own lips.
I needed to keep my wits sharp from this moment forward.
“I was under the impression you remained unawakened until recently.”
Serge tested me once more with certainty in his voice.
Since he remembered anyway, there was no point in further denial.
“…After the funeral.”
“Ah. Found in a monster’s jaws, was it? You’ve certainly met the conditions for awakening.”
It was somewhat chilling.
How he deduced the full context from just a single remark of mine.
‘…He’s not someone to underestimate.’
Tense and guarded, I braced myself for his next question.
“Does the Duke or his attendant know about it?”
“Attendant… You mean my brother Ethan?”
“Well, something like that, I suppose.”
“…Neither of them knows. I haven’t told anyone.”
“Hmm. Understandable. The story of a high-ranking noble who abandoned his own daughter and hastily adopted an Awakened is quite famous.”
I furrowed my brow.
It’s not actually my story, but why would someone carelessly air another person’s painful family matters right in front of them?
‘Would I tell you about being abandoned at the Gate the moment you awakened?’
I stared at him with obvious displeasure when he suddenly uttered something I hadn’t anticipated.
“You did well, Princess.”
“What… did you say?”
“Not saying anything. Rather than opening your mouth trying to look good and getting dragged around like a dog at the Gate, it’s wiser to remain unawakened.”
“….”
I stood there with my mouth slightly agape, dumbfounded.
I never would have expected such words to come from his mouth….
I couldn’t believe there was even a sliver of common ground between us.
Perhaps feeling the same way, the male lead raised one eyebrow slightly.
“But it’s rather curious. Haven’t you been envious of The Purifier all this time? I thought once you awakened, you’d spread rumors throughout the entire Empire.”
“It wasn’t to that extent.”
“Really? Then where did I hear all those rumors about griffin brain soup helping with awakening?”
At those words, the image of an eagle’s head rolling across the ballroom floor suddenly came to mind.
It was a horrifying memory.
‘Insane. So Edith Blake actually ate something like that to awaken?!’
My stomach churned violently.
“…Ugh!”
“Huh?”
As I covered my mouth and gagged involuntarily, Serge wore an expression of disbelief.
Knock, knock.
That was when it happened.
“Miss, I’ve brought the tea.”
The Butler entered with tea and refreshments right on cue.
“P, please come in!”
I quickly ushered him inside.
The Butler, pulling the tray, set the table.
He wasn’t particularly helpful, but at least I could catch my breath because of him.
Glug, glug….
Perhaps pitying me, caught by the Duke, the Butler kept casting suspicious glances between me and him the entire time he poured the tea.
For some reason, the male lead remained silent while the Butler was present.
It was an absolute blessing for me.
“I’ll wait nearby. Please ring if you need anything.”
Finally, after finishing the refreshment setup, the Butler deliberately placed the call bell in front of me and gave a stern reminder.
“Yes. Thank you, Butler.”
As if such a tiny scrap of paper would be of any use against that monster….
I barely managed to restrain the urge to cling to his feet and beg him not to leave.
“Are you feeling better now?”
Serge opened his mouth with an unpleasant expression.
“It’s the first time I’ve felt nauseous in front of someone.”
“…I apologize.”
Embarrassed by his gaze full of disdain, I offered an apology without resistance.
“After the Tollen Gate incident, I developed amnesia. I have no memory of what you mentioned, so without realizing it….”
“Amnesia, is it? Now I understand why you speak like a perfectly normal person, contrary to the rumors.”
Irritation flared within me as he kept stealing the words I was about to say.
By that point, I had grown fairly certain.
‘This bastard doesn’t know exactly what my ability is.’
If he did, he wouldn’t be spouting such nonsense about “griffin brain soup” so casually.
I suppressed the surging elation and drove my point home.
“But Your Highness, do you know what my ability is?”
“Asking the victim what their ability is? I didn’t think you were like this, but your personality is quite strange.”
“I was hoping you might remember.”
“Of course I do.”
He confidently spouted complete nonsense.
“An ability that silently incapacitates enemies, right? Something like brain lightning or whatever.”
In that moment, joy flooded through me.
For the first time since meeting him, I smiled as I replied.
“…Yes, that’s actually it.”
“It lacks lethality, but the fact that it’s immediately effective isn’t bad. Can you use it without touching?”
