How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 39

 

This was the first time I’d ever been called in so abruptly.

 

“Miss Laura, I’ll speak to your teacher privately.” 

 

“Thank you, Miss Karen.”

 

The girls next to me were dismissed to the classroom first, and I followed the lead of the priestess.

 

We were headed toward the center of the temple, not the Temple of Nanna.

 

‘This can’t be some kind of trap, can it?’ I asked, dumbfounded, but trusting, since she was often with Enheduane.

 

In hindsight, she had already reached the unfamiliar door.

 

She knocked nonchalantly.

 

Knock, knock—

 

“Miss An, I’ve brought Miss Laura.”

 

“Come in!”

 

A lively voice called from inside.

 

‘Thank goodness, I don’t think there’s trouble.’

 

It was only when I heard the usual Enheduane’s voice that I was able to relax.

 

“I’m going to leave now, but if you need anything, please call me.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

The priestess who had fetched me left, bowing her head toward Enheduane.

 

Seeing that we were alone, I spoke first.

 

“Your Eminence, is something wrong?”

 

“Come on, I’ve told you repeatedly that you can call me Miss An at your convenience!”

 

Seeing her behavior, which was far from serious, I immediately loosened up completely.

 

Somehow, I felt like this was no big deal.

 

“Miss An, why do you want to meet me here?”

 

Having gotten her request as she wanted, Enheduane’s lips quirked up at the corners, and she replied cheerfully.

 

“I summoned Miss Laura on such short notice for a reason.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Because I have some news to share with Laura regarding the Euphrates Kingdom.”

 

I quickly corrected what I had just thought.

 

Something must have happened to warrant bringing me here from class.

 

‘I’m guessing it’s about Selene.’ 

 

Just how big of a deal could it be?

 

I swallowed hard in the increasingly serious air and waited patiently for her next words.

 

Then Enheduane exclaimed with a sneer and a twinkle in her eyes.

 

“Miss Laura will be assigned a guardian knight today!”

 

“What?”

 

Did I mishear?

 

It didn’t fit the setting, and for a moment I doubted my hearing.

 

But as though in confirmation, Enheduane repeated the words, not missing a beat.

 

“Miss Laura will be assigned a guardian knight today!”

 

A guardian knight was the same concept as a personal escort.

 

“…And that’s all you’ve called me here for, when I have afternoon classes?”

 

“Not just that, you should be angry at me for being so late!”

 

“It’s not that important.”

 

“Miss Laura, I don’t think you realize how important you are yet.”

 

She blinked, her mauve eyes partially obscured.

 

‘Oops, I touched the wrong button.’ 

 

I’d apparently pushed her snarky button.

 

“I’ve told you many times, Miss Selene, and you are the only humans who are favored by the gods.”

 

“You said we were the first humans with divine powers, aside from the Divine Tree, the Holy Relic, and the monarchs of the Seven Nations who claimed to be descended from the gods.”

 

Having heard enough to make my ears prick up, I interrupted and excused myself.

 

“It’s just that I don’t think I need a guardian knight, since the Great Temple has a hierarchy and paladins in each section.”

 

Persuaded, Enheduane let out a small sigh and stopped lecturing.

 

“I understand, but you never know when or where the unexpected will happen, and you must always be prepared.”

 

She cited the example of the Pope, who was always accompanied by knights, even inside the Temple of All Gods, and Selene on the Euphrates.

 

“So for Miss Laura, a candidate for sainthood, a guardian knight is a must! Do you understand?”

 

“I understand.”

 

With a gentle smile at my quick acceptance, Enheduane got back to the point.

 

“In fact, I should have been assigned a guardian as soon as we arrived home, but due to the personal circumstances of the person who applied to be Miss Laura’s escort, it was only officially assigned today.”

 

“So the guardian knight was a volunteer position.”

 

“Of course not, it was supposed to be…”

 

Click, clack—

 

Before Enheduane could continue, there was a knock on the door.

 

‘Has the Guardian Knight arrived?’

 

The only person who could have come at this time of day was the Guardian Knight, who had been assigned as of today.

 

I expected Enheduane to ask who it was, or to ask them to come in, but instead, she ignored them.

 

As if nothing had happened.

 

“Normally…”

 

Suddenly, the door opened.

 

“I haven’t given you permission to come in yet.”

 

“I thought you might have a long, pointless conversation.”

 

‘Is my vision failing me this time?’

 

I rubbed my eyes in surprise at the unbelievable figure.

 

“Did you see something, Laurus?”

 

“…”

 

“Ah, I suppose I should call you Miss Laura now, since you’ve been kicked out of the Barony of Laurus.”

 

“…”

 

“Are you listening?”

 

“…”

 

I pinched my cheek instead of answering the question.

 

‘He looks sick, so it can’t be a dream.’

