The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 182

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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 52
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“You just accepted out of nowhere?”
“Yeah.”
“Just because I looked at you?”
“Yeah.”
“I see.”
“Yeah.”
I rolled my eyes while chewing on a small cut of steak, answering between bites.
‘What am I supposed to do with this atmosphere.’
This is maddening.
The only ones having a conversation are Garren Wilbred and me.
Selena was eating her meal in silence.
Though the portion on her plate had barely diminished.
Of course, I was checking in on her now and then, but…….
“Selena, are you feeling unwell?”
I had no choice but to deploy my “I know nothing” version of a naive child.
“……? No, why?”
She responded to my call with her usual gentle expression.
When I glanced at Garren Wilbred, he too seemed to have fallen silent for some reason.
He finished his meal and rose slowly from his seat.
“I have much to attend to, so take your time and rest.”
“Okay.”
“Selena, see you later.”
“…….”
At Garren Wilbred’s words, Selena quietly closed her mouth.
Everyone left, and only Selena and I remained at the table.
A faint crack appeared in Selena’s expressionless face before it crumbled into exhaustion.
“Selena.”
“Yeah, what is it.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Not really…….”
Unable even to muster a white lie, Selena fell silent again.
“Well, Selena.”
I started tapping my feet.
I mean, Garren Wilbred is the sort of man who’d fall flat on his face in the street and it wouldn’t be strange…….
But still, he feeds her, puts her to bed, and does countless other things for her…….
He even accompanied her to the Debutante…….
And he even took revenge for what happened at the tea party without my knowing, so repaying that debt in some small way wouldn’t be out of place, would it?
“Well, Father really does care about you.”
“…….”
At my words, Selena lifted her head and looked at me.
Whether from a few sleepless nights or not, her eyes were slightly reddened, and her hollow gaze was thick with exhaustion.
I rolled my eyes.
The truth is, I’ve never learned this sort of tenderness, so I don’t know how to express it.
I may no longer speak with the sharpness I once did, but that doesn’t mean I’ve become someone capable of comforting others.
“No, I…… Father…… well. I mean, I know him well, and it really is true that he cares.”
“Rozelin, is it me he cares about, or the me from the Other World?”
What is she talking about.
Hey, Garren Wilbred. What on earth did you do.
“Both…… are Selena.”
“He cares about……?”
“Yes, he does. I didn’t know he was capable of making that kind of expression.”
“……That kind of expression?”
“Oh, you didn’t see it? When the red-haired kidnapper was clinging to Father. The way his feelings were written all over his face?”
At my words, Selena tilted her head in confusion.
Now that I thought about it, laughter threatened to spill out again.
“A misunderstanding, but it wasn’t, and he didn’t know what to do, so he kept making these expressions like he had to say something……?”
“……Really?”
“Yes. And I’d never seen someone tell people so openly to leave in such a crowded place. Truly.”
At my words, Selena’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile.
I rolled my legs gently and tilted my head back.
“Father probably hasn’t experienced any of this before either.”
“Never experienced it?”
“Right. Not loving someone, not caring for them, not even thinking he wanted to hold someone close.”
……
“There are people like that. People whose lives have become so parched that they take those around them for granted. People who only regret it after they’ve let someone go, then keep picking at the wound.”
That was me.
And now, watching him fumble so clumsily, it reminded me of someone.
He’d mocked me for never having tried romance, acting like he’d mastered it himself—when clearly he hadn’t managed it any better.
The more time went on, the more tangled everything became.
“Actually…… I heard something rather shocking from Garren yesterday.”
“Something shocking?”
“Yes. I wondered if you might already know. Since you’re his daughter, he probably would have told you first.”
A secret?
‘A secret about Garren Wilbred……’
He had more than one or two, so I couldn’t exactly guess blindly and ask……
But then again, was there really anything I didn’t know about him? When I thought about it, there probably wasn’t……
“Why does Selena seem so unhappy?”
“After hearing what he told me yesterday, I started wondering whether I’m the kind of person who can handle all this.”
……Mm.
“And I also remembered the memories of myself in the Other World. I realized that my body has been changing every night that I fall asleep.”
Garren Wilbred’s character was thoroughly rotten.
I fell silent for a moment.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to just end things as they are.
I adopted what I hoped was a serious expression, interlacing my fingers and setting my hands on the table, resting my chin on them.
With the short arms and short waist and short neck of a child’s body, my limbs trembled as I stretched them to their absolute limit to maintain the pose.
……
But I was too stubborn to lower my hands now, not when it would look ridiculous to admit pain.
I lifted my head, maintaining as much composure as I could.
“Selena.”
“Yes, Rozelin?”
I hesitated at the tenderness in her voice, then opened my mouth.
“I think you might not do so badly if you just abandoned Father and found someone new.”
“……What?”
“No, I’ve been thinking about it…… and I’d hate to see you waste yourself.”
“Oh…… um. Thank you. And you too……”
And you too, what.
Surely she wasn’t trying to say I was a better daughter than Garren?
‘……That’s it.’
She’d started to respond supportively, but the strange turn of phrase startled her too into confusion.
“I hope you find a good person too, Rozelin.”
“Thank you.”
I answered lightly.
“Anyway, the point is—rather than spending your remaining life unhappy with a person like him, it wouldn’t be so bad to pursue a relationship with someone more honest, with a more desirable body, younger, with better prospects, and richer in feeling.”
My arms hurt.
But I’d set the mood now, so I had to finish.
“So just do whatever you want. Whatever decision you make, Father will have to accept it.”
There was no getting around it.
“If you’re hesitating just because you’re worried about the future…… then you won’t regret doing it.”
Selena’s eyes widened slightly.
She pressed her lips together tightly, and then suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
At the bright, refreshing sound of her laugh, I relaxed and scratched my cheek.
“Thank you, Rozelin.”
Selena spoke through her radiant smile.
“It’s sincere, I promise.”
“I know. But I got a shock hearing that part about him being not quite human.”
……Ah.
So that was the secret she’d heard.
I gazed at her steadily. Her chin resting on her hand, her expression was subtle, guarded.
“The truth is, what he loves isn’t me at all—it’s this body, and someone from that other world.”
……
“And I heard he’s thinking of going back. When he does, the memories will vanish too, apparently.”
I was somewhat surprised by how much Garren Wilbred had revealed to me.
I’d assumed he would keep it hidden until the very end—that he’d conceal everything to the last moment to get what he wanted.
‘So he didn’t want to deceive me after all.’
Yet his desires run deep.
I looked away from her face, letting my gaze fall.
“Well then, doing something reckless and cleaning up afterward isn’t so bad. I’d rather savor the present while I’m here.”
Seeing Selena’s expression brighten, I nodded and told her I’d head in first, then rose from the table.
“I’ll stay a little longer and finish eating.”
“Of course. Please, take your time with your meal.”
I bowed slightly and stepped out, my face darkening at once.
Standing beside the door was a man drowning in his own lingering feelings. As I passed him with a scowl, I caught the full weight of his gaze.
“Rozelin, thank you.”
His voice reached me, and the door opened and closed.
“Fool.”
I grimaced and headed for my room.

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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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