How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 30

 

‘The values of the residents and the outsiders are very different.’ 

 

This was a world with a different atmosphere from my previous life, from small differences such as painful corsets and cumbersome dresses, to boring cultural life with nothing to do, to class systems and wars.

 

No matter how hard one tries to adapt, there are some things that remain unfamiliar.

 

But Selene acted as if this world was too familiar.

 

‘She didn’t even seem to realize that I was from another world.’

 

That part was exactly the same as in the original.

 

A typical outgoing heroine, innocent and bright.

 

Of course, she was clueless. There’s even an episode where she gets kidnapped because she believes an obvious lie.

 

Anyway…

 

In other words, while Selene may be a clear-eyed madwoman with a screw missing from her head due to an infinite regression, she remains essentially the same person as in the game.

 

And the reason for her change likely has something to do with the hidden character Xenon.

 

‘Since she’s not a possessor, it’s not like she wants to meet Xenon because she’s in love with him…’

 

Furthermore, the way she asked me to climb the guillotine didn’t seem like someone in love.

 

Rather, it felt more like madness.

 

‘Or does the regression have something to do with Xenon?’

 

It was the only hypothesis that made sense.

 

Maybe her goal was to stop the regression.

 

‘If this theory is true, it could be a little dangerous.’

 

The scary thing about infinite regressors is that they lose the value of life and their sense of reality becomes obscured.

 

I don’t know how many lives she’s currently repeating, but from what she’s told me, she’s already shown a tendency to disregard death.

 

‘To Selene, Laura is a creature who deserves to die, and even if she does, she’ll come back to life.’

 

She would save me from the guillotine, but if things went wrong, and I died, she wouldn’t care, as long as it served her purpose.

 

‘This way, she won’t mind if I’m acquitted. If I didn’t end up on the guillotine and didn’t get to meet Xenon, I couldn’t imagine what Selene would do with her sense of reality gone.’ 

 

Human insanity could not be measured in the first place.

 

More like a ticking time bomb…

 

‘Never mind, we’ll think about this later.’

 

I took a deep breath to shake off my troubling thoughts.

 

For now, I need to find a way to prove my innocence at the upcoming trial.

 

💫

 

“Greetings. My name is Enheduane, High Priestess of the Holy Land, but feel free to call me An, as I’m sure you’ll have trouble pronouncing it.”

 

I stared mesmerized at the woman who greeted me with a cheerful voice, and was brought back to reality by Yves’s gasp.

 

“Hmm.”

 

“Well, um, how are you? I’m Laura Laurus.”

 

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Lord Leblanc.”

 

“My story?”

 

Glancing up at Yves, who stood beside her with a puzzled expression, he furrowed his brow slightly and denied it.

 

“It’s a lie. I only revealed the one with the divine markings.”

 

At that, Enheduane smiled meaningfully and turned to Yves.

 

“I suppose you have another secret?”

 

I, on the other hand, unable to keep up with the pace of events, picked up where I left off.

 

“Wait, you said that? No. Then why are you alive?”

 

“…Were you hoping I’d die?”

 

“No, the contract says… Oh, is it possible that the contract didn’t take effect because you’re the High Priestess of the Holy Kingdom?”

 

“A month has already passed.”

 

“Ah…”

 

I had forgotten that it was a fixed-term contract.

 

‘My head has been filled with Selene’s affairs lately, so I forgot.’

 

While I was recalling the faded details of the contract from memory, Enheduane pointed out something sharp.

 

“A month ago, the divine mark must have manifested before Miss Selene.”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

At the same time, Yves and I fell silent.

 

“Oho, if you want to hide it, I won’t pry.”

 

She said benevolently with a gentle smile, but her eyes looked different from mine.

 

‘You seem like a complete and utter creep.’ 

 

In the game, Enheduane never appeared.

 

The only mention of her was that she carried a holy relic that could determine if someone was a saint or not, and she never reappeared, an extra even more inconsequential than Laura!

 

Nevertheless, the High Priestess, or should I say High Priestess, had a very non-extra vibe about her in front of me.

 

‘Hmph, this isn’t going to be some kind of hidden plot twist, is it?’

 

There’s a cliché in stories involving saints that goes something like this, ‘The dark villain turned out to be a temple.’

 

‘Let’s not show weakness if we can help it.’

 

I listened nervously, just in case.

 

“That’s why I called in Miss Laura. Voila!”

 

Did you just make a sound effect with your mouth?

 

‘Maybe not quite the dark villain’

 

Suddenly, my guard was down. Perhaps it was because the tension was released by her seemingly insignificant action.

 

I spat the thought out of my mouth as I looked at the object she held out.

