The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 208

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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 78
“It’s similar.”
“……That’s a bit much to ask.”
I spoke with some reluctance.
Garren Wilbred lifted his head to look at me. His eyes were dry as death, and beneath them lay a faint shadow of exhaustion.
To see fatigue on a man who always appeared flawless was itself somewhat surprising.
“Not just centuries—how could anyone endure such an incomprehensible stretch of time?”
I glanced away, then exhaled, tightened my throat, and scratched my cheek.
This was a question that required deep thought for both Selena’s sake and Garren Wilbred’s.
‘Thousands of years?’
I rolled my eyes and recalled the time I had lived through. Then I imagined having to live another thousands of years ahead.
Just the thought of it was so vast and distant that I couldn’t begin to describe it.
“Why?”
“……We are human.”
As Garren Wilbred opened his mouth as if he had something to say, I waved my small hand lightly.
“Of course, what Father said—that my soul is the same person as Solomon—I’ve come to understand that, at least.”
I still can’t feel it as real, but I do understand it.
“But the point is, I grew up human and became human.”
I spoke casually while tapping my fingertips against each other lightly.
“Centuries, maybe I could manage. But thousands—or perhaps even longer—asking me to live through that requires more resolve than most people have.”
I’m sorry to you, but.
I added it quietly.
Because I will likely die far sooner than that.
Solomon is human, they said, so fortunately I won’t have to live such an impossibly long time.
“It’s too cruel a burden for Selena.”
“……I have every confidence I could make it not uncomfortable. Even so, you object?”
“Make it not uncomfortable? What do you mean by that?”
“The day will come when living such a long life becomes unbearable. But if the memories are the problem, I could wipe them periodically. If needed, I could seat her where she wishes, and since she’s someone who tires of solitude easily, I could let her live among people as much as she desires…….”
The more I listened, the harder it became to suppress the strange expression creeping across my face.
I buried my face in my palm.
For the first time, I felt keenly that this man was a being utterly alienated from the category of human—something fundamentally other.
“That, I understand why you’re concerned, but isn’t the real problem here something else, Father?”
“……Why is that?”
“What did Selena say to your proposal?”
“She said no. That she has no confidence she could survive such a long time. And…….”
The man’s face, which usually wore a composed and leisurely expression, crumpled.
The Knife he held in his hand bent.
“She told me to stop—to stop doing worse than this. Asked me to erase her memories. When I said even that wouldn’t work, she said she’d never appear before me again.”
“……But how did you propose it?”
“I simply confessed my heart. And this time I intended to take her as my Consort.”
“Consort?”
“A Demon may take exactly one Consort. When the Consort dies, another may be taken, but……regardless, fundamentally the two share the lifespan of whichever is longer.”
Even if it’s the longer of the two, naturally it would be the Demon chosen.
‘And if the Consort dies, another can be taken—what sort of nonsense is that.’
I rubbed my forehead lightly.
“Can I be honest?”
“Speak.”
I tapped the table with the Fork for a moment before opening my mouth.
“I’m sorry, but even I would refuse your proposal. You can’t claim not to know how you’ve treated the Duchess all this time.”
“……That deserves an apology.”
“It does. You have been, and are. And the Duchess hasn’t accepted it, has she?”
“…….”
At my point, Garren Wilbred fell silent for a moment.
His love is a heavy thing for the Duchess.
The Duchess is fundamentally a tender-hearted and righteous person. It means she possesses a disposition entirely opposite to Garren Wilbred’s.
If anything, it’s more surprising that the two ever caught each other’s eye at all.
A Duchess who is moved by small things, who has so little greed she can be satisfied with the smallest of matters, whose sensibilities run deep.
And a Non-human Demon as emotionally barren as I am.
In fact, the reason this relationship that should have ended long ago continues is, first, because the Duchess has long been considerate of him.
And second, perhaps, because it’s only now—when the Duchess has let go of everything—that Garren Wilbred has belatedly awakened to his feelings and is clinging to them.
“I understand you’re not thinking within the bounds of human common sense.”
I gazed at him for a long moment, then exhaled as though releasing a sigh.
“Even if I were the Duchess, I wouldn’t choose you. I have no faith that I could entrust my future to you.”
“Why is that? Have I done something wrong?”
“Well, if buttoning the first button wrong counts as wrong, then yes—that. And besides, your strange behavior.”
A young girl spoke in a manner that didn’t suit her years, yet Garren Wilbred neither mocked her nor found it odd.
That was something I liked about him.
Having witnessed so much, he never let appearance alone cloud his judgment.
“Strange behavior?”
“You keep forgetting, Garren. When did you start treating the Duchess with such tenderness?”
“That’s because……”
He stopped mid-sentence.
He’d just remembered—the Duchess was dead.
“Have you ever considered how frightened she must have been, watching your attitude shift so suddenly?”
“Frightened? I never threatened her, or anything of the sort. I simply……”
“You simply knew everything that had happened. While the Duchess knew nothing.”
I replied curtly.
It had been a long time since I’d had a conversation like this, so it felt unfamiliar. Yet some things need to be said.
If I didn’t care what happened to him, I would never have involved myself in this matter—whether he fell into despair, disappointment, or whatever befell him and the Duchess.
But even a wicked friend is still a friend, and there’s affection even in annoyance.
I could no longer think of Garren Wilbred as merely an irritating old man.
I could no longer ignore the misfortune of kind Selena.
“Don’t play hide-and-seek, Garren. You fail at everything because you’re hiding what you did in the past and trying to win Selena.”
“……”
“When I leave, I’m going to tell them everything. What I did and why.”
I’ll tell Father and Grandfather too.
I’ve already told Arma half of it, so I’ll have to tell him the rest.
There’s no relationship that can begin while hiding something.
A relationship built on dishonesty warps and fractures.
Once a crack appears, everything can split apart in an instant, beyond repair. Before it shatters, before that happens, there are truths that must be spoken.
“If you want to stand at a new beginning too, it’s better to be honest. Even if it means……”
I lifted my head slowly.
For the first time, I saw raw emotion laid bare in the man’s face. His eyes were wide open—he’d already grasped what I was about to say.
Anxiety, impatience, dread, and fear.
Feelings an arrogant man should never have known.
“Even if it means being forever separated from the Duchess—you started this, so you’ll bear the consequences.”
“……”
“Don’t act like a pouting child who fears punishment. There’s nothing you can’t have without effort. You have to cling to it.”
At Rozelin’s words, Garren Wilbred remained silent, his face expressionless.
The man who always wore an easy smile—I could see now how much he loved Selena. And at the same time, I realized for the first time that his composure could shatter.
“Go tell her everything, honestly. And beg her forgiveness. Ask until she grants it. Only then—only then do you truly stand at the beginning.”

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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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