A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 9.1
Vincent Leandro, who was a year older than Edith, was her longtime childhood friend.
Unlike Ethan, with whom she had somewhat of a master-retainer relationship with, Edith and Vincent quickly became close thanks to the ties between their families and the fact that both were only children, and so they stuck together like shadows from an early age.
However, once the female lead appeared, their relationship fell apart. Despite all the years they spent together, Vincent fell for Llewellyn and was the very first to betray Edith.
‘Eighty percent of the reason Edith became a villainess is because of this guy.’
The reason was that Edith had secretly considered Vincent as her future husband and had harbored a long unrequited love for him.
In contrast, Vincent, eager to protect the female lead from being bullied, didn’t hesitate to put Edith down.
Because of this, even incidents that could have been brushed off as a typical rivalry between girls were instead greatly exaggerated as Edith’s villainous acts.
“Haah…”
Just thinking of the guy who played such a big part in ruining Edith’s reputation gave me a headache.
However, when the butler saw me press my forehead, he seemed to misunderstand and brightened.
“Could it be… does anything about the Young Marquis come to mind?”
“No.”
“Then how did you…?”
“I think I must have heard it from Nancy while asking her about various things.”
“Oh…”
I brushed off the butler’s question vaguely, and he looked noticeably disappointed.
‘Even if I don’t know about the others, I must never acknowledge that I know who this guy is.’
Everyone already knew that Edith liked Vincent. It was an open secret.
But that didn’t mean I had to take on the shameful dark history of this body, did it?
Resolving to stick to pretending not to know, I asked in a disinterested tone,
“Why did he come?”
“Pardon? Well, of course… he must have come to visit you since you’ve been ill, Milady.”
‘Hmm. I see you didn’t actually ask him why.’
She nearly killed the woman he loved, and yet he just comes by for a casual visit? That didn’t quite add up, did it?
I gave the butler, who never had any useful information anyway, an indirect refusal.
“I’m a bit uncomfortable meeting people right now since I have no memory.”
“Still, instead of leaving on a long journey right away, wouldn’t it be more helpful to meet with someone you were close to, to help regain your memory?”
“……”
“You and the Young Marquis have known each other for thirteen years now.”
He did have a point, since I’d argued for going out earlier that morning for the sake of regaining my memory.
I didn’t want to meet him, but I couldn’t think of a good way to avoid it.
‘Ugh. If I have to see him at some point, might as well get it over with today.’
Suppressing a sigh, I stood up.
“Where is he now?”
“He’s waiting in the parlor.”
“Take me there.”
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I followed the butler to the parlor on the first floor.
Maybe he was rooting for Edith’s romance; he leaned in and whispered to me with a slightly excited expression,
“I’ll bring out some refreshments soon, Milady. What kind of tea would you like?”
“It’s fine. I won’t be staying long.”
“Pardon? But it’s been so long since he last visited… The Young Marquis always liked the cookies made by our chef.”
The butler kept trying to drop hints, looking regretful.
It seemed Edith had always put special effort into Vincent’s visits.
‘I couldn’t care less whether he likes those cookies or not.’
It was just useless information to me.
Afraid he might try to help and cause more trouble, I quickly shut him down.
“More importantly, I want to talk to him alone, so make sure no one interrupts.”
“Yes, of course.”
Leaving the butler behind, I finally opened the door to the parlor.
But contrary to my expectations, only an empty room greeted me.
“…What the.”
Did he already leave?
As I stood in the doorway scanning the room, suddenly—
Clatter, whoosh—!
A window that had been closed flung wide open, and a strong gust of wind blew inside.
As I was startled, yellow flower petals began to flutter in on the wind.
Whoosh…
The petals, scattered randomly at first, soon gathered around the table in the center of the parlor and swirled gently.
Then, as if guided by invisible hands, they floated down, dotting the table and chairs with color.
The plain room was instantly transformed, beautifully covered in yellow petals.
I simply stood frozen, watching this magical scene unfold.
“A-Achoo—”
Whether it was from the chilly air or the sweet scent of flowers, I sneezed reflexively.
Thunk—
At that moment, a flower bud the same color as the scattered petals softly tapped my forehead and fell away.
“Hello, Edith.”
A tall man, who’d been hiding behind the door, suddenly appeared.
“Congratulations on your recovery.”
“……”
“I went to all this trouble. Won’t you accept it?”
The flower bud that had hit my forehead finally snapped me out of my frozen state.
I slowly looked up to get a better look at him.
His wavy blue hair, the color of delphinium petals, swayed gently in the breeze.
His gold eyes sparkled with mischief, and his features were open and handsome.
If Edith had sharp, feline features, Vincent was the classic puppy type—and a pretty one at that.
‘…What could possibly be good about a pretty-boy like this, anyway?’
Fortunately, he wasn’t my type at all.
After this brief assessment, I relaxed a bit and reluctantly accepted the jasmine flower he offered me.
At that, the gentle corners of his eyes drooped a little.
“I went to all this trouble to surprise you, but… was it not good enough?”
To me, Vincent’s overly familiar behavior was more surprising than the sudden swirl of petals.
I already knew he could control the wind with his ability.
There were countless scenes in the novel where he would use that power to shower the female lead with flower petals during their dates.
Still, the reason I momentarily froze was…
‘Why is this guy, who would usually recoil from Edith no matter what, suddenly acting like this?’
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