The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 147

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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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Part 2, Episode 17
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Time passed quickly.
Rozelin finally entered the capital alongside Garren Wilbred, who had finished settling his domain.
The first thing Garren Wilbred did after inheriting the Marquess’s seat was expel the Binac Cult from the Wilbred Marquessate.
Of course, he hadn’t threatened them with mercenaries or anything so crude.
He simply levied back taxes—quite steeply—in place of the previous marquess’s lax administration.
When he made it clear the taxes would continue, the cult eventually withdrew slowly from the Wilbred Marquessate.
In any case, he’d done exactly as he promised: restored a domain on the brink of ruin to nearly its former state in just a single year.
Throughout it all, Rozelin watched the previous marquess approach with endless requests, laughing vacantly while Garren obliged them, and she found herself pitying him.
He was simply…… pitiful.
Rather, quite pitiful.
Every time the former marquess caused trouble, Garren sighed and rushed to clean up the mess, until eventually he packed both him and his mother off to the capital for an extended rest, even arranging a carriage for them.
What surprised her was how surprisingly well they got along.
There were moments when Garren Wilbred’s regard for his relatives seemed genuinely familial.
Still, after that, Garren Wilbred set about restoring the domain in earnest.
He reformed the tax structure, established facilities for street orphans, launched several enterprises within the domain, and created internal employment.
Perhaps he excelled because he’d done it before, but there was no denying he was a capable man.
The domain, developed in just a year, began to see a gradual increase in visitors.
That wasn’t all.
The ventures he’d started—well, partly because she knew the future—were already running smoothly.
The manor transformed entirely to reflect his tastes, as if it had always been that way.
Garren personally selected every servant in the manor and even recruited someone of good character to oversee it in his absence.
Considering what he’d accomplished in just a year, it was genuinely astonishing.
In the midst of all this, Rozelin gathered information and conceived her own ventures.
The truth was, at her age, the odds of managing a business properly were almost nonexistent without a capable collaborator.
‘I can’t live off Garren’s charity forever.’
She exhaled slowly, gazing out the carriage window at the capital sprawling before them.
‘I’d better do my debutante first.’
After all, getting close to the young Rozelin in this world was the immediate priority.
To move freely through the Grand Duke’s residence without permission, she needed to work quickly.
“Rose.”
“Hmm?”
“You’ll hurt yourself if you stick your head out the window like that.”
“I’m hardly a child.”
“You are a child.”
Rozelin’s face twisted at Garren Wilbred’s remark.
Did he deliberately say such obvious things knowing her mind wasn’t that of a child, simply to get under her skin?
“Garren’s right. You mustn’t lean so close. Come here, dear.”
“……Yes.”
While Rozelin was quick to sass Garren, she couldn’t bring herself to do the same to the Marquess’s lady, and so she quietly relented.
In just a year, the two had become practically engaged in all but name, and had even held a formal Betrothal Ceremony not long ago.
Of course, half a year before that, Rozelin had been officially entered into Garren Wilbred’s Household Registry.
She was now, in reality and in fact, the Marquess’s daughter of the Wilbred Family.
In other words, the lady beside her was to become Rozelin’s…… future mother.
“You’re such a good child, Rose.”
“Th—thank you.”
She still hadn’t grown accustomed to Selena, who offered lavish praise simply for sitting properly in a chair.
“Rose.”
“Yes?”
“Once we arrive at the manor, would you like to go to a boutique tomorrow to have a Dress made?”
Selena smiled gently, her fingers soft against Rozelin’s small head as she spoke.
“A Dress……?”
“Yes, it’s a bit early yet, but you will be making your debutante, after all. And I expect you’ll receive quite a few invitations to tea parties and such, so there’s no harm in preparing ahead of time.”
“Yes……”
A debutante couldn’t be held before twelve years old, no matter how early one wished.
Which meant the still-young Rozelin needed to begin preparing years ahead of schedule.
“Would you like to make some friends?”
“A little……?”
Rozelin was quick to lay the groundwork.
So that no matter who I end up with, I could always call them a friend and move on.
‘Come to think of it, maybe Arma turned out all right in this world.’
Or did he suffer terribly here as well?
Either way, there was nothing I could do about it now.
‘I’ll find out when I make my debut as a Debutante.’
About Arma’s childhood, that is.
Back then, I’d never looked him in the eye properly, so my memories were hazy.
Catching myself drifting toward thoughts of Arma, I shook my head sharply.
‘In any case, now that I’m in the capital, I can finally start doing something about it.’
The most urgent matter was my aunt’s situation.
First, I had to take down Marlux.
‘It shouldn’t be much of an organization yet.’
Short on funds, short on talent, they’d still be in that cautious phase of hand-picking their members.
Operating in the shadows like that, Marlux would be a name known only to those in the know.
“So, damn it all, Father.”
“Hmm?”
“You… that is, damn it all, you can handle a sword, can’t you?”
“Well enough, like most.”
After swinging a blade for thousands of years, he should be able to crush any sword master—and yet he talks about doing things “like most.” I wanted to ask what he meant by that standard.
“Teach me Swordsmanship.”
At my words, Garren Wilbred frowned in apparent surprise.
“What was that, Rose?”
“I want to learn how to use a sword.”
Rozelin’s frame was smaller than others her age, but she possessed surprising strength.
Once I realized I could take down a band of bandits single-handedly, my confidence had only grown.
“You want to learn the sword…?”
“I’m strong.”
When I insisted, he fell silent for a moment. He seemed to acknowledge that point at least.
Thank heavens he had some conscience.
“A sword is not a toy to be handled lightly. I don’t want to see my daughter involved in something like that.”
“But if I get abducted on the road somewhere and taken down by a blade, I won’t even be able to close my eyes knowing I could’ve prevented it.”
“I’ll assign you guards.”
“Guards can be overwhelmed too.”
……
Garren Wilbred glared at Rozelin, who wouldn’t give an inch, with narrowed eyes before exhaling deeply.
Then Selena, the future Marchioness-to-be who’d been watching carefully, placed her hand on the back of Garren Wilbred’s hand and squeezed gently.
“Garren, I think it’s not such a bad idea to let the child learn if that’s what she wants.”
“I see. Very well, we’ll do that. You’re right.”
……?
He changed his tune so quickly it seemed he hadn’t even thought before answering.
……
While Rozelin’s eyes narrowed, Garren Wilbred glanced at his daughter.
“I’ll find you an instructor. But do be careful not to overexert yourself, yes? I know my daughter is quite sturdy, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get hurt. Do you understand?”
I didn’t understand the situation at all, but I understood well enough that he was essentially saying ‘Go ahead and learn Swordsmanship.’
“Thanks, damn it all, Father!”
“Can’t you drop the ‘damn it all’ bit?”
At Garren’s words, Rozelin broke into a bright, delighted smile.
After a year of proper nutrition, the child had grown fuller and more luminous, her cheeks plump and rosy, and now she opened her mouth.
“Nope.”
It was a rather dry and cold answer, at odds with her round features.
“My only daughter has no warmth to her at all.”
“Call it my version of affection?”
“Rose, if you’re going to lie, at least do something about those eyes of yours.”
The child gave an indifferent shrug.
My heart hammered.
“For now… I need to handle the most urgent matter first. That means I have to find Lilly Bellion.”
I murmured in such a small, scattered voice that it almost didn’t carry, but Garren Wilbred heard every word.
“You’ll help me, won’t you? Father?”
“So you only call me Father when you need something.”
“Huh?”
Garren Wilbred shrugged with an air of practiced nonchalance.
The carriage quickened its pace toward the capital.

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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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