The Villain’s Ending

Chapter 78

Delusion (17)

I sat in the chair opposite Father.

The chair was softer than I expected.

The Head of Edelgard placed a glass in front of me as well.

Then he picked up the bottle and poured liquor into the glass.

The low sound of blue liquid filling the glass resonated in the room.

"It seems I asked the wrong question."

Father opened his mouth.

His voice was a little lower and slower than usual.

"Even if you didn't do it, it was your doing, Lavin."Hearing those words, I looked at Father for a moment.

Then I took the glass and replied.

"Yes, I did."

"Did you want to sit in this seat instead of Levina?"

Father looked at my face and let out a small chuckle.

It sounded like the rustling of dry leaves.

"Hm. It seems you still don't want to sit here, even now."

I drank half the liquor in the glass.

Strong alcohol went down my throat

.

A hot sensation descended along my esophagus.

Father kept his mouth shut for a long time.

He merely fiddled with his glass.

"That greedy pig from House Beluze couldn't possibly even conceive of doing something like this."

He opened his mouth again.

"Did that little young lady come up with it?"

"Are you referring to Seraphina?"

"Yes."

"No."

At my reply, Father's brow furrowed.

It was an expression of not understanding.

"Then who on earth, and how?"

"I sold her to the church."

At those words, Father stared at me for a moment.

Then he suddenly made a relieved expression.

"At least she won't die with that worthless Beluze."

"Aren't you angry?"

"What right does a father who has given nothing have to be angry, especially when it wasn't something so precious that was sold?"

Father emptied his glass in one go.

And once again, he picked up the bottle and poured liquor into the glass.

This time, he poured until the glass overflowed.

"How did Levina die?"

At those words, Levina's image flashed through my mind.

The face of my sister, who, even after being shot by me, spoke of love and wished to be loved.

Those hands, stained with blood and dirt, that she stretched out to me.

I pondered for a moment, then replied.

"I didn't kill her."

At that moment, Father's hand paused.

The hand holding the bottle froze in mid-air.

Liquor overflowed from the glass and spilled onto the table.

Father put down the bottle.

And he looked at me.

His eyes were trembling severely.

"Don't you hate Levina?"

Hearing those words, I replied that I wasn't sure.

Yet, she was the sister who had tormented me so much, and still I said I hoped she wouldn't die.

It was a contradictory emotion.

"I, too, wished my brother wouldn't die, whether I became Head or not.

But the woman who put me in this position, everyday......"

Father continued softly, his voice trailing off.

"I suppose I should wish that the person who tries to put you in this seat doesn't kill Levina."

It was the first time I had seen the Head of the family so vulnerable, his face flushed and his eyes slightly unfocused.

"If you become Head, will you release Levina?"

I nodded at those words.

"If you release that child, do you think she won't point a knife at you?"

"I don't know. But I will hope that she doesn't."

At my reply, the Head's eyes became slightly moist, and he stared into the air.

"When I was young, I used to go hunting in the nearby forest with my siblings."

Father spoke, gazing into the air as if recalling the past.

"Didn't you go with Uncle?"

"That child didn't like riding horses."

Father replied that.

And after a long pause, he asked again.

"How did he die?"

"I don't know either."

"That fellow, who couldn't even meet my eyes when speaking, claimed he was messing with a woman he didn't love, reveling in his own depravity, and how adorably pathetic he was."

The Head spoke with a frivolous laugh.

The sound of his laughter echoed hollowly in the room.

"What on earth was so good about that woman, every time our skin touched, every time her voice brushed past my ear, every time she spewed vile things from that disgusting mouth!!"

Bang!

Father suddenly slammed the table.

The glasses shook, and the blue liquor sloshed.

He sighed and continued speaking.

"Every time she craved my affection, it was so disgusting, and yet he said he liked that, he liked that, ha."

"......"

"Even if that child was as foolish as me, since I knew it, he must have also known that he was just a suitable substitute."

I found myself wondering what to say in such a situation.

I merely kept silent.

"Your mother, she wanted to go to the sea."

Father said out of nowhere.

