A World Where You All Are The Villains [Novel] Chapter 80

Was it because her appearance was so entirely unexpected?

My mind went completely blank, my thoughts refusing to process.

Reflexively turning my head, I looked over at Serge.

He was staring intently at Llewellyn, just as I had been a moment ago.

Now that his smile had vanished, Male Lead No. 4's true face was revealed… a countenance so frighteningly inhuman it felt almost devoid of life.

It was impossible to tell what he was thinking from his expression alone.

Yet I couldn't understand why my heart suddenly sank to my stomach.

Hurriedly shifting my eyes, I looked toward Ethan this time.

Unlike Serge, he was frozen stiff, looking for all the world like a stone statue.

The girl he unrequitedly loved, who hadn't sent a single word for so long, had suddenly shown up on this island.

He seemed utterly shocked and bewildered.

Seeing the look on his face, I didn't even need to look to picture what the other guys behind me must look like.

"Thank you for inviting me. I hope everyone has a wonderful time."

Llewellyn offered a polite bow, smiled brightly, and took her seat.

The nobles applauded, celebrating the Purifier's return.

"My goodness, she looks completely fine! It really was just a baseless rumor."

"If anything, she looks even prettier than before…"

"Still, what a relief that the Purifier is here. With the subjugation battle coming up, something tragic could have happened…"

Every passing comment drilled straight into my ears.

Just as they said, Llewellyn was beautiful, so much so that the thought 'She really is the female lead of a novel' came naturally to my mind.

Even though I had already seen her once through Edith's dreams, seeing her in person brought the shock crashing over me all over again.

"Just as the Purifier said, I hope everyone enjoys a wild night."

Perhaps pleased by the crowd's warm reception, the Crown Prince wore a slick, sly grin unbefitting his young age.

The paused music resumed, and the banquet officially got under way.

A few couples paired up and stepped onto the marble dance floor.

Serge's table was swarmed once again by flatterers, while Ethan stood rooted like a stone statue, gazing helplessly at Llewellyn without end.

However, that lasted only for a brief moment.

"Commander, may we have a quick word regarding the subjugation operation?"

An Awakener approached Ethan and spoke to him.

Unable to neglect his duties even with the woman he desperately longed for right in front of him, he stepped away with a shadowed face.

A short while later, Vincent appeared out of nowhere without a sound, pacing restlessly near the bottom of the stairs.

Fidgeting like a dog that desperately needed to pee, it was painfully obvious he was looking for an opening to talk to Llewellyn.

Surprisingly, Dylan was nowhere to be seen.

Given that he was a knight commander just like Ethan, perhaps he had set his personal feelings aside for now to focus on the meeting regarding the subjugation battle.

As for me?

I just sat there blankly in my seat.

My meal was finished, and I had no one close enough to chat with…

Although it was a bit bewildering that the female lead, who was supposedly kidnapped, had suddenly made an appearance… it was actually a good thing.

How desperately had I wished for the female lead to return and handle these male lead bastards as soon as possible?

And yet…

It felt almost as if there were a hollow emptiness in my heart…

I was struggling to make sense of an emotion I could barely comprehend when…

"What's with that face?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice snapped me back to reality.

Startled, I turned my head, and my eyes immediately locked with pitch-black pupils that resembled the night sky.

Whether he had kicked out all the sycophants or not, the space around his table had gone completely empty.

Naturally, the same went for my table.

It was a sight of two outcasts sitting side by side, yet strangely enough, a wave of relief welled up inside me.

"Are you unhappy that the Purifier showed up?"

Male Lead No. 4 asked indifferently, scooping up mouthfuls of the fig sorbet served for dessert.

"…Why would I be?"

I responded a beat too late.

"I was just… a bit taken aback. Clearly…"

"She was kidnapped, so how on earth did she crawl all the way here?"

Serge correctly filled in the rest of the sentence I hadn't uttered.

Holding a spoon that looked like a toy in his massive hand, he poked around his bowl before pretending to ponder for a moment and speaking up.

"Hmm… Why don't you go ask her yourself?"

"Me?"

"Then should I?"

He glared at me.

I immediately tucked my tail between my legs.

"Aren't you… much closer with her than I am, Your Highness?"

"What makes you think that?"

Because you're the male lead…

Since I couldn't say that out loud, I rounded my answer out appropriately.

"…Haven't you received purification from Llewellyn a few times?"

"Me?"

Serge wore an unfamiliar, puzzled expression, as if he were hearing this for the first time in his life.

"I've never done that before."

"Pardon?"

"I said I've never been purified."

"What on earth do you…"

"I only bumped into the Purifier once by chance in the North while passing through. And even then, she was the one who initiated the conversation first."