 

“A holy relic?”

 

“I see! Did Lord Leblanc tell you about it?”

 

Oops.

 

I realized my mistake in hindsight, but the good news was that I still had a way out.

 

“No, I was just trying to reason with myself that since the High Priestess took it out, it might be a holy relic.”

 

I’m proud of how well I handled it.

 

“By the way, Miss Laura, you can call me An for convenience.”

 

“Ah, yes.”

 

Enheduane didn’t seem to notice.

 

‘Should we move on?’ 

 

I was about to reply, thinking that a good thing must be a fine one, when Yves interrupted, coughing.

 

“Ahem, this is a holy relic that can identify a Saint.”

 

Perhaps in an effort to keep the conversation on track, I said.

 

“Well, it should be Last Selene, not me.”

 

With a slight sigh, Yves answered with a hint of doubt.

 

“Lady Selene has already done it. The relic has responded, and she is officially a saint.”

 

“But suddenly, Lord Leblanc grabbed me and pleaded with me. He said there was someone else who had the divine mark, and he wanted me to check that person out as well.”

 

“It was just a normal request, don’t twist it.”

 

“Really? That’s weird. It seemed so desperate to me…”

 

As Enheduane muttered to herself, Yves’ expressionless face cracked.

 

“Enough with the small talk, your Eminence.”

 

“Okay. I don’t want to tease Lord Leblanc too much, lest I get in trouble with Shanhart, so let’s get down to business.”

 

She added with a wry smile.

 

Making fun of people while laughing was the epitome of a real prude.

 

Watching her, I felt a sudden pang of regret.

 

Even putting aside the possibility of a potential dark villain, it was a shame to use such a charming character as an extra.

 

‘None of the targeted characters featured a smile.’

 

It’s a shame because my favorite character in the game has the same reversed charm as the underworld boss, who’s always smiling.

 

Of course, since Enheduane was a woman, it would have been impossible to capture her even if her power had increased.

 

“Now, Miss Laura. Please place your hands here.”

 

Setting aside my distractions, I followed her lead and placed my hand on the relic.

 

‘But don’t you think it’s a bit odd to assume that just because it responds to me that makes it a saint?’

 

My mind raced back to the game, and I suddenly realized that there was something that didn’t add up.

 

They didn’t give me an explanation for the holy relic, but in the original game, Selene was given a detailed explanation that it had been passed down since before the birth of the Holy Kingdom.

 

However, this would be the first time a saint had appeared.

 

Therefore, the idea of determining the saint’s identity from an ancient relic was hard to swallow.

 

Regardless, when I raised my hand, the relic burst into bright light.

 

“Does this make Lady Laurus a saint?”

 

“Well, more accurately, it makes her a candidate for the title of Saint, and Miss Selene as well.”

 

I cut them off as they tried to organize the situation without asking for my opinion.

 

“Wait. What about my opinion?”

 

Enheduane asked in a surprised tone.

 

“Miss Laura doesn’t want to be a candidate for Saint?”

 

“Not that I don’t want to…”

 

I tried to explain to Enheduane that it wasn’t that I didn’t want to be a saint, but that I lacked the ability to purify the curse.

 

Yves interjected, “If you become a saint, you’ll be able to win your case.”

 

Enheduane, unaware of the situation, scratched at her head, but I, who understood instantly, shook my head.

 

“It’s not like I can become a saint just because I want to.”

 

“You seem to be giving up before you even try.”

 

At times like this, he hit the nail on the head.

 

Speechless, I turned to Enheduane for a change of subject.

 

“I was wondering about one thing.”

 

“Feel free to ask me anything!”

 

She smiled brightly, obviously bored by being left out of the conversation.

 

“Since this is the first time the saint has appeared, how can you judge it by the holy relic?”

 

“That’s a sharp question.”

 

The mischievous mood vanished at once, and the crescent-shaped eyes slowly narrowed.

 

“Actually, it reacts to divine power rather than identifying saints.”

 

“What? If it reacts to all divine power, wouldn’t other priests be able to call themselves saints?”

 

“Holy power and divine power are two different things. See? I’m a High Priest, and the holy relics don’t react to me.”

 

Nothing truly changed as Enheduane placed her hand on the silver beaded amulet that resembled a full moon.

 

“So the divine mark contains the power of the gods?”

 

“Miss Laura is smart!”

 

With a faint smile, she spoke in a calm voice.

 

“There are countries on the continent that proclaim to be the descendants of the Seven Ruling Gods, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“In the eyes of the Holy Kingdom, that’s nothing short of heresy. How dare anyone claim to be a descendant of a god.”