 

Still, I couldn’t believe it, so I pinched the cheek of the man who was now in front of me.

 

“…What are you doing?”

 

“Are you sick?”

 

“It doesn’t really… hurt.”

 

“Am I dreaming again?”

 

“In the time I’ve been gone, you’ve gotten even dumber… Hmm, no.”

 

Did he really need to stop talking after that?

 

I was puzzled for a moment, but quickly realized his intentions. He was deliberately trying to get on my nerves.

 

“You’re still the same Count.”

 

“You’ve become even stranger.”

 

If something had happened that made sense on an ordinary scale, I would have accepted it without denying reality, but instead of pointing it out, I asked a fundamental question.

 

“Why are you here, anyway?”

 

“I’m taking on the role of your guardian knight as of today.”

 

“Why?”

 

“…Is it that you don’t like the idea of me being your guardian knight that much?”

 

“No, it’s not that, it’s that I don’t understand why you’re here when you should be in the Euphrates Kingdom.”

 

“You can take the previous sentence at face value.”

 

So why the hell are you my guardian knight?

 

…before I could even get the question out of my mouth, Yves revealed something even more shocking.

 

“And I’m not a Count anymore, either.”

 

“What?”

 

“I dropped the Count’s title.”

 

“Eh?”

 

“So please be careful with your titles, so there is no misunderstanding.”

 

I felt like my brain was overloaded with information I couldn’t process.

 

“Please, just take it one step at a time and explain it in great detail.”

 

Evidently, my plea had worked, Yves nodded dutifully.

 

“After you left for the Holy Land, there was a storm in the Euphrates Kingdom,” He said.

 

‘Nothing that has happened in the Tribunal has been glossed over.’

 

From my candidacy for sainthood to Endymion’s being cursed, there were plenty of other matters that could have been glossed over.

 

“The most serious was the discussion of my brother’s succession as Crown Prince.”

 

Apparently, the aftermath of Endymion’s curse revelation was quite significant.

 

“It caused a division among the nobles, and it wasn’t long before they were divided into two factions, those in favor of my brother and those in favor of me.”

 

“Is that why you returned your title and came to the Holy Land before the conflict with the Crown Prince escalated?”

 

“Yes.”

 

I finally got the picture.

 

‘Because for some reason, Yves was quite fond of his brother.’

 

Their relationship took a strange turn as they grew up, but deep down, he always harbored a desire to get along with Endymion the way they had before.

 

Recalling the game’s roots…

 

“Pfft!”

 

The sound of laughter interrupted her thoughts.

 

Turning my head, I saw Enheduane covering her mouth with her hand.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“No… heheh. I always knew Lord Leblanc was shameless, but…”

 

Rambling on, Enheduan finally burst into uncontrollable laughter.

 

“Her Eminence Enheduane looks tired, so let her rest, and we’ll leave.”

 

Yves, on the other hand, didn’t change his expression and pulled me closer.

 

“You haven’t finished the story yet, and you’ve left out a lot.”

 

That’s when Enheduane, tears in her eyes, grabs my other wrist and stops me.

 

“There isn’t.”

 

“Well, then I’ll tell you what I do know, and I’m sure you’re curious to hear it, Miss Laura.”

 

“It’s not a story worth hearing.”

 

“Well, I think Miss Laura should be the one to judge.”

 

“I’d like both of you to let go of my hand first.”

 

Like tug-of-war strings, the tension from both sides dissipated simultaneously.

 

‘I thought I was going to be ripped apart.’

 

Laura’s body was fairly strong, but her wrists were red from the force of the two people holding her.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

Both Yves and Enheduane realized the error of their ways and offered their apologies.

 

“Why don’t we sit down and talk?”

 

My legs were starting to ache from all the standing.

 

Enheduane beamed and agreed, “Come on, sit down, I have a lot to tell you.”

 

“…”

 

In contrast, Yves’s face grew cold.

 

“Come on, Lord Leblanc, sit down, if you please.”

 

A smiling Enheduane gestured to the seat beside me, and Yves sat down, unable to hide his reluctance.

 

“Don’t worry too much, I’ll tell you the truth, no embellishments or exaggerations.”

 

“You’re mistaken.”

 

He was obviously pouting, but I felt like one wrong word could set off a firestorm, so I avoided meeting Yves’s gaze and focused on Enheduane’s story.

 

“I’ll leave it at that, but first I need to catch up on what happened at the end of Miss Laura’s trial.”

 

‘She’s a real eye-opener… so dignified.’

 

I was admiring her inwardly when she continued.

 

“That day, just before we left for the Holy Land, Lord Leblanc took me by the hand and insisted that I take his word for it.”

 

She smiled, as bright as ever, like a flower in full bloom.

 

“He told me that Miss Laura’s guardian knight position would be his, and to be sure to keep it vacant.”