A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 48

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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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48.

That day.
The day I witnessed a cockroach buried in fish flesh, gagged violently, and lost consciousness on the spot.
Because of that incident, what should have been my first and last family outing ended in complete disaster.
As the memory came rushing back, I squeezed my eyes shut.

―Kyaaaaaaah―!

A horrific scream mixed chaotically between the clinking of dishes and the conversation between the Duke and Ethan.
Eeeeeee―.
A ringing in my ears accompanied it.
I couldn’t regain my composure.
“…I was thinking of stopping by the Duchy before participating in the subjugation campaign.”
“Acarna?”
“Yes. Reports have been coming in consecutively about Encroachers appearing without any magical energy lately, so I wanted to verify the situation…”
“…Are you at least preparing for the commemoration ceremony?”
“…”
“…Edith Blake?”
Hm.
I gasped roughly, like someone being forcibly dragged up from deep underwater.
“…Yes, yes?”
As I belatedly came to my senses and responded, I saw the Duke and Ethan looking at me with puzzled expressions.
“Is there something wrong with the food? Why are you just staring at it without lifting a single hand?”
“Ah…”
“It’s your favorite dish, isn’t it?”
Ethan chimed in after the Duke.
Of all things, Edith Blake had to like fish.
I felt like crying a little.
I wanted to at least pretend to take a bite, but my hands wouldn’t move.
Because I felt like I would retch at any moment…
“I… I can’t eat this.”
“…”
“My stomach feels a bit off…”
I barely managed to murmur those words, my voice thin as a sharp scream, and immediately tried to flee the table in panic.
“I’m sorry. May I excuse myself?”
“Chef!”
That was when the Duke suddenly rang the call bell with a stern expression, summoning the Chef.
Clang, clang!
The bell rang out sharply across the quiet dining table.
“Y-yes, did you call for me, Duke?”
The Chef, who had gone pale, came rushing out in a fluster.
I had expected the Duke to scold my disrespectful behavior in front of everyone.

— What the hell are you doing, you filthy wretch!
— You there! Get the steward at once! Is this how you manage hygiene?!
— Stop your whining and get up this instant! Yu Sol!

That’s what my Biological Father would have done.
He would have kept pressuring me, growing angry, as I continued to retch and struggled to regain my composure.
As if it were all my fault.
But.
“Clear all this away at once and bring light, easily digestible food! Don’t forget the digestive aid!”
“W-was there something wrong with the food…?”
“How on earth did you prepare this dish to leave her in such a state!”
Surprisingly, the Duke did not scold me at all. Instead, he shifted all the blame squarely onto the Chef.
I was startled and tried to stop him.
“Oh, Father! I’m fine!”
“Fine? Look at your face! You’re pale as a sheet!”
“I-it’s just indigestion! I was so nervous earlier…”
“Hmm. Spending over an hour alone with that man would make anyone’s stomach turn.”
Fortunately, my excuse worked.
Taking advantage of the Duke’s softened mood, I picked up my untouched plate and gave a meaningful look to the dejected Chef.
“Just take mine.”
“Just yours? Clear everything and bring out the stew from breakfast!”
“I’m fine. You were eating well—please don’t do this because of me, Father.”
“It’s rare for the family to share a meal together, and you want it to end with a frown? That man hardly ever shows his face at the dinner table as it is…”
There was nothing more I could say to that.
While I was still flustered, the table was quickly cleared.
The amusing part was that once the fishy smell faded, I actually felt like I could eat.
In place of the elaborately plated dinner dishes, simple, light stew, bread, and fruit were brought out.
Faced with the sudden change in the Dining Room’s atmosphere, I gazed at the table with a somewhat bewildered expression.
“Go ahead and eat. You had no problems after breakfast, I understand, but tell me if you’d like something else.”
“That’s not really…”
“You need to eat at least a few spoonfuls before taking medicine. You’ll ruin your stomach eating on an empty belly, you foolish girl!”
At the Duke’s stern voice, I reluctantly picked up my spoon and took some stew.
It was the same tomato stew I’d eaten this morning, yet somehow it tasted so delicious I could have wept.
As I swallowed hard, suppressing the turmoil in my heart and glancing around, Ethan was already elegantly tearing into his bread.
Once the situation had settled and the Duke resumed his meal, the dining room quickly fell silent.
Ethan, who had been eating quietly, suddenly exhaled a long sigh and spoke.
“…You left Edith Blake alone with that man without even the Butler present? Both of them are unpredictable—you should have done more to stop this.”
“Do you think I didn’t try? That bastard insisted on speaking with Edith Blake privately, so what was I supposed to do?”
The Duke answered with a troubled expression, as if nursing a headache.
“That’s why I gave him an earful the moment he arrived. I don’t know who he takes after, but he’s so temperamental…”
“It’s not uncommon for people to experience significant changes in personality and preferences after awakening from a coma, sir.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It would be best to gradually understand her from this point forward.”
They were discussing me, yet I couldn’t easily join the conversation.
Perhaps because I wasn’t simply changed by illness—I truly wasn’t Edith Blake.
My heart felt heavy.
The Duke suddenly addressed me as I quietly picked at my food.
“I’ll tell the Butler, so if the weather is nice tomorrow, go out shopping.”
“Shopping?”
“Yes. It’ll help lift your spirits, and we should start preparing for the Equinox Island Ceremony soon.”
“Ah…”
At the familiar-sounding name, my eyes widened slightly.
‘That was some kind of festival held on an island, wasn’t it?’

