I Don't Know The Playthroughs Of The Returned Villainesses - Chapter 30

Gestaltzerfall.

A phenomenon where a familiar concept or perception breaks down, causing familiar words, letters, or sentences to suddenly feel alien and strange.

And right now, I was experiencing Gestaltzerfall. Or perhaps, I should say, it was happening to me?

“Aaron, why are you so stiff?”

“It’s nothing.”

Even a starving lion ignoring a perfectly good meal to graze on grass wouldn’t be this strange. To put it in more extreme terms, it was like a racist who had been protesting for the eradication of a certain race suddenly becoming an advocate for racial equality, empathizing with their suffering and offering comfort.

That was how much Rioness equaled “human-hating villainess.” The villainess who lost her family to humans and felt betrayed by her brother for associating with them.

And yet…

“Rioness.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

That hatred was gone.

‘What in the world…?’

The core of the villainess’s villainy had been erased.

“Just relax and speak comfortably. Modred and I don’t care about formalities.”

Rioness seemed to think I was nervous about social status, seeing my perplexed expression.

While it was true that I was nervous, it was because the venomous Rioness I knew had been replaced by someone resembling a friendly older sister. It was exactly like the descriptions of her being a playful older sister figure to the elves.

Meanwhile, Modred…

He was giving her a look that said, Don’t you think the royal family should at least care somewhat about social status? He glared at her discreetly. He clearly knew better than to voice his complaints after his earlier… experience.

“Then I’ll also speak infor—”

Aslan, relaxed by Rioness’s suggestion to drop formalities, tried to speak to her casually, like he did with me, but—

“No.”

An immediate, blunt refusal.

Aslan’s shoulders slumped.

‘You said you didn’t care about formalities.’

How was I supposed to act when she told me to relax and then reacted like that to a duke?

As I pondered this dilemma, something caught my eye. A way out of this awkward situation.

“Um…”

The room fell silent as I spoke. Modred, Aslan, and Rioness all turned to look at me.

I pointed towards the classroom entrance.

“The other students seem hesitant to come in.”

Indeed, there were silhouettes at the door. Not just one, but several.

‘Perfect timing!’

Surely, Rioness, who wasn’t even in this class, would leave—

“Just tell them to come in. There’s plenty of time before class starts.”

Rioness… agreed?

“Huh?”

That wasn’t the reaction I expected. And Rioness, you’re in a different class. It’s not really your place to—

“Hey! Class doesn’t start for a while, why don’t you all come in and chat?”

Aslan even invited them to join us…

“You guys are dismissed. I give up.”

Modred waved his hand dismissively, looking utterly defeated as he dismissed his Elven retainers, who had been silently observing.

“…”

The students outside opened the door and entered the classroom.

‘Sorry you got dragged into this…’

“Good morning!”

“Ah…”

I take back my apology.

The first student to enter was Sephir, her swaying tail a dead giveaway.

“Good morning. Quite the gathering of esteemed individuals this early in the day.”

The next student to enter was Arcana.

“Uh… Aaron?”

Modred suddenly called my name, and I turned to him.

“That’s the Empress, right?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

He seemed to be experiencing cognitive dissonance, seeing her act so differently from what he knew.

‘I understand.’

I was still getting used to it myself.

“The Empress is… greeting you with a smile…?”

Knowing Sephir’s usual stoic and almost hostile demeanor, it was understandable for Modred, who only knew her by reputation, to be shocked. It was like hearing that a notoriously vicious, short-tempered bulldog was about to explode, only to find it wagging its tail like a friendly golden retriever.

“Yes.”

There wasn’t much I could say, so I simply confirmed that he wasn’t hallucinating.

“You’re definitely hiding something.”

“…I’m not.”

While it was true that I was hiding something, it wasn’t what he was thinking.

‘Sephir knows my future self, so…’

If I said that, I would go from being an idiot to a lunatic.

While he was still muttering to himself in a daze,

“Aaron! What’s going on?”

Sephir approached me from behind, placing her hands on my shoulders and asking for an explanation.

I carefully stood up and moved towards the wall with her, explaining the situation.

“…So, it seems Rioness’s hatred for humans is gone.”

“…You believe that?”

Sephir started lecturing me, questioning my gullibility.

‘Does she realize she’s at the same stage of denial as Rioness?’

It was a bit hypocritical, but I let it slide. That’s just how villainesses were.

*

“Sephir, that’s enough…”

Hearing Aslan’s attempt at mediation, Sephir finally released me, noticing the stares from the other students.

“Phew…”

“That was a bit much, don’t you think?”

While I didn’t completely trust Rioness, I didn’t think I deserved that kind of interrogation.

“I held back. Someone’s hiding a lot of things, like an idiot.”

Her initially angry tone softened slightly as she turned away and returned to her desk.

