A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 40.1
“This… was in the newspaper?”
I felt strange.
It wasn’t because I was worried they might be looking for the culprit.
It was because, knowing Serge’s rotten personality, I doubted he would let a headline like this go unchallenged.
Anyway, since this was an article closely related to ‘me’, I hurriedly read through the paper.
「 Last night, at the Tezeron victory celebration banquet held at the imperial palace, the event’s host, Grand Duke Serge Belnac, was attacked by an unknown assailant in the Fourth Guest Palace.
Grand Duke Belnac is an S-Class Awakened with telekinesis, well known as the ‘undefeated legend’ who, since being deployed to the Lucere Gate at age fourteen, has never once failed. According to eyewitnesses, the Grand Duke appeared to have been struck on the forehead with a blunt object and was seen leaving the guest palace bleeding.
At the time, the Grand Duke was in an extremely agitated state…… 」
‘Hm, in other words, he was pissed off.’
A satisfied smile crept onto my lips.
Reading the article in full, I got a general sense of how things had gone.
Seeing as there were ‘eyewitnesses’, it seemed quite a few people had seen him clutching his bleeding head as he left.
To have this much attention in the headlines meant it had become quite the spectacle.
As the saying goes, ‘news travels fast’. No matter how powerful the Grand Duke was, he wouldn’t be able to quash all the rumors spreading behind his back.
Or perhaps, in trying to suppress the rumors, he missed his chance to watch his enemies. Like the Crown Prince, for example.
“If only you’d lived a little nicer day to day.”
Clicking my tongue at the article, which practically tore down the Grand Duke’s honor, I burst into laughter.
Nancy looked at me strangely as I suddenly grinned while reading the paper, but I couldn’t help it.
— You got knocked out like a loser, ambushed by an unknown assailant.
The words I had muttered before had become reality and were now broadcast for the world to see. How could I not feel satisfied?
「 …The Imperial Palace’s investigative office has begun an inquiry, but it’s said that no decisive clues have been found to identify a suspect.
As this incident directly targeted Grand Duke Belnac, the event’s host and commander-in-chief of the north, unavoidable political and military ramifications are expected…… 」
“Why are they making such a big deal out of it…”
As if they could ever find the culprit anyway.
The phrase ‘no decisive clues to identify a suspect have been found’ made me smirk.
Thankfully, things seemed to be going just as I’d hoped.
‘That’s right!’
Then, suddenly recalling the evidence, I hurriedly called Nancy.
“Nancy, where’s the dress I wore to the banquet? Did you already have it laundered?”
“No! I just put it in the basket to be collected. Should I bring it?”
“Yes.”
A moment later, Nancy brought the dress, and I pulled out my lifeline safely from its inner pocket.
Next, I opened the safe hidden deep in my dressing room.
I placed the piece of Serge’s cravat and the ruby brooch next to Eston’s clothing that I had stored there earlier.
Looking down at them coldly, I muttered,
“…I hope I never have to face this again.”
No matter how much he dominates the imperial palace or acts high and mighty, no one would want to be classified as a ‘rampage risk’.
Even if it was embarrassing to have it in the newspaper, that wasn’t my problem…
‘It’s all your karma.’
In a way, it was just a matter of each giving as good as they got—so I didn’t have much to feel guilty about.
Even if he didn’t feel that way, I did.
‘I hope I never have to take this out again.’
Murmuring quietly, I finally closed the safe.
READ ONLY AT VANISHINTOFICTION.COM
* * *
READ ONLY AT VANISHINTOFICTION.COM
The next day.
I headed to the greenhouse early in the morning.
The weather was so beautiful, it would have been a waste to stay cooped up in my room.
Unfortunately, because of my wretched pollen allergy, I couldn’t even set foot in the beautifully kept garden or the back yard.
In the end, my next-best option was the greenhouse.
“…It’s nice.”
When I opened the door and stepped inside, my eyes widened.
What I’d seen of Edith’s dream before was only a tiny portion.
The interior, decorated entirely with foliage plants and not a single flower, looked like a tiny fairy forest.
Soft moss covered the ground, sunlight streamed through the thick undergrowth, clear birdsong rang out now and then, and the gentle trickle of water from the artificial fountain blended together in the background.
It was quiet, cozy, and peaceful.
‘A space just for Edith, huh…’
According to the butler, the greenhouse was, astonishingly, a birthday present from the Duke to his daughter, who had been disappointed that she couldn’t visit the gardens.
Was it when she was seven? Or eight?
‘I guess he didn’t know at that point that his daughter wouldn’t awaken?’
The Duke’s hypocrisy made me bristle.
Apparently, after fighting with Dylan, Edith hadn’t visited the greenhouse much.
Probably because she didn’t want to recall bad memories.
‘Haah, how stupid…’
Every time I discovered a surprisingly soft side to Edith, I felt oddly conflicted.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
