How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 40

 

Something like that.

 

While I had anticipated it to some extent based on the flow of the conversation, my rational mind had been blocked by ‘That Yves? No way!’ and I was currently in a very strange state of ‘surprised and yet unimpressed’.

 

Enheduane, sitting across from me, shook her head and asked if I felt the same way.

 

“Miss Laura has a strange look on her face, is she surprised?”

 

“Something like that.”

 

I didn’t expect to be able to hide it, so I nodded.

 

‘The side of my face is tingling, but let’s not make eye contact.’

 

I gestured for Enheduane to continue, trying to avoid meeting Yves’s gaze.

 

Quickly, she picked up where she left off.

 

“He was so insistent, I thought he was asking me to write a memorandum on the spot.”

 

Enheduane seemed to genuinely enjoy teasing Yves. She couldn’t stop laughing.

 

“And then he told me that he was supposed to…”

 

“Let’s not go there.”

 

Yves, who had been silent until now, cut her short.

 

‘Your behavior has suddenly changed.’ 

 

I tense up, feeling a fierce momentum that I could sense without looking.

 

“Well, okay, I have my next appointment, so I guess that’s it for today.”

 

Enheduane ended the conversation as if it were no big deal.

 

‘No. But you cut it off just where it would make me more curious.’ 

 

In a way, Yves’s interruption was a masterstroke.

 

“I’m going to head out now, Miss Laura, but I’ll see you next week!”

 

And with that, she stormed out.

 

I realized that I hadn’t even said goodbye to her properly, and at the same time, I realized that I was alone with Yves.

 

“…”

 

I felt my brain shut down.

 

The sequence of events had been so sudden that none of my brain’s usual thought processes were working, and I was frozen in place, as a person with their pause button pressed.

 

“…”

 

The silence was about to lengthen, but Yves spoke first.

 

“I’ve been distracted by Her Eminence Enheduane, but I’m not finished with the information about the situation in the Euphrates Kingdom.”

 

“Is there more?”

 

“Yes. The subject most curious to you, I think.”

 

“Lady Selene?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

According to him, Adhad and Riqueia are still staying at the Euphrates Palace and are attached to Selene.

 

But her reputation has not been the same.

 

“Is it the effect of the trial?”

 

Endymion was said to have suffered the most from it, but Selene was the one who caused it in the first place.

 

Furthermore, there was no clear verdict on whether I had threatened Selene, or whether she had lied, so there must have been backlash.

 

“I can’t completely deny it, but there’s more to it than that.”

 

When I stared at him, unsure of what to say, the corner of my mouth quirked up, and Yves replied in a light tone.

 

“It’s because of your presence.”

 

What did I do?

 

I was dumbfounded, but I decided to let him finish before judging him.

 

“You’re not an authorized saint, and many people look down on you for hanging out with high-ranking nobles, or for your lack of nobility, or for the fact that you’ve been seen with several men without a guardian.”

 

It was an unintentional butterfly effect of Laura’s public enemies in society disappearing, while her sainthood was never fully achieved.

 

‘I guess she never met Xenon after all.’

 

Given that the only people Yves mentions are Adhad and Riqueia, it’s easy to infer that she failed the Hidden Character route.

 

‘So what’s the next event?’

 

My concern was not with Selene’s current path, but with her regression trigger.

 

‘It sounds like she’s forced to regress if she doesn’t clear certain events.’

 

Surely there must be a few more regression points besides the Saint Awakening event.

 

“It must be complicated things in your mind.”

 

“Ah…”

 

When I recovered, I realized that Yves was staring at me.

 

‘But when the hell did you get here?’ 

 

Realizing that our faces were too close, I pulled my upper body back in a panic.

 

Yves’s voice was nonchalant, as if he hadn’t noticed.

 

“Are you going to keep doing this?”

 

“No. Firstly…”

 

He trailed off.

 

As he said, I had a lot on my mind, but I couldn’t stay here forever.

 

I pushed Selene and the regression to one side and began to think.

 

‘So, what should I do first? Should I still go to class?’

 

They’re probably still in the middle of their history lesson on the Holy Land, and the distance wasn’t too far, so if I hurry, I might be able to join them in the middle.

 

But then I realized there was a very big problem.

 

‘Wait, with Yves?’

 

The building where the apprentice priests were being trained wasn’t exactly off-limits, but it had the feel of a girls’ high school.

 

But if I took Yves there…

 

‘It would be a mess.’

 

It would be fine if there were only religious kids like Karen, but there were also secular kids.

 

As I was thinking about that, I suddenly remembered the chatter in the secular group in the morning.

 

They were excited about the arrival of a handsome paladin.

 

💫

 

After some deliberation, I decided to go to the rest of the class.

