How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 23

 

Later, Laura became even more obsessed with Yves, perceiving that having him by her side would increase her value, and she became physically involved with him.

 

She thought that having him would make other nobles look up to her.

 

‘No, that’s not it.’

 

I snapped out of my rambling thoughts.

 

‘The Baroness is probably approaching Selene because she wants to get acquainted with her, the center of the recent rumors.’

 

There was something a little puzzling, though, ‘Did word travel this fast in the game?’

 

It’s been less than a week since Viscount Oannes’ party. I found it a bit odd that Selene’s status had risen to the point where she was being flattered by the Baroness in just a few days.

 

But then again, in the original, things had moved so quickly in a few sentences, it was hard to predict the exact time frame.

 

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

 

A doubt flashed through my mind, but I decided it wasn’t worth the energy, so I neatly dismissed it.

 

Then I turned to Charlotte and said gruffly, “I’m busy, so why don’t the two of them have fun on their own, and if they want to meet with me, tell them to schedule it accordingly.”

 

“…Understood.”

 

At the sound of her sullen voice, I felt a little sorry for her, caught between me and the Baroness, but I couldn’t help it.

 

For now, I had to focus on my escape plan.

 

‘At least Charlotte will be more comfortable when I’m gone.’

 

With that, I continued to revise my plan, interrupted only by Selene’s unexpected entrance into the mansion.

 

To anyone else, I’d just be squirming in bed.

 

So who cares!

 

‘There’s no one to nag me.’

 

Before I could finish that thought, the door burst open with a loud bang and no knock.

 

“Laura Laurus, are you being a scoundrel again?”

 

The shrill, ear-splitting voice belonged to the Baroness, a woman Laura had known through her memories a few times.

 

But she was not the only visitor to my room. She had brought Selene, who was supposed to be waiting in the reception room.

 

‘Is she nuts?’

 

No matter how badly I and the Baroness got along, dragging an unwelcome guest into my bedroom was out of line.

 

Worse, given the circumstances, it was an admission that House Laurus was beneath the household of the Viscount.

 

The Viscounts may be a high-ranking nobler than Barons, but as a fringe nobility, they were in no position to bow down to the wealthy Baron Laurus.

 

But the Baroness didn’t seem to realize that, and continued her sarcasm in the guise of a sermon.

 

“Miss Selene is here, and you are behaving so shamefully!”

 

I wonder if she realized that she was most shameful in her demeanor.

 

“I hear you’ve also brought dishonor to the family name at Viscount Oannes’ party, and I’m ashamed of you.”

 

For the record, Baron Laurus’s reputation was almost non-existent to begin with.

 

They were a baseless family with nothing to show for it other than their crystal mines.

 

I didn’t move from my bed, even as I argued with her every word. I simply pulled the covers up to my head, peeking one eye through the tiny slit and watching the two of them.

 

Trying to figure out what was going on.

 

“Calm down. Baroness. Miss Laura has done nothing wrong, and it was my fault for storming in on such short notice.”

 

“My, Miss Selene, you have a big heart. I only wish Laura could emulate that behavior.”

 

The Baroness smiled with satisfaction as she continued to undermine me in front of Selene.

 

“Anyway, you know, he’s too indifferent to Laura, and if she continues to act this way, her father will have to step in and tell her off.”

 

Oh, this…

 

‘That’s Laura’s least favorite phrase.’

 

To the original Laura, who desperately wanted her parents’ love, the word indifference was revolting.

 

True to her word, no matter what she did, Baron Laurus never paid any attention to her.

 

On one occasion, when the Baroness had brought her to face a quasi-baron with grown children and said, “He’s not worthy of you, so marry him quickly,” Laura, who had a fiery temper, had grabbed the Baroness by the hair on the spot.

 

She hadn’t expected her stepdaughter to rip her hair out, and she was so startled that she cried.

 

‘Even I was stunned when I went through my memory.’

 

The scene was shocking, even though she knew she came from a family of peasants, but Baron Laurus’s punishment for Laura was a week’s detention.

 

Even that was delivered through the butler. It’s no secret that Laura’s relationship with the Baroness took a turn for the worse after that.

 

As I reminisced about the past, I looked at the smiling Baroness and suddenly made a deduction.

 

‘Is she trying to get revenge for being ignored by Yves?’

 

Perhaps she blames Laura for the way she was treated by Yves.

 

Or maybe she was trying to get back at Laura for the humiliation she had suffered by bringing Selene to my room.

