A World Where You All Are The Villains [Novel] Chapter 81

Unable to withstand Serge’s urging, I half-stood up from my seat awkwardly, only to realize I wasn't the only one moving.

"Llewellyn!"

There was someone who intended to chase after Llewellyn even faster than me.

It was none other than Male Lead No. 2: Vincent Leandro.

Having been pacing restlessly near the bottom of the stairs the entire time, the bastard must have decided this was his chance, and hurriedly turned his body.

Because he couldn't dare leap over the royals, he seemed intent on slipping out through the banquet hall entrance.

Naturally, I stopped in my tracks.

Because my plan was exactly the same: bypass the courtyard and chase after Llewellyn.

I was hesitating while watching Vincent quickly stride away when…

"Well, well. If it isn't Young Marquis Leandro over there?"

Suddenly, the sound of a chair dragging backward was accompanied by a slick voice from behind.

Surprised, I widened my eyes, just while I was distracted, Male Lead No. 4 casually strolled around the table and walked straight toward Male Lead No. 2.

"…Your Highness the Grand Duke?"

Vincent froze as an unexpected figure blocked his path.

No matter how much of an arrogant brat he was, it seemed he couldn't overcome the difference in their status.

I found that somewhat amusing.

"I greet Your Highness the Grand Duke."

"Yeah, yeah. What’s with the deep bow? Keep it casual, keep it casual."

"Right, um… Have you been well?"

"I've been perfectly fine. In fact, I recently had a rather interesting chat with your father regarding a business proposal. But…"

"…"

"Where did the Marquis go, and why are you wandering around all by yourself?"

Serge slipped a hand behind his back and stealthily waved at me.

It was a signal telling me to use the opportunity while he held Vincent back to quickly chase after Llewellyn.

Moving stealthily so Vincent wouldn't notice, I slipped away from the table.

"…My father had an urgent matter to attend to, so he was unable to participate in today's ceremony. He'll probably arrive tomorrow afternoon, and then…"

"Is that so? Then, in lieu of the pheasant, I'll take the chicken. Care for a quick chat with me?"

"You mean… with me? I'm afraid I have an urgent matter to…"

Right before I slipped out of the courtyard entrance…

I snuck one last glance back.

Vincent, his shoulders forcibly slung by the Grand Duke's arm, looked completely trapped and unable to escape.

"Hahaha! Why so stiff and formal between us? I said keep it casual. Right?"

Serge let out a hearty laugh as he clapped Vincent on the shoulder.

"Ugh…!"

It must have hurt quite a bit, because Vincent’s face crumpled like scrunched-up tissue paper.

As I tried to hold back a snicker, Serge suddenly looked my way and gave me a playful wink.

Normally, I would have shuddered in disgust, thinking, "Ew!" But this one time, it was actually quite tolerable.

Chuckling softly, I gave him a thumbs up.

For some reason, his smile immediately vanished, replaced by a blank stare.

I tilted my head in confusion, but quickly realized this was no time for that and hastily slipped through the entrance.

"Huff, huff…"

I rushed up the outer stairs to the next floor and immediately crossed the corridor connecting to the main building.

Pushing open a side door and stepping inside, as luck would have it, I spotted a slender woman descending the spiral staircase.

It was the female lead.

Perhaps she had changed her clothes in the meantime, but instead of the white dress stained with soup, she was wearing a light pink tea-length dress.

"…Llewellyn."

"Edith?"

She widened her eyes at my call just as she reached the ground floor.

I was about to walk straight toward her, but suddenly froze upon noticing a figure following her down the stairs.

The deer mask was so intense it made me wonder how I hadn't spotted it right away.

The woman in the white robe, whom I found so bizarre earlier, was sticking close behind Llewellyn.

The deer antlers jutting out from beneath her hood were simply grotesque.

Unlike me, whose brow naturally furrowed, Llewellyn seemed already accustomed to the deer mask.

I resumed my steps and stopped in front of the female lead.

"Can we have a brief word, just the two of us?"

"Sure, okay."

Fortunately, Llewellyn readily agreed to my request.

As she threw a quick glance backward, the deer-masked maid tactfully excused herself.

