A World Where You All Are The Villains [Novel] Chapter 78

Perhaps it was the euphoria of finally shaking off that clinging water ghost.

My steps felt exceptionally light as I made my way back to my seat.

Leaving the somewhat dimly lit observatory behind and entering the brightly illuminated banquet hall, a sweet melody drifted through the air.

Before I knew it, every table was fully occupied.

I quickened my pace, cutting quickly across the courtyard.

Arriving at the Duke's table, sure enough…

"It seemed you were eating earlier. Where did you run off to before coming back just now?"

Ethan asked, looking genuinely puzzled.

Thank the heavens, that bastard Vincent wasn't around.

It seemed he had returned to his own seat.

"Just to my room for a moment. I forgot my allergy medicine…"

I offered a plausible excuse as I hurriedly took a seat.

"Here."

Suddenly, Ethan shoved something toward me.

"This is…"

It was a familiar object.

The exact brown medicine bottle Nancy had given me just before I entered the hall.

"Brother, why do you have this…?"

"If you ever forget it again, tell me. I always keep a spare on me whenever I go out."

I stared at him wide-eyed.

Ethan had a pollen allergy too?

I'd never heard that before.

Honestly, the idea that he carried it around for me was pure nonsense.

Because of that, I simply brushed it off, assuming he must have allergies as well.

"Thank you."

Just as I reached out to take the bottle…

"Well, well. Look who it is."

An abruptly familiar voice pierced my ears.

"If it isn't Lady Blake, the hero of the century who apprehended the culprit who assaulted the Grand Duke?"

44%

It hadn't even been that long since I purified him! Yet there it was, that damned, skyrocketing stat.

A hooligan, gripping a wine bottle by the neck, was sauntering my way.

With a ghostly grin plastered on his face, his rolling, pitch-black pupils made him look like a predator that had just spotted its prey.

I shuddered, desperately trying to deny reality.

But the heavens were truly indifferent.

Male Lead No. 4, having trudged his way over, plopped down at the table right next to ours.

And of all the seats he could have picked, it had to be the one directly adjacent to my chair!

"Wh-why are you sitting here?!"

"This is my seat, isn't it?"

Serge tilted his head lazily.

It wasn't a lie, but aside from the chair he just claimed, the entire adjacent table was completely empty.

I had naturally assumed he would be sitting up on the landing, secretly rejoicing that I wouldn't have to cross paths with him today…

I stared at Serge, my eyes trembling uncontrollably.

But the bastard then did something even more horrifying than his sudden appearance.

He started rapping the wine bottle he brought against a fork sitting on the table.

Over the clear, sharp ring of glass, his rough voice barked.

"Hey! Bring me some meat first. Sear it just enough so it bleeds when I bite into it."

Crazy bastard.

I had no idea what on earth he was doing, resorting to that when there was a perfectly good call bell right there.

"My god, look over there. His Highness the Grand Duke…!"

"I suppose that rumor was true? Lady Blake took down the assailant who attacked His Highness…"

"But don't those two seem quite close?"

The attention I had barely managed to shake off when Vincent left was instantaneously zeroed back in on me.

Hearing those horrendous whispers drill into my ears, I almost shot up from my seat to scream at them.

Right then.

"Please compose yourself, Your Highness. It seems you are heavily intoxicated."

A voice far too genteel to be addressing a lunatic calmly reprimanded him.

Snapping my head up, I saw Ethan staring at the drunkard with eyes so cold they could freeze bone.

But the drunkard's response was a spectacle in itself.

"Hmm… Who are you?"

"I am Ethan Blake, Commander of the Second Knight Order under the Security Bureau."

"Ah! The Duke's famous adopted son?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Male Lead No. 1, surprisingly, didn't back down an inch against Male Lead No. 4's oppressive aura.

Upon hearing the answer, Male Lead No. 4 eyed his opponent with an intrigued look.

I frantically shook my head at Ethan.

Male Lead No. 4 wasn't your average, run-of-the-mill psycho a normal person could handle.

As if he could read my exact thoughts and act on them, the bastard leaned toward me and whispered.

"I was almost disappointed, My Lady. I thought you had brought a new partner behind my back."

"What are you…!"

Startled by his black eyes looming so suddenly, I flinched and shrank back.

Out of nowhere, my body, chair and all, was yanked sideways.

