A World Where You All Are The Villains [Novel] Chapter 71

It was when I returned to my room after wrapping up the conversation with the Duke.

In the short time I was gone, my room had been completely taken over.

Luxurious boxes were piled up like mountains, filled to the brim with gleaming treasures.

Several servants were bustling about, unpacking and moving the items.

“Butler! Where should we put this?”

“Put that over there for now. I think we might need to custom-order a new jewelry cabinet… Hey, you there! Didn’t I say to move all the fragile items to the storehouse if possible!”

The butler stood right in the middle, passionately directing the operation.

I narrowed my brow and approached him.

“What is all this, Butler?”

“Ah! My Lady, you’re here already?”

The butler’s face lit up upon seeing me.

“I was just organizing the gifts sent from the Grand Ducal estate!”

He answered with evident glee.

I already knew about it from the Duke, but I didn’t expect it to be this excessive.

“From all sorts of rare jewels and accessories to ornaments in styles I’ve never even seen before, it’s absolutely astonishing! Would you like to take a look?”

“No.”

I refused flatly and looked around the room with a bewildered expression.

“You didn’t mention he sent this much.”

“I know, right? You should have seen how many carriages were lined up… this old man was shocked out of his wits! Of course, since they caught the criminal thanks to our young lady, a hundred bows of gratitude wouldn’t be enough!”

The rumors must have already spread through the mansion, given how excitedly the butler was chattering away.

To think he’d sent this much jewelry.

They were only saying that because they didn’t know the truth.

To others, this might look dazzling and wonderful, but to me, the things the Grand Duke sent felt terribly ominous.

It was simply too excessive a reward for what I had actually done.

Honestly, him cleaning up my alibi with the Duke for last night was already shocking enough.

However, since he was unconscious at the time, he couldn’t possibly know that.

Therefore, just notifying the Grand Ducal estate of his location as instructed wouldn’t warrant such a grand display of gratitude…

Suddenly, one more thing came to mind.

I had been so out of it that I’d completely forgotten.

I had used her to heal him and sent her on an errand to the Grand Ducal estate.

I urgently asked the butler.

“Butler, where is Aston?”

“Aston? She was here just a moment ago, but I believe she said she was going to fetch something…”

“My Lady.”

Right on cue, the person I was looking for walked through the door.

“Aston!”

I practically ran over to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her into a corner.

After casting a quick glance at the butler and the servants, I whispered quietly.

“…What exactly happened?”

“Ah. Well…”

With a troubled expression, Aston explained the whole story.

“When I informed them of the location at the Grand Ducal estate, they stopped me from leaving until they could verify if it was true.”

“What? And then?”

“Anyway, the knights went to… I mean, they found him and brought him back, but then they wouldn’t let me leave again until he woke up. I think they were suspicious of me.”

Since this was a secret between the two of us, Aston tactfully omitted the subject.

When I fiercely scowled at the part about them suspecting her, Aston hastily added.

“Fortunately, he woke up very quickly, in less than an hour.”

“A-An hour? Hah…”

My jaw dropped in sheer disbelief.

He had drunk a hallucinogen, had a hole blown through his stomach, and even underwent purification, yet he woke up that quickly?

It was a recovery speed that was hard to believe.

It’s a damn good thing I bolted the moment I saw Serge’s eyelids trembling back then.

Thinking about how I could have been caught dead to rights and framed for attempting to assassinate the Grand Duke made me shudder involuntarily.

“What a monstrous bastard…”

As I muttered quietly to myself, Aston nodded in agreement.

“And nothing else happened after that?”

“Yes. Aside from being suffocatingly scared, I was fine. When I said I was your healer, they even offered me tea and snacks as thanks.”

“As they should! Who do they think saved his life?”

I meant it sincerely, but Aston, perhaps feeling shy, let out a small “Pfft” and averted her eyes.

A faint blush spread across the bridge of her nose.

“A-Anyway. When they asked why I was alone, I briefly explained why you had to return. And then, well, you see the rest…”

Only then did I roughly grasp how the situation had unfolded.

I didn’t know what kind of change of heart he’d had, but anyway, as a reward for healing his wound, he had provided me with an alibi.

I thought that crazy bastard Vincent was going to ruin everything and expose it all.

