The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 26

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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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Chapter 26
“Soon I plan to pass on the technique to skilled craftsmen in the household and expand the workshop so we can turn this into a proper business.”
“…….”
“Roselyn?”
At the sound of his voice, Roselyn slowly blinked and lifted her head.
“……Oh.”
Roselyn, whose lips had been moving silently, managed to produce a sound.
“If it’s not urgent, would it be possible for you to do as I suggest?”
“……What do you mean?”
“About hiring the craftsmen. There might be someone who could leak the technique elsewhere, after all.”
She had cut ties with Lady Carmel for now, but one could never be too careful.
If she had been swayed in that other world, she could be swayed in this one too.
She didn’t know how deep Makluk’s roots ran.
“I’ve spent quite a bit of the Duke’s Household’s money on research expenses for this. It’s time to recoup those costs. The craftsmen are people we’ve done business with for a long time, ones we can trust….”
“Even so. You never know what might happen. The money will be fine.”
If things went as expected, they’d soon be exporting what was in the Olang Mine as well.
“Please consult with Grandfather and proceed carefully.”
“…….”
At Roselyn’s sudden words, Cherti’s expression grew subtle.
“I’m asking you as a favor.”
When Roselyn added this further plea, Cherti’s eyes widened considerably.
“……Ahem, hmm!”
He suddenly coughed loudly, then abruptly nodded with a far more solemn expression.
“Since it’s my daughter’s first request, I have no choice. I’ll postpone it as much as possible.”
At his quite serious tone, Roselyn hesitated for a moment, then suddenly rose from her seat and began pushing Cherti toward the door.
“I think I’ll be able to bring the craftsman Yuseok once things are settled in Kaluta.”
Having pushed Cherti toward the exit, Roselyn ushered him out of the room.
“……Roselyn?”
“Yes, Father. I’m tired and would like to rest.”
“……Are you alright?”
Though her expression remained composed, something about his daughter’s demeanor seemed strangely hurried and anxious, so Cherti grasped the closing door and asked urgently.
“Yes.”
A forced smile and a brief reply came back.
Then, with a soft thud, the door closed.
“…….”
Yet Cherti neither moved nor spoke.
He could still sense the presence of his child beyond the door.
Those who possessed the Abyss had keen senses and could feel presences even when they couldn’t see them.
“……Why.”
A small voice came from beyond the door.
Cherti didn’t move a single step until he felt Roselyn’s presence recede from the door.
* * *
Having been sent away by Cherti, Roselyn took a deep breath, clenched and unclenched her fists, and made her way to her bed.
Roselyn had no affection for her family.
Yet it wasn’t as though she had grown up resenting her parents or cursing her clan like an ordinary child might.
No, that’s not right.
In fact, at seventeen, Roselyn had been exactly like that.
She had endlessly compared others to herself.
She envied harmonious families.
She was always wondering why she couldn’t have that.
Whenever someone criticized or hurt her, she could say nothing; instead she would hold her head high, glare, and throw things.
She had dismissed all kindness directed toward her as pity and rejected it with displeasure. She glared. She fell silent. She swallowed her words.
Then, when she realized that approach wouldn’t work, she began to act viciously instead, bristling with thorns.
She believed that pretending to be strong would make her actually strong.
Though she was far from alright, she kept insisting she was fine, and something inside her wore away; she convinced herself that she suffered more than anyone else in the world.
Thinking that crying was weakness, she held back so long that she eventually forgot how to weep.
She decided that relying on others and leaning on them meant those people were weak, and so she drove herself mercilessly and endured alone.
She believed that becoming an adult meant being alone, and so she became alone.
For a long time, she wandered, unable to admit that she was lonely.
She had not known how to be grateful for the small happiness given to her, nor had she ever offered thanks for the kindness extended to her.
Roselyn lay sprawled across the bed, holding a Short Sword aloft in her palm.
She traced the neat cursive etched along the blade with the tip of her finger.
If she were to name her greatest regret now…….
It was that she could never confirm whether her name had been inscribed on this blade in her original world.
Now Roselyn could not verify whether she had been loved even then.
