How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 130

Yves let out a deep sigh and calmly explained, “I simply judged that there was no need to deliver news that would only disturb someone who should be resting.”

 

As if worried I might misunderstand, he even added an excuse—that if he had truly been trying to hide something, he wouldn’t have pointed out how Endymion’s attitude had changed to gain my favor.

“It’s not that I doubted you, Yves. So, just to confirm… I really have been officially chosen as the Saintess?”

“That’s correct.”

For a moment, my head went blank.

 

Out of everything I’d heard today, this was the most shocking.

 

How on earth did I end up being selected as the Saintess? There’s no way the crown princes suddenly changed their minds.

 

The authority to choose the official Saintess lay with Riquea, Adhad, Xenon, and Endymion.

 

Excluding Xenon, who had no interest in who became the Saintess, the rest were all figures aligned with Selene.

So, the probability of me being chosen as the official Saintess was practically zero.

 

And yet, here I was.

 

“Ah, could it be because of what happened in the prison?”

 

Lost in thought, I immediately voiced the hypothesis that flashed through my mind. But Yves’ response had nothing to do with my question.

“Laura, I’m sure you have many questions, but for now, get some rest. We can discuss the rest tomorrow. After all, you’re scheduled to meet Lord Fenrir tomorrow morning.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he swiftly scooped me up into his arms.

 

“…!”

Startled by the sudden sensation of my feet leaving the ground, I instinctively wrapped my arms around Yves’ neck to steady myself—ending up in what could only be described as a princess carry.

“Wait a second. Yves, we haven’t finished—”

I was about to ask him to put me down since the conversation wasn’t over, but unexpectedly, Endymion blocked our path.

“Hey, are you really that worried about her?”

 

“That’s a rather obvious question.”

 

“To me, it looks like you’re trying to force someone who isn’t even that tired to sleep just because you have something else to do behind Laura’s back.”

 

Endymion seemed suspicious of Yves’ excessive fixation on sleep.

 

‘It must look strange to others.’

 

Of course, I didn’t have the slightest doubt—we had already discussed this earlier.

 

And since Yves had nothing to hide, he confidently countered Endymion’s suspicions.

 

“I have nothing to do behind Laura’s back, and even if she falls asleep, I’ll stay here to guard her. To keep troublemakers like you from barging in. So why don’t you leave now?”

 

“Hmm, is that so? Well, I suppose you wouldn’t leave her alone.”

 

Surprisingly, the usually distrustful Endymion conceded more easily than expected.

 

“But overprotectiveness should have its limits. Just a word of advice—from experience.”

 

His words carried weight.

 

Having read the original story, I knew every detail of Endymion and Selene’s past. His bitter regret resonated even more deeply with me.

 

Yves, unaware of his circumstances, simply took it as a lecture and retorted irritably.

 

“It’s not overprotectiveness.”

 

“That’s what they all say.”

 

As if suddenly self-conscious, Endymion glanced at me. He must have been bothered that I—someone who knew he was exactly that kind of person—was listening.

 

“You always react sharply to anyone approaching Laura, acting like the world’s ending if someone so much as touches her.”

 

“That’s… just jealousy.”

 

Yves admitted his feelings so frankly that Endymion looked genuinely surprised—so much so that he coughed awkwardly and muttered something pointless.

 

“Hmph. Excessive obsession isn’t good either.”

 

Even so, as if he still had more to say, he continued in a calm voice.

 

“Anyway, besides that, whenever you judge something to be harmful by your own standards, you try to eliminate it with your own hands before this guy even notices. And you do it without even asking Laura’s opinion.”

 

It was advice that came from the heart.

 

‘He must be worried that his younger brother might make the same mistakes he did.’

 

But it didn’t seem like Yves truly understood Endymion’s sincerity.

 

“You’re the one who doesn’t know Laura well enough to say that. Laura is…”

 

Yves, who had been glaring at Endymion, slowly lowered his gaze to look at me and tightened his grip on the hand supporting me.

 

“Laura is the type who digs into things relentlessly until her curiosity is satisfied. And once she sets her mind on something, she pushes forward without hesitation, no matter the obstacles.”

 

Hearing it put like that, it sounded like there was no greater nuisance of a character.

