WAV 08

Drip.

A line of blood silently flowed from one side of her nose, soon dripping down steadily.

“Ah…….”

Eston hurriedly covered her nose with one hand.

White light began to pour from her hand, as if she was trying to use her healing ability.

Watching the demonic energy swirling beneath her chin, I warned her.

“You’d better not use your ability for a while.”

“That’s none of your concern.”

But despite my warning, Eston stopped her nosebleed in an instant.

Then she irritably pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped away the blood.

“More importantly, how did you know about my condition? Is the duke’s family spying on me or something?”

“Spying? Hah. What would we even gain from spying on you?”

I scoffed and added,

“Even if that were true, there’s no reason for me to honestly tell you.”

“……Young Lady.”

“I’ll consider the treatment paid for, so you can leave now.”

As I pointed toward the door, Eston bit down on her lip.

She clearly found my words unsettling, but it seemed she didn’t want to lower her pride enough to ask further.

“……”

After confronting me in silence for a while, she soon turned around sharply and left the room without even saying goodbye.

“Did Edith not put her through enough yet? Her manners are really…….”

I frowned and muttered in dissatisfaction before flopping onto the bed.

“Ah, whatever. I’ve done enough already.”

Deep down, she was probably anxious herself, which was why she reacted like that.

The early symptoms of a rampage were originally similar to symptoms caused by accumulated fatigue, so awakened people often overlooked them.

Of course, even then, cases that actually progressed into a rampage were extremely rare.

Sensitive awakened people like the male leads could feel the accumulated demonic energy themselves, and it was also thoroughly managed at a national level.

In the modern world where I used to live, they would send people to isolation facilities and suppress their abilities with drugs, or euthanize them in severe cases.

But I didn’t know how things worked in this world.

To begin with, the novel barely mentioned anything related to rampages……

“……Well, the heroine will handle it somehow.”

Right. There was supposedly some great purifier around, so why should I worry?

More importantly, the bigger problem was that I couldn’t leave right now.

“Hmm. What should I do…….”

I fell into thought.

The reason I wanted to go outside was because there was something I wanted to test.

Whether I could still use the ability I originally had.

‘After all, my soul is still mine.’

Of course, I knew it was practically impossible.

This body had already awakened and gained a completely different ability……

And wouldn’t it be a little ridiculous if another person with purification powers appeared in a world that already had a purifier?

“Then does that mean I could become the heroine too?”

Even after saying it myself, the idea sounded absurd enough that I let out a hollow laugh.

When I first read this novel, I had felt uncomfortable and even wondered if it was some threat sent by a rival company.

That was because my ability could practically be considered the same as the heroine Ruellyn’s ability.

‘Purification.’

Unfortunately, I wasn’t an amazing ability user worthy of being praised as a purifier like Ruellyn.

Even purifying an area the size of a palm was exhausting for me, and after struggling for a long time, I would quickly collapse from exhaustion.

‘Maybe around D-rank?’

I had never officially gotten my rank measured, but it was such a pathetic level of ability that it was embarrassing to even say I was awakened.

Still, instead of despairing over that fact, I used myself as a test subject and developed cure-1.

I might have been useless as an awakened person, but that didn’t mean my academic background and career as a scientist were useless too.

‘I was finally at the final stages of development.’

And yet, right before success, what the hell was I even doing here…….

“……Come to think of it, I could’ve tested it on Eston.”

As my thoughts continued, I suddenly realized there had been a way to test it without even going outside, and I clicked my tongue belatedly.

Thanks to this body’s strange ability, I could see rampage levels, so I would immediately know whether purification worked or not.

“I should’ve just treated her instead of sending her away.”

It was regrettable, but well. There would be other chances to meet Eston.

Just then—

Knock knock.

“Young Lady. It’s me, Nancy.”

Suddenly, Nancy entered with a knock.

“Did your treatment go well?”

“Mm, well…… But what is it?”

“The butler told me to bring this to you.”

Nancy carefully placed the plate she brought onto the bedside table.

I glanced at its contents and looked puzzled.

“……Chocolate?”

“Yes, the chef just made it a little while ago. He said you always looked for it whenever you were in a bad mood…….”

It seemed they were extremely nervous that I might throw another tantrum like the real Edith.

