The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 165

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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 35
“Good morning, Rose.”
“Good morning to you too. ……And to you as well, Selena.”
I bowed politely and padded over to the dining table, taking my seat.
“Good morning, Rose. Did you sleep well?”
As Rozelin settled herself with practiced ease, Selena gazed at her approvingly and spoke, gently stroking her cheek with a soft hand.
“No dreams, but I slept soundly.”
“That’s wonderful—I’m so glad you got proper rest. I heard you’ve been invited to a tea party today. Is that right?”
At Selena’s words, Rozelin hesitated before nodding slowly.
It was a tea party hosted by the Earl’s Daughter from the Imperial Capital.
Truth be told, Rozelin hadn’t wanted to go, but since her younger self had already accepted the invitation, she’d decided to attend.
‘Come to think of it, I have no fond memories of tea parties.’
Even before a formal debutante presentation, children of noble families would socialize with one another across the various prominent houses.
So it wasn’t uncommon for them to already know each other before their debut, and families would sometimes invite young ladies and young lords of similar age to smaller gatherings or tea parties to strengthen ties between houses.
Usually the mother would see to such arrangements……
‘But I never got to experience that.’
My body had been too weak back then.
In any case, today was the day I’d been invited to the Earl’s Daughter’s tea party.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’m glad. I actually have something I wanted to give you.”
“A gift?”
“Yes, a gift.”
Selena rubbed Rozelin’s cheek softly with her thumb and whispered with an affectionate smile.
Rozelin’s expression filled with bewilderment.
“After breakfast, go to your room and take a look. I’ve been feeling terrible about never giving you anything, and now I finally had the chance. I’m so glad I ordered it in advance.”
Rozelin’s eyes widened in surprise at Selena’s words, and she nodded somewhat sheepishly.
“Thank you so much.”
“Yes, and wear it beautifully—come show me when you do.”
Rozelin bobbed her head in agreement.
Selena was so straightforward that it sometimes made Rozelin feel a little shy.
Because Rozelin struggled to express herself clearly, Selena seemed to possess twice as much honesty to compensate.
Perhaps that was why Rozelin and Selena had never had any conflict.
Whenever Rozelin couldn’t find the words, Selena would sense it with uncanny perception and either speak for her or wait patiently until she could manage it herself.
There was no need to raise one’s voice, and Selena never had to resort to cold words in an attempt to advise anyone.
Selena was someone who understood how to show consideration for others.
In some ways, she could speak with far greater sincerity than Garren Wilbred.
‘……What a shame.’
Rozelin looked at Garren Wilbred with a serious expression, then glanced sideways at Selena.
“Selena.”
“Yes?”
“……There’s a banquet in the Imperial Capital coming up soon. Would you be willing to go with me?”
At Garren Wilbred’s question, Selena stiffened.
“Me?”
“……Well, who else would I ask?”
“We may be engaged, but we’re not married. Is there really a need for me to attend such a banquet?”
Rozelin silently picked up her fork and knife as the battle between her adoptive parents was about to begin anew.
Ever since Garren Wilbred had overheard Selena in conversation, their relationship had shifted into something subtly frigid.
More precisely, it seemed as though Selena was deliberately withholding her affection.
To keep from being hurt.
Rozelin understood that pain and remained silent, while Garren Wilbred likewise knew why she was acting this way and found himself unable to speak.
And yet he couldn’t let her go either—which made her think he must be a man of terribly narrow heart.
‘Would a demon ever wish for another’s happiness?’
I don’t know.
Garren Wilbred was far too human to be called a true demon.
Yet on the other hand, to call him entirely human would ignore how remarkably cold and callous he could be in certain respects, so it was impossible to truly understand what he was.
“It’s not strictly necessary, I suppose…… but I’d rather not go alone, so I was hoping you would accompany me.”
Garren Wilbred spoke carefully, his eyes downcast.
Remarkably, he was accommodating himself entirely to Selena’s distant demeanor.
