The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 39

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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 39
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“If you were a man, I’d have claimed you by any means necessary.”
After more than five hours of negotiation drew to a close, her words made Roserin’s brow furrow.
“I’ll take it as a compliment.”
“It is one. After all, only three men have been chosen as my husbands.”
Roserin faltered.
‘Ah, right—they practice the Monogyny-Polyandry System here, or the Polygyny System.’
The belated realization made her shrug.
“Then I’m grateful for the compliment.”
“Tell the Emperor of the Dianitas Empire that I wish to visit him personally before long.”
“……Personally, you say?”
It was a rather bold statement.
For her to visit in person was as much as declaring herself Khan without words.
The Khan read Roserin’s expression, chuckled low, and waved a hand dismissively.
“Publicly, of course, my husband will go.”
“Your husband……?”
“The tribal chief, Hatan. My most cherished husband.”
The Khan pouted her lips lightly and smiled enigmatically.
She found Roserin’s unwavering composure fascinating and oddly appealing.
She neither fawned needlessly nor dismissed them as savages.
Not once during the negotiations had she wavered.
Roserin neither looked down upon nor disrespected her counterpart.
‘Though she could be annoyingly provocative when the mood struck…….’
But that was only at the negotiation table.
“In exchange, when we arrive there, you’ll have to manage our relations for us.”
The Khan spoke.
“Truthfully, aside from you—the one I’ve spoken with at length—I don’t trust the others much.”
“……Does that mean you trust me?”
“Of course. More than the other foreigners with their murky intentions.”
When Roserin asked with some hesitation, the Khan replied curtly.
“You, too, have placed trust in us, haven’t you?”
“……I’ve heard that the Kaluta Tribe does not abandon alliances lightly and keeps its promises—that they are people of honor and integrity. So long as Kaluta stands by my side as a friend, I will do my utmost to protect all that belongs to the Kaluta Tribe.”
The Khan’s eyes narrowed at Roserin’s resolute words.
She smiled, a captivating curve to her lips, interlaced her fingers, rested her chin on the backs of her hands, and smirked.
“What if the Emperor were to strike at us from behind?”
Roserin stilled.
It was a perilous question. Roserin studied the Khan’s face through narrowed eyes.
The Khan waited for her answer, smiling with an air of inscrutability.
“……If that cause were unjust, I would send you word beforehand.”
Roserin answered slowly.
The Khan’s mysterious smile deepened. Roserin continued.
“And I will support you to the extent I am able.”
“And what do you mean by unjust?”
“When the Kaluta Tribe has done nothing wrong, and the Empire decides to strike you out of selfish ambition.”
The Khan burst into laughter.
She liked Roserin. The more they spoke, the more she appreciated her.
At first, she had wanted nothing more than to kill her—negotiations be damned.
Roserin had a remarkable talent for getting under her skin.
The Khan had fixed her gaze on that slender throat with persistent hunger; Roserin must have felt it. Yet she showed no fear.
She was calculating, yes—but then, what person wasn’t to some degree?
She was sharp, but she neither dismissed the Khan nor overstepped.
At the negotiation table, she had adopted a tone that suggested looking down on them, but that was merely a tactic.
‘Now I understand why Sansar fancied her.’
Sansar admired strong women.
Those who could stand firm and unbending in any circumstance.
Women who possessed a maternal love fierce enough to summon strength from nowhere to protect their children.
Those beautiful and dignified, yet harboring thorns within.
That Sansar had chosen her meant Roserin was strong.
Though her body was frail, her will would be as iron.
“All right, negotiator’s daughter. How about we become friends?”
“……Friends?”
Roserin hesitated.
Apart from Sansar, she had scarcely anyone she could call a friend.
Even that had been a mere month of brief encounters.
Of course, the knowledge Sansar had shared with her during their time together had proven quite valuable.
‘But is that person really a god?’
Roserin recalled Sansar.
A scatterbrained wandering poet who seemed to know how to do almost nothing.
Yet she remembered his songs were beautiful, and there was something enigmatic about him at times.
“Why? Don’t you want to be my friend?”
