A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 98

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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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98.

“Haah, haah….”
Ragged breaths tumbled out in succession.
My heart hammered wildly against my ribs.
I spun around frantically, taking in my surroundings.
Smaller than my chamber at the Duke’s Residence, yet lavishly appointed in an exotic style.
Whoooosh— splash! Whoooosh….
Through the open window, gentle sunlight streamed in alongside the refreshing sound of waves.
Ironically, the sight of the unfamiliar landscape gradually calmed my racing pulse.
‘Equinox Island.’
I belatedly recalled where I was.
The fact that I’d traveled all the way to this desolate sea at the far northwestern edge because of some damned commemorative ceremony or whatever….
Was actually a blessing.
Had I awakened at the Duke’s Residence, I might have mistaken everything I’d just witnessed and experienced for reality.
It had been such a vivid, lifelike dream.
“What kind of fucked-up dream was that….”
I absently muttered while wiping my sweat-dampened forehead with my sleeve, when I suddenly froze.
“…No, it wasn’t.”
I’d experienced something like this once before.
When I first encountered Dylan in Tollen.
After losing consciousness, I’d glimpsed Edith Blake’s past memories through a dream.
But back then, I’d merely observed as a third party—I couldn’t intervene in the dream itself.
This was the first time I’d actually become Edith Blake and experienced it firsthand….
Or was it?
“…Damn it.”
Understanding something, I pressed my forehead and exhaled slowly.
What I’d just experienced was less a dream than a vision.
Those two unsettling visions that had flickered past whenever I encountered the male leads.
Before, the figure in the vision had been Ethan and Dylan; this time, it was Vincent.
‘Now that I think about it… the place was identical to the one in Dylan’s vision.’
That cramped, shabby room.
I’d wondered where it was, only to discover it was a dilapidated inn room.

