A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 21.2
Gone was the delicate, almost girlish face that had fooled everyone when he was first taken in by Edith.
The grown Dylan now looked formidable at a single glance.
There’s no doubt his face was the kind to make any number of women’s hearts skip a beat…
Even so, all I felt as I faced his expressionless face and those coarse, ashen eyes was a strong sense of discomfort. It felt as if he might be contemplating killing me at any moment.
‘You gonna let go or just keep staring?’
Growing increasingly uneasy, I repeated myself.
“If you’ve confirmed my identity, please let go now.”
“……”
“Sir.”
I tried my best to avoid further conflict, but I couldn’t take it anymore.
Whoosh―!
I yanked my increasingly sore wrist free from his grasp.
To prevent him from grabbing me again, I quickly clasped my hands over my chest and stepped back several paces.
“Your manners are as poor as ever, Sir.”
“……Edith.”
“That’s Ducal Lady or Lady Blake to you.”
“……”
“Does House Frederick not teach proper etiquette toward a lady?”
Since he’d once again called me by name without any formality, I immediately corrected his address. And I gave a sweet smile, playing the part of someone who says everything she wants as if it were a private joke.
‘Go ahead, see if you can spit in a smiling face.’
For the first time, a faint trace of emotion crossed Dylan’s face. It was as if he hadn’t expected this kind of reaction, and he looked momentarily confused.
In a way, it was only natural. The real Edith would have thrown a tantrum or made a scene, not responded with sarcasm.
He was silent for a while, then finally spoke.
“…What are you doing here looking like that?”
“Do I have to report every little thing to you, sir?”
I shot back coldly.
The trace of confusion disappeared from his face as quickly as it had appeared. The coldness in his gaze returned as he jerked his chin toward the woman behind me.
“Then let’s ask her.”
I nearly scoffed at the obvious provocation.
‘You think that’ll rattle me?’
Too bad. After years as a research director, I was well past being fazed by threats or hostility.
“Eston, come here.”
I called out to Eston, who’d been anxiously watching from the sidelines.
She hesitantly approached, and I introduced her as if nothing were amiss.
“Say hello. This is Count Frederick.”
“Ah, yes… Hello. I’m Lady Edith’s healer, Eston…”
Though she was flustered by my abrupt command, she obeyed right away.
Looking Dylan straight in the eye, I continued my explanation.
“She’s a girl who’s dear to me. She’s from this village.”
“……”
“The boy on her back is her little brother. He has a chronic illness that causes seizures, but the villagers mistook him for one of the corrupted, so I came with Eston to fetch him.”
“……”
“I intend to sponsor them until he’s fully cured.”
I lied smoothly without batting an eye, and Dylan’s brow twitched.
“You’re… going to sponsor them?”
“Yes.”
“Wearing a maid’s uniform?”
“If I’d come as the Duke’s daughter to this place, do you really think people like you would have just let me waltz all the way out here?”
A Gate site where corrupted were frozen would be a sore spot for the villagers. If anyone had recognized me as an outsider together with Eston, someone would have stopped us long before now. And if it had been the Duke’s daughter herself, word would have reached both Dylan and the ducal residence in no time.
“……”
Faced with my unflinching response, Dylan could only open and close his mouth without any reply.
At that moment.
Clop, clop!
“Lord!”
Several people appeared behind Dylan, riding up on horseback.
They quickly dismounted and bowed before him.
“G-Greetings, Lord. I am Gregory, the village chief.”
An elderly man introduced himself, his face drawn tight with nervousness.
Dylan hardly bothered to acknowledge him, pointing instead at Eston.
“That’s the child you reported on, isn’t it?”
“Y-Yes, that’s right!”
“But I hear the boy is not actually corrupted. How do you explain that?”
“Wh-What? That can’t be! I swear, Theo bit two villagers…”
The chief shook his head vigorously.
Dylan frowned and gestured to one of the men standing behind him.
“William.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Check.”
The man who received the order strode toward Eston.
“……!”
Eston’s face grew steadily paler as he approached.
And then…
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