By the time I confirmed the deer antlers had completely disappeared beyond the side door, only the female lead and I were left in the lobby.

"…What is it, Edith?"

Llewellyn asked, looking at me with large, round eyes.

"You…"

I was about to interrogate her right away, but the words caught in my throat.

Because her face looking back at me was just too remarkably serene.

That was the problem, she didn't look at all like someone who had just returned from being kidnapped.

For a fleeting second, that doubt crossed my mind, but I forced myself to shake it off.

Serge went out of his way to set up this opportunity for me.

I had no idea when Vincent and the other male leads would come rushing in, so I couldn't afford to waste this chance.

"…What exactly happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard you were kidnapped. Where have you been all this time?"

"Kidnapped?"

At my question, Llewellyn tilted her head in confusion.

"Are you talking about when you dragged me to Tolen, Edith?"

"No, not then…"

I furrowed my brow slightly at her nonsensical answer.

But Llewellyn's reaction was far too strange for that.

Rather than showing any signs of surprise at how I knew, she didn't even twitch an eyebrow.

No matter how much one feigned shamelessness, anyone would naturally show some defensive behavior when their secrets were brought up…

I decided to probe her a little more carefully.

"A while ago, during the imperial palace banquet, I went to your room because I had something to tell you."

"Did you?"

"But you weren't there, and your room was completely trashed, like a burglar broke in. Later, I heard rumors that you had been kidnapped, so I was a bit worried…"

"I see."

Her robotic, soulless responses eventually made me frown and cut myself off.

"What's wrong with you? Don't you remember?"

"I don't know why you're suddenly bringing this up, Edith,"

Llewellyn said, staring at me with a look of pure incomprehension before suddenly blurting out,

"Do you really hate me that much?"

"…What?"

"I thought we could be good friends…"

At that completely random remark, totally out of context, I reflexively snapped my head around to check my surroundings.

Fortunately, it was still just the two of us in the lobby.

Perhaps I, too, had unwittingly become deeply engrossed in this crazy novel's soap-opera developments.

A storyline where she purposefully provokes Edith with infuriating remarks to frame her as the villainess?

That felt a bit too cliché.

But even then, it didn't explain why Llewellyn was spouting such nonsense.

"…"

Staring at the female lead in a daze for a while, I forced a smile onto my face.

"…Of course we're friends, Llewellyn. I'm just asking because I'm worried about your safety."

"How can you say something so cruel…"

Suddenly, she teared up, as if she had been deeply hurt.

"Y-you're being so mean, Edith. Why do you only ever say such awful things?"

"Llewellyn, what on earth are you talking about? What awful things did I even say? Will you calm down for a second?"

I took a step back from her just in case things escalated.

If someone walked in right now, they would definitely misunderstand and think I was bullying her.

But seriously, did she undergo electro-torture or something after being kidnapped?

Llewellyn just kept spouting utterly unhinged nonsense.

"I understand why you're upset because of me. But it isn't my fault you failed to Awaken…"

"I never blamed you for that, so why are you bringing it up now? Are we even having the same conversation?"

"Is it because of Vincent? Or did Sir Ethan say something to you again? Please, you have to be the one to understand."

"Of course I understand. And for the record, neither of them said anything to me."

Patiently trying to keep my cool and respond to her, a sudden sense of discord struck me.

It wasn't just because she kept spouting disjointed nonsense.

The words Llewellyn was throwing at me felt eerily familiar.

"Edith. You wouldn't know because you aren't an Awakener, but both of them were on the verge of going berserk during this battle. They must have just been on edge."

"…"

"Both Vincent and Sir Ethan care for you deeply in their hearts. Instead of always condemning and cornering them like that, if you could just welcome them with a smile this once…"

"Hold on."

At that moment, as a memory flashed through my mind, I raised my hand and stopped Llewellyn's rambling.

That chilling sense of déjà vu I had been feeling.

The words I felt I had heard somewhere before.

"Llewellyn, you…"

"…"

"Why are you repeating what you said in the past?"

It was exactly that.

Every single word Llewellyn was spewing right now.

They were all lines she had said to Edith in the past, within the original novel!