The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 153

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

Part 2, Episode 23
“That’s honestly annoying. Is there any way to counter it?”
“A high-ranking clergyman of the High Priest’s caliber whom we met before, a demon comparable to Amon or someone with the ability to resist his power. And darkness, finally—perhaps something like the master of the demons themselves.”
Garren Wilbred spoke matter-of-factly.
The bar was set so impossibly high that the words died in her throat.
“That’s difficult.”
“Still, he’s lived for thousands of years.”
“……I see. But I don’t understand why the Bynac Cult keeps getting tangled up with me.”
Rozelin muttered quietly.
She understood that her opponent collected extraordinarily rare things.
But to speak honestly, was there something about Rozelin that set her apart from everyone else?
Even evaluating her objectively after listening to Garren Wilbred’s explanation, she was not the sort of person a demon who had lived thousands of years would covet.
“The Abyss that dwells within you…….”
Garren Wilbred’s gaze shifted downward as he looked at Rozelin.
“I have seen it once, a very long time ago.”
“……What are you talking about?”
“That Abyss sometimes reversed time, sometimes coveted it, sometimes even connected the time of another—and could peer into that other’s timeline.”
Garren Wilbred intoned those words, then reached out a broad hand to ruffle Rozelin’s hair.
“……What on earth are you saying?”
“And so in those ancient days, all living things honored it by naming that Abyss after the one who held it.”
“Named it what?”
“That……is something for you to discover.”
Garren Wilbred smiled with impish amusement, pressing down firmly on the crown of Rozelin’s head.
Rozelin’s face contorted in annoyance.
“Hey, you damned father. Get your hand off my head.”
“It’s your homework. Try to figure it out.”
Garren Wilbred burst into loud laughter, and Rozelin gazed up at him with a puzzled expression.
It was the first time she had seen him laugh like that.
“Now that I think about it, he was quite willful himself, much like you.”
Rozelin scratched the back of her head and furrowed her brow.
“So why am I being hunted, then?”
“Didn’t I say it was homework? Once you solve my task, the answer to your question will emerge as well.”
Rozelin sighed.
With mountains of work already piling up, she had no idea what to do with a man who kept adding more tasks to her plate.
“It seems I have no luck with parents, no matter how I look at it.”
One was dark in one way, the other dark in a different way entirely.
‘They’re both gloomy.’
“Fine, but damn it, father.”
“Yes?”
“Could you lend me some money?”
“Suddenly?”
“Since I’m in the capital now, it’s time I started working toward independence. I think I need to make some investments or start a business if I’m going to support myself.”
At Rozelin’s words, Garren Wilbred’s expression shifted subtly, as though he had heard something quite peculiar.
“Independence?”
“I can’t keep leeching off you forever. Of course, I’m not asking you to lend it to me for free.”
Rozelin spoke matter-of-factly.
“Once you lend it to me, I’ll accrue the interest and begin repaying you once the business starts generating profit…….”
“Aren’t you my daughter?”
“So?”
“What do you mean, independence? You’re ten years old.”
Rozelin blinked.
“If this charade has gone this far, isn’t that enough? How much longer are you planning to keep up this game?”
Hadn’t she been doing this for over a year already?
With Amon and who knows what else appearing, and the Bynac Cult being a headache besides, there were far too many urgent matters to handle.
“……A game?”
“You and I both know everything there is to know. Is there really any need to keep up the act…….”
Garren Wilbred smiled silently.
“I thought it was a fairly serious contract, but it seems you’ve been treating it as a game. Was that what you meant by play?”
Garren Wilbred murmured that it certainly felt strange, then withdrew the hand that had been stroking her hair.
“I suppose I could provide you with an allowance.”
“But I was trying to make a deal…….”
“I don’t do business with those who haven’t yet had their Coming-of-Age Ceremony. Children save their allowance and earn their independence, don’t they?”
He spoke with an expression that seemed deeply offended, then turned sharply on his heel and left.
“……?”
Too bewildered to do anything but blink, she heard the door slam shut with a bang.
And four days later, having finally absorbed all the Seven-Colored Stone, Lilly Bellion opened her eyes.
* * *
“Good morning.”
