A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 78

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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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78.

Was it the sheer exhilaration of finally shaking off that insufferable water ghost?
My steps back to my seat felt unusually light and buoyant.
As I emerged from the dimly lit Observation Deck into the brilliantly lit Ballroom, the sweet strains of music washed over me.
Every table had filled to capacity.
‘Damn it. Ethan must have arrived by now!’
I quickened my pace, hurrying across the courtyard.
Upon reaching the Duke’s Mansion table, sure enough—
“You were eating earlier, weren’t you? Where did you disappear to?” Ethan asked with evident curiosity.
Ethan asked with a puzzled expression.
Thank heavens Vincent was nowhere to be seen. He must have returned to his own seat.
“I just went to my room. I forgot my allergy medication…”
I offered a plausible excuse and hastily took my seat.
“Here.”
But then Ethan suddenly thrust something toward me.
“This is…”
It was a familiar object.
The brown medicine bottle Nancy had given me just before I entered the Ballroom.
“Brother, why do you have this…”
“If you forget it again, tell me. I always carry it with me when I go out.”
My eyes widened at those words.
Did Ethan have pollen allergies too?
I’d never heard of such a thing.
‘Come to think of it… he mentioned having it with him before.’

— Your nerves tend to sharpen when you have an allergic reaction.
— I was looking for you because I had emergency medication on hand, and yet there you were in that state…

Truthfully, the notion that he always carried it for my sake made no sense.
So I had simply assumed he must have allergies himself and thought nothing more of it.
“Thank you.”
As I took the medicine bottle from him—
“Well, well—who’s this?”
A familiar voice suddenly pierced my ears.
“The legendary hero who beat the Grand Duke to a pulp—surely you must be the Princess Edith Blake?”

