A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 47.1
Male Lead #4, who had acted like he’d stick around to get a nice meal out of this, left right after our conversation, saying something had come up.
He was truly an inscrutable bastard.
Thanks to that, I had to attend the sudden family dinner.
“…Whaaat? What do you mean, ‘what kind of relationship’?!”
As soon as I entered the dining room, the Duke jumped in to ask what kind of relationship I had with the Grand Duke, and I stood there, mouth agape.
“There’s nothing at all between us!”
“Then why’s he going around saying you two played hide-and-seek alone?”
“That was obviously just a joke. Don’t you understand metaphors? We bumped into each other in the corridor on my way to the lounge, and that’s it.”
“Ahem…”
I was about to finish making up a plausible story about my encounter with Serge.
“Edith is telling the truth, Father. You know what the Grand Duke is like. He says all kinds of nonsense for no reason.”
Ethan, who had been quietly sipping water across from me, suddenly took my side.
‘What’s gotten into this guy?’
I stared at him in surprise, but he didn’t look back at me.
“And right after that, he was attacked in the guest palace. There probably wasn’t even time for them to talk alone.”
“Well, that’s true, but… tsk. That bastard should be tracking down whoever bashed in his skull, not barging into someone else’s house to raise hell!”
The Duke grumbled in displeasure.
Though I deeply agreed, I still felt guilty for being the one who’d bashed his skull.
“What did you two talk about in the drawing room? The butler said the atmosphere seemed quite amicable.”
At the Duke’s follow-up question, I grimaced.
‘What’s wrong with that man’s eyes?!’
How could he possibly interpret that scene as ‘amicable’?!
“…The butler must’ve seen it wrong. Amicable, my foot. I just apologized, and we exchanged a few pleasantries.”
“He accepted your apology without asking for anything in return…?”
However, the Duke, apparently well acquainted with Serge’s nature, didn’t let it slide so easily.
He gave me a suspicious look, then suddenly said something horrific.
“…Just saying, just in case, but that bastard is out of the question.”
“Ugh! Don’t even joke about that!”
I flinched and shouted.
But the Duke didn’t ease up his suspicious gaze.
“Isn’t it strange, no matter how you look at it? The man who suspected you of being behind the Purifier’s disappearance just chats a bit and leaves? Unless he took a liking to you…”
“If anything, it seems like you’re the one who’s closer to him than I am.”
“Don’t say such horrifying things! Close?! That uncultured, ill-mannered brute?!”
Bizarrely enough, the Duke shuddered just like I had earlier.
“Every chance he gets, he uses telekinesis to shut people up mid-speech or throw them out of the conference room! He has absolutely zero manners!”
Well, a cracked bowl leaks both inside and out.
A bastard who treats me, a duke’s daughter, like a fly wouldn’t treat other nobles any better.
‘No wonder he was overly deferential.’
It seemed the Duke was doing his best to survive, fighting tooth and nail under the Grand Duke, who was slowly chewing away at the imperial palace ever since the Emperor fell ill.
“In any case! He’s not someone you should ever get close to, so both of you should be careful.”
The Duke solemnly warned us, then suddenly lowered his voice.
“On top of that, by His Majesty the Emperor’s command, the Security Bureau is secretly keeping a close watch on the Grand Duke.”
“The Security Bureau?”
Ethan reacted with surprise.
“Yes. He abuses his ability so recklessly, isn’t it strange he hasn’t gone berserk? Especially now that even the Purifier has disappeared…”
“……”
“Sometimes I fear he’ll go on rampage on purpose and drag us all down with him. The late Emperor truly botched his parenting… tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, he suddenly glared at me and scolded me sternly.
“Anyway, remember what I said! Don’t even think about throwing yourself at someone so far out of reach! Thanks to you, I still can’t face Marquis Leandro!”
It was something I had to endure now that I was Edith, but it still felt grossly unfair.
“Father. I have my own preferences, you know.”
“What preferences, with your status? When the time comes, I’ll pair you off with a decent enough man. You’re not still trailing after Vincent, are you?”
“Of course not—”
“Then how come you entered the banquet with Vincent as your partner the other day?”
I was just about to deny it firmly when Ethan suddenly cut in.
‘Hey!’
I glared daggers at him.
‘You were backing me up just a minute ago, yet now you’re betraying me the moment you get the chance?!’
Grinding my teeth at the bastard, who continued eating with a completely blank face as if nothing had happened.
“What?!”
Naturally, the Duke exploded.
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