How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 27

 

The innocent laughter we’ve seen so many times in illustrations has become a horror.

 

‘I feel like I’ve suddenly changed genres.’

 

The eerie momentum pushed me backward.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Because I’m scared of you.”

 

I blurted out what I’d been holding back time and time again throughout our conversation.

Selene’s eyes widened in surprise.

 

“Miss Laura is afraid of me. You’ve really changed.”

 

Certainly. Ignorance begets bravery.

 

The real Laura would have come out stronger, doubly so, regardless of what she was hiding.

 

‘Well, the result of that was death.’

 

As I recalled Laura’s end as described in the game, I heard Selene’s voice whisper in a playful tone.

 

“This is a secret, and I’ll only tell it to you, Miss Laura.”

 

She put her index finger to her lips and smiled, and somehow I couldn’t wait to hear more.

 

But my jaw dropped faster than my refusal.

 

“I’m a saint, so there’s no stigma attached to swearing falsely.”

 

“What?”

 

Selene turned back to me with a pale smile.

 

“What if I swore an oath that said something completely opposite to what Miss Laura said?”

 

“…You’d have no way to prove the truth.”

 

Somehow, this must have been the reason she had so boldly declared her intention to frame me.

 

‘Darn it. No matter how much of a heroine she is, it’s too much.’

 

I think it’s cheating to be the love of the world and have it all to yourself.

 

“Then I’ll give you one problem here.”

 

Her question was not finished.

 

“In a situation where the oaths of the gods don’t work, and there’s you, with your notoriety, and me, with my awakening as a saint, and multiple witnesses, whose side will people take?”

 

“Are you threatening me?”

 

I recoiled at her tone, which seemed to imply that I should meekly do her bidding now that the means to prove my innocence were gone.

 

Selene, on the other hand, smiled a languid smile that didn’t match the tense air in the room.

 

“No. You just need to stay still.”

 

“What does that mean…”

 

Unfortunately, my question trailed off.

 

A sharp crack echoed through the room.

 

Without warning, Selene had knocked over the table.

 

And what she did next…

 

“…!”

 

I was frozen in place.

 

Never in my wildest dreams did I think Selene would cut her own neck with a piece of broken glass.

 

The good news was that it wasn’t a deep cut and there wasn’t much blood.

 

“Kyaah, help!”

 

She let out an eardrum-piercing scream while I stood frozen in place, unable to quickly assess the situation.

 

‘Oops. I’m screwed.’

 

For a split second, a million thoughts raced through my head.

 

Should I lock the door so no one could get in, or should I cut myself and pretend to be the victim?

 

A million thoughts came and went, but one thing was certain, the last thing I wanted to do was stop her here.

 

‘I could have at least stopped her before she picked up the glass…’

 

It was too late now. If I messed up, this could go down a similar path to the one I’d been accused of pushing in Viscount Oannes.

 

“Is anyone here? Please stop Miss Laura!”

 

In the midst of Selene’s tirade, I opted for a frontal assault.

 

I wanted to emphasize that I was being brave by asking for help, rather than looking like I’d been caught in the middle of a crime scene.

 

“Help!”

 

I yelled as I opened the door, and the three men who had been waiting rushed in.

 

“What’s going on!”

 

“What the hell…”

 

“Huh!”

 

They were stunned. Shards of glass scattered across the floor.

 

Viscount Young Lady, pale and sobbing.

 

And me, standing in the distance.

 

They looked shocked at the mess.

 

“I– I apologized… I brought up what had happened at Viscount Oannes, trying to get to know Miss Laura… and suddenly, in a fit of rage, she knocked over the table.”

 

Selene’s eyes filled with tears as she rattled off her lines, not expecting me to open the door and summon someone.

 

“I said I’d apologize if I offended anyone, but… Miss Laura didn’t even answer, she just picked up a piece of glass from the floor and… snatched at me…”

 

She trailed off and sobbed, as if she was in too much pain to continue.

 

The squinty-eyed butler then turned to me and asked, “Is it true?”

 

“No. I have not touched the teacup.”

 

“Mmm, hmp, yes, that’s right, Miss Laura, did nothing wrong, I made a mistake all by myself.”

 

It was a tongue-in-cheek performance.

 

Like someone who’s inadvertently correcting a mistake, but then remembers that telling the truth here would embarrass Laura, so she stammers.

 

Selene lifted her tear-streaked face, the corners of her mouth tugging upward as she changed her tune.

 

‘Wow, that’s amazing.’

 

She made me look like the bad guy. The mood quickly shifted to Selene.

