Chapter 22 (1/2)

[In standard webnovel spacing/ formatting, this is 18 pages long…]

Chapter 22

I already knew Julie would be at the restaurant I frequently visited, but I didn’t expect the person next to her to join us as well.

Josephine. In Deculein’s perspective, she belonged to the highest risk group more than any other Named. It was the first time we saw each other in person, but I had seen her a few times behind the monitor. I was also familiar with her characteristics.

“You must have been stared at on your way here.”

Her presence made me wonder for a moment whether I should sit or not. However, I couldn’t just leave abruptly. After thinking about it, I realized it might be better for us to meet now. Josephine was a Named that could randomly send an assassin after me, after all. It would be safer to meet with her unexpectedly now than be fatally wounded at a critical moment.

I sat down and looked at Julie. Julie looked at me, too. There was a hint of embarrassment in her gaze, mixed with a bit of remorse. However, she had nothing to be sorry for when it came to Deculein.

“Julie’s my little sister, but even if she weren’t, I’d still find her beautiful. Meanwhile, you’re the same as usual, but you somehow look cooler today.”

I knew Zeit, entering the room last, was talking, but none of his words reached my ears. All I could do was stare at Julie.

“What do you think of Julie now?”

Josephine’s question brought me back to my senses.

“She’s beautiful.”

I felt as if I couldn’t take my eyes off of her for a moment. Even if she usually wore armor with no makeup, she was already a matchless lady whose beauty stood out. Today, she was even more beautiful than anyone I had ever seen in this world. Was this the effect of makeup?

“Hahaha! That’s right. That’s my little sister!”

Zeit chuckled.

“Anyway, it’s been three years since you two were engaged. When would you like to hold the marriage ceremony?”

He was already holding a knife and a fork, even though there was no appetizer on the table yet. Due to his size, he looked almost like he was about to cut the table up and eat it. He was such an impatient noble.

“Well, my lord—”

“The adults are talking.”

Surprised, Julie tried to say something, but Zeit’s cauldron-lid-like palm held her back.

“Be quiet.”

“…”

Julie pouted without saying a word. I noticed a faint red current in the air.

[The Villain’s Fate].

I thought it was manifesting through Julie at first, but it didn’t take me long to notice it was coming from Josephine, who was smiling at me tenderly while sitting beside her.

“What do you suggest then, Deculein?”

Josephine rephrased Zeit’s question.

“Yes, do tell us what’s on your mind. We will follow Professor Deculein’s suggestion.”

Josephine was the pinnacle of deceit. Her gentle way of speaking perfectly covered any traces of what’s within her heart. Even the way she manifested [The Villain’s Fate] was hard to notice. It could be perceived as mere dust if one didn’t look closely. No, to be more precise, it already disappeared.

She had a mask that deceived the characters’ eyes.

The door opened, and the chef came in, serving appetizers as he spoke in some alien language.

“Bitro Sygien. Grucious, Kigirln.”

Zeit skewered a piece with his fork and devoured it in one bite. He overindulged himself with food, but it didn’t make him seem any less dignified. On the contrary, there was an elegance in the way he feasted without spilling even crumbs.

“…I intend on leaving that up to Julie.”

“Leaving it up to her?”

Zeit asked, still gobbling up everything. I chose my words carefully. All the while, my five senses were all focused entirely on Josephine. I knew her dark side, after all. Perhaps I was the only one who did.

Inside her beautiful appearance was a monster that devoured even demons. She was a cold, cruel sociopath, having no qualms with whatever means or methods she had to use to achieve her goals. She was a snake wearing the skin of a human, equipped with a strength equivalent to Zeit. Despite the nightmare lurking within her, however, she loved her little sister Julie.

That made her an enemy of Deculein, one fully capable of killing him. Beyond the empire, the shadows that extended like a spider web all across the dark parts of the continent were hers. It wasn’t even a figure of speech. They were hers to control.

Why Josephine hadn’t yet killed Deculein and instead just left him be was something I wasn’t certain of. Only she and the writer knew.

“Deculein. What are you thinking about?”

“…I was lost in thought for a moment.”

this time was especially threatening, considering she still couldn’t hold all of her murderous intent, despite her already being so used to hiding her true intentions. I didn’t even know how to overcome was an ever-changing, unpredictable being. Her existence itself was truly no different from a shadow.

“I know.”

Right now, all I could do was show her my sincerity as Kim Woo Jin, not Deculein, to not cause her beloved Julie any harm.

“Know what?”

Zeit replied.