“No.”
“You certainly answer directly. Good.”
Good…? Good what?
Every time he said something was good, only bad things happened.
I stared at him with anxious eyes.
Sure enough, he stretched his lips into a cold smile.
“Let’s make a deal, Princess.”
“What? What do you….”
“Whenever I call, you’ll come running and use your ability. In return, I’ll keep your secret and protect you.”
“Ha…!”
The one-sided terms of this deal—essentially declaring he would use me—left me speechless.
“When you tortured me after accusing me of kidnapping the Purifier, you didn’t trust me then? Now you do?”
“After investigating for three days, I found the real culprit elsewhere. Now I’ve come to trust your words to some extent.”
At his casual declaration, I nearly lunged forward to strangle him.
‘Then you should have investigated before trying to strangle me!’
Now he casually flips his trust like turning over his palm, as if that made any sense!
I clenched my teeth and made my position clear.
“My answer is no.”
“Why?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know?”
“Yes. I’m asking because I don’t know.”
“I have no desire to conduct business with someone as unreasonable and violent as Your Highness.”
“Ha! I’d like to know who’s calling whom violent.”
He let out a hollow laugh as if utterly exasperated.
“Can’t you see the wound on my forehead that the Princess tore open? That’s attempted murder.”
“I was merely acting in self-defense.”
“By that logic, what happened during my interrogation was merely an unfortunate accident. We’ve exchanged blows—let’s call it even.”
“….”
“No, actually, I’m being generous with you, Princess. Don’t you know attempted murder carries a far graver charge? Besides, I left no evidence of torturing you.”
Was he seriously bragging about that?
With every word he uttered, my grip on reason grew thinner and more fragile.
What infuriated me most was that his words held a kernel of truth.
I trembled with indignation as I responded.
“…In any case! I refuse to become further entangled with Your Highness! My answer is no.”
“Perhaps the compensation seems too generous to sound like a request….”
Serge’s expression suddenly darkened.
Displeased at being refused repeatedly, he leaned his upper body toward me and spoke in a low voice.
“Don’t forget that I am a Grand Duke, Princess. I could send official documents and compel your obedience.”
“Are you threatening me right now?”
“Why so wounded? Think of it as persuasion. Surely you don’t want your awakening—something you’ve worked so hard to conceal—exposed to everyone.”
As expected.
He had seized upon my awakening as leverage, ready to manipulate me as he pleased.
‘Fat chance.’
Though I had used my ability impulsively, I hadn’t left myself completely unprepared for such a situation.
I smiled sweetly at him.
“Your Highness seems to have forgotten that you also have a weakness with me.”
Unfortunately, my smile of victory was short-lived.
“That?”
“That…?”
“Tsk, I thought you were quite clever, but you’re just a fool who knows one thing and misses two.”
“What do you…”
“Just as you said to me—what will you do with it? Claim you happened to witness me going berserk? Where’s your proof that it’s my blood?”
“Wouldn’t Your Highness’s brooch alone be sufficient?”
“You’re quite the thief.”
Having mocked me thoroughly, he then unleashed a barrage of questions I couldn’t easily answer.
“First, how did the Princess alone manage to escape unscathed from the assailant who attacked me?”
“….”
“And how did you end up in a private meeting alone with the Grand Duke in The Purifier’s chamber?”
“Wh—a private meeting?!”
Despite the gravity of our conversation, I couldn’t help but shudder, and he smirked mockingly.
And he added,
“Now you understand? Why I went to the trouble of coming all this way myself.”
“….”
“The evidence you possess was worthless from the start, Princess.”
As if I didn’t know that, he clicked his tongue mockingly and looked down on me.
I wanted nothing more than to laugh at him.
It wasn’t I who knew only half the truth—it was you.
“Of course, if I were alone, that would be true.”
“….”
“But if I tell Father and my brother the truth and ask for their help, there’s nothing I couldn’t prove, is there?”
Our relationship may be strained, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am a Blake.
“…Hmm. I hadn’t considered that.”
At my words, Serge finally wore the expression of someone who had taken a blow.
Tap, tap, tap.
He drummed his fingers on the table, contemplating something.
I hoped he would finally surrender and abandon this pursuit of me.
But then.
“How troublesome….”
“….”
“Should I just kill them all?”

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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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