The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 167

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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 37
“No, when I got there, no one would talk to me, so Rozelin— I mean, the Lady and I just left.”
I answered as I walked across the room and flopped down onto the bed.
There was still time before dinner, and I wanted to rest.
Besides, the more I thought about it, the more satisfied I felt. I hadn’t raised my voice once, yet they’d all stood there stunned, utterly at a loss for what to do.
“……Wait, what do you mean no one would talk to you? Who would refuse to speak with the young lady? I don’t…”
A flame kindled.
At the sound of fire catching somewhere, I rolled my eyes while lying flat and found the usually gentle maidservant with her ever-pleasant face now flushed and bristling with indignation.
“I mean, I’m not entirely sure if it was toward me or toward Lady Bellion, but…”
“But you said you were going to some Count’s estate today, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know… I don’t… it was some Count Molpho, maybe…”
What was that place called again? The name had some soft, woolly feeling to it.
“Count Molpho’s estate?”
“Ah yes, that was the name.”
“How could they possibly treat the young lady that way?”
“Um… what?”
Rozelin watched as the maidservant bristled with even more fury than she felt, and her cheeks twitched awkwardly.
“This can’t just be left alone, miss.”
“Well… I mean, if Father asks, I do plan to tell him…”
“No, we must spread word far and wide! How could such rudeness happen? Who do you think the young lady is!”
Who am I…?
Rozelin never finished the question.
The maidservant was too excited, practically seething with agitation.
‘Why is she so angry about something that isn’t even her business…?’
Rozelin stared blankly at the maidservant, then jumped when she saw the woman’s gaze drop sharply.
“Just you wait and see, miss. I’ll start by telling my friends who work in other households, and I’ll spread the word right away.”
“Oh, no, that’s not—”
“Please rest for now! I’ll let the other servants know and bring you some light refreshments and a drink straightaway!”
Rozelin’s outstretched hand hung in the air, wavering, then fell still.
“Whine…”
Only then did Rozelin lower her gaze.
A wolf with a forlorn expression sat at her feet, looking up at her quietly.
“Were you bored?”
“Woof!”
“But I can’t take a shedding dog— I mean, wolf— to a tea party.”
At Rozelin’s words, the wolf closed its mouth firmly.
Arma gazed steadily up at Rozelin and leaped onto the bed, collapsing beside her with a thud.
At first, I’d wondered how one could get used to living on four legs, but by now, four legs had become almost comfortable.
When she drew near, Rozelin stroked Arma’s wolf fur slowly.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
At a sound from somewhere, Rozelin paused and withdrew her hand, and the sound stopped too.
When Rozelin began stroking again, the sound returned.
Thump-thump-thump.
She took her hand away.
She stroked again.
Thump-thump-thump.
Rozelin glanced down and saw the wolf’s tail wagging rapidly, her eyes narrowing with amusement.
At a gentle stroke, the tail began thumping fast.
When she slowly withdrew her hand, the tail that had been wagging drooped back down as if it had never stirred at all.
“…What?”
Rozelin watched this for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.
“You really do like me a lot, don’t you?”
They say dogs wag their tails furiously when happy; surely the same went for wolves, being canines too?
Watching the wolf wag its tail, Rozelin laughed.
Arma looked up at her, then slightly opened his mouth and let out a soft whine, gently pressing his cheek against her hand.
“You want me to pet you more?”
“Yelp!”
Stroking the wolf’s fur as it nodded eagerly, Rozelin slowly closed her eyes.
With the soft, warm wolf beside her, sleep came quickly.
Arma, watching over Rozelin, kept his tail still and closed his eyes, careful not to move the hand that had come to rest on his back.
Before long, the room filled with the amber glow of approaching dusk, and only the quiet breathing of two people mingled in the silence.
* * *
As I followed the maidservant who’d come to call me for dinner, I felt gazes boring into me from every direction.
“How dare those fools…….”
“This was the young lady’s first tea party, after all.”
“She must be quite disheartened…….”
“She seems unusually melancholy today, doesn’t she?”