44%

When was it that he purified me?
That damned shame meter was already skyrocketing.
A reckless drunkard clutching a wine bottle was approaching me.
His ghostly grin, those gleaming black pupils—he looked exactly like a predator who’d spotted its prey.
‘Stop it! And don’t come over here…!’
I shuddered and denied reality.
But heaven truly is indifferent.
The male lead trudged over and collapsed into the chair at the adjacent table.
Of all places, the seat closest to mine!
“Why, why are you sitting here?!”
“This is my seat, isn’t it?”
Serge tilted his head askew.
It wasn’t a lie—the adjacent table was empty except for where he sat.
‘Who arranged the seating?! Isn’t the Imperial Family supposed to sit up front?’
I’d naturally assumed they’d sit on the elevated platform ahead, so I’d been secretly delighted that we wouldn’t cross paths today…
I stared at Serge with eyes that trembled uncontrollably.
Then he did something even more shocking than his arrival.
He picked up a fork from the table and began tapping the wine bottle he’d brought.
Clink! Clang!
Through the clear, crystalline ringing of glass, he bellowed hoarsely.
“Hey! Bring me meat first. Sear it until the blood drips—charred on the outside.”
Madman.
There’s a perfectly good call bell, yet I have no idea what he’s doing.
“My goodness, look over there. The Grand Duke is…!”
“So the rumors were true? The Princess attacked the Grand Duke, who was an assailant…?”
“But don’t they seem rather close?”
The attention I’d barely shaken off with Vincent’s departure snapped back to me in an instant.
‘Are you all blind?!’
I nearly jumped to my feet and screamed at the horrible whispers boring into my ears.
That’s when it happened.
“Please compose yourself, Your Grace. You appear quite intoxicated.”
A remarkably composed voice admonished the madman.
I lifted my head sharply, and there was Ethan, regarding the drunkard with eyes that seemed to freeze to the bone.
But the drunk’s response was absurd.
“Hmm… who are you?”
“I am Ethan Blake, Commander of the Second Knight Order of the Security Bureau.”
“Ah! The famous Duke’s adopted son?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Male Lead 1 surprisingly didn’t yield an inch to Male Lead 4’s presence.
Then Male Lead 4 swept his gaze across his opponent with keen interest.
‘No. Just shut up and stay quiet. You don’t suit her.’
I shook my head desperately at Ethan.
Male Lead 4 wasn’t your average lunatic that a criminal could handle.
As if to prove my very thoughts through action, he turned his body toward me and whispered.
“I was almost disappointed thinking you’d brought some new partner without telling me, Princess.”
“What do you—”
Startled by those suddenly dark eyes bearing down on me, I flinched and shrank back.
Screech—!
My chair suddenly slid across the floor.
“Edith Blake’s partner is also me.”
I spun around in shock to find Ethan had pulled my chair toward him, his voice absolute.
“My sister suffered greatly through the night because of someone, and she still requires care at this time.”
“Is that someone perhaps referring to me?”
“That would be a matter of interpretation.”
Spark—!
Sparks seemed to fly between the two men’s locked gazes.
Caught between them, I felt utterly wretched.
‘Are you both insane?’
As I looked between them, suffering under extreme stress.
“Were you in pain, Princess?” Serge suddenly turned to me.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I would have sent medicinal herbs from home as well.”
“…I’m fine.”
“Now that I think about it, you never replied to my letter either.”
“A letter?”
Before I could even respond, lightning-quick words came from the left.
“…Edith Blake.”
Ethan called my name in a voice that sent chills down my spine.
“Yet how thoughtful of you to wear the things I gave you. As I suspected, Princess suits vivid primary colors far better than those pale, dull stones.”
Serge smirked, speaking as though unwilling to concede.
It was a statement that stood in perfect opposition to Ethan’s words, as if he’d heard them directly.
“Edith.”
“Princess.”
Both of them, each in turn.
I could bear it no longer.
“Enough—!”
Bang!
I shot up from my seat.
I jumped to my feet and bolted from my seat.
The covert glances that had been darting around suddenly converged on me, though I was too preoccupied to notice.
“I’m feeling unwell, so I really must retire to my room.”
“You haven’t even finished your meal yet. Where are you going?”
“Shall I join you?”
They answered in turn.
“Absolutely not!”
I shook my head vigorously, then added with a shudder.
“I’ll be excusing myself, so I do hope you both enjoy your meal together.”
I was about to hastily slip away from the table when—
A sharp tug.
Suddenly my dress hem pulled taut, and I couldn’t take another step.
Wondering if I’d caught it on something, I turned around with a grimace.
There was that madman, clutching at my skirt.
“Stop playing games and sit down, Princess.”
He stared up at me with an expressionless face.
I quickly glanced around before leaning in and whispering urgently.
“Your Highness, have you lost your mind?”
“Ah. That’s been the case for quite some time now.”
Absurdly, he admitted it readily, then continued.
“It’s rather lonely eating alone at such a large table, don’t you think?”
“You can eat with my brother!”
“Even so, I’m rather particular about my company, you see…”
Serge, scratching the bridge of his nose with his free hand, then poked his head around toward the side.
“Hey, Knight Commander, my dear brother. Won’t you lend a hand? Why don’t you join us and speak your mind instead of pretending to be so proper?”
I was certain Ethan would ignore that remark.
But to my surprise—
My left hand was suddenly enveloped in soft fabric.
Ethan had taken my hand in his gloved one!
“Just sit. The Crown Prince will be arriving shortly.”
“…”
“There are many eyes watching.”
He whispered to me soothingly.
‘Why are you doing this too?!’
A surge of betrayal welled up inside me.
I never expected Ethan to side with Serge’s ridiculous nonsense.
‘Please, just leave me alone and sort things out between yourselves!’
I winced and pulled hard on my left hand and right skirt hem.
I was trying to wrench myself free from them.
“Ugh…!”
But they wouldn’t budge an inch.
I looked back and forth between them in exasperation, but those shameless bastards simply stared at me without the slightest indication of backing down.
The murmuring directed at me grew increasingly louder.
“Ugh….”
I exhaled a deep sigh and reluctantly collapsed back into my seat.
As if by magic, the hands that had been restraining me immediately released their grip.
“Do you not require a digestif?”
“Shall we share a drink, Princess? Try not to feel too honored by the invitation.”
“Yes. No.”
Answering those men in turn as they spoke up as if they’d been waiting for this moment, I glanced up toward the staircase.
‘When on earth is that Crown Prince going to arrive….’
The Equinox Ceremony truly begins at the opening address given by the Emperor at the eve ceremony.
Then, at midnight on the day of the total lunar eclipse, the subjugation battle commences.
Which means I have to endure this until at least midnight. Damn it!
A control freak on my left, a psychopath on my right.
A narcissist behind me and someone with severe persecution complex to boot.
‘…Will I really be able to survive here for four days?’
Not even an hour had passed since the eve ceremony began, and I was already feeling utterly drained.

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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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