 

“Shouldn’t you be tending to those wounds first? Get me a doctor.”

 

“Ah, yes, sir.”

 

As the stiff knight hobbled out of the room, the butler, who had been checking Selene’s condition, approached.

 

“Lady, this is not something to be taken lightly.”

 

“Yes, it is. The butler believes in Lady Selene, not me.”

 

“…”

 

The butler gave me a look that said he had a lot to say, but he wasn’t going to.

 

‘It’s only natural, given the karma Laura has accumulated.’

 

The butler walked past me with a dismissive glance, followed by another knight carrying Selene out of the room.

 

Left alone, my legs gave out and I slumped down.

 

Having no one on my side was harder than I thought it would be.

 

💫 

 

Attempted first-degree murder.

 

That’s what you get if you’re caught trying to assassinate someone of royalty, and that’s what I was charged with yesterday.

 

‘Just like the game.’

 

I let out a deep sigh of frustration as I was assigned to a cell reserved for nobles.

 

“Huh…”

 

It had been a week already since I’d been imprisoned.

 

After Selene had returned after causing a ruckus.

 

The next day, the royal family came to arrest me, but since she was the first saint to appear on the continent, the nobles were divided over her position.

 

‘Furthermore, Selene is not yet officially recognized by the High Priest of the Holy Land, so she is not a legitimate saint.’ 

 

It’s not like there’s any special procedure required, it’s just that the High Priest who was sent hasn’t arrived in the Euphrates Kingdom.

 

In any case. There’s a lot of confusion over whether Selene should be considered a Viscountess or a Saint, and it wasn’t until yesterday that the exact charges were laid down.

 

But it was only a charge.

 

So there was still a chance. The problem was that I was no longer confident.

 

‘Because it’s just like the original.’ 

 

In the game, Laura, jealous of Selene, pushes her down the stairs and gets arrested.

 

She’s charged with attempted first-degree murder.

 

After a lengthy meeting of the nobility, it was decided that Laura’s trial would be reopened after being recognized by the High Priest of the Holy Land and officially made Selene a Saint.

 

During this time, Selene’s meetings with her targets determine Laura’s death as the story progresses.

 

The good part of this story arc it’s that she won’t die in prison, as Selene seems to be going after the Xenon Route.

 

‘I wonder if I should take this as a consolation.’ I thought to myself.

 

The words of the extra villain, the one thing I couldn’t change no matter how hard I tried, made me furious.

 

“This world is a darn place…”

 

What a stupid destiny.

 

If there was a next life…

 

When it comes to novels and webtoons, I don’t know about games, but at least games have a lot of freedom.

 

‘No, let’s just not play games.’

 

Of course, these were all resolutions that could only be made in the next life.

 

After the sudden death of the first life, the second life began. I was wondering if my memories would carry over to the third life, when a voice interrupted my thoughts.

 

“I see you’re doing well.”

 

The cynical voice belonged to none other than Yves.

 

“What are you…doing here?”

 

Did someone sneak up to poison me?

 

She told me to go back to the guillotine because she needs to see Xenon!

 

Just a few minutes ago, I was about to lose hope and give up on life altogether.

 

When the realization that death had come sooner than expected hit me, it felt like a slap in the face from Selene.

 

‘Come to think of it, there was one more ending I hadn’t calculated.’

 

The reverse harem ending.

 

It’s not my cup of tea, and there’s not much to it, so I’d completely forgotten about it.

 

It’s about making love to all the people you’re targeting except for the hidden characters, and since the first half of the game plays out as an Endymion route, Laura gets poisoned.

 

‘Wait, if it was a reverse harem ending, Endymion would have come to kill me.’

 

It took me a few tries, but it was indeed Yves standing in front of me. Beautiful blue-gray hair that shimmered in the room’s light, and clear silver eyes.

 

Everything about him was ethereal and mysterious, right down to the slightly creased brow.

 

“Is it such a surprise that I came looking for you?”

 

“It is…”

 

I trailed off, meeting Yves’s gaze.

 

The truth was, I couldn’t bring myself to say that I thought he’d come to kill me.

 

‘But now it doesn’t matter, does it? I’m going to die either way.’ 

 

“I wondered if you were here to kill me before the trial.”

 

“Is that a joke now?”

 

Yves’s beautiful face crumpled into a grimace.

 

‘Wow, no matter how many times I hear it, I never get used to it.’

 

I thought money, power, and beauty were all meaningless in the face of death.

 

Yet, Yves’s surreal beauty transcended all of that and left me in awe.