“Ah…… Yes. A fine morning. So…… Rozelin?”
“Yes. I was wondering if it would be all right to visit the Bellion Family Estate today?”
A month had passed since Lilly Bellion opened her eyes.
During that time, she had struggled to adapt to a changed world and learned the details of her situation.
Of course, no one had explained the circumstances to her directly…….
Garren Wilbred had conveyed it to Selena, and Selena had relayed it to her with careful language.
It was an unexpected kindness, coming so rarely.
Garren Wilbred seemed offended by the business about allowances and independence, for he sent fifty thousand Oran each morning—he called it her daily allowance.
When they dined together, he gave it to her in person; when he was busy, he sent it through a maid.
Fifty thousand Oran.
Roughly what a commoner engaged in ordinary labor would earn in a day’s work.
Which was to say it wasn’t much money at all. Saving it to start a business or achieve independence would be impossible, naturally.
Rozelin, who had initially thought it petulant, found herself wanting to grab him by the collar and throttle him after a month of this.
In any case, over the past month she had undergone rehabilitation.
The yellow Seven-Colored Stone had done its work well; fortunately, despite years of bedridden existence, she had no difficulty moving about. Even her limping leg had healed.
Food was another matter entirely.
She had eaten only thin rice gruel bit by bit to acclimate her stomach, and only four days ago had she finally begun eating regular meals in modest amounts.
‘Once Lilly Bellion returns, the matter with that scoundrel will resolve itself too.’
The scoundrel.
That is—Ian Bellion, the younger son of the Bellion Family, had grown twisted and entered Marlux precisely because of his guilt toward Lilly Bellion.
‘……The problem is that Marlux is now in the grip of the Bynac Cult.’
She harbored a small hope that they hadn’t yet reached in too deeply.
‘I miss Father.’
Suddenly thinking of the Bellion Family Estate, Rozelin found herself remembering her own father, and she exhaled a sigh.
Truth be told, she loved this world’s father, and she’d loved that world’s father too.
But probably she could never be truly honest with this world’s father.
Because in this world, ‘Rozelin Bellion’ already existed in another body.
It was certainly lonely to lose someone to grumble with, someone to ask for embraces and tease for being gloomy.
More than anything, she hadn’t expected it would take so long to make contact with the Bellion Family Estate.
Yet the state of the Wilbred Marquessate had been dire indeed.
It was nothing short of miraculous that Garren had managed to revive it in a single year and set it back on a proper course—she couldn’t bear to complain about the delay.
“Haah…….”
At the same time, Lilly Bellion also exhaled a sigh.
“Is something troubling you?”
“It’s been years, they say, and I’m worried.”
“Ah, what aspect concerns you?”
Rozelin asked with considerable gravity, for she felt a measure of responsibility toward her aunt.
Round-faced and speaking in that dry voice with a somewhat weathered expression, Lilly Bellion smiled faintly at her.
At first she’d wondered what sort of child this was, but over the past month she’d come to understand that this dryness was the girl’s natural disposition.
And that she was making an effort, moreover—speaking to her like this represented a maximum exertion of her capabilities.
After all, it was plainly obvious that she showed no interest in anyone else.
“What if she’s forgotten me…?”
“Unless she’s taken ill, wouldn’t a mother remember her own child?”
“Yes, but I’ve changed so much…… What if she thinks I’m someone else pretending to be her?”
“Then we can go to the Temple and have them do a blood test. With objective evidence on hand, what could she possibly object to?”
“Well…… that’s true. But what if she thinks I’m filthy…?”
“If that’s the sort of family, wouldn’t it be better to simply seek independence rather than return? You’ve been wronged—blaming the victim is simply wrong.”
“Yes…… You’re right. Everything you’re saying is correct. I realize I’m simply worrying needlessly….”
As Lilly Bellion spoke in a voice drained of confidence, Rozelin nodded with considerable satisfaction.
“Yes, that’s so.”
She felt quite pleased with herself for having soothed her aunt so well.
No matter how much she thought about it, Rozelin found it hard to believe that she had no social capacity.
She always gave rational advice whenever he asked a question, so why on earth did people say she lacked social skills.

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