WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Irevi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Unleashed a Gossip Gallery in Another World ◈
Chapter 33: The Villainess's Means
──────
‘First... I need to clean this up.’
After sitting blankly in front of my bed for quite some time, I barely managed to rise once I realized Lady Yurian would be arriving soon.
“...”
Now that it had already happened, there were several things I needed to do.
[Lady-Bro12: Tried drawing fan art of our Elrod lol]
[Lady-Bro12: Elrod <<< The best marriage prospect haha]
[Lady-Bro12: 101 things ladies who plan to marry Elrod should keep in mind, compiled by yours truly.]
“Ugh...”
For one thing, I had to take back my sister's fixed handle, which she was currently using to freely write posts praising Elrod.
Anonymous: Mod. My fixed handle disappeared.
ㄴGossip Gallery Eraser: That was a temporary fixed handle for the Arena.
ㄴAnonymous: Is that so? I am inexperienced with Galleries, so I misunderstood.
And so, stripped of her fixed handle, Elosia returned to being an ordinary user amid the praise of all the ladies.
(Author: Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army Elosia)
[Anonymous: Guys, what kind of reputation does Elosia <<< this one have?]
(Author: Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army Elosia)
[Anonymous: Margrave Adelheid of the North <<< Haven't they seemed suspicious lately? Haha]
(Author: Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army Elosia)
[✪Top 10 rankings of the continent's strongest, entirely subjective]
From that moment onward, Sister Elosia very naturally became a member of the Gossip Gallery.
‘You said you would never use the Gossip Gallery, Sister...’
They say a late-in-life obsession is a scary thing, don't they?
My sister had lived a life far removed not only from the Gossip Gallery, but even ordinary Galleries and games in general. Yet this incident had given her a taste for the Gossip Gallery.
‘She isn't going around beating everyone up in duels, is she...?’
I worried another outrageously vicious user might have appeared, but there was still something I needed to handle.
Troll Eraser: So what do we do about yesterday's filmer?
ㄴGossip Gallery Eraser: ?
ㄴTroll Eraser: Shouldn't they be banned?
ㄴTroll Eraser: Also, should we delete the Elrod video on the Noble Ladies Gossip Gallery, or leave it up?
“Hmm...”
It concerned the masked woman who had dared to break into my bedroom and broadcast live yesterday.
Gossip Gallery Eraser: The Gossip Gallery only guarantees the anonymity of its users.
Gossip Gallery Eraser: There is naturally no need to protect the anonymity of the people being gossiped about.
Gossip Gallery Eraser: So even if someone uploads an IRL gank, there's no need to ban them as long as the uploader's identity hasn't been exposed.
Precedent mattered in matters like this, so I left a clear comment for every Eraser to see.
‘It is infuriating, but it can't be helped.’
If I took issue with this, then I would have to ban every future exposé and gossip post.
That would go against the spirit of the Gossip Gallery.
And no exception could be made just because I was the target.
Gossip Gallery Eraser: However, if someone who witnessed the IRL gank appears, or the person involved discovers the uploader's identity, that obviously counts as an identity reveal. Delete it immediately and ban them.
ㄴTroll Eraser: Okay.
ㄴTroll Eraser: Time to lurk in the Noble Ladies Gossip Gallery lol.
As long as nobody discovered that Gossip Gallery Eraser was me, there was still a chance I could continue living a precariously peaceful life.
“Haa...”
But after finishing the cleanup and returning to lurk through the Gallery, I ended up squeezing my eyes shut.
[Noble Ladies Gossip Gallery]
[✪As expected of a back-alley Gallery, all the fun stuff only happens in the middle of the night, damn it.]
[✪(Breaking) More than half the ladies who attended the Crown Princess's tea party today have bloodshot eyes hahahahahahahaha]
[✪Late-night Gossip Gallery <<< Anyone who doesn't use it is an idiot lol]
[✪Upvote if you can't imagine how these bitches survived before there was a Gossip Gallery lol]
“Fuck.”
Could I really live a peaceful life?
----------
[✪Title: Public Sentiment Test]
Author: Lady-Bro12 (Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army Elosia)
(An image has been attached.)
Upvote if he is the coolest man in the world lol
[Upvotes: 1700] [Downvotes: -3]
----------
‘What kind of insane ratio is 1,700 to 3?’
As if mocking that thought, the post my sister had uploaded with a fixed handle at dawn had received the highest number of upvotes in history.
Not views, but 1,700 upvotes.
I could not even begin to imagine how many ladies had seen this incident.
