A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 47.2
I scowled and protested.
“That wasn’t my idea. He showed up out of nowhere and forced himself into my carriage.”
“You’re of age now! If you keep chasing after your childhood friend, what do you think others will say about you?!”
“They’d just think it’s a deep friendship between close friends.”
“Vincent is out of the question! Do you know how picky Marquis Leandro is about choosing a candidate for his daughter-in-law?”
“I’m not really interested in him either.”
“Someone who’s not interested raised such a fuss for years?”
“Father, you seem to keep forgetting that I lost my memory not too long ago.”
“Ahem…!”
The Duke fell silent, as if he’d run out of words.
Either way, since I’m Edith now, it was something I’d have to make clear eventually.
I spoke calmly.
“Don’t worry. I won’t have anything to do with Vincent ever again.”
“……”
“I don’t know why I ever acted that way before, but I absolutely hate guys like him.”
At that, both the Duke and Ethan stared at me in shock.
“Y-You’re really saying that…!”
The Duke, stammering as if truly taken aback, eventually broke into a wide grin.
“Memory loss is turning out to be a blessing!”
“……”
“This won’t do. We need a toast to mark the occasion! Someone bring out that champagne we were gifted at the last Foundation Day!”
A moment later, a servant brought the champagne and popped it open.
“Edith. If you’re truly a Blake by blood, you must always keep your word.”
“…Yes.”
“I’ll believe you just this once, that you really meant what you said. Please, don’t disappoint me any further.”
“Of course.”
“Good! Now, you’re an adult, so have a drink.”
The Duke cheerfully handed me a glass.
It seemed he was genuinely pleased that his daughter had finally come to her senses.
He might be happy about it, but I couldn’t hide the bitterness rising in me.
‘He probably has no idea his real daughter is dead.’
Would he still be this delighted if he knew a complete stranger was wearing her skin and pretending to be her?
I forced a bitter smile and brought the glass to my lips.
And then, my gaze met a pair of lake-colored eyes.
Ethan was staring at me with a strangely vacant expression.
He even looked a little… hollowed out.
‘…What’s with him?’
Just as I tilted my head in confusion, the kitchen door opened and the main course began to arrive.
Since I’d been summoned in such a rush, I hadn’t even been told what was on the menu.
I’d been eating light meals alone in my room every day, so I figured I’d take the opportunity to finally enjoy a proper meal, but the smell that hit my nose made my body tense.
‘…That smell.’
The fishy stench.
Sure enough, as the servants removed the lids, I saw a round-cut white fish steak resting atop a thin, watery sauce.
“Tonight’s main course is freshly caught silver cod steak and octopus salad,” the head chef explained as he served the salad onto our plates.
“Mmm, that goes well with champagne! Dig in.”
The Duke, pleased with the menu, began eating right away.
Ethan followed suit.
Only I sat frozen in place, restless.
‘…I feel like I’m going to throw up.’
Of all things, it had to be fish. Damn silver cod.
I’d expected a dinner like this to feature beef steak, but not only was I completely wrong. This was the worst possible outcome.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t eat fish dishes.
Not because of an allergy or anything like that. It was just… my own issue.
Staring blankly at the fish flesh, I was suddenly dragged into a memory from long ago.
— What’s the occasion, Dad? What made you want to take everyone out to eat?
— Your little brother got first place in the entire school on his midterms. His homeroom teacher even called me.
— Him?
— Yeah. Tsk. And you, why didn’t you tell us something like that? It’s embarrassing… Ah, Dowoon’s here. Now we’re just waiting on Sehwa.
That day happened to be the first time we ever went out for a family meal, and it was all because of me.
I hadn’t wanted to seem like I was showing off, so I’d kept my grades a secret. But deep down, I think I was a little excited that my biological father knew.
— How were your exams, Dowoon?
— Eh, I just did what I usually do.
— Don’t slack off at school just because you’ve started going through gates. Not every Awakener gets special treatment anymore. If your grades drop, I’ll be watching, so you’d better be ready.
I should’ve known from the strange look on the face of my third adopted sibling, Dowoon.
And then, right on cue, the second adopted sibling, who had just returned from a small-scale gate deployment that day, arrived.
— I’ll have the fish. If I try to cut into meat right now, I might puke.
— Then let’s all have silver cod steak today for Sehwa’s sake.
Like the former soldier he was, my biological father just decided the menu for everyone on his own.
Not long after, the dishes came out, still steaming.
As I picked up the knife and sliced into the pure white fish meat.
What appeared beneath was…
A black cockroach, about the size of a thumb.
— Not eating, Noona?
Yoo Dowoon, who had the ability to control small animals, smiled viciously.
And the next thing I heard was a piercing scream, ringing in my ears.
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