It was just because I’d woken up from a nap.
I glanced sideways at the maidservant at my side.
I could tell, vaguely, that this entire spectacle was her doing—and she seemed rather pleased with herself.
‘Why…….’
Why was she so concerned with other people’s affairs?
‘I’m genuinely fine.’
All this worry from every corner was honestly more of a burden than anything else.
I scratched my cheek and made my way toward the Dining Hall.
The table glittered far more brilliantly and elaborately than usual.
The food was one thing, but the decorations gleamed, and something about it…….
“……Cookies?”
Surely they didn’t just place cookies from the tea party onto the dinner table?
Pondering this, I took my seat.
“Good evening to you.”
“You too, Father.”
I rubbed my eyes lightly and turned to look at Selena.
Her eyes were distinctly red.
“…….”
Suspecting something was amiss, I shot a meaningful glance at Garren Wilbred, and he merely shrugged silently in response.
The shirttail near his shoulder was an unusually dark color.
“How was the tea party?”
Selena asked as if she knew nothing at all, though her expression betrayed that she knew exactly what had happened.
“……Well, I went, but the whole thing seemed beneath my standards. I just left and went shopping with Lady Bellion instead.”
“……I see, so you did.”
“Father, I spent some of your money. I bought clothes.”
“Spend what you like.”
Looking down at my daughter, who only dropped the “damn” from her usual expression when she wanted something, Garren Wilbred chuckled softly and picked up his utensils.
“Amusing, though. When there’s nothing to provoke, they go after the girl I’ve publicly claimed as my daughter.”
He glanced darkly at Selena—who had clearly been crying—before elegantly cutting into his steak and bringing it to his mouth.
The smile playing at his lips was deeply unsettling.
* * *
“F-Father! Are you here? There’s something I need to——!”
Viscount Molpho, the heir to the Molpho Estate, burst through the office door in a flurry, having supposedly just returned from a business engagement.
He had come to see his father, Count Molpho.
“What’s all this commotion? My head’s killing me as it is, and I’ve no time for your chatter.”
“Well, sir, I’ve just returned from a business partner to discuss a contract renewal, but…….”
“Out with it. A headache-inducing matter came up this morning, and I haven’t time to trifle with you.”
At his father’s rebuke, Viscount Molpho faltered and nodded.
“The matter is……we were refused.”
“……What?”
At this blunt announcement, Count Molpho’s face went rigid.
The Molpho Estate conducted no internal trade within the empire; rather, it was a typical merchant house that focused heavily on import and export with foreign nations.
Naturally, since contracts were usually drawn up on an annual basis, securing materials was of paramount importance.
The minerals yielded from the mines were limited, as was their quality, making each shipment delivery essential to their operations.
The Molpho Estate was particularly renowned for processing and exporting ores and minerals, along with intricately crafted gemstone ornaments.
They took raw stones that were little better than worthless rock, refined and processed them, and turned them into profit margins ranging from mere multiples to dozens of times their original value.
Because few places possessed such refined craftsmanship, the Molpho Estate’s products enjoyed considerable popularity abroad.
Across the seas, anything bearing the Molpho Estate’s mark was considered premium goods.
Of course, this business was theirs alone to conduct.
There were certainly places with superior craftsmanship, but few possessed the foreign connections to match.
He had heard that his great-grandfather’s grandmother hailed from a foreign land, and she had been instrumental in establishing their initial trade relationships.
Regardless, that wasn’t the pressing issue—even for just the coming month and the month after that, they had substantial inventory to ship.
And beyond that, the advance payments received and goods locked in by reservation alone were too numerous to count on a single hand.
“What do you mean you won’t renew the contract? I told you to accommodate a reasonable increase in terms.”
“Well, that is…….”
At Count Molpho’s sharp tone, Viscount Molpho’s shoulders stiffened before he let out a quiet sigh.
“I did speak with them. I said if you’d specify the terms you wanted, we could work something out.”
“And?”
“And they simply refuse.”
“What do you mean they refuse? What’s their reason?”

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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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