The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 169

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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 39
“Well, I suppose that was inevitable.”
He nodded as though he’d already foreseen it.
“If there’s anything my household has done to cause you displeasure, I offer my sincerest apologies.”
“Hmm.”
“I’ll make every effort to ensure such incidents don’t occur again, so I hope you might reconsider the contract renewal?”
Garren Wilbred tilted his teacup and let his gaze drift slowly toward the Molpo Count.
“The trouble is, I’m not actually the one who should be receiving an apology.”
“I beg your pardon……? Oh, you mean my son, or perhaps another member of my staff caused you offense?”
“No, that’s not it either.”
Then what was it?
The Molpo Count felt words rising to his throat, forced them down, and pressed the heel of his hand roughly against his lips to keep his strained smile from cracking.
“I see. I suppose from your perspective it might seem like nothing much.”
He nodded lightly, as if he understood.
“But my mood was soured. If that’s the problem, then that is the problem.”
“I…….”
“Appearing a month later and apologizing for something I don’t even know the nature of — I’m at a loss as to how I should receive it.”
“A month……?”
The Molpo Count sifted slowly through his thoughts.
A month ago—that was precisely when two exchanges had notified him of contract terminations.
The Empire had several Mineral Exchanges, but all the finest and highest-quality ores were flowing exclusively through Jen and Lion.
The Molpo household’s primary income derived from ore processing.
If he didn’t wish to go bankrupt, he had no choice but to reestablish trade with at least one of them.
“A month ago…….”
The Molpo Count’s eyes widened sharply.
There had been an incident around that time.
He’d thought nothing of it, and his mind had been too occupied with putting out fires across his various affairs to dwell on it for long.
His sulking daughter had been placated with the purchase of a single dress, after all.
Fortunately, it seemed his wife and son had soothed her well enough, so he himself had had nothing to worry about.
“Surely not…….”
The Molpo Count’s wavering gaze settled on Garren Wilbred.
Garren Wilbred smiled silently, but it was that very smile that confirmed the Molpo Count’s suspicion.
“I heard that your household’s servants were insufficient in number, and that your daughter unfortunately suffered an oversight as a result.”
“Ah, the servants were insufficient…….”
Garren Wilbred’s words trailed off slowly.
…….
“Was it truly unavoidable, then?”
Garren Wilbred asked with a smile on his face.
The Molpo Count began to nod in agreement, then hesitated.
His lips curved upward in a smooth smile, his voice was gentle as silk, his tone perfectly calm—he showed no sign of anger whatsoever.
And yet something about it felt deeply unsettling.
“……It appears the young child, being rather mischievous, had instructed a servant to perform the act on her behalf…….”
“Hmm…….”
The Molpo Count stepped back and spoke honestly.
It was almost instinctual.
The instinct of a merchant who had survived in high society for years while conducting business—honed to a razor’s edge.
Once the Molpo Count had given his answer, the heavy atmosphere that had hung between them lightened somewhat.
At least that was how he perceived it, and so the Count exhaled quietly.
“If you’ve recognized your mistake, then you know what must be done.”
“I shall offer a formal apology.”
“There’s nothing for you to apologize to me for. And I don’t believe an apology from you is what’s needed at all.”
At Garren Wilbred’s words, the Molpo Count’s body stiffened slightly.
Could it be…….
“……Are you suggesting my daughter should apologize instead?”
“The person who committed the wrong should be the one to apologize. What use is it if you do?”
The Molpo Count recalled his daughter and his expression darkened.
He pressed his temples, thinking of the child who had been raised far too gently and had consequently become far too willful.
He could say with certainty that the moment he relayed this message, his entire household would be thrown into chaos.
‘Surely the Wilbred Marquess wouldn’t involve himself in mere children’s quarrels…….’
Was it for the same reason that the Bellion Ducal Family had done so as well?
The thought of tomorrow’s visit to the Bellion Ducal Estate suddenly felt impossibly distant.
“I don’t have many demands, Count Molpo.”
Garren Wilbred set down his teacup with a soft tap as he spoke.
“Everyone makes mistakes. I acknowledge that much.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Moreover, she’s just a child in her formative years, easily swayed by those around her.”
He spoke with more generosity than expected, yet Count Molpo remained tense.
He knew better than anyone that one must hear a person out to the very end.
“In truth, had you simply informed the child of her mistake and given her a proper chance to correct it when you first became aware of it, I wouldn’t need to go to such trouble. I’ve waited several days already, you see.”
…….
Count Molpo fell silent, the observation cutting off his words entirely.
“If the guilty party simply acknowledges the fault and makes proper amends when given the opportunity, there’s no need for all this unnecessary complication.”
“That is……”
Garren Wilbred opened his mouth lightly.
“So, if the one at fault apologizes sincerely and the offended party accepts, we’ll consider the matter closed.”
In truth, it would be simple enough to block the export routes and reduce them to ruin if he so chose.
Both the Marquessate and the Ducal Family were equally incensed, after all.
They wouldn’t collapse immediately, certainly, but business wouldn’t thrive as it did now, and their fortunes would gradually decline.
Then no one would dare trouble them again.
Yet Garren Wilbred knew well enough that such a method of education was hardly ideal.
He had no intention of isolating Rozelin.
The reason Garren Wilbred had spent nearly a month merely tightening the screws was that Count Molpo was a man of principle—someone worth reasoning with.
Had he been otherwise, there would have been no opportunity; the matter would have been crushed the moment it surfaced.
He found wasting time on worthless things more tedious than anything else.
He possessed some aristocratic superiority, perhaps, but he was not one to dismiss or ignore the efforts of those who labored beneath him.
That was precisely why.
That was the reason he had granted a month’s time.
Of course, had this month stretched further, the export routes would have begun to close.
“In fact, had you not spoken honestly just now, the contract would have been annulled without further discussion…….”
Garren Wilbred withdrew a fountain pen from the small pocket inside his breast pocket and turned it lightly between his fingers as he drew out his words.
“Since you spoke truthfully, I’m giving you this chance.”
“Yes…….”
“As for raising one’s children, it’s a struggle for us all, so there’s no need to say more…….”
At those words, Count Molpo’s face flushed slightly.
He simply had no counterargument to someone who spoke only what was right and true.
What would he have done in Garren Wilbred’s position?
Even if his opponent had knelt and begged, he would not have forgone his vengeance.
Money and power were like that.
The more one possessed, the more worthless everything else became.
“I understand. Thank you for granting me this opportunity.”
At the count’s words, Garren Wilbred rose from his seat.
After exchanging light courtesies, Count Molpo stepped outside and stopped short at the sight of a child standing before the Reception Room.
‘Is this the one who tore up the invitation card?’
The child looked up at Count Molpo with steady eyes, then bowed slightly and moved to slip past him into the Reception Room.
The count paused and opened his mouth.
“I hear your daughter played quite a mischievous trick. My apologies.”
“It’s all right. I wasn’t going to attend anyway.”
“Ah…… is that so?”
“Still, thank you for your words. Please, go in safely.”
The child spoke matter-of-factly, then slipped into the Reception Room.
Garren Wilbred wore a smile constantly, but his daughter’s expression was remarkably blank.
‘……The Bellion Ducal Estate is in for trouble.’
Count Molpo, who knew the duke’s temperament well, pressed his hand to his chest as a wave of anxiety washed over him, then departed the Marquessate.
The Bellion Ducal Estate he visited the following day was a living hell.
It was then he first felt, with every fiber of his being, the love of Devon Bellion’s granddaughter.
At the same time, he found himself wondering.
Who in the world had started the rumor that Rozelin Bellion was an illegitimate child?

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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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