How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 61

“So, did you find the answer you were looking for?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Good, I’ll go back to reading now.”

 

Although I could still feel the sideways glances, I forced myself to read. I’d learned for sure today that tangling with Endymion would only make me tired.

 

‘But Yves is later than I thought. I hope nothing’s wrong?’

 

💫

 

Following Enheduane, they arrived at the Pope’s office.

 

Yves’s spirits dropped slightly as he realized that the building was a bit far from the apprentice priests’ quarters.

 

Thinking it would be a quick trip, he was hoping to get it over with and be on his way. 

 

But judging by the way they were dragging him to the Pope’s office, it wasn’t going to be a quick trip.

 

Click—

 

“It’s Enheduane.”

 

“Come in.”

 

Entering the office, Yves wondered what on earth had brought them here, but there was an unexpected presence in the room.

 

“Why is there Lady Selene here?”

 

It was Lady Selene, a woman sitting across from the Pope.

 

“Lord Leblanc, this is going to be a long story, so will you please sit down?”

 

“…”

 

Yves followed the Pope’s instructions and sat down, but he couldn’t hide his uneasiness.

 

This was because he had been dragged here without any explanation of what was going on, and was seated next to Lady Selene.

 

“I’m sorry to call you here so suddenly.”

 

“It’s okay.”

 

But I couldn’t let the Pope know how I felt, so I gritted my teeth and gave a perfunctory reply.

 

“I’d like to get this over with as soon as possible, but Miss Selene said she wanted to show me something today.”

 

“Lady Selene called you?”

 

As Enheduane spoke, Yves’s head snapped around.

 

Selene laughed softly, unperturbed by the ferocity she could feel next to her.

 

“That’s right, I’ve asked Her Holiness and Miss An to give me some time today to prove why I’m a saint.”

 

Out of habit, Yves scanned the faces of the two people across from him.

 

Atharasis’ face was placid, but he caught a subtle change in Enheduane’s.

 

‘Well, I guess Enheduane really didn’t know.’ 

 

For the briefest of moments, the usually wide-eyed Enheduane’s eyes narrowed, piercing Selene’s with a sharp glance.

 

It was the gaze of an observer, trying to gauge the other’s thoughts.

 

And Yves realized that neither Enheduane nor the Pope were yet convinced that Selene was a saint.

 

The very fact that Selene was calling them now was a sign of their unease.

 

Realizing how much information he was getting at once, Yves crossed his arms and looked down at Selene.

 

To see what the hell she was trying to show off. But Selene actually seemed pleased to have all eyes on her.

 

As if she sensed nothing in Yves’ demeanor.

 

‘I knew it from the last time, but she’s a creep.’

 

The words to hurry up and get it over with rose to the top of my throat, but I kept my mouth shut, knowing that it would only make me angrier.

 

“Lord Yves, would you give me your hand for a moment?”

 

“I will refuse.”

 

“…”

 

Selene’s smiling face went blank for a moment after I said no with a straight face.

 

As if she hadn’t imagined that her request would be rejected.

 

‘Are we going to keep this up?’ 

 

Deciding that this was a waste of time, Yves turned to Enheduane and suggested in a deep tone.

 

“Enheduane, how about lending a hand to Lady Selene?”

 

Enheduane’s brow faintly furrowed, but it quickly returned to normal as she nodded and extended her hand to Selene.

 

She, too, seemed eager to get this over with.

 

Selene stared blankly at Yves, not even taking Enheduane’s outstretched hand, perhaps shocked by the unexpected reaction.

 

Then she turned to Yves and spoke again, more forcefully.

“What I need is your hand, Yves.”

 

“Is there any reason why it has to be my hand?”

 

“Yes. To cleanse the curse on the back of your hand.”

 

“…!”

 

The air within the office froze.

 

Even Enheduane, who usually laughed and teased Yves, was staring at her with a stony expression.

 

“I knew you were hiding the curse, Yves, and that’s why I called only the Pope and An, whom I didn’t mind knowing.”

 

Yves found Selene an abomination.

 

There was nothing between the look on her face and the way she said everything was for my benefit.

 

But Selene, who couldn’t read the mood at all, was talking about how much she cared about Yves.

 

“And you don’t have to suffer anymore. Once you’re cleansed, the curse will be completely gone, and you can be normal again.”

 

It was ridiculous how she spoke as if this was all for Yves benefit.