 

With Yves assigned as my guardian knight, he’d be around all the time, so I’d have to introduce him to the others no matter what.

 

‘Better to sell first.’

 

Despite my resolve, my steps grew heavier as I approached the building.

 

I felt like I was carrying a bomb that was about to explode.

 

A bomb whose destructive power was unknown.

 

‘But shouldn’t I tell the teacher separately?’

 

It seemed odd to me that we were in the middle of a class, and it would be awkward to pull the teacher aside to explain.

 

‘Maybe I should just give up today and make the formal introduction tomorrow morning.’ 

 

I was pacing around the building, undecided.

 

“Huh? Laura!”

 

A familiar voice called out from a window on the second floor.

 

I looked up to see Nishana waving at me from the window.

 

‘Isn’t class still in session?’ 

 

The teacher in charge of the Holy Kingdom’s history class was a stern person and would punish anyone who misbehaved immediately.

 

So looking out the window in the middle of class was an absolute no-no.

 

Her doubts were quickly put to rest by Syris, who came up behind her.

 

“Nishana, we’re self-study, but the other classrooms are still in session, so you can’t talk too loudly.”

 

“Oh, right, but when is Laura coming up?”

 

“Nishana, that’s when your voice…”

 

Syris, who was trying to stop Nishana, who was shouting outside again, not paying attention to her point, suddenly trailed off.

 

She must have recognized the beauty of the next person, Yves, because her mouth was still gaping open like someone who had forgotten how to speak.

 

Well, he was right next to me, so it was natural to notice him.

 

I thought to myself, ‘Maybe it’s unusual that Nishana found me first.’

 

As I pondered this for a while.

 

“Hmph!”

 

I heard a gasp from nearby. It was a girl by the window on the first floor.

 

One by one, I could feel the curious gazes of the other students darting from the window to us.

 

‘It’s too late to go back.’ 

 

I asked in a low voice, wondering if Yves had thought the same thing.

 

“Aren’t you going in?”

 

“We should go. Let’s go.”

 

I headed for the lecture hall, regretting that I’d lingered when I could have learned everything tomorrow anyway.

 

“Looks like you’re on the same level as the apprentices.”

 

Yves blurted out as I was walking up the stairs.

 

“What?”

 

“I mean, it’s a good thing you seem to be getting along so well, because a grown man would be embarrassed to be seen with a bunch of little kids.”

 

Why the sudden sarcasm?

 

It was the first sarcasm I’d heard in a long time, but it didn’t hit me hard.

 

I’m just a little dumbfounded by the bottomless pit.

 

‘I hope you’re not being sarcastic… I’m sure it’s pure admiration.’ 

 

I would’ve retorted lightly, but I was already at the door.

 

Shrugging off his remark as unimportant, I entered the lecture hall.

 

“Laura!”

 

Nishana hugged me as if she’d been waiting for me.

 

It was self-paced, so the secular kids hadn’t yet noticed Yves’ presence as they chatted amongst themselves.

 

The children in the Faithful group, who were close to me, were surprised by his appearance, but they kept quiet.

 

‘I missed so much today.’ 

 

I felt embarrassed at the thought of having to introduce Yves, at least to the children in my classroom, and having to draw the attention of children who weren’t necessarily paying attention to us. 

 

I told them directly, ‘Please be aware that from now on, we have a guardian knight in class.’

 

But a thing’s got to be done, so I’m just about to say it when.

 

“Excuse me…”

 

“Who’s that next to you?”

 

Nishana’s bubbly voice interrupted.

 

“I am Yves, who has been appointed as Miss Laura’s guardian knight as of today.”

 

And before I had a chance to answer the question, Yves smoothly introduced himself.

 

“Guardian Knight?”

 

As if responding to the stranger’s voice, the children’s eyes snapped up from their chatter.

 

‘It’s like watching a four-part comic.’ 

 

I was thinking about how funny it was that they were watching a silly cartoon, but for some reason, their faces turned serious.

 

It was unexpected.

 

I expected the reaction to be similar to when an idol makes a surprise visit to a girls’ high school.

 

‘I’ve never been to a girls’ high school, so I can’t say exactly what it’s like.’

 

But it was a complete miscalculation.

 

“A, are you a real person?”

 

“Didn’t he just say that?”

 

“I guess so, but… I wonder if we’re in the middle of a group hallucination.”

 

“But you can see it with your own eyes, right?”

 

As the frozen air thawed, it began to burn like a thermal volcano, this time in reverse.

 

‘Just as I suspected, it’s a mess.’

 

I didn’t know whether to love it or hate it.

 

Worse, every word the children spoke stirred something in me.

 

‘Why do they sound like extras cheering at the sight of the Four Great Kings?’