A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 75

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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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75.

***

Spending three hours in quiet silence with that bastard Ethan was absolutely dreadful!
He stood motionless with his arms crossed, so still I wondered if he was even human.
Whenever I shifted even slightly, he’d glare at me with such an eerie intensity that I could barely breathe properly.
By the time we finally arrived at Teberon Harbor, I felt like cheering aloud.
The harbor bustled with carriages that had arrived before us.
‘They said around 150 people would attend?’
Unlike a banquet, the Equinox Ceremony wasn’t open to just anyone.
Only the royal family in the Capital, powerful high-ranking noble houses, and carefully selected Awakeners received invitations.
Security was that strict because of the Gate Wave, and besides, the island itself was small with limited capacity.
The Duke had furiously explained all this to me during our private meeting in his Study when I’d mentioned feeling unwell and not wanting to attend.

― Even born as an Awakener, you’d be lucky to go once in a lifetime, and yet you can attend every year because you have good parents, and you’re ungrateful?!
― Stop cooping yourself up at home and go socialize, enjoy the moonlight, do something! Until last year, you were making a fuss about buying dresses a month in advance….

It seemed Edith Blake had always treasured this day specially each year.
Unable to find a legitimate reason to decline, I’d returned to my Room without another word.
I was gazing absently out the window with a quiet sigh.
Beside the line of ornate carriages, I noticed ragged children in shabby clothes walking past.
Curious where they were headed, I followed the procession to its end and saw them boarding a ship docked at the pier one by one.
“What are all these children doing….”
I murmured without thinking, and unexpectedly received an answer.
“Every year at the Ceremony, twenty orphans are invited to the island for a charity event.”
At the dry voice, I glanced sideways and saw Ethan, his gaze fixed on the window like mine.
‘Has your mood improved now?’
I didn’t understand why he’d been so angry about something so awkward.
In any case, the suffocating atmosphere had finally eased.
“Ah… but those children are taking a ship instead of using spatial transfer?”
“The charity event won’t happen until tomorrow anyway, so there’s no point wasting manpower.”
Meaning they didn’t have the resources to teleport the orphans as well.
It was natural in a class-based society, but as someone from the modern world, it felt bitter.
‘Shouldn’t children go first with priority for the elderly and vulnerable?’
As I was thinking this, Ethan suddenly asked.
“Does it bother you?”
“Pardon?”
“You feel sorry for them?”
“Well… not exactly sorry, but I thought it would be difficult for them to travel by boat.”
I spoke the words that Edith Blake would naturally say.
If I were truly her, I should have spouted something like “What’s there to feel sorry about?” — a remark that would reveal a shattered character.
Fortunately, Ethan seemed not to notice this discrepancy.
“Such minor inconveniences are something one must simply endure.”
He recited this in a tone so cold it could freeze affection itself.
“I selected only those children showing signs of awakening. For them, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“….”
“If they make a good impression at this Equinox Ceremony, they might be fortunate enough to be adopted into a noble family after awakening and improve their station, wouldn’t you say?”
Suddenly, he tore his gaze from the window and looked directly at me.
“Like I was.”
And then, unexpectedly, he mocked himself.
A bitter smile—whether self-deprecating or contemptuous, I couldn’t tell—formed at the corners of his mouth.
Ethan’s uncharacteristic behavior left me somewhat flustered.
“…I’ve never thought of it that way.”
“That’s exactly what you said in this very place last year.”
“Who did?”
“You.”
At those words, I nearly bit my tongue in that instant.
‘Damn it, Edith Blake….’
There was plenty I could say about this.
I never dreamed such a thing had happened.
Of course not. Such details never appeared in this novel, which revolved around Ruellin.
‘Now I can’t simply condemn Ethan for ignoring Edith Blake as she wasted away!’
This was problematic.
Even if I couldn’t claim to be a spotless victim, my justification for reforming that man was now crumbling away.
Every time I had to clean up the mess the original owner left behind, I felt deeply wronged, but having possessed this body, there was nothing I could do about it.
I swallowed a sigh and opened my mouth.
“…I don’t remember, but if I said something like that, I apologize. I’m sure I didn’t mean any harm.”
Probably.
“…What?”
Yet for some reason, Ethan’s expression looked as though he’d been struck.
“You, of all people….”
As if shocked, he stumbled over his words.
For some reason, his reaction resembled the Duke’s, and I felt oddly uncomfortable.
‘Did I—or rather, did Edith Blake—apologize so shockingly?’
Of course, she had never uttered anything resembling an apology until now, so it made sense that….
That was when it happened.
“…Then what did you mean by it?”
Ethan, who had been momentarily at a loss for words, suddenly pressed me with a sharp question.
Recalling that moment anew, he seemed irritated.
‘How would I know?’
I wanted to retort as much, but held back since I was the one apologizing.
I answered carefully, trying to imagine Edith Blake’s feelings at the time.
“Well, it wasn’t necessarily said with any particular intention… Perhaps something had upset her?”
“….”
“I was quite immature back then, after all.”
Last year would have been the peak of my jealousy toward Ruellin.
‘In the novel, the heroine participated in the Ceremony for the first time this year, so… maybe he said he’d take Ruellin to the Ceremony using his authority?’
There was little else that would have driven Edith Blake to such fury, even touching upon Ethan’s raw nerve—his origins.
“Last year, when you said you’d take Ruellin to the Ceremony…”
I’d guessed somewhat blindly, but Ethan had just made the same conjecture I had.
Chills ran down my spine.
“Brother.”
I hastily cut him off.
“You don’t need to explain yourself to me.”
“…Edith Blake.”
“You acted on what you believed was right. It was my mistake for saying such things, and it won’t happen again.”
“What….”
“Whether you bring Ruellin or anyone else is entirely your choice. I won’t interfere, so you needn’t concern yourself with me.”
I finished speaking with a shrug.
I meant it sincerely.
‘You live your way, and I’ll live mine.’
Yet for some reason, Ethan’s expression seemed strange.
I thought he’d be pleased to hear such words.
Like a lost child, his face crumpled for a moment.
But it was so fleeting it could have been a trick of the eye.
When I blinked again, he nodded with his usual cold, arrogant expression.
“…Very well. I accept your apology.”
“Thank you.”
“From now on….”
From now on?
His lips moved as though he meant to say more, but ultimately nothing else came out.
‘I thought he’d at least give me a warning to watch my tongue.’
I was grateful I could wrap this up without further nagging.
I gauged his mood carefully, but he didn’t seem upset as he had been before.
Rather, he appeared lost in deep thought.
‘Whatever.’
With a sense of relief, I turned my gaze back out the window, and just then, our turn arrived.
About five or six individuals who appeared to be Space Ability Users surrounded the carriage.
“It may shake, so hold onto the handles.”
Ethan gestured toward the safety bar attached beneath the window.
As I obediently grasped it, moments later—
“Hiiiiing—!”
The startled cries of horses mingled with a brilliant white flash that consumed my vision.
Kugugugugun….
By the time I felt the subtle vibration Ethan had mentioned, we had arrived at another harbor.
Kee-rook, kee-rook—
Flocks of seagulls cried out in welcome, their voices warm and familiar.
An exotic landscape of lush palm forests—a sight rarely seen in the Capital.
Not far from the harbor, a colossal fortress came into view.
It was a palace of pristine white beauty, the kind one might see at any tourist destination.
‘Is that the Equinox Palace? It’s quite beautiful.’
With the sea bathed in the glow of sunset behind us, the carriage raced toward the palace.
Lost in gazing out the window, we passed through the castle gate in an instant.
Finally, the carriage came to a halt, and Ethan descended first.
“Here.”
As I carefully stepped down after him, he extended his hand to me just as he had when we boarded.
I naturally took his hand.
There were too many eyes watching.
The castle entrance bustled with nobility arriving in succession.
Walking toward the entrance under Ethan’s escort—
“…I didn’t get a chance to say this earlier.”
He suddenly whispered.
“You look beautiful today.”
“…!”
“Except for that accessory. Those dark, bold colors don’t suit you.”
I stood there with my mouth agape.
‘…He’s been in a foul mood the entire journey, and now suddenly he’s complimenting me?’
Considering the remark he added at the end, it almost felt like an insult….
It was something I’d heard before.

