A World Where You All Are The Villains [Novel] Chapter 72

“Crazy, this is that stone.”

“Pardon? Th-That stone?”

“The heart of that earth dragon, earthworm, or whatever…!”

The butler and Aston’s eyes went wide at my sudden shout.

“Umm… I’ve been explaining what it is this whole time…”

“Hah… This is real, Butler.”

I muttered, letting out a heavy sigh.

“H-How do you know that, My Lady?”

“He told me he caught it himself.”

“Pardon? Y-Y-You mean the Earth Dragon?!”

The butler gasped in shock.

While he was reacting like that, I looked down at the box with a heavy heart.

Suddenly, I noticed something angular tucked underneath the necklace.

“This is…”

A familiar black envelope.

Because the inside of the box was also black, I hadn’t noticed it right away.

I reached out and pulled it out smoothly.

It looked exactly like the curse letter I had torn up not too long ago.

As soon as I realized what it was, my brow automatically furrowed.

I hastily opened the envelope, revealing hastily scrawled handwriting.

Being able to project his ego with just the very first sentence… if that was a talent, it was quite a remarkable one.

However, to prepare myself for this unpredictable lunatic, I had to read it.

I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again.

“Crazy bastard…!”

I shuddered and crushed the letter in my hand.

Right down to the final postscript, there wasn’t a single point that didn’t piss me off.

The butler and Aston stared at me, wide-eyed.

“M-My Lady. What’s wrong? What on earth is written there to make you…”

“It’s a curse letter.”

“A curse letter?! There’s no way something like that would be in there. I brought it straight here the moment I received it from the Grand Duke…!”

Aston protested, looking wronged.

“Ah. Then, that letter from before…”

The butler, on the other hand, let out a sigh of realization, as if everything had suddenly clicked.

Whether they were reacting or not, I tossed the letter, now balled up like a globe, straight into the fireplace.

The quietly burning flames flared up enthusiastically, as if welcoming the new kindling.

“Oh dear…”

The butler clicked his tongue, while Aston asked with a startled expression.

“Is it really okay to just burn it like that?”

“Yeah. Keeping it around will only bring bad luck.”

Besides, it contained things that would be a disaster if anyone else saw them.

I stared blankly at the letter turning into ashes and sighed.

And then, I prayed desperately.

Time flew by, and the highly anticipated day of the Equinis Ceremony dawned.

The nightmare of the Imperial Palace banquet repeated itself.

Specifically, being forcibly woken up at the crack of dawn and having every inch of me kneaded from head to toe…!

“My Lady, did you know? The total lunar eclipse this time is a super blue moon, the first in 10 years!”

“…”

“To be able to see a blue moon over the ocean… isn’t it incredibly romantic?”

Nancy chattered away excitedly.

“Alright! The next ingredients are one aloe pack, one part rose oil, and two parts royal honey cream. That is all!”

“Yes!”

The butler, once again, stood at the forefront, orchestrating the entire operation.

I muttered my complaints with half-closed, heavy eyes.

“No, but seriously… we have a long journey ahead to an island across the sea, so why do we have to go this far?”

“Today is much more special than any other day! We received strict orders from the Duke to ensure you are styled in the absolute best condition, My Lady.”

“I’m asking why!”

“He might be keeping the Flower of Equinis in mind…”

At the butler’s words, I nearly snorted out loud.

The so-called winners of the subjugation battle would just be the four male leads.

Actually, since the female lead wasn’t around for them to court this time, maybe some of them wouldn’t even be as enthusiastic as they were in the novel.

Since Vincent was terrified of Awakeners going berserk, the novel frequently described him slacking off during battles.

Serge, fitting of the title Grand Duke of the North, didn’t really care whether a gate burst or not as long as it wasn’t in his territory.

From my own personal experience with them, both were exactly the type to act that way.

So, without the grand prize of Llewellyn waiting for them, there was no reason they’d go out of their way to win…

He had a massive inferiority complex due to his birth, which fueled his intense competitive spirit and desire for honor.

Well, Ethan was pretty much the same in that regard.

You could tell just by looking at the fact that they were the commanders of the First and Second Knight Orders in the Security Bureau, respectively.

In conclusion, regardless of who won, no one would be courting me.

“…”

Seeing me stay completely silent while wearing a rotten smile, the butler put on a solemn expression.

Nancy nervously tried to lighten the mood.

“B-But still! It’s rare for you to attend a banquet, so wouldn’t it be nice to dress up beautifully?”

“I’m beautiful even when I do nothing. So just do it roughly, please…”

No one cares whether a villainous extra dresses up beautifully or not.

However, they all blatantly ignored my desperate plea.

It was nearly noon before the prep work finally ended.

By the time my makeup and hair were done, and it was time to put on the dress, I was utterly exhausted.

The dress for the Eve Festival was one of the options Nancy had picked out previously.

Initially, I had planned to just pick a dark purple dress with as few decorations as possible, but the butler and the maids violently opposed it and talked me out of it.

“If you keep doing this, we will have no choice but to inform the Duke, My Lady!”

Since they were making a fuss and dragging the Duke into it, I had no choice.

They argued that because it was an outdoor banquet and a highly significant annual event, I needed to dress more formally.

So, the compromise we reached was the brightest among the relatively plain designs.

It was a two-layered, off-the-shoulder dress with a white lining covered by a sheer blue fabric densely embroidered with sparkling silver threads.

It matched my eye color, and at a glance, it looked like the night sea reflecting the moonlight, so it wasn’t too bad.

Finally, as I was about to put on some accessories, the butler brought out something completely unexpected.

“This is…”

Heart-shaped, dark red jewels sparkled brilliantly, encased in golden chains.

The necklace set made from the heart of that earth dragon, earthworm, or whatever, which Male Lead No. 4 had essentially forced upon me.

I furrowed my brow.

“…Why this one, of all things?”

“Since the dress is on the simpler side, wouldn’t it be better to add some impact with the accessories? Besides, it pairs very well with the blue color scheme.”

“There are plenty of other accessories. Like the one Father gave me, for instance.”

“If you prefer to be entirely color-coordinated from head to toe, I will bring that one instead.”

The butler had a snappy comeback ready.

He was pointing out that the blue diamond necklace was the exact same color as the dress.

Even I had to admit it would be too matchy-matchy, so I had nothing to say.

But that didn’t mean I wanted to wear that ominous thing given to me by that bastard Serge!

Seeing my apparent displeasure, the butler spoke with quite a serious tone.

“In my humble opinion, I believe this is the most fitting accessory for this ceremony.”

“In what way?”

“Since it’s made from a demonic beast only found in the Caspian Canyon, wouldn’t it further elevate the prestige of the Ducal House?”

“I didn’t even catch it myself, so what prestige is there to elevate?”

“Why does that matter? What matters is that the one who possesses the Heart of the Earth Dragon is you, My Lady! By that logic, does every piece of jewelry elevate the prestige of the miner who dug it up?”

“…”

Put like that, I was speechless.

It’s truly a mystery why this old man’s arguing skills suddenly spike in these specific situations.

While I remained unenthusiastic, the butler suddenly lowered his voice and whispered.

“Moreover, it seems His Highness the Grand Duke gave this to you with this exact occasion in mind…”

“…”

“If you wear something else and end up receiving another curse letter, what will you do then…?!”