 

‘What made it even sadder was that I couldn’t refute a single point.’

Originally, my personality was more about reading the room and sometimes bending or enduring, but ever since possessing this body, I’d somehow ended up doing a lot of reckless things—so much so that I couldn’t even deny it.

 

“She doesn’t really care what happens to herself, either.”

 

Yves let out a dry laugh and spoke bitterly.

 

“Unlike back in the Euphrates Kingdom, Laura now has many good people by her side.”

 

As I silently listened to Yves’ words, the faces of many people suddenly surfaced in my mind.

 

The apprentice priest children, Enheduane, the Pope, Huluppu, and Fenrir—even beyond them, I recalled all those I’d grown close to after coming to the Holy Kingdom.

 

‘Now that I think about it, it’s really strange.’

 

Back when I was exiled from the Euphrates Kingdom, even though I had deviated from the original story, I thought I should keep my distance from others and live quietly without getting too close.

 

Yet before I knew it, I had grown close to so many people.

 

As Yves Leblanc reminisced about the memories from the Holy Kingdom, his story continued.

 

“I know they all like Laura and care about her. But they don’t stop her.”

 

I couldn’t immediately grasp his meaning.

 

Endymion, who had been listening intently alongside me, also wore a puzzled expression.

 

“Laura is a Saint Candidate, after all. There’s a strong tendency to see even dangerous tasks as part of her duty. Of course, I understand that their affection and concern for her are genuine… but I don’t like it.”

 

Was that so?

 

Tilting my head, I tried to recall how others had acted, but Yves let out a sigh and muttered,

 

“I don’t want to lose Laura.”

 

With those words, a heavy silence fell over the room.

 

Endymion, too, seemed lost in thought, his gaze fixed blankly ahead as he kept his lips sealed.

 

I also found myself deep in reflection, struck by Yves’ unexpected confession.

 

Was this why he said last time that he’d rather die with me if I were to die?

 

Looking back, after the Dilbat incident, those I had helped had expressed immense gratitude.

 

Enheduane praised me, and Syris had sparkled with tears, vowing never to forget the debt she owed.

 

But as Yves pointed out, not a single one of them had tried to stop me.

 

If anything, they seemed to expect me to solve everything. Perhaps they believed that as a Saint Candidate, I simply could.

 

Since it had been my own choice, I bore no resentment or regret—but I was honestly a little surprised that Yves had been bothered by it.

 

And as for duty…

 

The word weighed on my chest, but in a way, it was accurate.

 

My duty…

 

The reason I had been brought here. The cause behind the divine mark that appeared on me.

 

“Perhaps all of this was meant to oppose Nanna.”

 

“Hmm… Yves.”

 

After sorting through my troubled thoughts, I cautiously broke the silence. I couldn’t just stay wrapped in this heavy, lingering atmosphere forever.

 

“You’ve been holding me this whole time—aren’t you tired?”

 

So I deliberately brought up a random topic.

 

“…Don’t worry. You’re lighter than a feather.”

 

The cheesy line sent shivers down my spine, but I didn’t let it show.

 

At least Yves’ gloomy expression had softened somewhat.

 

“Could you move me to the bed first? I have a lot of questions, but I’ll just ask one more before I rest.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Only then did Yves, who had been frozen in place, move slowly.

 

Once we reached the bed, he carefully laid me down. He even fluffed the pillow and adjusted it against the headboard for me.

He was being incredibly attentive.

 

“Incredibly attentive doesn’t even cover it.”

 

For a moment, I thought I’d spoken my thoughts aloud, but it turned out Endymion had the same idea.

 

It seemed he had also finished organizing his thoughts, as he cracked a pointless joke to ease the awkwardness.

 

Thanks to that, the tense air completely dissipated, and I finally got to ask what I’d been wondering.

 

“More importantly, there’s still something crucial I haven’t heard yet.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“You never told me why I suddenly became the Saintess.”

 

“Ah…”

 

Yves let out a short sigh, seemingly caught off guard that the conversation had circled back to the topic of the official Saintess. He looked flustered.

 

“It’s because of the divine crest.”

 

Endymion answered in Yves’ stead, sparing him the trouble.