「Blue Diamond doesn’t suit you much.」

The postscript at the end of the letter that Male Lead 4 had sent along with the accessories.
And that remark Ethan had just made—whether it was a curse or a compliment, I couldn’t tell.
I was utterly bewildered and at a loss for words.
‘Wait, didn’t you just say it suited me? And if nothing suits me, then what exactly am I supposed to wear, you bastards!’
I hesitated, unsure how to respond, when he rolled his eyes and looked down at me.
“Why. Do you think it’s presumptuous of me to say such things?”
“No? That’s not it…”
Edith Blake seemed to frequently pull such antics on Ethan.
In the end, I couldn’t very well question him about how he’d said it suited me at the Duke’s Residence earlier.
I could only accept it.
“…Thank you.”
“…”
“You look wonderful today too, brother.”
I returned the compliment appropriately and smiled softly.
‘Right. Why would I quarrel with someone who’s about to go subjugate a Gate anyway?’
That was the mindset behind my gesture…
In an instant, his eyes widened, and those clear lake-blue irises rippled visibly.
And then, abruptly.
His footsteps came to a halt.
“Brother…?”
Just as I called out to him in confusion.
Whoosh—!
He suddenly wrenched his hand away from mine, covered his face with it, and turned his head.
“Go inside.”
And then he walked quickly into the residence by himself!
Left standing there in bewilderment, I belatedly hurried after him.
‘Ugh! Why is he acting like this today, seriously!’

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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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