“Julie, the knight, is not confident in this engagement. If she doesn’t want it, then I have no intention of forcing our marriage on her.”

“…No intentions of forcing her?”

Creases formed across Zeit’s forehead.

“I’m the talk of the town for squandering 200 million on Routen overnight. At this point, anyone would blame me if our engagement was broken.”

“On the other hand, wouldn’t they think you purposely threw money away for Julie?”

“It’s not like that.” I shook my head. “Don’t worry. Even if Julie wants to break up the marriage, the relationship between the Yukline and Freyden Households will remain stable.”

Julie bowed her head. She seemed touched— No, I was wrong. Her hands were shaking. On the contrary, she was trying to soothe her anger. [The Villain’s Fate]’s red dust-like aura appeared around Josephine again before disappearing once more.

It was the wrong answer. I quenched my dry mouth with cold water.

“Oh no, no, no. How can you say ‘break-up the marriage’ so easily?”

“Oh, my. How thoughtful of you to think like that. Professor Deculein, you’re a wonderful man~.”

Zeit’s expression hardened as he shook his head. Josephine was smiling, but she didn’t seem like she appreciated my sincerity.

“The elders of the family will never allow breaking up your marriage for that reason. On the contrary, after showing us your sentiment, we only want you two to be together more.”

“…”

I sighed inwardly. There were many restrictions between a break-up of nobles, especially if the people concerned had thousands of people and millions in money behind them. The elder of Freyden, whom Deculein had coaxed beforehand, would be flustered, and I already knew how Yeriel would react.

“You mean to tell me you were bullshitting me when you said you wanted to get engaged? Just try breaking up with her. I’m warning you. Take responsibility for everything. Keep the Yukline and Freyden Households’ relationship stable even after you two have broken up? What if I don’t want to? Why should we help them? Don’t you know you’re supposed to become strangers after you break up? Give me back the 200 million Elnes you wasted!”

She would spout lines like that.

“…My lord.”

At that time, Julie spoke. Just in time, the main dish, steak, was served.

“Can you leave us two alone, please?”

She looked at me with clear eyes. Sensing her seriousness, Zeit replied.

“If Deculein permits.”

“It’s okay.”

“Okay. Come, Josephine.”

“Yes, ~.”

The two got up from their seats and went outside. Josephine stuck her head in at the door, not even moments after they left.

“Have a nice talk~.”

She then completely left— no, she pretended to leave. I knew her personality. She would have already prepared a wiretap of some kind. Fortunately, Josephine wasn’t aware that I had information about her.

“…You’ve become more intelligent.”

Julie squirmed first. She bit her lip tightly.

“Intelligent.”

I nodded my head in agreement. My character hadn’t acted as smart before. I learned of Deculein’s one-dimensional wrongdoings not only through the game but also from the rumors I collected in this world. Before their formal engagement, he used his family’s connections to suggest it, promised all kinds of rights to Freyden, persuaded their family and elders, and made them pressure Julie.

She was excluded from the frontlines; using fighting is dangerous as an excuse. Because of her fellow knights’ jealousy and because her family’s authority made them feel threatened, she was isolated by the Knight Order. Eventually, Julie quit the Knight Order herself, causing her career to be seriously damaged. At that point, she was shamelessly promised the Head position of the Hadekain Knight Order, which the Yukline family-owned. When she refused, they spread all sorts of rumors about her.

Despite that, Julie refused to give up and made a name for herself using her talent. They talked her into not joining other Knight Orders, interfered in her every endeavor, harassed her, brought her to tears, and angered her to the point she had to ask Josephine for help. Afterward, she was again abused, brought to tears, and humiliated.

Every part of their plan was villainous. They tried to break down everything and everyone around Julie to make sure she had no one to lean on but herself, so much so that she mistook the feeling of being protected by someone as affection. I knew. That was why I understood where her hatred for me was coming from.

As I cut through the tender steak, I went straight to the point.

“It looks like you can’t break up the marriage as you please. No, we can’t do as we please anymore. We’ve come too far.”

“…”

“You should have refused from the start.”

Julie trembled as she glared at me with angry eyes.

“You’re starting this again?”

Her voice was shaking. She had been harassed too much that she already seemed to be on the verge of tears.

“What do you mean? Are you going to put pressure on the new Knight Order? You probably heard it’s doing well these days.”

Freyhem was the Knight Order Julie herself and a colleague founded. It had only been a year, but its success story continued with several news companies stating their amazement of Julie’s disposition through their articles.

“Ah!”

Julie grabbed her fork and stabbed the steak.

“You’ve been forcing my hand up until this point!”