A World Where You All Are The Villains [Novel] Chapter 79

Much to my relief, once the meal got underway, those bastards finally shut their mouths too.

I ate the rest of the courses one by one, excluding the fish dishes.

Unlike back at the ducal estate, since this was a formal banquet hosted for aristocrats, the cutlery was laid out textbook style.

Fortunately, I still remembered the etiquette I had learned back in the day, so I managed to act the part of a noble reasonably well.

Whenever I got confused, I snuck glances at Ethan and copied him.

He ate with utmost elegance, displaying a posture straight out of an etiquette manual.

I had noticed this when we ate together before, but he had such a light appetite and was so picky that he usually ate just a bite or two before having his plate cleared.

In contrast, Serge completely ignored the set courses and dove straight into the main dish.

It was a rare steak, dripping with blood just as he had requested.

On top of that, his carving skills were atrocious… he was practically tearing the meat apart.

Every time red droplets of blood splattered across the crisp white tablecloth, I couldn't help but grimace.

While I was clicking my tongue, thinking that at least he had a hearty appetite in his own barbaric way…

"What? Want a bite?"

Feeling my gaze, Serge grinned wickedly and speared a shredded piece of meat with his knife, holding it up.

His exposed teeth were smeared with blood.

Honestly, the man was a total savage.

"…I'm fine. Please, enjoy yourself, Your Highness."

Politely declining, I crunched away on the pistachio crumble served in place of the fish dish.

"It has been too long, Your Highness! Have you been well?"

"Grand Duke! How is the meal? The chef this time happens to be someone I recommended…"

"Your Highness, this wine was produced on our estate, and I would love to present a bottle as a gift…"

So much for all that whining about eating alone being lonely.

Throughout the banquet, an endless stream of people visited the Grand Duke's table.

Thanks to that, another power struggle between him and Ethan was avoided.

However, seeing Serge appropriately humoring the visiting nobles without turning them away in annoyance was quite unexpected.

Then again, if he couldn't even manage that much, seizing control of the imperial palace in such a short timeframe would have been no easy feat.

No matter how formidable his martial power was, the Crown Prince was still the legitimate eldest son firmly established as the successor.

Then a question suddenly popped into my head.

I couldn't be sure.

Everything had been thrown off track because the female lead had been suddenly kidnapped.

Besides, looking back, Serge hadn't shown much obvious obsession with the female lead compared to the other male leads.

I had been so frantic that I completely forgot about it.

Male Lead No. 4 sees the female lead returning from a villa trip with Male Lead No. 1, flies into a rage, and kidnaps her to the North.

An incident that should have occurred before the Equinis Ceremony had passed without a hitch…

And as luck would have it, the two main figures of that very arc were currently sitting on either side of me.

Just as I was looking at the two of them with a somewhat complicated expression…

"Her Majesty the Empress and His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince are entering!"

The servant's loud, booming voice echoed across the hall.

The music cut out, and the seated nobles rose all at once.

Ethan and I hurriedly stood up as well.

Except for one single person, who remained casually seated and continued eating.

Unsurprisingly, it was Male Lead No. 4.

Meanwhile, a group descended the stairs leading from the main building.

At the head was the familiar Crown Prince, and beside him was a middle-aged woman with a somewhat sharp, nervous expression.

She appeared to be the Empress.

She seemed to be an Awakener too, as a stat reading 21% was visible above her head.

The rest behind them looked like attendants, but there were some unusual individuals mixed in: a woman covered in a veil, and figures in white robes wearing deer masks.

Leaving aside the uncanny masks that looked like taxidermied deer heads, the white robes made me frown instinctively.

Because they brought to mind the attire worn by the cultists of Sephirot.

While I watched them closely, the Crown Prince and Empress took their seats at the elevated head table.

The deer masks stood at attention behind them alongside the other attendants.

Oddly enough, however, the veiled woman sat right next to the Crown Prince.

Studying her, my eyes suddenly widened.

93%

Because an astoundingly high stat was flashing above the woman's head.

She was an Awakener.

But wasn't the Crown Prince a bit too young to have a mistress already?

He looked to be sixteen or seventeen at most, barely past puberty, and he surely wouldn't bring a mistress to an official event attended by the Empress.

I checked the deer masks too, but thankfully there was nothing above their heads.

It wasn't just me who found it unusual, but the nobles as well were buzzing in commotion.

Everyone seemed curious about the veiled woman's identity.

"Quiet down, everyone, and take your seats."

As the whispering grew louder, the Crown Prince gestured dismissively and commanded.

He looked somewhat haggard.

It seemed he had been through a lot due to the critically ill Emperor.

