How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 33

 

‘Next time I see her, I must ask her to tease Yves more.’

 

She would have laughed in my face if I tried.

 

But I couldn’t pull off Enheduane’s trick of making fun of him for fear of repercussions.

 

‘After all, I owe you for helping me today.’ 

 

Well, I owe him a lot, so this time I would let it slide.

 

“But first, let’s try to guess together how Lady Selene will turn out, and what do you think about it, Count?”

 

“If the goal is to get you to the guillotine, she’ll try to remove you as a candidate for Saint any way she can. She’ll probably try to validate the Relic again in court.”

 

“But if the holy artifact reacts in front of everyone, it will be even more undeniable, won’t it?”

 

“That’s true.”

 

We lapsed into silence again, unable to come up with a way forward.

 

‘Well, if Selene meets Xenon before I reach the guillotine, it’ll be amicable.’

 

Too bad there was so little information on Xenon.

 

The Xenon route itself was simply about Selene breaking the target’s curse and then traveling with Xenon to the next empire to live a peaceful life.

 

‘Did I mention that, unlike the people who were so excited about the death of the sinner, Selene was curious and spoke to her when she found her lying on the ground crying?’

 

The only hint was that they were traveling through the capital of the Euphrates Kingdom to explore ancient ruins, and they stumbled upon an execution in the square.

 

But he left out everything else, like the location of the ancient ruins he was exploring, or how long he’d be in the Euphrates before returning to the Empire.

 

“Lady Laurus, are you there?”

 

Yves’s voice broke into her reverie.

 

‘I was so busy reminiscing about the Xenon route, I didn’t hear a word.’

 

I denied it, but I knew he’d read my mind, so I admitted it.

 

“I was distracted.”

 

“It looked like it.”

 

A slow unwinding of the muscles in Yves’s face, as if the brazenness had been hilarious. I was about to reply, but suddenly I noticed a change in him.

 

‘You’ve changed, as well, Yves.’

 

When I first woke up in Laura’s body, I was worried that I would be killed tomorrow by this man with a murderous gaze.

 

‘Now it’s the other way around, he’s keeping me from dying.’

 

I could feel my relationship with him change completely.

 

And then something else. I realized that I hadn’t made the wrong choice after I decided to repair my relationship with him.

 

“Because the best way to build trust is to show, not tell.”

 

I shrug with pride, and the corners of my lips turn up faintly.

 

“I think you’re still hiding a lot, though.”

 

Whatever.

 

‘You’re quick to recognize it, but you don’t give it away.’

 

That just warmed my heart.

 

“Of course, everyone has secrets,” I said, cutting him off like a knife just as I was about to get sentimental.

 

“Of course, everyone’s got a secret or two.”

 

Yves ended the small talk, wondering if I was trying to pry secrets from him as well.

 

“Okay, let’s finish what we were talking about.”

 

He continued, adding something I hadn’t heard because I was distracted.

 

“At this point, I’d rather we make the first move than try to predict what Lady Selene will do.”

 

Definitely.

 

‘They don’t call it being first in line for nothing.’

 

Selene didn’t even know I had the divine mark yet.

 

It would be better to strike first while I had the advantage and end the situation before she could counter.

 

“How are you going to make your move?”

 

“That… I’ll have to think about it a bit more.”

 

He scratched the nape of his neck, embarrassed that he hadn’t been the first to speak up. I’m not used to seeing him be so cool.

 

He must have gotten really comfortable with me.

 

‘Maybe I’ve shown him everything I’m capable of, and that’s why we’re so close.’ 

 

It wasn’t enough that I was bothered by the person who came to help me, I also had a strange illusion after getting a cold dose of misunderstanding. It’s safe to say that I’ve almost shown him everything.

 

While I was thinking about that, Yves coughed and grumbled in a low voice.

 

“Hmm, if you’re going to get lost in thought, look elsewhere.”

 

“Why, are you embarrassed?”

 

“…”

 

“I’m joking, don’t look at me like that.”

 

I decided to stop teasing him, as I could feel the sting in his eyes, even though they were completely devoid of any signs signaling emotion.

 

‘Well, right now, it’s more important to plan a punch to Selene.’

 

I dragged my straying thoughts back to the present.

 

‘What’s the best way to do that without getting assassinated or going to the guillotine?’ 

 

To give me some hope, I didn’t really want to be a Saint.

 

‘It’s okay to be quiet in a place as far away from the world as a hermit.’

 

The moment my thoughts reached that point.

 

A plan popped into my head.

 

“Oh, maybe…!”

 

But I didn’t finish the sentence and shut my mouth.