"She did?"

"Yes. So I should go."

He stood up from his seat.

His steps were unsteady.

"I will step down from this cursed position.

Not for your sake, but for mine."

He said, walking towards the door.

"Life sitting here may not be enjoyable, but I hope it won't be tormenting for you."

And then he left the room.

I looked at the overflowing liquor on the table and the two empty glasses.

Then I picked up the bottle again, filled my own glass, and drank until the bottle was empty.

That evening, I was hastily appointed as the Head.

There were opponents.

There was no way there wouldn't be, from the start.

After all, it was something the Head, who had lived only as a puppet without a word for a single day, had pushed through arbitrarily. It was absurd from the very beginning.

At first, there were debates about how someone with such a reputation could be appointed as junior head.

However, since there were only two direct children inheriting the Head's bloodline, and most of those claiming Edelgard blood were distant collaterals or bastards whose lineage was questionable, I was eventually appointed as junior head.

The retainers glared at me or didn't like me, but I didn't pay much attention, as I had no intention of managing the family or working diligently anyway.

Nothing had changed significantly.

It just seemed that no one would openly treat me carelessly anymore.

Before I returned to the academy, a retainer stopped me and said they would assign a tutor to specifically teach me the basic duties and responsibilities of a junior head.

"You all can take care of such things yourselves.

Isn't that what you want anyway?"

After saying that, I returned to the academy.

And once again, I began to live normally.

Though, the people around me didn't see me as normal.

I had transformed from a trashy bastard born of infidelity, a hoodlum, a whore's son, into something akin to a human monster who had cleanly disposed of the Duchess and his own sister without leaving a trace.

They didn't fear me, but they couldn't openly mock me as before.

However, their contempt seemed to have grown much stronger.

Every step I took, I felt gazes piercing my body.

I was going about my days as usual, attending classes at the academy.

During lunchtime, as I was passing through the corridor to grab a quick meal, I saw Seraphina arguing with a friend.

"No, that's not it. There's no way Lavin is that kind of person.

Elise, what do you know about Lavin to say something like that?"

Her face was flushed red.

"From the start, who benefited the most from the disappearance of the Edelgard junior head and the Duchess?

You should think about that first!"

"He's been with me for over ten years. He's been with me since we were little.

Besides, you at least vaguely know what kind of person Lady Levina is.

That creepy person was taken down by Lavin?"

"Th-that, no matter what methods were used......"

"He spends time with me every day, and he attends all his classes regularly, so where would he find the time?

Besides... you know Lavin's reputation and abilities, don't you?

How could Lavin do something like that without anyone knowing!

Even if he tried to do it openly, he wouldn't be able to do anything!"

Her friend couldn't refute it.

Rather, she seemed to be convinced.

Watching that, I felt a mix of complicated emotions and relief.

Just then, as I walked down the corridor, students recognized me, who had stopped upon hearing Seraphina's words, and fell silent.

An instant hush fell over the corridor.

Seraphina also realized I was there, and her face turned pale.

"La-Lavin? Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I heard."

"I, I wasn't trying to say anything bad about you, I, I was just trying to say there's no way you did it......"

"I know. Thanks for defending me."

"Oh, no, r-really......"

As I was about to go for lunch, she kept following me, repeating apologies, so I stopped, approached Seraphina, and said softly.

"If you're that sorry, buying me a meal would be nice."

"Oh? Is that enough......?"

"You're going to be the Lady Edelgard in the future, how dare I ask for anything more?"

I said that and headed for the dining hall.

Seraphina followed behind me and said.

"Since when did you become so smooth-tongued?

You seem a little changed... no, you seem to have grown."

It seemed she thought I might be upset if she said I seemed "changed."

After finding a seat in the dining hall and exchanging a few words while choosing our menus, we didn't speak again until the food arrived.

We simply stared out the window or fiddled with the salt shaker on the table.

After the meal, Seraphina grabbed my sleeve.

"Lavin, you're the Lavin I know, right?"

I looked at her.

My face was reflected in her blue eyes.

"Then who else would I be?"