How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 26

 

‘If you were a possessor, you wouldn’t have had to come all the way to Baron Laurus to curry favor with me.’

 

The thirsty man usually sells the well.

 

In human relationships, it’s often the one who’s disappointed who makes the first move.

 

In other words, the more urgent among both of us would be Selene. Her purpose remains unclear, but her need for me must have been unmistakable.

 

‘There must be a reason why Selene needs me to be the villain in her story.’ 

 

And her pretense of friendliness at this point likely was just to build a rapport so she could use me as she pleased.

 

Laura Laurus, however, was an extra villain.

 

Unlike her best friend Asel, who constantly provided her with items and information she needed, she was a disposable pawn to be used once and then discarded.

 

So building rapport and trust was a waste of time.

 

The most effective way to do this was to exploit and blackmail my weaknesses.

 

It was easier for her to pry secrets from me that I couldn’t help but spill, and then force me to comply.

 

Just like Laura had always done.

 

Selene, on the other hand, chose the most annoying path.

 

From her point of view, it meant that she didn’t find anything strange about me, except that we regressed together.

 

‘If she had the ability to read minds, or if she was as perceptive as Yves, she would have seen the gaps and pushed me to the brink.’

 

Not being able to manage my facial expressions was a huge flaw.

 

A more observant person would have seen right through it and would have questioned me.

 

If you ask questions like, ‘Are you hiding something, what’s your purpose,’ even if I kept silent, it would show through.

 

They would find my weaknesses right away.

 

‘Yves used to do that to me.’

 

Anyway. Even now, Selene seemed to be trying to appease me, but even that was wrong.

 

She may have wanted a friend, but all I wanted was to live innocently.

 

‘As if that act you put on in front of the Baroness was genuine.’

 

Her disjointed behavior suggests that she’s a good actress, but she has no ability to see through her opponent’s hidden intentions.

 

The exquisite timing of her words so far seemed to be a matter of coincidence, perhaps in addition to her assumptions based on the Laura she met before the regression.

 

‘I was afraid you’d be like Yves and read my thoughts like a ghost, just by looking at me.’ 

 

I sighed softly. The tension in my stomach relaxed a little.

 

“Lady Laura, can you hear me?”

 

“Oh… I’m sorry, it’s just that it’s a lot to take in, and I was a little distracted.”

 

“That’s okay, I understand.”

 

As I suspected.

 

Perhaps interpreting my relaxed demeanor as a sign that I’d let my guard down, Selene became even more cordial.

 

“Miss Laura’s sudden change is because she doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes, right?”

 

“Yes. I’ve learned a lot from my experience with death.”

 

“So have I. It seems we are alike after all. Will you be my friend this time?”

 

She smiled wryly and held out her hand.

 

‘I wonder if I should accept it?’ 

 

Whatever Selene’s purpose may be, if I simply accept her hand and befriend her, the future promises to be smooth sailing.

 

All I had to do was use her the same way she would use me.

 

Similarly to Yves, if we build up our relationship by listening to each other’s needs, our relationship might not be as bad as it started out.

 

Also, it’s a cliché to have the possessed villain become best friends with the heroine.

 

‘But why does it feel so creepy?’

 

After a moment of hesitation as she stared at her hand, Selene, sensing something was amiss, spoke up slowly, her cheerful smile quickly turning to a frown.

 

“Actually, I… I need Miss Laura’s help.”

 

“Help?”

 

“Uh, yeah. I was originally going to tell you after we got to know each other a little better, but I’m running out of time.”

 

Her eyebrows furrowed together, and she looked like she was about to cry at any moment.

 

“Can you help me?”

 

Somehow, I had a hunch this had a lot to do with Selene’s purpose.

 

“I’ll listen carefully and then decide.”

 

“Please don’t take this the wrong way.”

 

I wondered what she was asking me to do.

 

‘What’s the point?’ 

 

Perhaps it would be better if I just didn’t listen.

 

“Will you please go to the gallows for me again?”

 

Selene’s crystal-clear voice came through.

 

At the same time, my reflexive response leaked out.

 

“Are you crazy?”

 

“I’m not asking you to die, I just want you to go up to the guillotine like you did in your last life.”

 

“You’re asking me to die, after all.”

 

“No, because this time I’m going to save Miss Laura’s life.”

 

“Why on earth would you want to put me on the guillotine?”

 

“There’s someone I need to meet.”