 

The fact that Laura seemed to be enjoying herself, to her disgust, lent weight to this unlikely hypothesis.

 

‘I suppose we’ll just have to leave it at that, then?’

 

The Baroness, if my guess was correct, would be able to cut Laura down to size on her own, and when she was satisfied, she would leave.

 

There would be no need to watch the two of them any longer, and I could just stay under the covers and shut my eyes and ears.

 

“Baroness, I am fine, and I see from the way she’s laying down perhaps she is ill?”

 

“Hmph, she’s very protective of her body, if she was sick she would have called the doctor long ago, it’s obvious that she’s faking it.”

 

While I was lost in thought, the skit continued.

 

“Maybe it’s a broken heart because that’s not something you can call a doctor or a priest to fix.”

 

“Eh, she’s just lazy.”

 

Yikes…

 

‘You two make a good pair.’

 

Selene fanning herself while pretending to dry off, and the Baroness squealing with excitement, not realizing she was being used.

 

They were such a good pair.

 

‘So, please, go out and have some fun.’

 

As much as I wanted to congratulate them, I didn’t want to confront them, so I swallowed hard the words that had been building up in my throat.

 

The moment I opened my mouth, it was obvious that this was going to be a long story.

 

“Since this seems to be a long conversation, could you please prepare some tea?”

 

What a timing…

 

Although I couldn’t see her face under the covers, Selene said something that seemed to refute my inner thoughts.

 

‘You can’t really read my thoughts, can you?’

 

She could possess and regress. The ability to read other people’s minds was certainly possible.

 

It was a common enough theme in stories of all genres…

 

‘Let’s calm down. It could just be a coincidence.’

 

Before the anxiety and questions in my chest could grow, I cut them off. Either way, avoiding Selene was the priority for now.

 

‘How am I going to get out of this?’

 

Unlike the Baroness, who could be sarcastic and then depart when she was suitably satisfied, Selene was not going to back down until she had accomplished her purpose for visiting, even if I ignored her.

 

‘What scares me more is that she’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants.’

 

The fact that she’d drowned herself in the fountain and tried to frame me was enough to tell me that she wasn’t normal.

 

‘I might as well make my refusal clear, now that there are several of them.’

 

Determined, I pulled the covers down and sat up.

 

“I don’t want to talk to you, so please leave.”

 

With that short statement, I had the attention of everyone in the room.

 

‘But why are there so many of them?’

 

Trying to keep eye contact with them, I was freaking out. There were more people in my room than I expected.

 

‘I thought it was just the Baroness, Selene, and Charlotte.’

 

There were more maids the Baroness had brought, a butler, and two more knights who looked like nothing more than pretenders.

 

Earlier, when I’d observed the two of them, I’d been so focused on the sound of their voices through the tiny crack in the quilt that I hadn’t noticed the other people.

 

‘Wait, could it be better?’

 

The unexpectedness of the situation caught me off guard, but the more witnesses, the better.

 

If I showed here that I wasn’t bullying her, that I was actually avoiding the conversation, Selene wouldn’t be able to paint me in a bad light.

 

“Miss Selene personally came to see you, a noble lady who has no friends, and you can’t even thank her, but you ask her to leave, aren’t you embarrassed?”

 

Just as I was making a positive rationalization, the Baroness shouted in a prickly tone.

 

“You should be embarrassed, not me, for failing to follow the most basic of procedures, contacting and asking permission before visiting a family you have no connection with.”

 

Sitting up in bed, I pointed and sneered at Selene, not hiding my displeasure.

 

Her wide eyes blinked innocently, and she bowed her head in apology.

 

“I’m sorry, I should have written to you before, but I’ve been a bit busy lately.”

 

It was such a natural act that even I, who had a vague idea of Selene’s intentions, was fooled.

 

‘You knew you’d be rejected if you tried, so you just barged in.’

 

Although I could see the sinister underlying meaning, I quickly accepted the apology

.

“I’m sorry I came off as sharp, too.”

 

Selene’s reputation as a freshly minted saint, as opposed to the infamous Laura, was much better.

 

‘In the current atmosphere, anything you say, except acceptance, will seem like you’re arguing.’

 

Furthermore, the Baroness and others were so favorable to Selene that they could give the impression that Laura was annoyed, even if she was acting in her usual manner.

 

To deal with her pretense of being nice, I needed a more powerful weapon.

 

‘So I have something for you.’

 

It was obvious that Selene was trying to make me the villain. I just didn’t expect her to come to the Barony in person.