The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 103

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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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Episode 103
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“……What could this be, High Priest?”
“A mansion……it seems.”
“It’s a mansion.”
And not just any mansion—it was absolutely enormous.
A sprawling estate so vast it seemed impossible to believe it existed in the heart of the dark Forest of Monsters.
Moreover, the entrance to the mansion was laid out like a Maze.
Which is to say, the great mansion rose from the center of a circular Maze.
The Maze was enclosed by walls of considerable height, woven from thorned vines crowned with brilliant roses.
The whole atmosphere reeked of desolation, and the way it lay concealed and shuttered created an unsettling, vaguely disturbing air.
Beyond the circular Maze stood an even taller iron fence, its surface choked with more thorned vines.
To anyone’s eye, this was a mansion shaped to reject human intrusion.
“R-Rozelin, what in the world is this! Is this the haunted house they talk about in the Dianitas Empire? Or is it? A spirit-touched place?! A cursed house where ghosts dwell?!”
“……What did you see?”
“‘Understanding Dianitas Empire Culture! ~The Occult Edition~’ or something like that!”
It seemed that among all things, he’d managed to stumble upon the strangest of cultural references first.
Rozelin shrugged and studied the mansion before them.
When she glanced sideways at Garren Wilbred, he stroked his chin lightly with an expression that gave away nothing of his thoughts.
“Irbon.”
“Yes, Master.”
The High Priest in pure white robes, dripping with golden Ornaments, answered with a bright smile.
“Do you sense anything strange from the mansion?”
“If by strange feeling you mean the presence of Monsters, I sense nothing at all.”
“Then…….”
Rozelin started to speak, then stopped, her attention suddenly snapping to the side at a faint tingling sensation in her palm.
“……Arma?”
“Yes.”
Rozelin glanced down at the hand clasped in his, then raised her eyes to look at Arma again.
“Rozelin, I know it’s childish, but…… would you mind not looking at other men? Or perhaps we could conduct this conversation through me…….”
Surely this is asking too much……?
His voice drooped with the corners of his eyes as he spoke, and Rozelin frowned and nodded.
“Yes, there’s no real need to engage in such inefficient conduct…….”
At Rozelin’s words, Arma hesitated for a moment, then offered an awkward laugh and slowly nodded.
“I suppose not……?”
Arma brushed back his hair as he answered.
“Heh…….”
Garren Wilbred let out a low chuckle.
“Since we came here to exterminate Monsters, I don’t think it’s necessary to go inside. What do you all think?”
The High Priest Irbon posed the question.
Given the burden of responsibility he carried—and the courtier’s safety weighed upon him—he had no desire to gamble on the unknown.
Even if Rozelin had come merely to observe, the ultimate responsibility for the mission fell to Irbon, who had been designated its leader.
‘Nothing feels particularly wrong, but there’s something unsettling about it.’
The High Priest trusted his instincts.
The fact that he felt an aversion despite sensing nothing substantial suggested it would be wise to avoid this mansion.
“Once the extermination is complete, I shall report to His Majesty, and we can organize a separate investigation team at that time…….”
“Let’s play~!”
That was when it happened.
With an innocent voice, a section of the thorn-vine fence swung open like a door, creaking with a prolonged whine.
Whiiiiing.
A desolate wind swept between them.
The air shifted.
Darkness fell abruptly across everything, and Black Mist began to coil around them.
Grrrrr—.
The sound of beasts came not long after.
Rozelin drew a slow, measured breath.
Arma pulled Rozelin toward him and sheltered her behind his body, his grip on her hand tightening. Rozelin’s eyes widened slightly.
“Big sister, let’s play!”
“Play with us, play!”
“First, let’s play the Maze!”
“You have to come all the way where we are, sister!”
Rozelin turned slowly to face behind her.
From within the invisible Black Mist came a low, rumbling growl—thump-thump-thump—and the sound of something drooling.
The stench of beast filled the air from all directions. Rozelin closed her eyes slowly, then opened them.
“……Monsters.”
The High Priest murmured softly.
“Where did these come from…….”
His voice carried a note of bewilderment.
