A World Where You All Are The Villains

I trudged over to the sofa and collapsed into it.

“Miss, are you alright?”

“No…”

“Oh my, your face is so pale. Should I go get Eston?”

“It’s fine. Just leave me alone.”

I waved Nancy away, clearly annoyed.

Looking worried, she cautiously exited the room.

Clack.

As soon as the door closed, I clutched my head and let out a silent scream.

“Seriously, a bastard who’s absolutely no help to my life…”

Of course, I knew I was just taking out my frustration.

In his own way, Ethan probably meant well. He even went out of his way to prepare the earring and personally telling me about it.

But from my perspective, it was a form of ‘consideration’ I hadn’t asked for.

If only I’d known yesterday.

No, if he’d just told me right away before grilling me about who I’d fought with…

“Still, it’s not like there’s anything I can do…”

Even if I had known right away, I probably wouldn’t have been able to find it.

I didn’t even know where I lost it, and I couldn’t exactly tear up the banquet hall area without a clue.

Even if someone had found it, it was far more likely they’d just stolen it.

“…Where did I drop it? When I collapsed?”

I wrapped my arms around my head, desperately trying to recall.

The most likely moment I lost it was when I collapsed in the corridor.

That was probably the only time I’d suffered any real physical shock.

“Ah.”

There was one more possibility.

A chill ran down my spine as the worst-case scenario vividly resurfaced.

“No way… In the female lead’s room?”

When I hit Male Lead #4, Serge Belnac, with a stool.

His head was harder than I’d expected, and the rebound had been strong.

“No! No way!”

I shuddered and denied that horrifying possibility.

If I dropped the earring there, then I was seriously screwed.

It wouldn’t just be illegal trespassing into the Purifier’s room, it would make me a criminal who assaulted this empire’s one and only Grand Duke and a would-be royal assassin!

“…Wait!”

That’s when it hit me.

I suddenly remembered the moment I’d stared in horror at my reflection in the outer window of the building.

“I definitely still had it on back then!”

I desperately recalled that instant.

It had already been two days ago, and I’d fainted afterwards, so my memory was foggy.

But one thing was certain. At the time I caught my reflection in the glass, my hair had been pinned up.

So if I’d been missing an earring on one side, I would have noticed right away.

“Haah…”

Having pieced together a fairly logical deduction, I let out a long sigh of relief.

‘Anywhere is fine. As long as it’s not the female lead’s room.’

If that was the case, my alibi was solid.

Even if Male Lead #4 somehow found the earring near the banquet hall or in the corridor, what could he possibly say?

With that thought, the anxious pounding in my chest began to calm.

“I guess this is why they say people can’t live with a guilty conscience…”

Just from the stress alone, it was something I could never do again.

Rubbing at my chest, I suddenly sprang to my feet and headed to the dressing room.

I opened the jewelry display case where I kept my accessories and took out the jewelry box the Duke had given me.

When I opened the lid, the necklace and earrings that Nancy had neatly arranged sparkled brilliantly.

I pulled out the lone earring still inside, and in its place, I inserted the pair Ethan had given me.

Placed next to the necklace, the comparison was obvious just as he’d said.

The Duke’s gift had a much larger gem and looked of higher quality overall.

Even the cut of the diamonds and the surrounding detailing were more ornate and refined.

‘So this is what it means for things to be in a different league, huh?’

Still, I had no choice. I’d just have to insist they were part of the same set.

After putting the jewelry box back in its original place, I stored the single earring I’d taken out into the safe.

“That’s not my earring anymore. It’s not mine…”

Chanting that to myself like a mantra, I locked the safe.

Even if the lost earring were recovered later, I’d just deny it was ever mine.

Nobles losing jewelry at banquets was practically a tradition.

Besides, I hadn’t stayed long enough at the banquet hall for anyone to be sure it was mine, and thanks to Male Lead #4’s monster corpse spectacle, my presence had been buried early on anyway.

“…Even if someone did recognize it, I’ll just deny I ever lost it.”

And thanks to Ethan giving me a decently similar earring, I was all set.

‘This is the perfect crime.’

Or so I thought.

“…Tch. You careless fool. If it weren’t for His Highness the Grand Duke, you wouldn’t have even known you’d lost the damn thing!”

Until the next day…

When the Duke brought the Grand Duke over.