[Anonymous: (Shocking, Terrifying, Bizarre) There is a crazy unicorn who has only ever met women who were his mother, older sister, and younger sister!?!?!?]
[Anonymous: Elrod <<< Seeing him stammer and panic when Lady Yurian clung to him, he clearly knows absolutely nothing about women lol]
[Anonymous: Even if Elrod turns you on, he's only ten or eleven times hotter than other young lords.... Bring in Count Durgel.]
‘I can't look at this any longer.’
Unable to bear the posts being written in real time by that overwhelming majority of ladies, I eventually fled to another Gallery.
[Cheerful Empire Village Gossip Gallery]
[✪(Cross-post from next door) Master collection of everything about Elrod Durgel]
“...Ah, fuck.”
But there was no paradise where I fled.
----------
[✪Title: We demand the rights rightfully owed to us as residents of the territory.]
Author: Anonymous (Dorothy, Durgel Count Family Maid)
Count Durgel must immediately declare the right of first night throughout the territory.
Naturally, Count Durgel is married and devoted to his wife, so he cannot exercise it. His heir, Elrod, should do so in his place.
If this demand is not accepted, the rage of the fief residents shall judge you.
[Comments: 138]
Anonymous1: The right of first night, you crazy bitch hahahahahahaha
Anonymous2: Even the Bald Emperor rejected the right of first night, damn it
ㄴAnonymous3: Rumor says it was because he couldn't get it up lol
Anonymous4: Durgel Territory <<< Upvote if you think it will never have a population decline problem hahahahahahahaha
Anonymous5: Why aren't the wives' rights guaranteed, though? Could we call it the right of the night instead of the right of first night? Yeah.
----------
The enormous Elrod live incident had already spread rapidly through the other Gossip Galleries.
(Author: Princess Ruabel)
[Anonymous: The right of first night <<< Come to think of it, it seems like a good policy? Lol]
(Author: Rosaline, Merchant Guild Heir)
[Anonymous: Count Durgel <<< Is he really incorruptible? Is there absolutely no chance he would accept a backroom-deal request?]
(Author: Sion, Knight Trainee)
[Anonymous: House Durgel's knights <<< Do they accept female knights?]
Thanks to that, I was becoming famous among not merely noble ladies, but the entire population of the Empire.
(Author: Saintess of the Holy Church)
[Anonymous: Please stop bothering my husband, people of Durgel Territory ㅠ]
[Upvotes: 0] [Downvotes: -18]
“...”
Just as I blankly prepared to close the Gallery amid that trend, I spotted one post I could not ignore.
----------
[✪Title: Only people who know Elrod well, come in.]
Author: Noble Lady Gallery Eraser
Share in detail what he likes and what his hobbies are.
I have use for all of it, yeah.
----------
It was a question post Lady Yurian, who would be coming to see me in a few hours, had uploaded to the Empire Village Gossip Gallery.
(Mage Tower's Top Disciple Eirin): He likes his little sister lol
ㄴ(Commander-in-Chief Elosia): He likes his older sister more, though?
ㄴ(Mage Tower's Top Disciple Eirin): Cut the bullshit.
ㄴ(Commander-in-Chief Elosia): Is this Eirin? Hahaha
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the only comments were my sister and Eirin's fierce battle of nerves.
Anonymous3: Wow, but this is seriously the first time there has been this little information about someone hahaha
ㄴ(Rosaline, Merchant Guild Heir): I asked just in case, but even the Information Guild doesn't know anything hahahahahahaha
Anonymous5: He must have been so sickly that he spent his whole life shut in his room ㅠㅠㅠ My poor husband, pyuㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Anonymous6: Head mod, you fucking bitch, do get to work already, if you please.
Of course, that was only natural.
I could count on one hand the number of times I had left the mansion. I had never made a friend, much less dated a woman.
“Young Master.”
But then, someone who might turn my life completely upside down finally arrived.
“House Agnail's carriage has arrived.”
“...I know.”
Of course, I had known for quite some time already.
(Author: Dorothy, Durgel Count Family Maid)
[✪(Breaking) House Agnail's carriage has arrived whoa]
The time of reckoning had finally come.
* * *
“Young Master, are you really going in dressed like that?”
“No, at least let us dress you up a little...”
“At least tidy your hair...”
After shaking off every maid who desperately tried to groom me, I left my room and took a deep breath as I walked.
‘I need to be clear.’
I was sorry to Lady Yurian, but I had no intention of accepting her feelings.