But surprisingly, it somehow ended up being a happy ending.

It was funny to think that just this morning, I had shrieked at the thought of using a d- d-… date as an excuse.

“Oh, right. My Lady, this is…”

At that moment, Aston fumbled around and held out something she had been keeping close to her chest.

I had been so focused on our conversation that I hadn’t even noticed she was holding something.

It was a luxurious velvet box, about the size of a thin book.

“…What’s this?”

“His Highness the Grand Duke asked me to deliver this to you separately.”

“Separately?”

Was that really necessary?

I accepted the box with a reluctant expression.

Instead of gratitude, anxiety washed over me.

I was half-afraid that if I opened the lid, the carcass of a demonic beast would pop out.

Just as I was taking a deep breath to mentally prepare myself before opening it…

“He said you would understand if I told you it was the Heart of the Earth Dragon.”

At that moment…

“Wh-What did you say? Th-The Heart of the Earth Dragon?!”

The butler, who had apparently been eavesdropping while pretending not to listen, came running over in a flurry.

Feeling like I’d heard the name somewhere before, I tilted my head.

“Do you know what it is, Butler?”

“Yes, I know it very well! The Earth Dragon is a rare, legendary demonic beast!”

The butler spat out his words rapidly, his face filled with sheer ecstasy.

“According to rumors, it looks more like a phantom beast than a demonic beast, which is why the Awakener who first spotted it named it so. There is a myth that whoever sees the Earth Dragon will be granted the power to seize anything they desire!”

“Is that so?”

The power to seize anything they desire…

True to a myth, it was incredibly abstract and grandiose.

I wasn’t particularly tempted.

However, unlike me, who was quite unimpressed, the butler launched into a passionate speech, looking like he might burst into tears.

“If this is truly the Heart of the Earth Dragon, it’s practically a national treasure! They say its value can’t even be fully converted into money!”

“Hmm.”

“M-My Lady! Could you open it quickly? It has been this old man’s lifelong wish to see an Earth Dragon just once before I die…!”

Well, if he insists…

Since it was apparently such an incredible item, there was no harm in showing him.

I immediately opened the lid of the box.

I half-expected a blinding light to pour out upon opening it, but naturally, nothing of the sort happened.

Inside the box lay a necklace and earring set, neatly arranged.

It didn’t emit a magical glow, but it was still dazzlingly brilliant.

In particular, the dark red pendant, encased in intricately crafted gold, immediately caught the eye.

It featured a teardrop-shaped pendant adorned with tiny diamonds at its center, surrounded by an array of pendants of various shapes.

The contrast between the gold and the dark red gemstone was intensely striking.

It was the epitome of extravagance, to the point that the jewelry I received from the Duke not too long ago felt rather simple by comparison, leaving me slightly overwhelmed.

As I stared blankly at the earrings, which looked like miniaturized versions of the teardrop pendant, a strange thought crossed my mind.

In my stead, the butler and Aston spared no praise.

“Wow… it’s so blindingly beautiful…”

“Oooooh… so this is the Heart of the Earth Dragon…?!”

At that moment, the butler, who had been peering into the box continuously with a rapturous expression, suddenly narrowed his eyes.

“However, I was under the impression that the Earth Dragon only resides within specific gates that open in the Caspian Canyon…”

“…”

“Are we certain this is truly the Heart of the Earth Dragon, My Lady? It could very well be a rare variety of ruby or garnet sold under a false name.”

Perhaps it was because the gem looked rather ordinary compared to its grandiose legend.

The butler’s suspicious words did have a point.

No, wait.

Considering he walks around wearing a brooch the size of his fist, he might actually be quite gullible in that regard.

I was internally offering my condolences to some unknown scammer who had fearlessly swindled that blood-crazed maniac, when…

Suddenly, one of the words the butler had spoken caught my ear.

“…The Caspian Canyon?”

“Pardon?”

“Are you… referring to the Gate Wave by any chance?”

“Yes, My Lady. You are well-informed!”

“…Ah!”

A sudden memory flashed through my mind like lightning.

Male Lead No. 4, holding a dark red stone the size of an egg in the banquet hall, smiling like a grim reaper fresh out of hell…!

“Crazy, this is that stone.”