A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 56.1
My eyes snapped wide open as I asked again,
“…Opened a Gate?! How is that even possible?”
“Well, it’s more like an old legend.”
“A legend…?”
“Yes. Five hundred years ago, they probably couldn’t comprehend Gates as natural disasters, so… maybe they just came up with a reason for them.”
At that, the little spark of anticipation I’d felt fizzled out.
‘I thought he meant someone literally opened a Gate. Scared me for nothing…’
It seemed to be the same kind of mythic anthropomorphism people used for disasters, like saying the Dragon King grew angry when the seas turned rough, or that a giant trapped in a mountain caused volcanoes to erupt whenever he raged.
“To think they worship that kind of sinner as a god… it gives me the creeps. A cult’s a cult, after all.”
Eston shook her head firmly as she finished speaking.
‘Well, it’s not that bad, is it?’
I tried to think positively, for the female lead’s sake.
When there are people who worship ghosts, demons, or even pray for the world’s end, this much seemed mild in comparison.
If Sephirot opened the Gate, it wasn’t strange to believe he could also close it.
After all, Asura was a demon god in India, but a benevolent deity in Persia.
“But why bring up the Sephirot Church all of a sudden?”
Eston asked curiously, a beat too late.
“Just… I happened to hear about it, and it made me curious.”
“It’s better not to get involved. There’s talk that the Imperial Palace will soon officially declare the Sephirot Church heretical and ban it.”
“The Imperial Palace? Why?”
Wasn’t that religious persecution?
I tilted my head, and Eston replied casually,
“There’s a theory that Sephirot was one of the royals erased from their family records. I suppose it tarnished the Imperial Family’s honor.”
At those words, long-forgotten memories flashed through my mind.
― Were you sent by Sephirot?
― He’s a Sephirot cultist. Take him to the dungeons.
Serge, the spatial ability user who had captured me. And the Duke, who had doubted me.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince and the female lead, the Purifier, were deeply connected to the Sephirot Church.
And now, the Imperial Palace was preparing to denounce it as heresy?
It didn’t make sense.
‘And what’s this about them making people Awakeners?’
Not that it was unusual for a cult, but still, it was all rumors and contradictions.
If I wanted to find out where the female lead had gone, I’d have to learn more about the Sephirot Church somehow…
‘But how am I supposed to dig up information on a cult that never even appeared in the original story? Am I supposed to become a believer myself?’
Why did Llewellyn, of all people, have to fall for a cult?!
Muttering endless complaints in my head, I must have dozed off without realizing it.
Maybe I even fainted from the strain of using my ability.
“…Milady! Milady, please wake up! We’ve arrived in front of the salon!”
At Eston’s shout, I barely came to my senses and stumbled out of the carriage, half-conscious.
My body felt impossibly heavy.
‘…I’m going to die. Forget the female lead. Never again. Never doing something this stupid again.’
Muttering that vow to myself, I trudged up the stairs of the accessory shop building.
By the time I reached the rooftop, I glanced down to see the Duke’s assigned escort slumped against the outer wall, fast asleep.
‘He wouldn’t have noticed even if I’d walked straight through the front door.’
Clicking my tongue, I crossed the rooftop and retraced the same route I’d taken to escape earlier.
At last, I returned to the first floor of the dress shop, where Nancy greeted me with a tearful face.
“Miss!”
“Nancy, nothing happened, right?”
“Yes… but I’m not sure if I chose well.”
I quickly checked the few dresses she seemed to have picked out.
They were simple, with little ornamentation. Nothing flashy or conspicuous.
Exactly my style.
“I like them, Nancy.”
“R-Really?”
“Mm. Good work.”
“Ugh… Miss, I really can’t do something like this twice. Do you know how terrified I was that the guard knight might suddenly come in?”
Now that the tension was gone, Nancy burst into a flurry of complaints.
I nodded quietly and murmured, “Me too.”
Truly, I was exhausted beyond words.
“Let’s go.”
Nancy and I left the salon under the owner’s overly polite farewell.
“Please come again soon, Ducal Lady.”
The shop owner gave me a secretive wink.
I frowned once before heading toward the escort—my so-called guard and watcher—waiting in front of the carriage.
“Sir.”
“You’ve returned, Milady!”
“Were you dozing off the whole time?”
“P-Pardon me?”
At my sudden question, the knight blinked in confusion, then began shaking his head wildly.
“N-No, of course not!”
“Really? Because I actually snuck out while you were asleep. Didn’t notice, did you?”
“Wh, What…!”
His face drained of color in an instant.
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