 

Are you trying to take the Xenon route?

 

By saying she had someone she needed to see, I could deduce her purpose. How she was trying to make me look bad.

 

But of course, I refused.

 

“…I still don’t want to.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I don’t want to go through another horrible experience.”

 

Even though I hadn’t.

 

‘I don’t want to do that again in my life.’

 

The guillotine was too terrifying for a simple mind.

 

“Please, I beg you.”

 

Selene bowed her head deeply when I refused.

 

She looked so desperate. Her heartfelt plea shook me for a moment.

 

‘Wake up. She’s just saying something that’s going to kill me!’ 

 

If I grant her this favor, our relationship could be amicable.

 

But my notoriety in the social circles would not disappear easily, and worse, if I made a mistake, I could be killed as the game unfolded.

 

Gathering my wits, I calmly retorted, “But you didn’t save me in my last life.”

 

“It was only once! This time, I’ll do it right, I swear to god.”

 

“…”

 

“If I can’t save Miss Laura by the slimmest of margins, I’ll go back in time and save you this time.”

 

“…!”

 

I was stunned, ‘I thought there was some kind of world force or something if things didn’t go as planned.’

 

It was Selene’s power. I asked her again, just to be sure of the implausible truth.

 

“You can rewind time at will?”

 

“…”

 

Immediately, Selene’s face stiffened.

 

‘That’s the look of realization.’

 

Not missing the opportunity, I interrupted her hesitation.

 

“Please be honest with me.”

 

“…It’s not exactly a power I can wield at will.”

 

“You just spoke as if you could go back in time whenever you wanted.”

 

“No, it’s different, I just understand the laws, and that’s…”

 

Selene trailed off. She paused and took a deep breath, as if trying to figure out how to explain.

 

I waited impatiently, and when she had finished, she resumed her explanation.

 

“It’s just that when something that must happen doesn’t happen, I regress, just as Miss Laura regresses again so many times because she didn’t attend Viscount Oannes’s party.”

It seems that the regression I had suffered was due to her, after all.

 

With some of my unanswered questions resolved, a new one arose out of nowhere.

 

“How many times is the same thing repeating itself now, according to Lady Selene?”

 

“…”

 

Her sky-blue eyes became lifeless.

 

As if her soul had been sucked out.

 

‘Was this a landmine?’ 

 

I asked, knowing that sometimes multiple regressions could drive a person insane.

 

Maybe that’s what happened to Selene.

 

“…quite a few times.”

 

Or not.

 

After a long moment of silence, Selene replied in a melancholy tone.

 

Feeling the air suddenly become heavy, I eagerly changed the subject.

 

“So what’s the next event?”

 

I asked, looking for the next point in time to rewind, but Selene stared at me without any response.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

After an uncomfortable silence, she finally spoke up.

 

“You don’t want to help me, do you?”

 

Oh, I’m caught. Perhaps I’d been too obvious to her to recognize.

 

Not that I had any intention of hiding it, so I admitted it.

 

“I’ll help you, as long as it doesn’t involve going to the guillotine. How about we find another way?”

 

“I see, fine. If Miss Laura doesn’t like it, so be it.”

 

Backing down so easily?

 

My suspicions were heightened as I watched her rise from her seat without a second thought.

 

Judging by her behavior so far, she’s more likely to pounce than Laura the Fighting Chicken.

 

“That’s a shame, I was hoping for a good fight this time.”

 

“…”

 

“I guess I’ll just have to do it by force.”

 

“What?”

 

“Don’t worry too much, I’ll keep my promise to save you.”

 

I could feel the faint madness in her eyes. It was as if she’d calmly gone mad.

 

‘What the hell does she think she’s doing?’ 

 

Even if she framed me, I could prove my innocence by swearing an oath to the gods.

 

I didn’t know what she believed and was so confident.

 

“Since you don’t seem surprised, I assume you think you can get away with swearing an oath like you did last time?”

 

This time it was sharp.

 

‘Whoa. You’re a real piece of work.’ 

 

It’s all or nothing.

 

Nodding toward Selene, who could be either perfectly right or completely wrong.

 

It was a trick I’d used once before, so there was no point in hiding it.

 

“Right, because even if you try to frame me, I can prove my innocence under oath.”

 

Besides, as long as I didn’t harass Selene, I wouldn’t even be taken to jail.

 

The odds are stacked against Laura.

 

Nevertheless, Selene smiled wryly.