A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 85

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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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85.

I answered casually.
“The heel caught on something, so I twisted my ankle on my own.”
“Actually… I saw Ethan go in. Marquis Leandro and Count Frederick too….”
She confessed timidly.
They were already conspicuous individuals on their own, but with three of them rushing in together, there was no way she could have missed them.
I nodded silently before asking in return.
“Did you hear anything?”
Nancy shook her head firmly.
“I heard loud noises… but I never dreamed the young lady would be there too.”
By loud noises, it had to be either my shout or Vincent’s—one of the two.
I was grateful it was the latter.
“…Nothing serious happened, did it?”
Nancy glanced at me cautiously.
She seemed worried whether my injury was connected to them.
“Well, plenty happened, but….”
“Wh-who did this?!”
She trembled indignantly.
Had she suspected that one of them had pushed me?
I appreciated her concern, but it was rather embarrassing.
“That’s not it. I really did fall on my own, Nancy.”
“Oh….”
“Honestly, it’s embarrassing, so please stop asking.”
“People fall sometimes. Why is that embarrassing… it’s more embarrassing not to help someone who’s hurt.”
“I suppose so.”
“Of course!”
Nancy pouted stubbornly in response.
I was concerned that her dissatisfied expression was beginning to resemble her mistress more and more.
I chuckled softly at Nancy’s adorable complaint.
As we chatted away, we had descended the entire Staircase before I knew it.
Nancy guided me to a Tent pitched in an Open Ground some distance from the Courtyard.
It was where Servants from each household waited.
Eston, who had been sitting with his arms crossed and a bored expression, recognized Nancy and me, his eyes widening.
“Young Lady?”
“Eston, check the young lady’s left ankle. She’s injured.”
“P-please sit here!”
Eston jumped up and seated me in his chair.
I pulled over the chair beside me and propped my left leg up on it.
Nancy quickly fetched a blanket from somewhere and draped it over my knee.
She even brought me a glass of cold water.
“…Thank you, Nancy.”
“Would you like me to bring you a warm cup of tea as well?”
“That’s fine.”
My throat was parched anyway, so I gulped down the water eagerly.
Meanwhile, Eston unhesitatingly removed my shoes and gently manipulated my foot.
“It must be dirty…”
I mumbled awkwardly, and Eston gave me a peculiar look.
Her eyes seemed to ask why I was even concerned about such a thing.
Then she firmly grasped my ankle.
Soon, a brilliant light burst forth from her palm.
Whoosh!
The healing energy seeping into my ankle felt wonderfully warm.
Though she usually didn’t hesitate to mock her employer, Eston remained unusually quiet today.
It seemed to be because of Nancy, who was fussing about with a grave expression.
Her face during the healing looked remarkably solemn and mature.
‘There was another person who cared about me…’
Someone who worried about me.
Nancy constantly checking if I was in pain, and Eston silently healing me without asking any questions.
My heart swelled at the sight of these two caring for me so attentively.
Fwoosh!
Just then, the light faded from Eston’s palm.
“Fortunately, there are no fractures—it’s just a mild sprain.”
“Thank you, Eston. I’m grateful you came with me.”
I meant it sincerely.
Without her, I would have been uncomfortable for all four days in this harsh terrain.
No matter how much it was the employer’s orders, it couldn’t have been easy for her to leave her younger sibling behind and follow me to such a distant island.
“…I-I’m just doing this for pay, so why are you saying such things?!”
As expected, Eston’s cheeks flushed crimson as she abruptly turned her head away.
Seeing how she had absolutely no resistance to praise, she looked exactly like someone her age, and I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
“D-Don’t laugh like that!”
She shot back with a sharp retort, then quickly asked about my ankle injury.
“…Did you perhaps hurt it while dancing? You’re not very coordinated, after all.”
“How did you know I’m clumsy?”
“Well, noble ladies usually practice dancing before major balls, but you… ah, never mind.”
When I stared at her with a smiling face, she hurriedly changed the subject.
“The healing is complete, but still be careful. Your ligaments are weakened, so you could sprain it again.”
“Got it.”
“Isn’t the heel too high? You don’t usually wear shoes like this, Your Highness.”
“Never mind. I can put them on myself….”
Before I could stop him, Eston picked up the shoes and carefully slipped them back onto my feet.
Then he laughed with a triumphant “Hehe,” as if he’d won.
I couldn’t help but let out a genuine laugh at the absurdity of it all.
I rose from my chair immediately.
While I wanted to check if my ankle was truly fine, I couldn’t remain seated any longer with so many eyes darting in my direction.
Fortunately, Eston’s healing had been flawless.
The throbbing pain that had accompanied each step vanished without a trace.
Nancy asked gently.
“Miss, does it not hurt anymore?”
“No.”
I nodded lightly and glanced upward.
The night sky had grown noticeably darker.
The full moon that had formed a perfect circle until moments ago was now more than half obscured by shadow.
A partial eclipse
1)
would soon begin.
“It’ll be midnight soon. Both of you should head inside. I’ll just watch the expedition depart and then retire myself….”
Crack-crack-boom――!
That was when it happened.
A deafening roar split the air, and lightning struck the clear sky from nowhere.
Flash!
Followed immediately by an intense burst of light.
My vision flickered for an instant.
As my sight returned moments later, people began murmuring in confusion.
“What? Why did the sky suddenly….”
“There isn’t a single cloud, so why is there thunder and lightning?”
Rumble, rumble――
Just as someone muttered, the clear sky without a trace of clouds continued to produce an incessant cacophony.
I too furrowed my brow, gazing upward.
Then, carried on a cold breeze, a foul stench pierced my nostrils.
A sense of déjà vu washed over me.
‘This is…!’
In that moment, a faint memory flashed through my mind.
Lightning striking the clear sky without warning.
A noxious sulfurous smell from an unknown source.
All of this pointed to one thing only.
I shouted urgently to Nancy and Eston.
“Nancy, Eston! Get inside the building quickly!”
The two people who had been gazing up at the sky with me turned to look at me with puzzled expressions.
“Princess.”
“Why, why are you doing this, miss?”
I glanced around before lowering my voice.
“It’s a Gate omen.”
“A, a Gate…?!”
“Shh.”
Unlike Nancy, who went pale at once, Eston asked with remarkable composure.
“Why do you think so?”
“Well….”
Because I’ve experienced it firsthand.
But I couldn’t simply recount what happened before the possession.
“There’s no time to explain everything. We need to get inside and evacuate to the Underground Facility as quickly as possible.”
“What about you, miss?”
“I’ll observe the situation for a moment and then follow. Hurry.”
“If that’s really the case, shouldn’t the Princess evacuate first?”
Unlike Nancy, who nodded obediently, Eston—true to her stubborn nature—didn’t yield so easily.
I swallowed a sigh and leaned in close to her, whispering.
“…You know my ability, Eston.”
“That’s exactly why. The Purifier is here too, so there’s no reason for the Princess to stay behind…!”
Eston furrowed her brow and lowered her voice as well.
“That’s why I’m observing the situation before going inside. I could be wrong about this.”
“But….”
“Eston.”
I grasped Eston’s hand firmly, seeing she still wore an unconvinced expression.
“That’s an order. Get inside right now.”
“….”
At my words, Eston bit her lower lip hard.
I understood she was doing this out of concern for me.
But only I, having lived through it, could know the truth.

― …The golden hour has passed. You should have run when I told you to.

Once a Gate truly begins to open, there is nothing—nothing—that even the most formidable Awakener can do.
* A phenomenon where only a portion of the moon is obscured when the sun, earth, and moon are not perfectly aligned.

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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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