「The imperial family and nobility of the Empire gather on Equinox Island, located in the northwest, on the day of a total lunar eclipse.
They honor the noble sacrifice of the Awakeners who gave their lives to protect the nation, and seek to ensure the peace of the future.
Meanwhile, the Blue Moon caused by the total lunar eclipse is a phenomenon that appeared when the first Gate occurred…」

I wasn’t sure why it had to be that particular island, but in any case, it was something that appeared in the novel.
Recalling this, I hesitated before asking again.
“…Do I have to go too?”
“Aren’t you a direct descendant of House Blake?”
“But….”
From what I knew, that commemorative ceremony was mostly attended only by Awakeners.
It wasn’t just a ceremony—there was also a subjugation battle to exterminate the monsters lurking in the Deep Sea.
The Duke apparently took my trailing words as petulant resistance to going, because he suddenly bellowed.
“How much longer are you going to stay cooped up at home? Go make some new friends, and show everyone you came back alive and well from the Gate—that’s how you’ll improve your reputation!”
“Father. The child will get indigestion again.”
Fortunately, Ethan stepped in at just the right moment this time.
The Duke flinched and shook his shoulders, then closed his mouth with a displeased expression.
“Stop fussing and take your digestive medicine.”
At Ethan’s subsequent instruction, I thought he was right and quickly set down my spoon.
Because even on an empty stomach, I felt as though I might get indigestion at this rate.
I obediently drank down the digestive potion.
The liquid was terribly bitter.
As I frowned and set down the bottle, the Duke quickly handed me the chocolate that had been served for dessert.
“How is it? Should I call a Healer right now? Hmm?”
“Oh, no… ugh.”
I tried to take it with my hand, but he thrust it into my mouth without hesitation, so I ended up just accepting it.
The Duke smiled warmly watching me like that.
At that sight, my chest suddenly sank as if it had dropped.
“Um, I’d like to go rest upstairs now, Father.”
“Of course.”
Fortunately, I was granted permission this time.
“If you get hungry, I’ll make sure you can eat anything anytime.”
“Thank you.”
At his affectionate voice, as if speaking to a beloved daughter, I hurriedly rose from my seat.
Otherwise, I felt I would show my face twisted into a complete mess.

I couldn’t remember how I managed to leave the Dining Room and climb to the Second Floor.
Slam!
As if being chased by someone, I rushed back to my Room and shut the door, then sank to the floor just as I had before.
“…I’m being deceived again.”
You have emotional deprivation, that’s why.
They say children who grew up without love fall for it instantly when someone treats them kindly.
But.

― What do you mean you’re fine? Look at yourself. You’re pale as a sheet!
― Does it matter? Should I call the Healer right now? Hmm?

That worried expression, that warm voice.
They didn’t seem fabricated at all.
I covered my face with both hands.
A sudden wave of self-loathing washed over me.
Edith Blake’s circumstances were so different from what I knew, and that astonished me.
…I envied her.

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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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