 

‘More than that, I wonder how she knows the curse is on the back of my hand.’

 

It was as if Selene had called Yves o this meeting because she was certain he had a curse on him from the start, not because she was making a rough guess.

 

Yves’s contact with Selene was minimal, and his curse was unknown even to his brother Endymion.

 

There was no way the secret could have been leaked by a third party.

 

Laura was the only one who currently knew Yves’s secret.

 

‘Did she see it through her precognitive abilities?’

 

I questioned her, even though I was only guessing.

 

“You sound convinced. How did you know?”

 

“It’s…”

 

Selene trailed off, a look of great embarrassment on her face.

 

Everyone in the room knew she had precognitive abilities, so he expected her to speak up, but instead she just stared.

 

Yves wondered what she was up to, so he deliberately encouraged her.

 

“If you answer honestly, I won’t say anything.”

 

Then Selene took the bait.

 

“I heard about it from Miss Laura.”

 

“Ha… Laura, really?”

 

“Yes. I met her the last time I was at Baron Laurus.”

 

Yves bit his lower lip tightly. If he let his guard down for even a moment, he might burst out laughing.

 

‘Of course, she doesn’t know that Laura and I signed a contract.’

 

The contract came to mind, and so did the oath.

 

Selene realized that there was no stigma attached to swearing a false oath.

 

Yves matched Selene’s performance, guessing that she would also swear an oath if the situation went against her.

 

“I see, but my curse is being cleansed by Miss Laura, so you don’t have to worry about Lady Selene.”

 

“What?”

 

The first sharp sound came out of her mouth.

 

“Is there something wrong?”

 

“Oh, no, I was just wondering how Miss Laura was able to do the purification.”

 

For a moment, I thought the thick mask might slip, but Selene quickly regained her composure.

 

“You make it sound like it’s a multi-step process, but she can do it in one sitting.”

 

“…”

 

“I don’t mind.”

 

“Come on, you want to be free of the curse.”

 

“…”

 

“Don’t you want to be like normal people?”

 

As Yves stared at Selene in disbelief as she spoke as if she knew what she was talking about, he suddenly realized that there were a number of things that were inconsistent.

 

Firstly, Selene’s prediction was completely wrong.

 

‘The last time she saw our future, she said we’d be on a first-name basis.’

 

And another.

 

When Selene speaks of Yves as if she knows him, as she just did, it’s as if it’s a version of the old Yves.

 

‘Because I used to be envious of normal people.’

 

Well, I used to envy the majority of people who seemed to be happy, who fit in, who were normal, who had normal lives.

 

Yves stood out everywhere and didn’t want too much attention.

 

But now was different. Living with Laura in the Holy Realm, Yves learned what it meant to be normal.

 

He did not have to be free of the curse, he did not have to be like everyone else. 

 

He just had to have someone who saw him for who he was, and he could be normal in an instant, no matter what his problems were.

 

Therefore, the present-day Yves no longer envied normalcy.

 

‘Maybe it’s a lie to see the future.’

 

Yves said blandly to Selene, who looked up at him with a wistful expression.

 

“I know. I’m fine just the way I am. If this is all you have to do, I’m going to leave first.”

 

Deciding that further discussion would be a waste of time, Yves stood up without a moment’s hesitation.

 

“Wait!”

 

Selene reached out urgently to grab Yves’s hand, but he reflexively swatted it away in an instinctive rejection.

 

A yelp echoed through the silent office.

 

Selene looked at him in disbelief.

 

“I’m sorry. I just don’t like being touched, and I didn’t mean to.”

 

“…That’s what it is, and now I can’t touch you.”

 

Yves stopped in his tracks at Selene’s meaningful muttering.

 

‘You speak as if you could touch the future you saw in your vision.’

 

Yves thought Selene’s claims of seeing the future were completely false.

 

He’d just corrected herself. It’s possible that Selene’s precognition, like Laura’s, allows her to see multiple future possibilities.

 

This was why the Yves they see today was subtly different from the Yves she sees in her vision.

 

Mulling this over in his mind, Yves resumed in his pause.

 

It had nothing to do with Selene’s expression.

 

💫

 

‘I wonder why I haven’t seen Selene lately.’

 

It’s been a week since she’s been seen.

 

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her since the day after.’ 

 

The day after Yves left to answer Enheduane’s summons, and the day after I spoke with Endymion, I hadn’t seen Selene.