The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 31

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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 31
“No, wait—before that!”
“……Before that?”
If she was referring to something earlier, it could only be about awakening the Abyss.
“Oh, you mean ‘I threw myself off a cliff and accidentally awakened the Abyss’?”
“Yes, that!! Why would you throw yourself off a cliff?! Are you insane?! If you die, you think you can handle that bastard running wild?!”
Ian Bellion shouted.
Rozerin exhaled with an even more exasperated expression.
“Regardless—drop whatever you’re doing with the medicinal herb import from Makluksa. Walk away from it.”
Ian Bellion’s eyes widened.
“You—how could you possibly…….”
How, indeed.
The other side had been caught doing the same thing, and when she’d quietly dug into it, she found he was running the exact same operation here. She was simply giving him a warning.
‘Though really, Lady Carmel was handling the major side of things, so that much was inevitable, but revealing my uncle as the one tied to Makluksa was almost a gamble…….’
Rozerin studied Ian Bellion in silence.
The medicinal herb import was an order Ian had received directly from the King. It was fair to say almost no one else knew about it besides Ian and the King.
“I’m warning you. Unless you want to be tangled up in an Imperial Assassination Crime, step back.”
“You insolent little——ordering me around——!”
Watching this rigid old man, Rozerin’s expression twisted even further.
“No matter what you do, you won’t be able to catch the King of Makluksa.”
“……!”
This time Ian Bellion’s shock was genuine—his mouth hung open wide.
Rozerin briefly worried something might fly into his gaping mouth.
“You……!”
“Even if you exhaust yourself trying, he’s not someone you can capture. And your dead sister won’t come back, either.”
“…….”
Rozerin said nothing more and rose from her seat.
Ian Bellion’s face was no longer one of shock.
It had simply gone rigid with the cold, stiff anger of someone whose deepest wound had been struck without warning.
“……That sinister Cherti bastard told you, didn’t he?”
Despite the murderous glare that looked ready to tear someone apart, Rozerin met his gaze steadily and without flinching.
“No. I already told you—the Abyss.”
“What kind of Abyss——!”
The fierce stare was so familiar to her that Rozerin merely shrugged with an easy expression.
“Unless you want to destroy the family, you should forget about the dead.”
“You——! With your loose tongue, spouting whatever comes to mind——!!”
“In the first place, it was you who abandoned your disabled sister and ran away alone. And then you shut your mouth completely.”
At Rozerin’s sharp words, Ian’s lips trembled pale and weak.
Rozerin laughed brightly. The angrier and more displeased her opponent became, the more radiant she grew.
She understood the pressure and discomfort that smile inflicted on others.
“And Uncle, since your mouth is loose, let me speak plainly. I’m not making things up.”
“How could you possibly know that?!”
“I told you. The Abyss.”
Rozerin shrugged and turned away.
“I’ll catch the King of Makluksa myself. You don’t need to bother.”
Rozerin said it.
Ian Bellion froze.
“I won’t live long anyway, so if anyone’s going to move, I might as well.”
With that, she opened the door and stepped out.
She hadn’t told even Marquis Geron, but Rozerin had already reached her limit before she died.
Left alone, she would have died soon enough.
Even before being captured, she’d been taking only a handful of medicines just to keep herself alive.
Even now, her mouth was sharp, but her body was far from healthy.
The slightest exertion would bring fever.
“So now that I’ve said everything there is to say, I’m leaving.”
“Hey! What kind of nonsense——!”
Bang.
The door slammed shut before Ian’s nose.
“Troublesome man.”
“Hey! I can hear you, you know?! Open the door! Hey, you little pest—I swear! Undo these shackles!! You disrespectful brat!”
Sharp voices pierced the air from beyond the door.
Rozerin paid them no mind and instead made her way toward her father, who had been sunk in melancholy for days now, digging tunnels.
* * *
Rozerin’s procession to Kaluta was modest.
Or rather, she wanted it to be.
But as this was an Envoy Delegation being sent to a foreign land, such simplicity was impossible…….
“This configuration allows for defense, and this one for offense. This one has your father’s Abyss melted into it, so it can deliver a strong Electric Shock, and…… this is a Fur Cloak with Abyss that maintains warmth…… this one too, and this one…….”
Rozerin’s carriage, in particular, was the furthest from modest.
