How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 14

 

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When the first wave of jeers had passed, the lady in the pale yellow dress raised a new doubt.

 

“But is it really the Count Leblanc’s mistake?”

 

“Indeed, I, too, find it hard to believe that Count Leblanc, so meticulous and strict, could have made a mistake.”

 

“What, you’re saying that this could all be a trick of Lady Laurus?”

 

“I’m saying it could be.”

 

“I suppose that’s a valid argument. Maybe she did it on purpose to get closer to Count Leblanc.”

 

“No matter how you think about it, isn’t that a classless act for an aristocrat?”

 

“It’s not a lack of class, Lady Laurus, but rather a complete failure of refinement. She doesn’t know what she’s doing, and she’s throwing a tantrum.”

 

At the same time, there was a dark contempt in the ladies’ eyes. 

 

“Poor Count Leblanc.”

 

With a deep sigh, they glanced at Yves with sympathetic gazes.

 

He was surrealistically beautiful.

 

In truth, Yves was listening to their entire conversation, as if mocking the idea that they were too far away to be heard by the others.

 

However, his gaze remained fixed on the Queen.

 

They have a much keener sense than the average person.

 

‘The rumor is circulating strangely.’

 

Normally, he wouldn’t have cared what the nobles were saying, but for some reason, he couldn’t let this story pass.

 

But he didn’t immediately step in to set the rumors straight.

 

Yves had secrets to hide, and if he were going to make a move, he might as well do it more efficiently.

 

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“It hasn’t changed a bit.”

 

“Yeah…I guess.”

 

Now I was starting to feel sorry for myself.

 

It’s been almost two weeks and I haven’t made any progress in the class.

 

“Ha, forget it. Let’s try again. Give me your hand.”

 

I’m about to try to channel my divine power again, when suddenly Yves takes off his gloves.

 

“Huh.”

 

For a moment, I sucked in a breath.

 

I gasped at the sight of Yves’s bare hands, which were surprisingly beautiful.

 

‘I thought Laura’s memories are distorted.’

 

There was a clear difference between the game illustration and Laura’s memory of Yves’ hand.

 

For one thing, the hands themselves were smooth, without a single scar, as if they belonged to someone holding a sword.

 

“Don’t feel bad.”

 

Not at all!

 

… Almost reflexively, the words slipped out, but I bit my lower lip tightly to keep from repeating the same mistake.

 

‘I wonder why Laura found this so distasteful.’

 

I stared at the back of Yves’s hand, questioning Laura’s reaction.

 

‘It’s not gross, it’s perfectly gorgeous!’

 

I’d heard the dry, cracked skin was sometimes called snakeskin, but I didn’t dare compare it to that.

 

The snake scales created by the curse resembled pearls, carved by a master craftsman, layer by layer, piece by piece.

 

Their silky, ivory-colored scales shimmered in the sunlight streaming in through the window of the parlor.

 

‘Strange that it should turn ugly, after all, it is the power of the gods.’

 

The Oracle called it a curse, but it was a divine power in nature.

 

Moreover, its symptoms were merely turning into an animal.

 

Compared to the more common curses, which were often accompanied by terrible suffering, it was much milder.

 

‘When your emotions run high, parts of your body will briefly turn into an animal and then return.’

 

Except for Yves.

 

Unlike Yves, whose curse requires him to wear gloves at all times, the other targets don’t normally manifest the curse.

 

It’s just that as the curse progresses, more and more body parts are altered, and it takes a long time for them to return to their original appearance.

 

Even the character in the bad ending, who was completely eroded by the curse and eventually turned into an animal, retained his intellectual capacity.

 

If I had to define it, I’d call it a side effect rather than a curse.

 

On the other hand, Yves’s curse was far worse than the other targets. 

 

He was born with the power of a god that was too much for his body to handle, but he also entered the temple from an early age to further hone his divine powers.

 

Regardless of his emotions, there are always snake scales on his body.

 

This makes him one of the easiest targets to capture. Since his curse was worse than anyone else’s, he was in desperate need of a saint’s presence.

 

In the back of her mind, she wondered if it was for this reason that Yves had believed Laura’s empty lies.

 

Suddenly, my paralyzed reason returned.

The room was filled with silence. I could feel a cold gaze on top of my head.

 

‘I’ve been staring too long!’

 

I was afraid to glance up. He must be furious at me for staring so intently at the back of his bare hand, the secret he wanted to hide, and the cause of his involvement with Laura.

 

‘But I can’t keep doing this…’

 

Thinking carefully about how to make amends, how to defuse Yves’s anger.

 

“Are you finished watching?”

 

Yves’s voice came from above my head.

 

My first reaction was to drop his hand and take two steps back.