“No, it’s just… I have no memories of having friends besides Sansar. But they said Sansar might have been playing a game when he was a god, so……”
Roserin spoke with an expression still full of doubt.
She had never truly believed in the existence of gods in the first place.
“What are we supposed to do as friends?”
When Sansar was around, it was simply eating together, shopping, and occasionally sharing stories.
“Nothing special, really. Just do as you normally would—only a bit more casually.”
At Halan’s lighthearted tone, Roserin nodded without much deliberation.
There was no reason to refuse.
Becoming friends meant gaining their goodwill, and the title of “Halan’s friend” would make it easier to earn the favor of others as well.
“Feel free to call me Rose or Roserin, whichever suits you.”
“I prefer Lin.”
“That works too.”
Roserin nodded.
When Halan added that she should speak more casually now that they were friends, Roserin acquiesced readily.
“And you can call me Hali whenever we’re alone.”
“I’ll do that in private.”
At Roserin’s words, Halan smiled with satisfaction.
People with sharp instincts were a pleasure to know.
“Well then, my first question as a friend.”
At the mention of a first question as a friend, Roserin looked at Halan with a wary expression.
She was still smiling brightly.
“It’s connected to my earlier question… How did you find out that Yuseok was in Kaluta?”
A start.
Roserin’s shoulders tensed, and she narrowed her eyes as she looked at Halan.
For someone who had just become her friend, this was a bold question to ask.
Seeing the faint accusation in Roserin’s gaze, Halan burst into delighted laughter.
“Of course, I won’t breathe a word of what I see and hear here. Friends share secrets between them, don’t they? I’ve wanted to try this sort of thing for ages.”
She spoke with the delight of a child.
Roserin opened and closed her lips several times without speaking.
Halan did not retreat, waiting with patient expectation written all over her face.
Roserin chose her words carefully.
“……A Miracle occurred.”
“A Miracle?”
Roserin nodded once.
“Sansar told me that if a Miracle were to happen to me someday, I should help Kaluta.”
After a long pause, Roserin spoke with her voice lowered to barely a whisper.
The red seal stamped on the agreement was visible.
Beside it lay documents detailing the transaction between Kaluta and Bellion House.
Of course, since it wasn’t yet final, they would need to meet and coordinate certain details.
Halan had even cut her finger and stamped the contract with her blood as a seal.
“In two or three months from now, an Epidemic will begin to spread.”
At Roserin’s words, Halan went very still.
“Gather as much Rishu’s Sprout as you can. You might even consider beginning to cultivate it in earnest. The demand will be extraordinary.”
“How could you possibly……”
Halan could not hide her shock, murmuring softly.
Roserin said nothing, turning her gaze away. Halan studied her a moment, then spoke.
“Rishu’s Sprout wasn’t an order from the Emperor.”
“……What.”
Roserin let out a small laugh and nodded ever so slightly.
At Roserin’s actions, Hatan burst into hearty laughter.
‘She’d be far too dangerous as an enemy.’
Hatan opened his mouth, rather pleased with himself for having the instinct to offer her friendship.
“From this day forward, you are my friend, and Bellion House shall be my companion in life and death.”
Hatan rose from his seat and extended his hand to her. Roserin stood to meet him and clasped it firmly.
“And the Dianitas Empire shall be your ally.”
“I cannot say whether the Empire’s emperor deserves my full trust, but I promise not to invade.”
Roserin’s eyes widened slightly.
His words meant he was placing her and Bellion House above even the Dianitas Empire in his priorities.
“I look forward to our partnership, Halan.”
“I am delighted to have found such a worthy friend, Roserin.”
The two of them shook their joined hands gently up and down.
“Now then, Roserin.”
“Yes?”
“Would you have any interest in marrying my son?”
Roserin looked at Hatan with an expression of weary resignation.
After his endless parade of personal boasts, his brother’s bragging, his inquiries into her circumstances, his offer of a concubine, now came the proposal that she become his daughter-in-law.
“Rather than that… I would recommend the Second Prince of the Empire as a husband for Naryan. They seemed quite interested in each other.”
And so Roserin, learning from their example, proceeded to sell Yuldian down the river with admirable efficiency.

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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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