 

“Did you think of something?”

 

“Well…”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Um, nothing.”

 

“You’re not talking about revenge, are you?”

 

“Revenge?”

 

I echoed, not sure what he was talking about, and when I shook my head in disbelief, he spoke up, sounding suspicious.

 

“You’re not just repeating what I said, are you?”

 

I threw my hands up in the air, vehemently denying that I had any intention of doing so.

 

“What? No way, I swear!”

 

Desperate not to create any misunderstandings, I realized that I didn’t have to go out on a limb.

 

“But it offends you, doesn’t it, Count? See, it’s a bad habit.”

 

Although I hadn’t meant to, I felt slightly amused by the fact that I had gotten my revenge, and the stinging glare in Yves’s eyes took on a slightly murderous edge.

 

“I don’t think it’s fair that the Count should be making fun of me and then glaring at me when the tables are turned.”

 

I protested, feeling the heat in his gaze.

 

Flinching in surprise, Yves quickly dropped his gaze and apologized.

 

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

 

“Don’t lie to me. You’ve had a hell of a life.”

 

“I swear, that wasn’t real life, that was just my defense mechanism to hide my embarrassment.”

 

“I’m so scared of being defensive.”

 

“I was raised from a young age to not show even the slightest sign of weakness, so it became a habit to glare at the other person whenever I felt like showing weakness.”

 

“I see!”

 

I never thought I’d hear Yves’s childhood story here.

 

The unexpected keyword popped out of nowhere, and I panicked for a moment, but I changed the subject before it got too awkward.

 

“Well, that’s what I was going to say earlier… I was going to ask you what it’s like to resign as a candidate for Saint and go to a monastery.”

 

Yves began to focus on my words as if the conversation we had just had no bearing on him.

 

“I was never going to be a Saint in the first place, and now I’m being treated like a criminal.”

 

When nobles committed crimes, they often went to monasteries instead of prisons.

 

In addition, the monasteries were attached to the temples to keep outside intruders out.

 

‘Was it really called the Holy Wall?’

 

Anyway.

 

So for someone like me, who dreams of a simple life while simultaneously avoiding the guillotine and assassins, a monastery was a perfect fit.

 

When I finished, Yves, who had been listening for a while, asked questioningly.

 

“But why did you hesitate to tell me?”

 

“Because of me, the Count has fallen out with Lady Selene, and if I ran away, it would be a little…”

 

“A little?”

 

“…I thought it would be a bit shady.”

 

“Which part?”

 

Yves still looked like he didn’t understand.

 

“The Count needs to be purified, and Lady Selene, with whom you have a falling out, might not be able to help.”

 

Among the people targeted, Yves was the most heavily cursed.

 

And now that he had taught me how to manipulate divine power, his curse erosion was faster than the original.

 

‘Surely a few days ago, he was thinking that if I ran away, I wouldn’t see him anymore, and I wouldn’t have to bother.’

 

It sucks to leave him behind when he’s the one who took the initiative to help me.

 

“I wasn’t going to tell you about my plans to go to the monastery, because then you’d have to purify yourself, too.”

 

“…Are you saying you held it in because you were worried about me?”

 

Yves looked incredulous.

 

Somehow, I felt like the wrong person for thinking about that.

 

“I guess you could say that it pricks my conscience to abandon someone who’s helping me… well, something like that.”

 

“Ha… well…”

 

He trailed off, unable to speak for a long time.

 

‘I shouldn’t have said that.’ 

 

As I fidgeted under his watchful gaze, Yves sighed softly.

 

“I can take care of myself without your concern.”

 

True, it was a luxury to worry about others when one’s well-being was at stake. Besides, he was the Count of Yves Leblanc.

 

“So if anything happens in the future, you’re my priority.”

 

What the hell?

 

‘Yves says all these strange things.’ 

 

I was both surprised and touched by how out of place it was.

 

In retrospect, it was the first time since I’d taken over Laura’s body that someone had cared about me.

 

For some reason, I didn’t dare face Yves because I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

 

Keeping my eyes fixed on the floor, I realized that any tears would only embarrass the situation, so I coughed lightly, and then continued in a nonchalant tone.

 

“It’s not a bad idea, anyway.”

 

“You mean running away to a monastery?”

 

“Yes. I’m sure the nobles will be convinced.”

 

“And the Baron? Are you sure about that?”

 

“…I don’t care about him, that’s the plan for now.”

 

If it’s okay with Yves. I no longer bit and held my tongue.

 

Because honestly, going to the monastery was my best option.

 

“They’re moving the trial to tomorrow.”