I wanted to marry an ordinary woman with a gentle personality, then quietly spend the rest of my life browsing Galleries. It could not be helped.
Creak...
With a somewhat tense expression, I arrived before the guest reception room where Lady Yurian was resting and opened the door while keeping myself as calm as possible.
“It has been a long time, My Lady.”
Lady Yurian, who had been seated at the table holding a teacup, suddenly stopped and looked at me.
“Take a seat.”
After taking a sip of tea, she pointed to the chair across from her with a low voice.
“...”
Once I sat down as instructed, an awkward silence flowed between us for a while.
“There has been a very interesting rumor going around recently.”
“A rumor?”
The person who broke that silence was Lady Yurian, who seemed to have quite a sweet tooth as she added several more sugar cubes to her tea.
“A rumor that you saved my life once again.”
Unfortunately for me, that was precisely something I had to pretend desperately not to know about.
“This makes the third time someone has saved my life.”
“...”
“Two of those times were you.”
Yet Lady Yurian seemed to have no intention of listening to me and continued speaking alone.
“The other time was...”
She suddenly paused.
“...Never mind. You do not need to know.”
Her face flushed as she wore a slightly awkward expression.
‘That was me too, damn it.’
Knowing full well that she was thinking of the Gossip Gallery's first verification incident, it was quite difficult to maintain my expression.
“So, what brings you here?”
“You are too cold.”
When I cleared my throat and asked, Lady Yurian's eyes curved into narrow crescents.
“Does having a duke's daughter before you not make you nervous?”
“Haha...”
“You truly are a very strange person.”
Soon, she stared intently at me and muttered in a low voice.
“Other young lords were so desperate to catch my eye...”
Then her gaze shifted toward my shoulder.
“Yet you are wearing a cloak.”
“Pardon?”
“The cloak with the same design as the one you wrapped around me.”
Lady Yurian's normally lofty voice began to tremble immediately afterward.
“Is that your answer, Elrod?”
But I had no idea why she was reacting that way.
“I am inexperienced with social etiquette...”
“...”
“I apologize, but have I committed some offense?”
When I asked with a look of utter confusion, Lady Yurian sighed and spoke again.
“Wrapping a cloak around a noble lady is a sign of proposal.”
“I... see.”
“At the very least, it is not something a count family's young lord can casually do to the Empire's only duke's daughter.”
Her expression suddenly turned cold.
“Conversely, when a noble lady wraps that cloak around a man again...”
By then, I could understand what sort of discourtesy I had committed.
“Does it mean... rejection?”
“So you know well.”
In other words, I was effectively telling her outright that what had happened then was a mistake.
“I was unfamiliar with social etiquette and dared to behave discourteously toward you, My Lady.”
I had not intended to put it quite so firmly, so I hurriedly bowed my head in apology.
“However, I cannot presumptuously allow a cloak that was wrapped around you through my mistake to be wrapped around me again by your own hands.”
“...”
“So I will continue wearing this cloak.”
Yet with what I added afterward, I made my own feelings clear as well.
“I never said I came here to return your cloak to you, Elrod Durgel.”
Lady Yurian did not seem willing to back down so easily.
“May I send the servants away for a moment?”
“Do as you wish.”
Before beginning our conversation in earnest, I obtained Lady Yurian's permission and sent every maid in the room away.
‘This is not something I can let become Gossip Gallery fodder.’
Then silence continued for a while.
“Lady Yurian, I apologize, but...”
This time, I was the one who broke it first.
“I am not a man suited to you.”
Although Lady Yurian quietly bit her lip upon hearing those words, I continued.
“I am merely a count family's young lord. Meanwhile, you are the next heir to the Empire's only ducal house...”
“Are you worried about the matter of succession?”
Lady Yurian suddenly interrupted me.
“Then I can become your countess.”
The words that came from her lips immediately afterward were enough to fluster even me, who had been trying to remain calm.
“After all, I am a villainess hated by my ducal house. My father has no intention of making me his heir.”
“...”
“Thanks to you, the situation has improved somewhat, but the council of elders still pressures me.”
I truly had not imagined that the proud Lady Yurian would come at me so directly.
“To the point that I wish to give up everything and run away.”
Perhaps Lady Yurian truly had been driven to her limit.
“But I want to make one thing clear.”
“...?”
“I am not trying to use you as a refuge.”
Just as I was wearing an unnecessarily sympathetic expression, Lady Yurian spoke in a cold voice.
“Because, it seems that I...”
“...”
“Haa...”