Watching her retreating figure, I thought,

‘She just needed to vent her frustration.’

I had become her emotional punching bag.

‘Trying to hide something from Sephir… what an idiot.’

A beastkin’s ears and nose weren’t just for show. Sephir wasn’t called the Empress of the Underworld for nothing. She could sniff out secrets like it was second nature.

“Aaron! Are you just going to stand there spacing out?”

Aslan called out to me.

“Coming.”

I seriously needed to stop coming to the academy early. We had talked so much, yet there was still quite a bit of time left before class started.

*

As time passed…

Perhaps due to our different social standings, the conversation naturally shifted to topics related to work and status, and the group gradually split into two smaller groups: the men and the women.

“Aslan, I have a question.”

Modred’s expression was serious, indicating a genuine question.

“What is it?”

Aslan’s playful tone shifted to match Modred’s seriousness.

After a moment of hesitation, Modred asked,

“Why are you hanging out with Aaron?”

“You’re asking that in front of him?”

“It’s better than asking behind his back.”

So that was why he had hesitated.

“Actually, I’m curious about that too.”

While it wasn’t something I would normally ask directly, I couldn’t deny my curiosity. There was no reason for Aslan, a duke, to approach a fallen noble he had only known for a few days. And when I had approached him, he hadn’t ignored me, despite his higher status. I wanted to know why.

Modred and I stared at Aslan expectantly, like children asking for a favor. He waved his hand and replied,

“There’s no grand reason. It’s just… fun being around Aaron.”

“Fun?”

Modred and I echoed his words in unison.

“It’s only been a week, but look at the incidents Aaron has been involved in. Do you think those were all coincidences?”

‘He has a point.’

Even I had to admit, the number of incidents I had been involved in was abnormal.

But if someone was orchestrating them, there had to be a reason—

“Surprisingly, for him, they’re all coincidences.”

Aslan’s voice was filled with certainty.

“Huh?”

I looked at him incredulously, while Modred stroked his chin with interest, waiting for him to continue.

“That’s why it’s fun.”

“What kind of incidents are we talking about for a duke like you to say that?” Modred asked as soon as Aslan finished speaking.

“That’s a question that doesn’t require an example.”

Aslan dismissed Modred’s request for further explanation.

“This situation right here is the reason I follow him around.”

He pointed at me, then covered his mouth with his other hand.

“What about me?”

What had I done?

Seeing my confused expression, Aslan elaborated, as if exasperated by my obliviousness.

“Who do you think brought together this group: the Elven Royal Family, a duke, a fallen noble, the Empress of the Underworld, and a merchant family?”

“Well…”

Uh…

“Me?”

The realization slipped out as I pondered the question.

“Exactly.”

Aslan nodded.

“Is that true…?”

Modred seemed to be taking it seriously.

“No, how could a fallen noble orchestrate this?”

It was a perfectly reasonable question. I could understand gathering people of lower status than me, but how could I possibly gather those above me?

Aslan responded,

“Let’s analyze this. Was this the first time you met the Elven Royal Family in this class?”

“Yes.”

“I came to you because of the misunderstanding with Rioness, correct?”

He still seemed hesitant to completely dismiss Rioness’s past hatred for humans, using the word “misunderstanding.”

“Yes.”

“Sephir is the easiest to explain. Whose scent do you think she followed?”

“…Mine.”

“As for Arcana, she’s just here for her class.”

“…”

Was I really the cause of all this?

“Now that I think about it, it is quite peculiar.”

Modred’s contemplation seemed to have reached a conclusion.

“Looking at each situation individually, everyone ended up talking to Aaron.”

“It’s inevitable.”

“Inevitable?”

“His way of conversing is… intriguing.”

Aslan placed his hand on my shoulder as he spoke.

“Aaron, strangely enough, never makes himself the center of the conversation.”

“What do you…”

I didn’t understand what he meant.

“What do you mean by that?”

Modred also seemed confused.

“You’ll understand after just a few words with him. He never elevates himself.”

They both stared at me as if I were some strange creature.

“Now that I’m aware of it, it is quite fascinating.”

Even Modred was looking at me as if I were an endangered species.

‘What’s so fascinating about that…?’

The nobles who inflated their own importance were the strange ones. It was much easier to live life with a slightly lower self-perception than to overestimate oneself to the point of delusion.

As Modred and Aslan continued their analysis…

“Hmm?”

I flinched at the sudden sensation around my waist.

Sephir seemed to have a habit of moving silently. While I had been distracted by Modred, she had approached me and wrapped her tail around my waist.

“Sephir?”

Her ears twitched at the sound of my voice, acknowledging that she had heard me, but she didn’t respond.

As I was wondering about her strange behavior…

“Aaron. What’s your relationship with Sephir?”

Rioness was approaching.

Her eyes were filled with the venom I thought had disappeared…