A World Where You All Are The Villains [Novel] Chapter 83

Was this hand reached out to me truly meant for me?

I stared down at it blankly, lost in thought.

At that exact moment…

"It isn't very pleasant to look at."

Dylan spoke with his usual apathetic expression, as if confirming my doubts.

I scoffed inwardly.

Sadly, I was far too perceptive to let myself be swayed by something like this.

The faint hostility, disgust, and weariness lingering in those gray eyes… It felt exactly like the very first time we had crossed paths in Tolen.

He couldn't even hide the sheer wariness in his gaze, yet he still tried so hard to maintain basic manners, likely out of some misplaced aristocratic pride.

Did he pity me because not only my childhood friend, but even my adoptive brother was turning a blind eye to my plight?

Or maybe he just wanted to score some points with Llewellyn?

Ignoring Dylan's outstretched hand, I stubbornly got up on my own.

For some reason, all four of them just watched me in silence until I was standing on my own two feet.

Whatever.

Holding onto the pillar, I gently rolled my sprained ankle.

It hurt so much that tears pricked my eyes with every slight movement.

Still, it wasn't so bad that I couldn't walk at all.

I figured I could somehow manage to hobble my way downstairs, where Aston was.

Just as I let go of the pillar and carefully turned around…

Before I could even take a single step, the blue-haired bastard blocked my path.

"Where are you going?"

Vincent demanded aggressively.

I answered with a deadpan face.

"To the healer."

"Aren't you going to apologize to Llewellyn?"

"Hah…"

I thought there could be nothing more absurd than making the female lead cry while I was the one flat on the floor.

But at his behavior, acting like her personal spokesperson and demanding an apology, a deep sigh slipped from my lips.

"…I'm so sick and tired of this."

As I muttered to myself, the golden eyes glaring fiercely at me suddenly wavered for a split second.

But I was no longer fooled by such meaningless physical reactions.

Tearing my gaze away from him without a shred of lingering attachment, I turned my head toward the female lead, who was huddled with her shoulders drawn in, looking completely helpless.

And without a moment's hesitation, I spat out…

"I'm sorry, Llewellyn."

"…!"

At my clean-cut apology, every single male lead flinched.

The one who seemed the most shocked was Vincent.

He clearly hadn't expected me to yield to Llewellyn so willingly.

He told me to apologize, so I did.

I have no idea why he's sitting there looking like he just took a blow to the head.

Maybe the old Edith wouldn't have, but I was perfectly willing to offer as many empty apologies as it took to escape this godforsaken situation.

"I think I was seeing things for a moment. I haven't been feeling well lately."

"…"

"I also apologize for everything I've done to you in the past. Will you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

The words poured out smoothly, as if I were reciting from a script.

Maybe because I had practiced it a few times on the Duke, it came out far too easily.

"…"

But for some reason, the female lead, who was supposedly an angel, didn't readily open her mouth in response to my apology.

Was she unable to process the data because this had never happened in the past?

Those green eyes fixed on me looked exactly like they had right before she started rolling them crazily in every direction.

It was incredibly creepy.

Actually, that would be for the best.

I desperately hoped the female lead would put on another eyeball show like the one she had shown me earlier.

However, as if picking her audience, Llewellyn merely blinked her wet eyelashes sporadically.

She looked so natural and pitiful that it made me wonder if her not moving her eyelids during our previous conversation had all been a dream.

It was enough to drive me completely crazy, but I had no way to prove it.

Chewing on my lower lip, I had no choice but to wrap up the conversation.

"…Well, if you don't want to forgive me, then don't."

Honestly, proving it or not, I just wanted to get as far away from that creepy, crazy bitch as possible.

With only that thought in mind, I walked as best as I could.

I wanted to escape this space quickly, but the throbbing pain in my ankle severely hindered my pace.

I had hobbled about three or four steps when…

Defeating the purpose entirely, I was immediately caught and grabbed by the arm.

"I'll support you."

"Let go!"

Maybe I was just far too on edge.

Before I knew it, I flinched violently and violently wrenched my hand away.

Ethan stared at me, a look of surprise on his face.

Heaving a few ragged breaths as if I had just run a full sprint, I barely managed to calm myself down and spoke.

"Would you mind… not touching my body without permission?"

"…"

"Since I lack any shred of dignity, I might just scream if I feel uncomfortable."

"Edith Blake."

As I sarcastically threw his exact words right back at him, his lake-blue eyes sank darkly.

He stared at me silently for a moment before shifting his gaze downward.

"…How did your ankle end up like that?"

"It seems you're only curious about that now."

I simply found it baffling.

He had been so entirely preoccupied with checking if Llewellyn was okay, even while watching me sprawled on the floor.

If he was only now acting like an older brother because he belatedly remembered the Duke, that was incredibly poor form.

I tilted my head slightly.

"Hmm. I wonder why my foot ended up like this?"

"…"

"Just as you all assumed, maybe I was busy slapping Llewellyn all by myself and accidentally tripped and fell."

Slowly shifting my eyes, I scanned Male Leads No. 1, 2, and 3 one by one before finally fixing my gaze on the female lead.

It took a lot of courage for that brief moment before locking eyes with her.

"Isn't that right, Llewellyn?"

At my question, Llewellyn flinched, her shoulders trembling.

And then she began to ramble on again, on the verge of tears.

"N-no…"

"…"

"Edith. Why are you telling such lies…?"

They say even a broken clock is right twice a day.

The female lead, who had been nonsensically repeating lines from the past regardless of context, had finally said something fitting.

I smiled brightly and asked back as sweetly as possible.

"Then why don't you tell them the truth? Why did I fall?"

"Hey, you… that's enough."

However, the answer came from the wrong person.

I immediately erased the faint smile from my lips and shifted my gaze over to him expressionlessly.

"What do you mean, Hey, Young Marquis Leandro?"

As I coldly drew a line, so utterly devoid of affection, his puppy-like, gentle eyes sharply angled upward.

"…Edith!"

"Lady, or Lady Blake."

"…"

"Would you please mind your manners and treat me like a proper lady? I heard your father goes around boasting about how absolutely perfect his son's etiquette is."

Using the exact same words the Duke had once used, I shrugged my shoulders and finally turned my back.

The fleeting expression I caught on Dylan's face was peculiar.

It was likely because my words sounded remarkably similar to what he had heard not too long ago.

Just as I was about to resume limping away…

Along with the sound of hurried footsteps, my path was blocked once again.

I was so utterly sick of this that I felt almost immune to it.

Perhaps half of me had even expected him to do this.

Glancing up, I saw Male Lead No. 2 with a face flushed bright red.

"Are you really…"

"…"

"Are you going to keep acting so childishly like this, ever since last time?"

"Vincent, that's enough."

"What do you mean, that's enough? Stay out of this, Ethan, and keep quiet!"

Vincent yelled furiously without even sparing a glance at Ethan.

Given how he usually tried to maintain some semblance of a line because Ethan was older, it was quite unexpected.

Panting roughly, he suddenly unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of words.

"What exactly are you so unhappy about? Are you that pissed off I told you to apologize to someone who's crying? Are you that offended that I told you to stop badgering someone who is already terrified?!"