But she trailed off and let out a sigh.
“I...”
Lady Yurian was now staring at me with her face dyed red.
“It seems that I am in love with you.”
My head went blank, and I barely managed to open my mouth.
“Why would you choose someone like me...?”
“Now that I think about it, you are quite an insolent man.”
But Lady Yurian had already gathered her courage once, and from then on she spoke without hesitation.
“You stole a duke's daughter's heart with all your strength, then pretend you know nothing...”
Her face was still bright red, however.
“I, I...”
“Still, I shall forgive you.”
My face also flushed slightly as I tried to say something, but she gave me no opening to interrupt.
“Even if I am the Empire's worst villainess, capable of making birds fall from the sky, once my heart has been stolen, there is nothing I can do.”
“...”
“The initiative is yours, Elrod.”
When she finished speaking, Lady Yurian avoided my gaze with a shy expression I had never imagined her cold features could make.
“I am sickly and fainthearted...”
“Shut up.”
“...Yes.”
Still, it did not seem that her true nature had become shy as well.
‘She said the initiative was mine.’
I had no idea what beat I was supposed to follow, and I fidgeted anxiously.
“I shall ask boldly, Elrod.”
Lady Yurian finally spoke again, asking me a question in her characteristic direct manner.
“May I use you as my refuge of love?”
Then a long silence filled the room.
“...”
Within that silence, I could not bring myself to say anything and merely lowered my eyes.
“You need not decide now.”
“...”
“As I said, the initiative is yours.”
Lady Yurian watched me silently for quite some time, then sighed after saying that.
“Haa...”
Soon, she gave a hollow laugh and began to mutter.
“You are too kind.”
“Pardon?”
“Your thoughts are written all over your face.”
Her eyes had already filled with tears.
“I was always the one who rejected others...”
“...”
“So this is... what it feels like to be rejected.”
As expected of the queen of high society, she seemed to have read every one of my thoughts merely by looking at my expression.
“...Lady Yurian.”
Only after another stretch of silence could I barely speak.
“No matter how much I think about it, I am not sure whether I am someone suited to you.”
Lady Yurian's face paled slightly.
“Is that so...”
But she soon nodded with a composed expression and gave a lonely smile.
Tremble...
As I watched her shoulders continue to shake, I eventually had no choice but to change my mind a little.
“But since you said you would give me time...”
“...?”
“I will sort out my thoughts properly and give you an answer later.”
It would have been too cruel to end things here and send her away.
“One can never know what may happen.”
I was also quite worried about Lady Yurian's mental state, considering I knew of two occasions when she had tried to take her own life.
“Rather than deciding this so hastily, do we not need time to meet and get to know one another little by little?”
“...”
“So, would you not first spend time with me as a friend?”
The proposal I made was a suitable compromise.
‘I'll take care of her somehow while we are friends.’
At the very least, that way I could resolve the situation gently enough without hurting her feelings one-sidedly.
“You reject my proposal, then ask to date me.”
“No, that is not what I...”
“You truly are an utterly insolent man.”
Lady Yurian seemed to have misunderstood my proposal somewhat differently.
“Do you have some fantasy about a love marriage?”
I began carefully choosing my words with an embarrassed expression.
“That is not what I meant...”
“But a secret romance... It is not bad.”
Lady Yurian was already running wild.
“I thought that was the vulgar sort of thing only commoners at the academy did...”
“My Lady...”
“Then today is our first day?”
As she looked at me with the eyes of a girl in love, I broke out in a cold sweat, unable to figure out how to explain this to her.
“I am joking, Elrod.”
Lady Yurian abruptly restored her usual expression and spoke again in a dignified voice.
“You mean that we should remain friends for the time being?”
“...That is correct.”
Seeing that, it seemed she had fortunately understood properly.
“Whether that relationship develops into love, or whether we remain friends forever, will depend on me?”
Of course, she did not seem to have given up.
“I thought you were an innocent fool who knew nothing.”
“...?”
“You are quite skilled at handling women.”
I could say nothing as I avoided Lady Yurian's narrowed-eyed, reproachful gaze.
“You dare reject a duke's daughter's proposal and test the waters...”
Honestly, Lady Yurian was being very kind to me.
With the power held by a duke's daughter, even a fallen villainess could take a count family's young lord for herself as she pleased.
Yet seeing her yield a step and respect my choice, I had no choice but to revise my assessment of her slightly.
“Still, I will forgive that insolence this time as well.”
“...”
“Because I am the one who has been captured.”