"Edith's partner is also me."

Startled once more, I turned my head to see Ethan, who had just dragged my chair closer to his side, declaring it with absolute certainty.

"Thanks to someone, my younger sister suffered terribly all night and fell deeply ill. She is still in need of care at the moment."

"Does this someone happen to be me?"

"I suppose that depends on how you interpret it."

It felt like literal sparks were flying from the gazes of the two bastards.

Stuck right in the middle, I felt like I was dying.

While I was looking back and forth between them, suffering from extreme stress…

"Were you sick, My Lady?"

Serge suddenly turned his attention to me.

"Why didn't you tell me? If you had, I would have sent over some medicinal herbs rolling around my house too."

"…I'm fine."

"Come to think of it, you haven't replied to my love letter yet."

"Love letter?"

Before I could even reply, a lightning-fast reaction shot out from my left.

"…Edith Blake."

Ethan called my name in a tone that sent shivers down my spine.

"Yet… how commendable that you wore the items I gave you. Just as I thought, Lady Blake, bold primary colors suit you far better than those dull bluish rocks."

Smirking as if refusing to lose, Serge spewed his nonsense.

It was a statement perfectly diametrically opposed to Ethan's comment about it not suiting me, as if he had somehow heard him say it.

"Edith."

"Lady Blake."

This side, that side.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop it…!"

I violently kicked my chair back and shot up.

The eyes of people secretly stealing glances instantly locked onto me, but I was so furious I couldn't care less.

"I'm feeling unwell, so I will be retiring to my room."

"You haven't even finished your meal, so where do you think you're going?"

"Shall I accompany you?"

The bastards replied one after the other.

"No!"

Shaking my head vehemently, I practically shuddered as I added.

"I will take my leave, so please, the two of you, enjoy an intimate meal together."

Leaving those words behind, I was just about to scramble away from the table.

Suddenly feeling my dress pull taut, I couldn't take a single step forward.

Scowling and wondering if my dress had caught on something, I looked back.

Only to see a crazy bastard holding tight to the hem of my skirt.

"I'll stop teasing, so sit down, Lady Blake."

He stared up at me, all traces of a smile gone from his face.

Frantically glancing around, I immediately dropped my voice to a whisper.

"Your Highness, have you truly lost your mind?"

"Ah. It's been quite a while since that happened."

Agreeing far too easily and absurdly, he continued.

"It's a bit too cruel, isn't it? Wouldn't I look too lonely eating by myself at this huge table?"

"I told you to eat with my brother!"

"Despite appearances, I'm actually quite shy around strangers…"

Serge scratched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, then poked his head out toward the other side.

"Hey, Brother Knight Commander. Give me a hand here, will you? We were just running our mouths together, so why are you playing the quiet, innocent one now?"

I fully expected Ethan to ignore that comment.

But what the hell.

Suddenly, my left hand was enveloped in soft fabric.

Ethan had grabbed my hand with his gloved one!

"Just sit down. His Highness the Crown Prince will be arriving shortly."

"…"

"There are many eyes watching."

He whispered softly, as if coaxing me.

A surge of betrayal welled up inside me.

I never expected Ethan of all people to go along with Serge's complete and utter bullshit.

Shuddering, I forcefully yanked my left hand and the right side of my skirt, determined to shake them both off.

"Ugh…!"

But they didn't budge an inch.

Appalled, I looked back and forth between the two of them, but the bastards merely stared at me shamelessly, neither showing any sign of letting go.

The murmuring directed at our table grew louder.

"Haa…"

Letting out a deep sigh, I had no choice but to plop back down into my seat.

And like magic, the grips on my hand and dress vanished.

"Do you need digestive medicine?"

"Care for a drink with me, Lady Blake? Just don't feel too honored by it."

"Yes. No."

Answering the two bastards who spoke up as if they had been waiting for this exact moment, I snuck a glance up at the stairs.

The Equinis Ceremony officially kicks off with the Emperor's opening speech during the Eve Banquet.

Then, at midnight on the day the total lunar eclipse occurs, the subjugation battle begins.

Which meant, at the very least, I had to endure this until midnight.

Damn it!

On my left: a control freak.

On my right: a psychopath.

Behind me: a narcissist and a severely paranoid lunatic.

It hadn't even been an hour since the Eve Banquet started, but I was already feeling completely drained.