Irbon was all the more flustered, since he hadn’t sensed them until now—and he had never failed to detect a monster’s presence before.
“I’ll perform a Purification.”
The moment the High Priest clicked his tongue and clasped his hands together—
“Hey, no cheating!”
“Rare and extraordinary abilities are forbidden here!”
Before the sentence had finished, a Clown Doll materialized in the empty air.
“Warning, warning!”
Beep-beep!
The grotesque Clown Doll shrieked, and the pristine white light blooming from the High Priest’s hands vanished in an instant.
“……What?”
He closed his eyes again and brought his hands together, but no light gathered.
Rozelin turned her body to look at the wide-open gate.
Years ago, when she had been living as a fugitive, Rozelin had come to this forest once.
After Arma died—or rather, after she learned that Arma had died and a bounty was placed on her head—she had fled here while running for her life.
It was called the Forest of Monsters, and it allowed no one’s approach.
Originally, Famine had begun with the monsters’ rampage, and as the miasma of the Forest of Monsters spread to the surrounding villages, it became a phenomenon both strange and terrible.
The Famine dragged on for quite a long time.
The Dianitas Empire faced the worst crisis imaginable, fighting both the Famine and waging war against Kaluta.
Of course, it seemed the current Emperor’s power was beyond imagination.
‘If Sansar’s words are true, then the Emperor defeated a direct incarnation of the Divine Being…….’
And so the Emperor was not an opponent to be taken lightly.
And the culprit caught for causing this Famine and the monsters’ attacks was a child.
Beep!
“Warning!”
Beep-beep!
“Warning!”
Beep-beep-beep!
“Warning!”
The priests shuffled backward hesitantly.
Arma, Garren Wilbred, and Batar drew their swords from their sheaths.
“……I cannot use the Abyss. Not any of it.”
The High Priest muttered quietly, then quickly hid behind Rozelin.
“……What are you doing?”
The High Priest laughed broadly, jingling the ornaments at his waist.
“Master, if I can’t use the Abyss, all I have is this fragile body.”
He said it with pride.
Rozelin looked at the High Priest with an expression of pity.
Even as he dealt with the monsters that rushed at him, drooling, Arma never let go of Rozelin’s hand.
‘……But I let go before.’
Rozelin was seized by a strange feeling and blinked slowly.
No, that wasn’t quite right.
In a distant future, in another world, Arma had hidden her behind him, released her hand, and stood guard in front of her.
When he cut down the monsters, they turned to Black Mist and vanished, and from within that mist, new monsters were born again.
The ground was rotting away.
“They seem to want us to go inside. What if we did, Arma?”
“……It’s too dangerous. Absolutely not.”
“But there’s no way to resolve this if we stay here.”
“It doesn’t matter. Even if I have to go in alone, Rozelin must escape.”
Rozelin stared fixedly at the back of Arma’s head.
Back then too, all she had seen was the back of his head and his broad shoulders.
“I’m not leaving.”
Rozelin had something she needed to do.
“……Rozelin?”
“I’m not leaving you behind.”
“Rozelin, don’t be stubborn…….”
“I’m done running away alone.”
Rozelin spoke with quiet resolve.
As Arma hesitated, she glanced to the side and found Garren Wilbred watching her.
He shrugged, sheathed his sword, and let out a soft laugh.
“I’ve grown tired of fleeing. There’s no need to go anywhere.”
Rozelin turned her head and addressed the others.
“If you won’t follow, I’ll go with the Marquis. The rest of you can stay here if you wish.”
Rozelin reached out and tugged at Garren Wilbred’s sleeve.
Arma’s eyes widened. He brushed away her hand that held Garren’s sleeve and pulled her toward himself instead.
“Rozelin, when you say something like that, you should ask your lover to come with you — not another man.”
“But that’s more efficient…….”
“This is what I’m talking about, understand?”
Speaking firmly with his face inches from hers, Arma watched as Rozelin found herself nodding almost without thinking.
Satisfied with her response, Arma took her hand and led her into the Maze.
At the same moment, the entrance they had passed through was consumed by thorned vines and vanished.

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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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