The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 192

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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 62
“Speak freely. If it’s something I know and can tell you, I will.”
“Well, the country’s been in chaos lately. The Bellion Estate seems fine, but everyone’s on edge, fighting, and crime’s gotten worse.”
At my words, Garren Wilbred tilted his teacup and nodded lightly.
“True. When such a being stays close to humans purely for entertainment, this is what happens.”
Garren Wilbred spoke.
“An inexperienced fool who can’t even control his own power—barely a few thousand years old—stirring things up will only make it worse.”
“I’m just guessing, but I don’t think killing Amon is the answer. I remember reading something old about sealing demons. Could Amon be sealed too, maybe?”
As I spoke, Garren Wilbred paused for a moment, then turned to study my face intently.
“It’s possible.”
He said it after a rather long silence.
“Do you know how?”
“You’d be faster asking the High Priest. I’d rather not teach you how to tighten the noose around my own neck.”
Garren Wilbred answered with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“You think I’m going to kill my damned father?”
“No, I don’t suspect that.”
He answered my question in an unexpectedly gentle voice.
It was more resolute than I’d expected, which surprised me a little.
When I glanced up, he was watching me with his chin propped on his hand.
“I don’t doubt you.”
“Mm.”
Embarrassed, I simply nodded vaguely.
“Right, I’ll ask Irbon. So, the second thing… isn’t the Emperor acting strange?”
“Ah…”
At my question, Garren Wilbred’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The Wolf had come to my feet and was sitting upright. Wondering if it was lonely, I stroked its head and continued.
“The country’s in this much turmoil. He should’ve done something by his nature, but he’s not moving at all. When I went to the Imperial Capital before, the atmosphere was strange. The First Imperial Prince isn’t that kind of person, but he’d become incredibly violent…”
Even as I stroked its head, the Wolf’s tail didn’t wag.
Puzzled, I glanced down at it and saw that the Wolf wasn’t looking up at me—instead, its head was lowered, gazing at the ground.
“I don’t know the details either. I don’t know everything.”
While I was preoccupied with the Wolf, Garren Wilbred spoke.
“But as far as I know, there’s only one reason that man wouldn’t move or couldn’t move.”
“One reason?”
“Don’t you know? The only thing of value to the Emperor of this Empire.”
I blinked slowly.
The Wolf, which had lifted its head by now, fixed its gaze on Garren Wilbred.
“When an indifferent being like you and me—detached from the world—becomes obsessed with something, there’s usually only one cause, isn’t there?”
“Oh.”
I disliked that I understood what Garren Wilbred meant. But at the same time, I found myself sympathizing with it.
“Does the Emperor have someone he loves?”
“As far as I know.”
“Who?”
“Hmm…”
Garren Wilbred scanned the Wolf slowly. The Wolf sat perfectly still without making a sound.
“The mother of the Third Imperial Prince.”
“I heard she passed away.”
“The Emperor, curiously enough, only resembles me in one respect—how he handles matters.”
He smiled wryly.
“Would such a meticulous man really let her die?”
“Is the mother imprisoned?”
“I couldn’t say. Finding that out isn’t my job. I have restrictions—I can’t directly manipulate things.”
At Garren Wilbred’s words, I nodded in agreement. He wasn’t wrong.
So in the end, I had no choice but to meet either the Third Imperial Prince or the Emperor himself.
“By the way, the Emperor currently receives no visitors.”
In short, you could call it a strike.
A faint note of exasperation colored his added words.
‘Come to think of it, this man’s been quite busy lately.’
So thinking, Rozelin studied his expression.
Fortunately, before long, Selena entered.
‘I’ll have to go to the Bellion Family Estate.’
Whatever trouble had arisen, she had no choice but to head for the Imperial Capital.
‘I’ll stop by the Temple tomorrow, then go to the Bellion Family Estate.’
Rozelin thought as much while returning Selena’s cheerful greeting with a polite nod of her own.
The Dining Hall was peaceful enough that the meal felt rather intimate and warm.
* * *
“Hello.”
“……Oh, who might this be? The person who abandoned me at the Temple and vanished without a shred of conscience…….”
“Ah, this is something my father sent as a token of goodwill.”
Rozelin, who had arrived at the Temple with Wolf, settled onto the sofa with studied indifference and flicked her fingers as she spoke.
The Knights who appeared to be escorting her placed the large wooden box they had set down on one side before Irbon.
“Open it.”
She tilted her head, gesturing for him to proceed.
“Ah, you two should leave.”
“Should anything arise, miss, please call upon us.”
“All right.”
“Wolf, you’re to guard the young lady well.”
“Growl—.”
The two Knights exchanged smiling farewells, patted Wolf’s head, bowed respectfully, and then withdrew from the Reception Room.
Meanwhile, Irbon lifted the lid of the box and peered inside, his entire body going rigid as a statue, his mouth falling open in shock.
‘Is his jaw about to drop clean off?’
Rozelin thought so, and despite the absence of any offered tea in the present moment, she smiled thinly and opened her mouth.
“Just now you said I didn’t have a shred of conscience……. What was it again?”
Rozelin asked with an amused tone.
Before her sentence had even finished, Irbon sprang to his feet and rushed to stand before her.
“My beautiful, adorable, and lovable lady — to think you have deemed it fit to recognize the worth of a wretch like myself, bereft of conscience as I am! You have finally come to see me!”
The first part of what he said bore absolutely no connection to the second.
Yet Irbon paid no mind to such trifles, his eyes gleaming as he dropped to one knee before her, meeting her gaze.
And small wonder—the box was brimming with gold ingots.
‘How easy this man is to handle.’
Give him enough money and loyalty springs forth even if his very bones should crumble.
It seemed that to secure this man’s allegiance, one merely needed to be overwhelmingly wealthy.
Rozelin beheld a man whose mercenary nature had not changed even as he grew older.
“I’m thirsty.”
“I shall at once bring refreshment and finest butter cookies laden with butter!”
Irbon’s eyes lit up, and he straightened from his kneeling position, popping up from his seat.
He rushed toward the tea room attached to the Reception Room but stopped, turning back.
“Ah. Miss Rozelin! Orange juice, grape juice, cocoa, or warm milk? Which would suit you best?”
“Hmm…….”
Were these truly the sorts of choices one offered to a child?
Rozelin pondered briefly, considering which beverage would pair well with butter cookies.
“Ah!”
Suddenly Irbon laughed brightly, lifting a hand beneath his chin and fluttering his eyes as he spoke.
“Or perhaps……me?”
“Grrr! Roooowwwl!”
At that moment, Wolf, who had been growling low, sprang to his feet.
“……What?”
Irbon’s expression turned bewildered as Wolf’s massive body rushed at him, and the beast crashed right over him.
Thud.
As Irbon thrashed beneath the enormous weight, Wolf’s jaws clamped down on his arm while his paws flailed about wildly.
Thwack, thwack, thwack.
The soft, padded paws struck Irbon’s head relentlessly.
“Ow, ow! Ow! That hurts! Hey! You damned mutt!!”
“Bark! Grrrrr—.”
“Miss Rozelin, Miss Rozelin!”
At his pitiful cries, Rozelin cast a sideways glance at Irbon before letting out a soft sound of realization.
“Warm milk, then.”
She spoke with perfect composure.
“No, that’s not the issue! Won’t you do something about this?!”

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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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