A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 65

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

65.

***

Finding Legion Street 5th Avenue—our designated meeting point—felt like a miracle.
While I’d wandered endlessly through that labyrinthine maze of alleys, I’d feared I might be trapped there forever.
Yet once I emerged onto the main road, the distance proved far shorter than I’d imagined.
By sheer fortune, the carriage carrying Eston had not yet departed.
“Young Lady!”
She’d been pacing anxiously before the carriage, and upon spotting me, she rushed over in a flurry.
“Eston.”
“We nearly left without you! I thought you’d gone on ahead! Please, get in quickly.”
She pressed a hand to her startled chest, words tumbling out in a rush.
I barely heard her as I seized her arm and pulled her along.
“There’s no time for that. I need your help.”
“What? Where are we going?”
“Just follow me.”
Something in my expression must have alarmed her, for Eston followed without protest.
Once I’d found the path, the return journey proved far swifter.
Mercifully, Serge remained where I’d left him.
Upon seeing him collapsed in a pool of blood, Eston gasped in horror.
“This person… who is…?”
“The Grand Duke.”
“Good heavens! That… that butcher?!”
Her time working at the Imperial Palace had made her well acquainted with Serge’s infamous epithet.
I nodded curtly and whispered urgently.
“Check if he’s still alive, would you?”
“He’s clearly alive, Young Lady.”
Eston gestured incredulously at Serge’s chest, where his breathing rose and fell in shallow rhythms.
‘How strange.’
I’d been too panicked to notice such details before.
Despite my attempts to stanch the bleeding, the blood loss had been severe…
I’d genuinely feared he might die while I was searching for Eston.
“Let me heal him first.”
Though I hadn’t explicitly asked her to do so, Eston perceptively crouched before Serge.
She carefully peeled away the blood-soaked hem of my petticoat and immediately placed both hands over the wound.
A moment later—whoosh!
Brilliant light erupted from her palms.
I finally staggered forward and collapsed onto the edge of the Staircase at the building’s entrance.
“Haah….”
A sigh—whether of relief or lamentation, I couldn’t say—escaped softly between my lips.
Suddenly, I noticed my hands trembling violently.
I’d been afraid he might die, but it seemed I’d been far more startled than I’d realized.
Afraid I wouldn’t find the way.
Afraid I wouldn’t meet Eston—that fear had lurked beneath the surface all along.
‘At least he’s not dead.’
Staring down at my quivering hands, I lifted them to my face and scrubbed it roughly and dry.
Some time passed like that.
“I’ve done all I can for now.”
At last, Eston finished his healing.
I lowered the hands covering my face and glanced sideways at Serge.
His wounds should have closed, yet his brow remained deeply furrowed.
Eston explained why.
“But… there are so many microscopic perforations that he’ll need healing several more times.”
“…He can manage that himself.”
I nodded dismissively, my tone flat.
Wasn’t this already more kindness than his orders had demanded of me?
As that thought crossed my mind, Eston’s eyes suddenly narrowed.
“I’m asking this out of genuine concern… but the Princess didn’t do this to him, did she?”
“….”
“I, I can’t be complicit in crime because of Theo! No matter how much you threaten me, I won’t help with evidence destruction or escape preparations or anything like that….”
“Ha.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.
“You’ve been reading too many mystery novels. You’re banned from the Study for a while.”
“B, but…!”
Eston’s expression turned deeply aggrieved.
“That’s why I said I was asking out of concern….”
“Talk sense, Eston. How could I possibly do this to an S-rank Awakener?”
“…Right. The Grand Duke was attacked by some ruffian not long ago, after all.”
“Do you think that ruffian was me?”
She shook her head dejectedly.
But it was me.
Still, I pushed down the guilt rising in my chest and spoke without hesitation.
“I came across him while handling my own business. He was someone I knew, so I couldn’t just ignore it.”
Eston finally accepted this. Thank goodness.
“What do we do now?”
“Go to the Grand Duke’s Residence and report his location.”
“You’re not… just leaving him here, are you?”
“So, should the two of us drag this massive thing along?”
At my words, her expression grew solemn.
I hastily grabbed her as she readily agreed to head to the Grand Duke’s Residence.
“Wait. Do you know where the Grand Duke’s Residence is?”
“…You don’t? It’s right in front of the Imperial Palace. It’s famous for being an even more magnificent estate than the Imperial Palace itself….”
“….”
“You might not know. After all, you’ve lost your memories, Princess.”
For some reason, they hadn’t even given me the location and just told me to go….
As I exhaled an exasperated sigh, Eston cautioned me with a worried tone.
“Princess, you should just take the carriage and head back. If dawn breaks like this, everyone will find out about your secret outing.”
“Understood.”
“Then I’ll be on my way!”
After bowing respectfully to me, she disappeared swiftly beyond the alley.
I too pushed myself up from the ground.
‘Ugh, I’m done for….’
Having rolled around in the underground facility all night, every muscle in my body ached.
I was just about to head back to the carriage when it happened.
“Ugh….”
A faint groan suddenly echoed from behind me.
I simply ignored it and kept walking.
After all, Eston had already dealt with it, so there shouldn’t be any danger.
He’d even guaranteed it himself.
That he wouldn’t die from this….
“…Sigh.”
I stopped abruptly and bit my lip harshly.
Then I spun around.
‘I must be insane. What is this, some kind of righteous heroine complex?’
I’d done everything I could.
I’d faithfully carried out his instructions and even given him healing on top of that.
‘So what more could I possibly do?’
Even as I muttered this to myself, I couldn’t stop my feet from turning back.
Thud-
Standing before him once more, I looked down at him irritably.
“….”
Was he having a nightmare?
Male Lead 4 still had a scowl plastered across his face.
Even with his eyes closed in silence, that wretched nature of his seemed to shine through.
‘What’s so pretty about a guy like this….’
I let out a short sigh, then slowly closed my eyes.
And when I opened them again.
Goooooo….
An ominous aura surged upward from the floor where the man lay.
Black, translucent smoke engulfed Serge’s entire body in an instant.
Like being submerged in water, it crept up his form, only ceasing once it had completely covered his lower jaw.
Beneath his gently closed eyes, the black mana undulated.

95%

The number matched perfectly.
Up to this point, there was nothing significantly different from when I normally used my ability.
If only it weren’t for the gray dots densely embedded across the black mana.
Like stars scattered sparsely across a hazy night sky, faint lights flickered and dimmed, then blazed brightly in repetition.
‘…Hesys.’
I had suspected as much, and now I saw it.
An aura beyond the mana itself.
It meant that ‘Purification’ wasn’t limited solely to mana.
An unexpected new function of my ability had been revealed, but I wasn’t particularly pleased about it.
‘In this damned world, what else would there be to purify besides mana?’
If only I hadn’t listened to what Serge said, I would have remained ignorant forever….
‘Why did I have to ask if he was addicted to Hesys?’
Regret washed over me.
I should have just pretended not to notice.

― …At this point, even that amount won’t put him to sleep.

Because I heard those words.
Now I couldn’t help but care.
Couldn’t just ignore it and move on….
I stared at the man’s deeply furrowed face, then sighed and bent at the waist.
I reached out and covered his eyes with my hand.
The warmth against my palm was intense.
Whether from his injuries or the hallucinogen, he seemed to be running a fever.
I whispered softly to him.
“…With this, I owe you nothing.”
So don’t you dare wake up and spout nonsense about getting hurt in my place, or about being my lifesaver.
Not a second time….
“…Purification.”
Green light erupted from my palm.

95%
89%
81%
.
.
.
52%
46%
38%

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————