Though surely a man of his intelligence understood the reason for her coldness.
“……If you need me to, then I should go.”
And come to think of it, Selena was far too weak when it came to Garren Wilbred.
Especially against his face and that deliberately tender voice of his.
Rozelin watched them with flatfish eyes and stabbed her salad repeatedly, shoving each forkful into her mouth.
“Ah, what a relief. I’m truly grateful, Selena.”
“…I simply don’t want unnecessary rumors circulating, that’s all.”
At Selena’s words, her cheeks flushed, Rozelin this time stabbed at the meat and chewed it with deliberate force.
That was it.
At this point, the affectionate display that unfolded every morning had begun to grate on Rozelin’s nerves considerably.
‘I wonder who doesn’t have an engagement prospect.’
She hastily cleared her plate and jumped down from the table.
“Rose?”
“I’ve finished eating, so I’ll take my leave. Mother and Father, do encourage yourselves for my sister’s sake.”
At Rozelin’s words, Garren Wilbred hesitated and Selena stiffened visibly.
“That’s hardly….”
“You don’t want to attend the banquet with me, do you?”
“No, I want to go. There’s nothing wrong with it. You’re quite right about everything.”
Rozelin heard Garren’s voice and thought bitterly to herself as she left the dining hall.
* * *
“Hello, Rozelin.”
“…Oh, yes. Hello. Ro, Rose….”
The young me was at a loss, unfamiliar with her first invitation to a tea party.
In truth, one usually learned such things at one’s mother’s side, but I had no mother.
So naturally, the young me had no mother either.
The creeping tone of voice and hunched shoulders, the stiff expression—they left no choice but to acknowledge her distress.
‘Father had no sensitivity in matters like this whatsoever.’
So it was only natural that instead of thinking to modulate my abilities, I’d kept my distance for decades.
“Your invitation card?”
“Here….”
“When someone arrives with an invitation, servants usually gather to guide them. Normally they come to wait on you if you stay put, but….”
Rozelin’s eyes narrowed.
They weren’t coming?
If their eyes worked at all, they ought to see a person standing here.
What’s more, servants were already attaching themselves one by one to children who’d arrived later than we had.
In this case, there were two possibilities.
Either she’d been invited to be snubbed, or I had.
Ah, there was one more.
The possibility that we’d both been invited for that purpose.
In truth, the Ducal House, for all the power it wielded, had a rather poor reputation among its peers.
As everyone knew, Grandfather’s origins were what they were, and his temperament was as questionable; Father and Uncle, who’d grown up under his favoritism, had personalities that diverged quite sharply from his.
And I myself had once refused every single one of these tea parties.
‘Under ordinary circumstances, I would have refused this tea party as well….’
So why hadn’t I refused?
Had I begun to think, somewhat gradually, that I ought to do something before my debut as a debutante?
‘That would be just like me.’
And besides, the relationship between Rozelin and Father was improving little by little, so I’d found a faint courage to take a step forward.
Of course, whereas I would have said nothing at all before, I’d only reached the point of speaking a word or two these days.
‘Or perhaps I was told something by someone.’
Honestly, I want to believe the former, but logically I think it’s the latter.
I shouldn’t speak for myself, but I’ve always been the type to read people’s moods very keenly.
Now, to avoid being hurt, to keep from feeling anything at all, I’ve forced myself to act indifferent—but as a child, I was always acutely sensitive to atmosphere.
In any case, if it’s that sort of thing, is there really a need to be here?
The old me would have found some way to approach and strike up a conversation to get in.
Though I now realize how foolish that looks.
But Selena had offered advice, and I, grown into an adult, understood it well.
Skipping this one tea party posed no obstacle whatsoever to my later life in the Society Circle.
Especially since this was their mistake as much as mine—if I simply said nothing about it, that would be the end of it.
Though calling it a mistake feels presumptuous.
‘It irritates me to feel like I’m dancing to a child’s tune….’
A full confrontation seemed too stimulating for the young me, so I decided to be honest about it instead.

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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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