A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 35.2
“With what evidence?”
“Isn’t sneaking into a room without its owner already a crime?”
That was little more than forcing the issue.
But, with him, it was more than possible.
I gritted my teeth and shot back,
“Isn’t it the same for you, Your Highness?”
“I came in here openly, with permission, to investigate the Purifier’s disappearance.”
“You just said His Majesty the Emperor and the Imperial Crown Prince know nothing about it, didn’t you? Whose permission did you get, then?”
“Oh. So you’re not just good at hiding like a rat, but also at eavesdropping.”
He let out a short exclamation at my words.
But it only lasted a moment.
“That’s enough word games.”
He instantly wiped the smile from his face, staring at me coldly as he continued,
“I’m in a bit of a hurry, Ducal Lady. Where is the Purifier?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you keep this up, I’ll be disappointed. I thought I’d shown you enough of what kind of person I am at the banquet…”
“……”
“Was it not enough?”
Not at all. It was more than enough.
‘But seriously, I really don’t know! What does this guy even want from me?’
It was driving me mad. And it’s terrifying me to the core.
Still, as the Empire’s only Ducal Lady, even a Grand Duke couldn’t treat me recklessly.
‘What, will he kill me? There’s no way. I’m a Ducal Lady. I’m the only daughter of Duke Blake…’
I forced myself to repeat it over and over, trying not to let my fear show.
“Your Highness, are you threatening me right now?”
“Threatening? Hah.”
He gave a hollow laugh, as if he’d just heard a joke, then shook his head slowly.
“Crown Princes, Ducal Ladies… This is the problem with those who’ve been spoiled all their lives. You never understand the first time when spoken to nicely.”
“……”
“If you don’t want to answer, then don’t, Ducal Lady.”
Just like I had a moment ago, Male Lead #4 tilted his chin up arrogantly and sneered.
“There are plenty of ways to find out, even if you won’t say.”
“What are you— Ugh!”
Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe.
It felt as if someone were strangling me, and I reached up, clawing at my neck with both hands.
But I couldn’t feel anything.
“Ducal Lady. From now on, blink once for yes, and twice for no.”
He looked down at me, gasping for breath, with complete indifference.
“Huuh, huff…”
At the same time, a tiny bit of air came through.
But it was barely enough to suck in a breath through the eye of a needle. My throat was still tightly constricted.
‘This bastard…!’
It finally dawned on me that he was using his ability.
He was using telekinesis to choke me!
“If you lie, it may get harder to breathe depending on my judgment. I hope you’ll cooperate before you suffocate.”
“……!”
“You’re really stubborn. I told you. Blink once for yes.”
He was staring at me, and all of a sudden my airway was cut off again.
Blink.
I hastily blinked once.
Then, a tiny passage for air opened up again.
I sucked in a desperate breath, and apparently pleased by the sight, he gave a satisfied smile.
“Good, Ducal Lady.”
“Huk, kh-huff…”
“You know the Purifier vanished without a trace after the Tollen Gate incident, right?”
Blink.
I blinked once quickly, afraid he’d choke me again.
“But did you know the Purifier didn’t actually disappear, but was in a coma?”
Blink, blink.
He nodded at my response.
“Right. You might not have known. The Emperor hid it so tightly, I only found out just now.”
“……”
“In that case, Ducal Lady. Did you kidnap the Purifier at Tollen, intending to kill her when the Gate broke out?”
There was no time to weigh things or consider consequences with the threat of suffocating to death hanging over me.
Blink, blink.
So I answered sincerely.
Having lived as Edith herself, I was certain. Edith had never planned to kill the female lead.
She’d certainly grown up spoiled and tyrannical, but she wasn’t cruel enough to be a murderer.
‘If anything, she had a surprisingly soft side.’
The attitude of the butler, Nancy, and other servants toward me.
The relationship I’d seen with Dylan in dreams.
All of it reinforced my belief.
‘And if she really meant to kill someone, she wouldn’t have gone about it so sloppily.’
She wouldn’t have recklessly followed the female lead to the Gate site, either.
So I denied it honestly…
“Guh-ack!”
As if everything up until now had just been a warning, a tremendous force suddenly squeezed my neck as if it would snap.
‘Why! Why is he doing this—!’
Blink, blink, blink, blink.
I blinked frantically, unable to understand.
He cocked his head, muttering quietly,
“Tsk… That’s not what my investigation says.”
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