‘So this is how they’ve been calming her down all this time.’

An antagonist whose anger was soothed with sweets. She was surprisingly simple.

I let out a short laugh in disbelief, and Nancy quickly stabbed a piece of chocolate with a fork and held it out to me.

“Ah.”

Still sprawled lazily on the bed, I accepted it.

The soft raw chocolate melted smoothly on my tongue the moment it touched it.

I wasn’t particularly fond of sweets, but after eating it, the tension in my nerves seemed to ease a little.

As I quickly accepted another piece of chocolate she offered, I asked,

“Nancy. Where exactly did the gate near Ezenia first appear?”

“Ah, Tollen?”

“Then Eston must naturally be from Tollen, right?”

“Yes, that’s right! How did you know?”

“She acts arrogantly like I killed her parents or something.”

“Ah…….”

Nancy laughed awkwardly at my answer.

“Th-that…… I don’t know the details either, but apparently Eston’s younger brother was exposed to demonic energy and is having a very hard time. Maybe that’s why she was acting so sensitive…….”

“…….”

“O-of course, it was still wrong for her to speak rudely to you, Young Lady!”

After hearing the story from Nancy, I roughly understood the situation.

Eston had probably poured excessive healing power into saving her younger brother.

Maybe not only him, but all the injured people in that town as well.

And then, seeing me completely recovered must have stirred resentment in her.

It was unfortunate, but healing power could only delay the body from rotting away. It couldn’t fundamentally restore the corrupted.

“How severe was the damage? Was it bad enough to cause riots?”

“Ah, no. I heard it was resolved pretty quickly, so compared to other places, the damage wasn’t that serious.”

Of course it wasn’t.

To save Ruellyn, no less than three S-rank awakened people had rushed over.

I understood that she wasn’t in her right mind because of her brother, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that Eston had unfairly taken out her anger on me.

‘But Ethan supposedly went there to handle things.’

Then a question suddenly came to mind.

I immediately asked Nancy,

“Then Ethan…… why did Brother go down to Ezenia?”

“Probably to go in your place out of moral responsibility? After all, Ezenia is still part of the duke’s territory.”

But that still didn’t answer my question.

‘A whole week passed since the gate appeared, and only now he went to calm public opinion?’

To a town that had a villa belonging to his hated stepsister, no less?

Honestly, it sounded more believable that he went there to silence people with money so the heroine wouldn’t get criticized.

Thinking that way made me feel wronged.

He did something that invited misunderstandings, and I was the only one who got cursed at for it.

‘If he was going anyway, he should’ve gone before I woke up. Seriously, I don’t like that bastard.’

As I grumbled in dissatisfaction, something lightly touched my lips.

Nancy, who had been carefully watching my mood, quickly offered me another chocolate.

“Your family is safe, right, Nancy?”

“Yes. I worked in Ezenia, but I’m originally from the western region!”

“That’s good.”

“As expected, Young Lady, you’re kind.”

I had only asked out of courtesy, but a faint blush appeared on Nancy’s cheeks.

That felt a little strange to me.

To think there was actually someone who considered the villainess of this damned novel kind.

Since I couldn’t go anywhere, I had nothing much to do.

After rolling around in bed all morning, noon arrived quickly.

After eating the lunch Nancy brought me again, I pulled out a random book from the bookshelf and sat in front of the large window.

Just as I opened the book—

“Young Lady, it’s me. The butler.”

The butler suddenly came to see me.

‘What, does he want me to compliment the chocolate or something?’

Confused, I let him into the room.

Perhaps because of what happened earlier, he bowed his head to me with an extremely cautious and respectful attitude.

“What is it?”

“Well, Young Marquis Leandro has come to visit.”

“Who’s that?”

“Ah, your memory…….”

I had asked because I genuinely didn’t know, but the butler looked at me with pity.

Then, for the sake of his amnesiac master, he awkwardly explained about the visitor.

“The young marquis is…… a close friend who has been very close with you since childhood. He awakened his ability at fourteen years old and is now an S-rank awakened……”

“Wait.”

I raised my hand and interrupted him.

“Don’t tell me…… his name is something like Vincent?”

“Yes, that’s correct!”

Damn it. Why were bad feelings never wrong?

Vincent Leandro.

He was the second male lead.