A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 82

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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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82.

A chill suddenly ran down my spine.
She was definitely the female lead I knew.
The same Ruellin described in the novel and glimpsed through Edith Blake’s dreams.
Yet somehow, conversing with her felt like speaking to a wax figure sculpted in her image.
Ruellin answered with an innocent expression devoid of warmth, as if she lacked any vitality.
“I don’t understand why you’re saying such things all of a sudden, Edith Blake.”
It was identical to what I’d heard moments before—not a single word different.
She was repeating herself as if a recording had been inserted into her mind.
“What on earth….”
I trailed off, staring blankly at the female lead.
‘Brainwashing? Or control?’
Something had definitely happened at the Sephiroth Sect.
Yet if she’d fallen victim to brainwashing or a control ability, there would be no reason to repeat words from the past.
As I scrutinized Ruellin with a bewildered expression, something struck me.
“…!”
I suddenly realized there was a far greater problem with her than merely repeating past dialogue.
It had already been several minutes since I’d begun this conversation—if one could even call it that—with the female lead.
And throughout that span of time, which was admittedly quite lengthy….
‘She hasn’t blinked…!’
The fact that Ruellin hadn’t blinked even once!
A bone-chilling cold crept down my spine, and my hair stood on end.
“…Ruellin.”
“Hmm?”
“Why… aren’t you blinking?”
“Oh.”
Ruellin’s lips moved slightly.
Then, like a malfunctioning machine receiving incorrect input, her eyes began rolling wildly in all directions.
Whirl, whirl, whirl, whirl.
Emerald irises darting frantically within those wide eye sockets.
“Ahhh!”
I screamed involuntarily at the sight, as if witnessing a scene from a horror film.
Snap.
Only then did Ruellin’s emerald eyes cease their chaotic rolling.
And blink, blink.
She simply blinked her eyelids twice as if nothing had happened!
“…Why are you acting like that, Edith Blake?”
Frozen stiff, I heard the female lead ask me kindly.
“Eek!”
I yelped and stumbled backward.
“Y-you…! Why are your eyes so wide?”
“What did I even do…?”
Thud.
She took another step toward me, her face twisted in distress.
As I retreated to avoid her, my skirt hem caught on my heel.
My left foot tilted, and in an instant, I lost my balance.
“Ah!”
Crash!
I fell flat on my back.
“Ugh…!”
My tailbone!
The impact felt like my backside was shattering against the floor.
I whimpered with tears streaming down my face, clutching my waist, when suddenly the light above me dimmed.
“Edith Blake, are you alright?”
The moment I lifted my head slightly, I met those troublesome green eyes directly.
From a distance, I hadn’t noticed, but up close, her glossy pupils were utterly vacant.
Like the empty eyes of a doll devoid of a soul.
“Hm…!”
My vision swam for a moment, and a stifled gasp escaped me.
My ashen face was reflected perfectly in those transparent green eyes.
Anyone could see I was terrified.
Yet seemingly oblivious to my state, Ruellin extended a hand toward me.
“Edith Blake…!”
“W-wait, just a moment!”
I practically shrieked, scrambling backward on my seat in something like a convulsion.
“Stay right there. Don’t come any closer!”
“That’s too much, Edith Blake. Is it because I’m a commoner? Am I dirty to you?”
“When did I ever say that, you lunatic!”
“Lunatic? I know you hate me, but how could you say something so cruel…! Sob.”
Ruellin, who had been reciting her lines with all the emotion of a parrot, contorted her face.
Soon after, her large eyes, like glass marbles, glistened with moisture.
“Sob, sniff… I really wanted to get along with you…!”
The female lead then began to cry, her shoulders trembling.
Even her tears were elegant and beautiful.
The way pearl-like drops fell from her eyes made her look unbearably sorrowful, as if she’d been slapped by a villainess.
Yet I remained half-dazed, simply staring up at Ruellin from below.
Her expression shifted by the second—what kind of sword technique was this?
1)
She slapped me across the face.
Under normal circumstances, I would have been rendered speechless, but now I couldn’t even muster a laugh.
I was simply too terrified.
‘I need to get away from this madwoman!’
The thought came to me instinctively.
But as I scrambled backward, my ankle twisted, and I couldn’t manage to get back on my feet.
Perhaps I’d been so startled by the female lead’s eye-rolling display that my legs had simply given out beneath me.
That was when it happened.
“What?”
A voice cut through the suffocating tension like a lifeline, as if to rescue me from my predicament.
“What are you two doing?”
I turned my head frantically toward the voice, only to despair at who had arrived.
This wasn’t salvation—it was catastrophe.
“Vincent?”
In my silence, the female lead’s delicate voice called out to them.
“Sir Ethan, Sir Dylan as well…”
The timing couldn’t have been worse, nor could the arrivals.
All three male leads in one place.
And precisely when I was alone with Ruellin.
‘…Could that woman have brought them all here?’
I recalled the deer-masked figure who had so readily vacated the space earlier.
“Ruellin. What’s going on?”
The first male lead rushed forward eagerly.
The second and third male leads followed in his wake.
At least the fourth male lead wasn’t here—I supposed that was something to be grateful for.
No. My frustration only mounted.
‘Damn it! Serge, you bastard, you seemed so helpful, but you couldn’t even properly restrain Vincent?!’
I was furrowing my brow at the swelling tide of disappointment when—
Ruellin hastily wiped her tears with the back of her hand and shook her head like an oppressed heroine.
“N-no, it’s nothing. I was just having a conversation with Edith Blake…”
“Why? Did she say something ridiculous to you again? Did she… hit you? Is that why you’re crying?”
Vincent seized the opportunity to slander me without hesitation.
I felt barely any anger.
Only a strange sense of wonder.
‘I’m the one lying on the ground—how exactly would I manage to hit someone and end up sprawled out like this?’
Was the power of love truly so blinding?
The female lead gently tried to stop Vincent, who was glaring at me with menacing eyes.
“N-no, that’s not it, Vincent. Don’t say things like that.”
“If that’s not it, then why are you crying? Hmm?”
“It’s not luck. I just don’t know what got into—”
“Let me see.”
Soon after, the two of them began cursing under their breath.
Meanwhile, I remained tense, watching Vincent intently.
‘Doesn’t he notice something’s wrong with Ruellin’s eyes?’
With eyes as glassy as marbles, and yet only I could sense something amiss.
I looked between them with wavering eyes.
Suddenly, a cold voice fell upon me like ice water poured from above.
“What are you doing sprawled on the floor without any sense? Get up at once.”
I glanced up to find Ethan staring down at me with a frozen expression.
The lake-colored eyes that had held warmth when he gave me the allergy medicine were now tinged with faint contempt and exasperation.
Like Vincent, he seemed convinced that I had made Ruellin cry.
Without knowing the full context.
Despite the fact that it was clearly I who had fallen.
Something hot surged up in my chest.
Had I truly fooled myself into thinking we’d grown closer during this entire day spent together?
I clenched my teeth and forced strength into my legs.
Fortunately, there was a pillar right beside me.
I was gripping it tightly and struggling to my feet when—
“…Take my hand.”
A large hand suddenly extended before me.
I slowly lifted my gaze to find the third male lead looking down at me.
* A traditional opera from Sichuan Province in China. A technique where actors change masks in an instant without touching them, called face-changing.

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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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