【Blue Moon Hotel】

I recalled the shabby signboard I’d seen in my dream.
“Blue Moon Hotel.”
That had to be the headquarters of the Blue Moon Guild located in Volner.
As I carefully mulled over the dream’s contents, my expression suddenly hardened.
“Wait… Does this mean that after I possessed this body, it didn’t awaken—but Edith Blake was originally The Purifier?”
No matter how I thought about it, the dream seemed to be revealing exactly that fact.
The one and only Purifier wasn’t Ruellin, but Edith Blake herself—what a massive plot twist!
‘When on earth did she awaken? And… if Edith Blake is The Purifier, what’s Ruellin’s ability?’
Brainwashing? Manipulation? Memory alteration?
Whatever it was, freshly awakened from sleep, it all felt surreal and grotesque to me.
‘The female lead wasn’t just a charlatan—she was the hidden mastermind impersonating The Purifier….’
The original story I knew had been destroyed, burned to ash and scattered to the winds.
When shock becomes too overwhelming, does it cease to feel real?
Or perhaps I’d already been conditioned by how this insane novel had never once aligned with my expectations.
I found myself accepting the dream’s revelations with surprising composure.
It was startling that Edith Blake had actually been The Purifier all along, and that I’d been dancing like a puppet in Ruellin’s hands until now.
But that was all.
Honestly, the female lead….
‘Ah, can I not call her that anymore?’
In any case.
Nothing could be more shocking than the death of Ruellin, whom I’d firmly believed to be the female lead.
It had all happened before I possessed this body anyway.
Rather than worrying about being used like the past Edith Blake, with Ruellin dead, there was no reason for that to happen going forward.
My head had begun to ache from the sudden flood of information….
“…But why did Ruellin act like a madwoman whenever she talked to me? In the dream, she seemed to speak quite coherently….”
What puzzled me was actually this.
“Ha… I have no idea.”
After wracking my brain over it, I simply collapsed backward onto the bed.
Since the person in question had already departed for the underworld, there was no way to find out anyway.
I had far too many pressing concerns to leisurely ponder such things.
‘Now they must all know that I’m The Purifier….’
Setting aside the mere dreams, the real circumstances of my situation before I lost consciousness came flooding back.
From purifying the rampaging Vincent, to firing that tremendous green energy wave toward the sky.
And finally, the purifying light that crumbled to dust and fell, completely cleansing the magic barrier that had engulfed the Ballroom….
The moment I thought about how to handle all of that, my vision darkened.
“…I wonder if the subjugation battle has ended by now.”
Seeing the sun shining brightly, it seemed I’d slept through the entire night after losing consciousness.
The subjugation battle progresses for approximately five to six hours, from midnight when the total lunar eclipse begins until it ends.
During that time, the barrier around the Gate Wave weakens, allowing monsters to spill out into the world.
‘I really wanted to see what a Gate Wave looked like….’
A Gate opening infinitely in one location.
I had tried to dismiss it, but before I possessed this body, the anomaly of a Gate opening twice in the same place had been nagging at the back of my mind.
I had even forced myself to attend the eve ceremony, hoping to uncover even the slightest clue related to my possession.
‘Well, that’s all for nothing.’
I was exhaling a deep sigh of disappointment when it happened.
Click.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of the door opening.
Lifting only my head to verify the visitor, my eyes met directly with Nancy as she crept quietly inside.
“Oh, Miss!”
“Nancy.”
“Sniff, Miss…!”
The moment she confirmed I had opened my eyes, she rushed to the bed with tears streaming down her face.
“Y-you’re awake now?”
“Yes. Nothing happened while I was out?”
“Nothing happened?! Do you know how worried I was when you couldn’t open your eyes for a whole day?!”
“A w-whole day…?!”
“Yes! Today marks the third day since we arrived on the island.”
At her words, my jaw dropped.
I thought I had only slept for a few hours at most.
Nancy, seeing my bewilderment, vented her frustration with a rare expression of anger.
“You’re really too much, Miss! You said you valued your life, didn’t you? You said you’d be back soon! Do you know how worried Eston and I were? We even packed our bags, ready to flee the moment you returned!”
Those were all words I had spoken, and since I had harbored the same intention, I had nothing to say.
“…I’m sorry.”
“I was watching from the window, and suddenly you crossed through the whirlwind so recklessly and rushed into the Magi, and then—!”
“…”
“Then you suddenly collapsed, and the Grand Duke caught you in his arms, and you can’t imagine how shocked I was…!”
“Wait.”
Guilty and silent, I raised my hand to stop her at one phrase that caught my attention.
“The Grand Duke…?”
Nancy looked at me with confusion before nodding.
“Yes!”
“The Grand Duke I know?”
“Yes, Miss! Grand Duke Belnac, who gave you the necklace as a gift!”
After receiving confirmation twice, my mood became peculiar.
“Why would that man…?”
And not just telekinetically moving me, but actually carrying me in his arms?
Right after my identity as The Purifier was revealed?
In a different novel, this would be quite an exhilarating situation, but unfortunately, for me who had possessed this insane story, it felt only unsettling and ominous.
Because the male lead number four I knew would have resented me for deceiving him all this time.
There was no way he possessed the kind heart to carry me in his arms like this.
Nancy added to me, who was wearing a disgruntled expression.
“Not only that, but he came by yesterday to check on your condition and stayed by your side all day.”
“Ugh!”
I couldn’t help but shudder at her words.
Indeed, my suspicion had been correct.
‘That’s it. Surveillance, pure surveillance!’
It was clear he intended to hound me the moment I opened my eyes, to ensure I couldn’t slip away!
I urgently impressed upon Nancy.
“Nancy. If anyone asks, tell them I’m still unconscious. Understood? Especially—make absolutely sure the Grand Duke doesn’t find out!”
“Yes? Oh, of course! I will.”
Fortunately, my faithful Maid accepted without question.
“But… shouldn’t we inform Eston?”
“Yes. He’s my Healer, so he needs to know.”
Besides, I had mountains of questions for him.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll bring him right away!”
Nancy hurried out of the room.
A short while later.
I found myself facing Eston, his expression deeply furrowed with concern.
“…There’s nothing particularly wrong with your body. Just as it’s been each time, it’s merely the aftereffects of using your ability—though this time they’re somewhat more severe.”
“That’s a relief.”
“What exactly are you trying to do? Do you have any idea how much your name is being discussed among people right now?”
She asked me with a deeply exasperated expression.
‘Well… of course it would be.’
The moment The Purifier died, a new Purifier appeared.
But that person was none other than the notorious villainess who had been tormenting and oppressing the dead Purifier all this time.
Of course it would be the talk of the town!
But I couldn’t care less what insignificant extras were babbling about.
What mattered was.
“Do they all think I’ve just awakened?”
“…Yes. For now, at least.”
Eston, understanding my meaning immediately, nodded carefully.
I had been asking whether anyone had already noticed my awakening beforehand.
Especially those damned male leads—particularly the most persistent one, male lead number three.
Fortunately, aside from Serge, it seemed no one else knew yet.
‘Good. I can manage this somehow.’
Having finished my thoughts, I asked about something else.
“Are the children alright?”
“The children? What do you… Ah. They left by ship right after the Charity Event ended yesterday.”
“In just one day?”
I furrowed my brow sharply.
They’d only just arrived after midnight from taking a boat here, and now I was sending them off on another voyage the very next day… it was too much.
“The children must have been quite startled as well. Couldn’t you use spatial transfer instead? This is unreasonable….”
Eston’s eyes grew increasingly peculiar as she quietly listened to my muttering.
Soon enough, she asked with an expression of disbelief.
“Surely… you didn’t reveal your ability because of those orphans?”
“….”
“You, my lady?”
Well… I couldn’t exactly say it was solely because of those children.
There was also the matter of stopping Vincent’s rampage, and Nancy as well.
And there was also the safety of this impudent girl who was now looking at me with such strange eyes.
I smiled faintly and glared at her.
“Why? Don’t you believe that I’m so incredibly kind-hearted that I revealed an ability I’d hidden all this time for the sake of mere orphans?”
“W-well, that’s not exactly….”
Eston, whose words had trailed off, suddenly cried out with an aggrieved expression.
“You threatened to report me to the Security Bureau if I didn’t keep it secret!”
“Ha ha! You. Why are you bringing up something from so long ago?”
“…You’re becoming more and more like the Grand Duke, it seems.”
“Hey! If you’re going to insult me, at least do it to my face directly!”

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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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