Yurian von Agnail might be a villainess, but she was at least someone more than fit to become my friend.
“Then from now on, I shall treat you as a friend.”
“...It is an honor.”
As I accepted Lady Yurian's handshake after sorting out my thoughts, I flinched when her expression suddenly turned cold.
“What are you doing, using honorific speech between friends?”
I needed to revise my assessment a little.
She was an impossibly demanding woman who was perhaps just a bit lacking as a friend.
“It is an honor, Yurian.”
“Yes, Elrod.”
But words that had already left my mouth could not be taken back.
“How does it feel to become friends with the Empire's only duke's daughter?”
“...It feels nice.”
“You may say it honestly. Say you're so happy you could go crazy.”
From that point onward, I became the only friend of the Empire's worst villainess.
“...”
About ten seconds later, I regretted it.
“As your friend, I must say you should take better care of your appearance.”
“Huh?”
“What did the estate maids say?”
Lady Yurian suddenly rose and approached me, then began openly nagging me.
“Stand up. I will tie your hair myself.”
“No, it is fine...”
“It seems my words as a friend mean nothing to you.”
Are we really friends?
Or did Lady Yurian's definition of friendship differ slightly from mine?
“No, I really am fine...”
“...”
“Um, My Lady... No, Yurian.”
As I thought that and glanced at her, my face flushed again.
“Isn't this a little too close...?”
Lady Yurian had pressed herself against me after I stood up, placed both arms over my shoulders, and was running her fingers through my hair.
“Can friends not even tie each other's hair?”
“No, are we really friends?”
“Then if this is not friendship, what is it?”
But since I had so little experience making friends myself, I could not refute her.
‘Somehow, I feel like I have been led into something...’
I should have reined in my personality a little more during my past life as the Hero.
“Yes, your hair looks much better once it is tidied up like this.”
“Haha...”
“Wear it tied up like this from now on. Why let such a handsome face go to waste?”
I had been unable to move for quite some time as Lady Yurian fixed my hair.
“Oh, Elrod.”
Her voice suddenly reached my ear as I turned my gaze aside to avoid being conscious of Lady Yurian's face being so close to mine.
“What is it...”
The moment I instinctively turned to face her voice.
“Mmph!?”
A warm sensation suddenly touched my lips.
“...!”
The next moment, Lady Yurian's tongue slipped between my closed lips and entwined with mine.
“...”
Watching me through half-lidded eyes, she had already wrapped her arms around my neck as our tongues mingled.
“Mmph...”
Then a long silence began.
* * *
“...”
How much time had passed since then?
“Puhat...”
“Haa...”
The man and woman, pressed close enough to feel each other's breath, pulled apart at the same time with a white strand connecting their lips.
“Hmm...”
Lady Yurian licked up and swallowed the white strand that was connected to her lips, then checked Elrod's reaction.
“Oh dear, this is a problem.”
Leaving Elrod behind as he wore a dazed expression, she walked toward the table.
“As a duke's daughter, I kissed a man. My marriage prospects are ruined.”
The vulnerable appearance she had shown earlier had already completely vanished.
“And...”
Of course, her face remained as red as ever.
“Since you took my first, you must take responsibility as well...”
She ran a finger over her lips, savoring the sensation she had felt on her tongue for the first time in her life.
“Lady Yurian...”
“...”
“No, Yurian.”
Elrod, who had stood there blankly for quite some time, finally opened his mouth.
“This is... not something friends should do.”
His face was clearly flushed too, though less so than Lady Yurian's.
“Sorry, but I am the worst villainess, you see.”
Lady Yurian glanced at him, gave a cold smile, and walked toward the man again.
“I will do anything to obtain what I want.”
“...”
“Even use such base and devious tricks.”
She brushed her delicate hand over the man's chest, then held something out with the other.
“Oh my, what could this photograph be?”
“...!”
“Oh dear, it caught such a decisive moment.”
What she held was a photograph taken by a camera she had attached beneath the table in advance.
The Empire's only duke's daughter and high society's rising star were pressed close together in the photograph, sharing their love.
“What is wrong?”
“...”
“Are you upset that you were deceived?”
When Elrod silently opened his mouth after seeing the picture, Lady Yurian smiled with her eyes and began whispering into his ear.
“Then why not write a post in an unapproved Gallery?”
A shy expression like that of a young girl once again appeared on her face.
“Say that Yurian von Agnail just took your first.”
Footnotes:
The joke is that removing “first” from “right of first night” would give married women a turn too.
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