Otherwise, I wouldn't have even known who she was.

Serge shrugged as he added that extra detail.

My jaw dropped open in disbelief.

Bumping into her in the North aligned with the novel's plot.

But everything after that was completely different.

"Why?"

The question burst out of my mouth before I could catch myself.

"What do you mean, why?"

"Why didn't you get purified?"

"Because I didn't need to, obviously."

No. That shouldn't be the case.

My mind instantly became a tangled mess.

Because… according to what he just said…

Didn't that mean the novel's plot had already gone off the rails even before I possessed this body?

While I was staring at Male Lead No. 4 with trembling eyes…

Suddenly, he scrunched up the bridge of his nose and let out a sinister chuckle.

"What's this? Are you jealous, Lady Blake?"

"What kind of utter bullshit is…"

"Huh?"

Because I had lost my mind for a second, my inner thoughts had slipped right out of my mouth.

His incredulous laugh snapped me right back to reality.

"…I apologize. That was a slip of the tongue."

"You're really pushing your luck. Be grateful that using abilities is banned until the subjugation battle, My Lady."

the bastard spat out chillingly.

A cold shudder ran down my spine, so I hurriedly changed the subject.

"…Then why were you looking for her back then?"

"When?"

"Back then! At the imperial palace banquet!"

Recalling that moment, a flare of anger welled up inside me.

But since I couldn't repeat the same mistake I just made, I hushed my voice as much as possible.

"You choked my neck while demanding to know where she was."

"Ah, then? I told you, didn't I? It was an emergency."

"What was…"

"I was right on the brink of losing control and going berserk. What choice did I have but to look for her?"

Serge tapped his index finger against his temple.

He was talking about going berserk.

Of course, being an S-Rank Awakener, he must have felt it, but it gave me goosebumps in a completely different way than Dylan did…

The fact that he knew he was right on the brink of losing control, yet still went around recklessly flinging his abilities everywhere.

"Tsk. But when there's a little rat hiding in someone else's room closet, of course I'm going to be suspicious."

He clicked his tongue before letting out a dry chuckle.

He was clearly recalling how I looked back then.

While feeling thoroughly offended, I stared at him with a subtle, complex expression.

"…So. Is your body completely fine now?"

"Are you worrying about me?"

"If you mean worrying about my own life, I do that every single time I meet you, Your Highness."

"Thanks to someone, I managed to get through the crisis. If anything, maybe I should be the one saying thank you."

It was fascinating how our conversation somehow continued even though we were talking about completely different things.

"Your lightning element, Lady Blake, it was pretty effective. Or was it thanks to you bashing me with that chair?"

"…"

"Maybe my blood started circulating again when my head split open, because when I woke up, I was completely fine."

It was a conclusion so utterly barbaric it defied logic.

Should I be happy or sad that he didn't entertain even a 1% possibility that I was the one who purified him…?

Although I got my answer from him, my doubts hadn't been fully resolved.

"Then… why did you go there? To Legion Street."

"Ah, there?"

Serge answered nonchalantly.

"Didn't you say you had something to tell me, Lady Blake?"

"Pardon? What…"

"I just wondered how desperate you must be to hide in a closet."

The bastard wheezed with a chuckle and added,

"Partly to compensate for suspecting you, and partly to check out what that Sephirot guy's face looked like."

"Compensate…?"

"Yeah. Since I couldn't meet you in the end, I gave you that."

Following his gesture, I lowered my eyes.

There, set in a lavish gold chain, was a deep red gem.

No wonder.

It really was far too extravagant a gift to give simply because I had healed him.

Well, I did purify him too, though.

Staring down at the necklace, a strange emotion took hold of me.

It wasn't that empty feeling from earlier.

Rather…

"…I never dreamed in a million years that Your Highness was capable of such rational thinking."

I muttered, trying hard to suppress the faint tickle blooming in a corner of my chest.

"Exactly."

Suddenly, the bastard flashed a wide, toothy grin.

"Normally, the moment that wild-haired lunatic showed up, I should have thrown you as bait and bolted. I don't know what came over me."

"You already threw me as bait once!"

"It was an attempted throw, wasn't it?"

The bastard casually spouted words that made my skin crawl.

"Still… since you actually said something pretty for once, how about I act like a rational person one more time?"

"…?"

"Look ahead, Lady Blake."

At that exact moment, a sudden scream echoed from atop the stairs.

"Aaaah…!"

Startled, I hurriedly looked over, only to see the female lead standing there with a tearful expression, her white dress completely drenched in red soup.

"I think the bowl slipped…"

Flustered beyond belief, she soon scrambled to her feet and began hurrying up the stairs.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to follow her?"

Serge grinned, jerking his chin toward her.

My vision went completely blank in disbelief.