Her father in that world was dead, her grandfather was dead, her uncles were all dead, and Roselyn herself was dead.
There was a time when Roselyn did not want to live.
She had regretted her birth dozens of times, and felt a thrill of joy the moment she realized she could die.
Yes.
To speak honestly, the thought of resenting her family only came after she had stepped out from the shadow of the Duke’s Household.
It was then that Roselyn truly understood the weight of the fence that surrounded her.
So the twenty-seven-year-old Roselyn no longer harbored resentment toward them.
She did not compare herself to others, nor did she envy what she did not possess.
She had matured enough to think that way.
But the twenty-seven-year-old Roselyn, who came to another world and became seventeen again, only now could she look back upon the life that had been given to her.
What she could not see in those days when she struggled simply to breathe, she could see now.
Looking back, there were things that became regrets.
Questions that would forever linger on her tongue — people she could have asked but lost, people she could have verified with but lost.
‘I thought I was nothing but a nuisance to them, nothing but hateful.’
Without the Abyss, with a weak body, with nothing remarkable to speak of — a wretched creature.
One who knew only how to cause trouble.
So she had never doubted that she was despised because of it.
But if her name had been written on the blade…….
If her father from the past had commissioned that blade for her sake, and Lady Carmel had kept it without telling her?
‘Did I wound my father without even knowing it.’
Roselyn slowly closed her eyes, then opened them.
“…….”
It felt as though someone had driven a fist into her throat.
Yet her eyes remained dry.
“A broken doll would be better off than this.”
After wiping her parched eyes once, Roselyn gave a soft, hollow laugh.
There was more to do than to weep, so Roselyn simply let her eyes fall closed, slowly.
* * *
“Welcome, Red Cat.”
Roselyn let out a quiet scoff at that epithet.
The Underground Auction House held its main auction from eight in the evening until around midnight.
Unlike the main event, VIP purchases began at five in the afternoon.
The one rule was to wear a solid-colored mask with a black veil attached that could conceal the entire face, including the hair.
Only one companion was permitted, whether a guard or attendant.
Weapons were forbidden.
The color of the mask was chosen by the organizers in advance.
That was about all.
The wearer of the red cat mask was called Red Cat.
The wearer of the blue dog mask was called Blue Dog.
In this way, they were called by aliases of sorts.
Roselyn wore a red cat mask.
She had come here for one purpose: to purchase a person.
“Is there any particular item that interests you?”
“A slave.”
At Roselyn’s terse reply, the man in a blank white mask and dark robe gave a nod.
“I shall show you the way.”
The Underground Auction House was laid out like an anthill. In fact, that’s what they called it.
‘Without a guide, I’d get lost for certain.’
Roselyn frowned at the bewildering twists and turns of the subterranean passages.
‘A perfect place to dispose of someone quietly.’
She glanced back over her shoulder.
The guard her father had assigned her followed at her side, masked in expressionless black.
“This room contains the items you seek.”
As she followed him down the narrow, anthill-like corridor, a vast chamber filled with iron cages came into view.
There were people in the cages.
They all wore the same expression of resignation, draped in rags and half-naked.
Roselyn was not alone in observing the slaves; uncomfortable appraisals echoed through the hall from all sides.
There were plenty of people here who wouldn’t hesitate to strip the merchandise bare if it suited them, handling humans as though they were livestock.
‘Repulsive.’
Roselyn clicked her tongue inwardly.
“Is there a particular age or gender you’re looking for?”
“A boy, around ten would be ideal.”
“Then you’ll want to start from this section.”
Roselyn followed the guide deeper into the auction house. The boy she sought was twelve years old.
‘My means of exchange in Kaluta this time.’
Roselyn had scarcely taken a dozen steps when she stopped dead.
In a narrow iron cage, a boy sat crouched with his eyes wide and glaring, his mouth clamped shut.
Green eyes and silver hair.
Eyes that tapered upward like a cat’s.
Dusky skin.
Shackles clasped around his neck and both wrists.
A tattoo in crimson dye ran from his forehead across his left eye and down to his jaw in one long scar-like mark.
‘Found him.’
The Second Prince of Kaluta — the one Roselyn had been searching for.

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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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