 

To create distance, then to apologize. I was nervous to see Yves with the blizzard for the first time in a long time, but surprisingly, the mood wasn’t too frosty.

 

‘What? Are you okay?’

 

That’s weird. That doesn’t seem right.

 

Puzzled, she turned to him and apologized.

 

“I’m sorry, I just stopped to stare at it, thinking that it looked like a pearl when it sparkled in the sunlight.”

 

Still expressionless. I couldn’t read any emotion in his glassy silver eyes.

 

Despite his seemingly calm demeanor, Yves didn’t say anything in response, and the longer the silence lengthened, the more impatient I became.

 

I thought to myself, ‘Maybe I should just deny it and accept the fact that he’s offended.’

 

Now that my relationship with Yves has gotten a little better, I’m starting to regret denying it once, seriously or jokingly, so that my current apology doesn’t sound like an excuse.

 

“Lady Laurus loved jewelry.”

 

Was he being sarcastic?

 

‘Or maybe he was just stating a fact that popped into his mind without much meaning.’

 

After all, Laura did like jewelry in the first place.

 

Unlike me, who was trying with all my might to figure out his intentions, he only added to my confusion.

 

“Did you want to keep it?”

 

Me? Of what?

 

As much as I wanted to ask him a dozen times, like a maniacal curiosity killer, I didn’t open my mouth.

 

Unsure of his true intentions, I opted for an awkward smile.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

But Yves looked at me expectantly. As if he needed to hear an answer somehow.

 

“Well…”

 

I was racking my brain for a way out of this situation when I noticed the slight upturn of his lips.

 

‘Oh, is this a joke?’

 

My mind immediately flashed back to a similar incident a few days earlier.

 

That day when I’d brought up a potentially awkward topic with that blank look on his face.

 

“Just kidding.”

 

Or not.

 

As my eyes widened, Yves gave me a faint smile and conceded.

 

Feeling cocky that I’d seen through his scheme.

 

‘I won’t fall for the same trick twice!’

 

Without warning, the corners of Yves’s eyes curved in amusement.

 

“…!”

 

They say that if you’re too surprised, you lose the ability to speak. It felt like it was hard to even breathe.

 

At the same time, my heart, which had been faintly silent, began to beat furiously.

 

‘Heart, please wake up,’ I said inwardly.

 

This was not time to be flattered by his smile!

 

With that, it was clear that Yves wasn’t offended, but a bigger question emerged.

 

‘Why is he smiling like the event CG that announces the start of Yves’s route?’

 

Early on in the game, our heroine, having awakened as a saint, goes to stay in the royal palace to be officially validated by the High Priestess of the Holy Kingdom.

 

Yves appeared in front of the heroine, who was having a hard time adjusting to the palace life, and she chose the option to talk to him.

 

After seeing his younger self overlapping with the heroine, Yves confided in her about his past. 

 

Selene, who was listening to his story, suddenly burst into tears and said, ‘It’s too harsh, how could you do that to a child…’.

 

It’s a clichéd episode that progresses to, ‘Are you crying for me?’

 

The illustration was set in a royal palace greenhouse at sunset, with Yves wiping away Selene’s tears and smiling.

 

It was the first time he’d ever laughed so genuinely, and said, ‘No way, I’m not going to take the Yves route’, but at least it wasn’t that.

 

I quickly dismissed the thought.

 

Even though I know that Yves’s route might be an easy choice that I could clear without even looking at a walkthrough, just clicking on it and going, ‘Oh, this is it.’

 

But I hadn’t even heard of Yves’s backstory, and I was an extra villain who started with a negative likability rating.

 

It didn’t make sense to me, and it’s the kind of plot twist that would be criticized as lacking in plausibility in a game.

 

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

 

“What?”

 

“Were you offended by this joke as well?”

 

“No, not really, it’s just…”

 

I stuttered, unable to come up with a suitable excuse, and Yves, wondering whether he was curious about the answer, brushed it off.

 

“If you don’t mind, that’s fine. Refocus. I’m going to use my divine power.”

 

“Oh, okay.”

 

Dismissing the distractions that occupied my mind, I focused on the warmth in my palm.

 

The absorbed divine power traveled through my veins and spread throughout my body. 

 

As I gathered my mind to the sensation, I could recognize the energy where it had flowed, and I could feel myself rejuvenated.

 

“You seem to have gotten quite used to the sensation.”

 

Certainly. Sensing the divine power that had entered my body, I was able to move at will for a short time.

 

And today, with the gloves off and the close skin-to-skin contact, the sensations were even more vivid.

 

“Do you want to try it on your own now?”

 

“Okay.”

 

Nodding weakly, I closed my eyes.