As everyone who stood up sat back down in unison, the eyes of the Crown Prince and Empress suddenly landed on our side.

More precisely, on the man who had been lounging arrogantly the entire time.

At the sight of the Grand Duke calmly continuing his meal, their faces crumpled like scrunched-up tissue paper.

"Over here. Another bottle of wine."

Serge raised a hand toward a waiting servant as if to flaunt it.

Unable to contain herself any longer, the Empress finally snapped.

"What do you think you are doing, Grand Duke?! How dare you act so vulgarly in our presence…?! Have some dignity!"

The entire venue instantly froze.

Yet Serge simply smirked, completely indifferent to the tense atmosphere.

"I'm just an uneducated brute, so I can't help it, Sister-in-law."

At behavior so outrageously flippant that even I was left jaw-dropped beside him, the Empress flared up with rage.

"What did you say? Grand Duke Belnac!"

"…Mother. I'm fine, so please leave it be."

Right then, the Crown Prince restrained his mother.

Then, he glared at Serge with eyes full of hatred.

"What's the point of scolding a beast that doesn't even understand human speech? Just toss him a couple chunks of meat and be done with it."

It was a comment that treated him as nothing short of a wild beast.

While I thoroughly agreed with the Crown Prince's sentiment, I was terrified that Male Lead No. 4 might snap and unleash his power right here.

Holding my neck stiff, I kept stealing glances at the adjacent table…

Suddenly, Serge tossed his fork and knife onto the plate with a sharp clatter.

My heart sank, thinking the nightmare scenario had finally arrived.

But then…

"Hahaha! My dear nephew sure knows how to give the former Emperor a thorough roasting! An Emperor who sired a wild beast… that's certainly going down in history, isn't it?"

The bastard suddenly burst into boisterous laughter, clapping his hands.

"Pfft!"

"Keugh…!"

Snickers and muffled chuckles broke out here and there among the nobles.

The faces of the Crown Prince and Empress turned beet red.

The Empress shrieked in fury.

"Grand Duke Belnac!"

"…It is fine, Mother. Please calm yourself. Time is slipping away."

Gritting his teeth, the Crown Prince calmed his mother down.

Beyond the matter of time, he seemed well aware that neither of them could match the Grand Duke in a war of words.

Grinding his teeth, the Crown Prince forced down his rage and fixed his gaze straight ahead.

"…Due to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor's ill health, I shall be presiding over this Equinis Ceremony on his behalf. This 481st ceremony marks…"

The opening address began.

Clutching my pounding chest, I let his words go in one ear and out the other.

Perhaps because the strong backing that once supported him was now shaky, the Crown Prince recited his memorized speech quite maturely compared to the last banquet.

"…Honoring the noble spirit of sacrifice of our ancestors, I trust you will demonstrate your outstanding abilities in this subjugation battle as well. That is all."

The fairly lengthy opening address finally drew to a close.

The Crown Prince raised the champagne glass in front of him and proclaimed a toast-like slogan.

"Our lives for the empire's peace and glory!"

"Our lives for the empire's peace and glory!"

The nobles raised their glasses in unison and shouted back.

I half-heartedly raised my glass and mumbled along, copying Ethan.

Although it hadn't appeared in the novel, it seemed to be a realm-wide pledge.

Naturally, Male Lead No. 4 didn't lift a finger.

"Furthermore, along with the opening address, there is one matter I must inform you all of."

Downing his champagne in one gulp, the Crown Prince continued.

"I have heard that disgraceful rumors regarding the Purifier have been circulating recently. Utterly nonsensical falsehoods claiming she fled, or that she was kidnapped by a foreign nation."

It was about Llewellyn.

Startled, I looked up at the Crown Prince.

Not just me… everyone perked up their ears at the news of the hot-topic Purifier.

"Of course, it is true that she recently stepped back from public activities due to health issues. However, she has fully recovered, and her purifying abilities remain completely intact."

"…"

"Since words alone may be difficult to believe, I have specially invited her to this ceremony. I trust there will be no objections, as you all know how selflessly the Purifier has dedicated herself to the Empire."

"…"

"Come to think of it, this is the very first time a Purifier has ever attended the Equinis Ceremony."

Having spoken, the Crown Prince turned toward the person beside him.

"Llewellyn."

At his low call, the veiled woman smoothly stood up from her seat.

"I ask that you all celebrate the return of the Purifier."

The Crown Prince began to clap with a triumphant expression.

At the same time, the woman lifted her veil.

"…Everyone, it has been a while."

My breath hitched at the clear, delicate voice.

Soft light-brown hair, sparkling deer-like green eyes.

She wasn't just someone who vaguely resembled her back at the Sephirot hideout…

It was truly the female lead.