Rozerin gazed at the mountain of goods piled before her and laughed brightly.
“Father, please remove everything except the Fur Cloak with thermal properties and the Electric Shock Crossbow.”
Rozerin, who had been listening to his explanation with a smile, spoke with firm resolve.
Cherti’s expression fell with disappointment. But Rozerin had no desire to add an extra supply wagon for no good reason.
Rozerin waved her hand wearily.
“Hey! You! How on earth did you manipulate the Empress into making my half-brother the delegation head instead of me?!”
Rozerin cast a sidelong glance at the clamoring 2nd Imperial Prince and turned her head away.
Indeed, the official head of this Envoy Delegation was the 3rd Imperial Prince.
But given the weak-willed nature of the 3rd Imperial Prince, the 2nd Imperial Prince’s influence would surely be considerable.
‘What could the Emperor have been thinking, selecting people in such a way?’
With two commanders, the delegation would easily become a disorganized rabble.
‘Where on earth is the 3rd Imperial Prince?’
Rozerin passed by the noisy 2nd Imperial Prince and wandered through the crowd in thought.
Not far away stood a man with jet-black hair swept back, his expression bearing a somewhat rugged cast.
He had quite a striking appearance.
‘Who is he?’
As Rozerin studied him, he seemed to feel her gaze and turned his head slightly, regarding her with cool indifference.
“What are you staring at?”
Speaking casually to someone on first meeting—how rude.
Rozerin clicked her tongue inwardly and furrowed her brow.
Was he someone from the Imperial family?
‘What an unpleasant character.’
It was just as she turned away from him.
Suddenly the man gently caught her sleeve.
“Um, surely I don’t look good in this……?”
The arrogant charisma from moments before had vanished—now the man’s face contorted pitifully, his eyes crumpling as if he might weep.
“……Who are you?”
When Rozerin asked, the man looked at her with a somewhat sorrowful expression.
“……I’m the 3rd Imperial Prince, Arma…….”
“Ah….”
An awkward silence settled over them, and sometime later, the carriage departed.
* * *
‘……So that man was actually the 3rd Imperial Prince.’
Rozerin turned the earlier scene over in her mind. When she glanced sideways, their eyes met.
For the first time, she realized that simply brushing one’s bangs back and exposing the forehead could transform a person’s entire presence so dramatically.
With his mouth closed, his aura was certainly entirely different, but the moment he spoke, it shifted completely.
Rozerin blinked slowly as she observed the 3rd Imperial Prince, Arma, sitting across from her with flushed cheeks.
And beside her sat the boy Batar, occupying the space with easy confidence.
For some reason, Batar had been radiating a sinister air since earlier, glaring at Arma.
‘Perhaps he’s had too many run-ins with men?’
That Underground Auction House too had been filled entirely with men.
‘He might be afraid of men.’
With that thought, Rozerin gently took Batar’s hand in reassurance.
Batar’s shoulder flinched, and the sinister gleam in his eyes softened somewhat as his lips relaxed into a tentative smile.
At the same moment, Arma’s expression darkened.
‘The other two are already being escorted by the Imperial Knights…….’
Of course, Rozerin was too preoccupied to notice the look he gave her.
‘This should be sufficient as a gift.’
As Rozerin nodded, Batar grinned widely.
Sitting in his chair, Batar seemed uncomfortable in the imperial-style clothing and kept fidgeting with his outfit.
“Rozerin, who is that man?”
“The 3rd Imperial Prince, Your Highness.”
“You can tell just by looking! I was asking what your connection to them is!”
Rozerin shrugged as she watched Batar, who spoke in that peculiar manner—somewhere between formal speech and casual, neither one nor the other.
“My fiancé.”
“……You have a fiancé?!”
Batar asked with a shocked expression. Arma’s face flushed with satisfaction.
“Yes, once I finish things cleanly with Kaluta, we’ve agreed to call it off.”
And then, just as quickly, his expression darkened again.
Batar’s face, by contrast, bloomed bright as a flower.
“What a relief! Our Kaluta doesn’t mind at all about a spouse’s past, so don’t worry! Yes!”
“I know.”
Rozerin, her expression uncertain at first, soon nodded calmly at the sudden words.
The carriage carrying the beaming Batar, the gloomy Arma, and the expressionless Rozerin rolled swiftly forward.

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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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