The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 101
“You’re allowed to come here?”
“Mother and Father gave their permission! Yes!”
That peculiar way of speaking hadn’t changed one bit, Rozelin observed, shrugging her shoulders.
They had walked the Forest Path from the Fiefdom all this while, with Batar on one side and Arma on the other.
“When does the King plan to return?”
“Mother and Father said they cannot leave the country unattended for much longer, so they’ll be heading back soon!”
“Soon?”
“Well, I suspect that when I return, or perhaps before then, Sansar will judge the right moment and send me back with a guide!”
Batar stuck close to Rozelin’s side as he answered.
The Empire and Kaluta had entered into an Alliance.
The agreement they had negotiated then had since been ratified and approved by both nations.
As part of it, they had decided to send at least one member of the royal family to each other’s country for periodic cultural exchange, as a symbol of their firm alliance.
Batar had been chosen to remain in the Empire.
He would stay here for the sake of ongoing exchange with the Empire in the days to come.
Several other Kalutans were scheduled to remain as well.
Among them were those who would conduct technical exchange with the Bellion Family Estate.
‘And those departing from the Empire….’
Rozelin smiled knowingly. Batar’s eyes widened at once.
But before the boy could open his mouth, Arma spoke first, catching her hand with a leisurely expression.
“Why do you smile, Rozelin?”
“I heard that His Highness Ludian will be leaving soon.”
“How clever you are, Rozelin. Quite right.”
Arma lifted the hand he held and brought it lightly to his lips, pressing it there as he spoke.
The ticklish, unfamiliar sensation on the back of her hand made Rozelin pause for a moment.
“We should arrive in a few days, I imagine.”
“……Yes.”
Arma withdrew his lips and continued naturally, as though nothing had happened.
Rozelin nodded almost reflexively.
“Rozelin! What is the meaning of this rudeness! Yes!”
“Rozelin, who is this little one?”
Since they had traveled together on a diplomatic mission to Kaluta before, they were surely not asking about each other’s identities.
Rozelin looked down at the two of them, then turned her shoulders and gazed at Batar.
“A friend’s son, and….”
She spoke while glancing at Arma.
“An betrothed I will soon be breaking the engagement with.”
Arma looked at Rozelin with a wounded expression.
“……Rozelin, I will not break the engagement.”
Arma said firmly. Rozelin gave a light, amused laugh.
Rozelin knew that Arma was a man who valued freedom—or at least wished to live that way.
“I am sincere.”
“Does that really change anything?”
By now, Rozelin was weary and jaded about matters of love, and her trust in Arma was not particularly high.
To love someone you cannot trust is an impossible thing.
“You said you liked me.”
Rozelin faltered at Arma’s words.
“I do like you.”
“I like you too.”
His reply came at once.
Just as Rozelin, suddenly at a loss for words, was beginning to part her lips to respond—
She felt an intriguing gaze from ahead and lifted her eyes.
Garren Wilbred was watching them with a decidedly subtle expression.
Beside him, the High Priest had already produced some dried meat and was openly chewing it while watching the scene unfold.
When his eyes met Rozelin’s, the High Priest broke into a hearty laugh.
“We’ll make camp here for the night. The Murk grows thicker ahead, and it will be dangerous once darkness falls.”
The High Priest said as much while ordering the priests who had come with them to prepare the camp.
Among the priests who began moving in perfect coordination, the High Priest closed his eyes and pressed his palms together lightly, beginning to chant in a low murmur.
Then, from above his head, a blue light rose high into the air before spreading like a fountain, casting a translucent barrier across the surrounding space.
‘So this is the Supreme Defensive Abyss….’

Rozelin had agreed to join this journey partly for this reason—her peace of mind.
The High Priest’s defense was nearly supreme as long as he drew breath.
‘At least I won’t lose sleep at night.’
Thinking so, Rozelin glanced down at her hands, gripped firmly on both sides.
‘It hurts.’
The Kalutan’s grip was strong enough to snap a child’s bones without effort.
“That man’s got a blackened heart, I’m telling you! Why marry someone like that when you could marry our… no, me instead!”
“…Hm?”
“Rozelin is beautiful and impressive and has backbone too!”
Rozelin’s expression darkened.
“Of course, you’re young right now, and a gentle soul like you might object—I understand! But in five years I’ll be a fine young man, so if you’d wait until then, I’d be grateful! Yes!”
She’d known Kalutans were headstrong, but this was beyond anything she’d imagined.
‘So after the daughter-in-law proposal comes the marriage proposal itself.’
Rozelin realized there was nothing more coming and shrugged, pulling her hands free from his iron grip.
“So if you’d have me—”
“I refuse.”
Rozelin answered without much deliberation.
“…!”
Before his confession was even finished, Batar’s mouth fell open—soundly rejected.
“Why!”
“I already have someone I care for.”
“Me, me, me you’re rejecting…!”
Rozelin studied Batar.
‘…We’ve sealed the Alliance already anyway, so it shouldn’t cause diplomatic problems.’
Batar’s hands clenched into fists.
“This has never happened before…!”
“….”
“A Kalutan never gives up—that’s our way! I will absolutely—”
“That’s enough rudeness.”
Arma, who had been watching quietly, cut in with a cold voice.
At a tone she’d never heard before—one dripping with chill—Rozelin turned her head briefly.
“There’s only so much I can overlook as jest, Prince of Kaluta.”
At Arma’s icy words, Batar’s brow furrowed.
“If you don’t wish to damage the Alliance we’ve just forged, I’d advise against making advances to someone who already has a partner.”
“….”
“Your people may be sexually open in Kaluta, but here, such disrespect crosses a line.”
At Arma’s warning, Batar’s expression twisted in displeasure.
Though the suffocating intensity of his gaze made Batar seem momentarily caught off guard, he didn’t appear particularly frightened.
Batar, only slightly shorter than Rozelin, crossed his arms and made a prolonged groaning sound, then released a heavy sigh.
“I understand. There is an order to things between men and women.”
Batar nodded with a magnanimous expression and continued.
“So be it. It’s my fault for being late. I’ll yield the primary husband position to you.”
“…What?”
“I’ll be Rozelin’s second husband.”
Batar puffed out a breath of air.
His chest thrust forward and shoulders squared back made him look like he was begging for praise.
“Batar, the Empire practices monogamy.”
“…Huh?”
“One woman, one man—that’s the law. Except for the Emperor or nobles with titles who need to produce heirs, monogamy is the standard.”
At Rozelin’s explanation, Batar’s mouth fell open.
“You’re satisfied with just this one skinny man?! What if you grow tired of him!”
Rozelin slowly lowered her eyes.
“Batar, if you say one more thing like that, I’ll consider it overstepping. I have someone I care for and that someone is not you. I have no interest in taking multiple partners.”
At her chilling words, Batar flinched and fell silent, nodding his head.
“Master! The camp is ready.”
The High Priest approached with butterfly-light steps, having finished a strip of dried meat from a distance away, and spoke.
It was just as she was nodding her head.
“…Rozelin.”
“Yes?”
“May I also call you master?”
Rozelin faltered at the sudden resolve in Arma’s voice.
“……I beg your pardon?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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