The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 44

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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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Episode 44
The scent of smoke brushed her nostrils, and she answered a beat late, lifting her head.
What she saw was a tired-looking middle-aged man with patchy whiskers, wearing a worn tunic.
The man with leaf tobacco in his mouth appeared utterly slovenly at first glance.
His clothes hung loosely, his belt was slack, and his eyes were drowsy.
He couldn’t even be bothered to cut his hair; stray locks gathered haphazardly and bound into a short tail that looked utterly halfhearted.
He drew in the acrid leaf tobacco with an ease that spoke of long habit — a heavy smoker, clearly.
Rozelin’s eyes widened ever so slightly. She knew this man.
“That so?”
“Seems like it.”
Rozelin tightened her expression, forcing composure into her face so her agitation wouldn’t show.
He glanced down at her with a lazy gaze and waved his hand lightly.
“Well, glad to hear it.”
Beneath the tunic, firm muscle was visible.
He scratched his head with an air of indifference, waved his hand casually, then sauntered past her with one hand buried in his pocket.
Even as he passed, his eyes never left Rozelin.
A subtle chill crept across her skin. She rubbed her arms and descended the stairs.
Once the man was out of sight, she shuddered once on the landing.
‘……The Arsonist.’
Years after the fires began, his composite sketch had only recently been released, and he was now one of the most wanted criminals in the realm.
Whether he possessed an Abyss tied to flame, the places he passed always left nothing but acrid ash in his wake.
‘Still, he’ll die eventually.’
Ravice would hunt him down and finish him.
Ravice appeared only at the Emperor’s call, and they were a shadowborn order answerable to no law.
Even Rozelin didn’t truly know who they were.
All that was known was that Ravice consisted entirely of those who possessed an Abyss.
In other words, unlike a common knightly order, they had been established to deal with Abyss criminals.
‘……Why is he here?’
Rozelin drew a breath.
Despite her sinking thoughts, her breathing grew warmer by degrees.
Rozelin descended to the lower floor and made her way to the Innkeeper, who was settling accounts at the counter.
“Innkeeper, if you’ve any newspapers saved, might I have all the recent ones?”
The Innkeeper lifted her head with an exclamation of surprise. Her face showed genuine shock.
“Oh my, a noblewoman! I do have newspapers, but how recent are we talking?”
“Everything you have from the past month or two, if you would.”
Rozelin drew several Gold Coins from her pocket and placed them on the counter.
She needed newspapers from the months she’d spent away in Kaluta.
One Gold Coin was worth about one hundred thousand Orang. So for a bundle of old papers, this would be more than enough.
As expected, the Innkeeper beamed and nodded eagerly, then hurried off and returned carrying an armload of papers.
“Some have gaps — I’ve used them for kindling — but that’s roughly two months’ worth!”
Rozelin halted at the surprisingly tall stack of paper.
‘Should’ve brought someone to help carry these.’
She drew another Gold Coin and placed it on the counter.
“Innkeeper, I hate to ask, but could you carry these to my room? I have somewhere I need to go for a bit.”
“Of course! I pride myself on my strength — this is right up my alley.”
The Innkeeper quickly pocketed the Gold Coin and nodded readily with a grin.
As the Innkeeper gathered up the newspapers and headed purposefully to the second floor, Rozelin stepped out of the inn.
She planned to look through the papers while picking up something to eat.
Outside, the Kalutans had gathered and were conversing among themselves.
“Oh? Where are you headed, miss?”
“Just to get something decent to eat.”
“Ah.”
Given their pride as craftsmen, their arm muscles were notably thick, and five of them together cut an imposing figure.
They exchanged glances, and two of them stepped forward toward Rozelin.
“Let’s go with you.”
“I can manage on my own.”
“Oh, but you’re a friend of ours — and besides, isn’t it true that in the Empire, when important people go anywhere, they’re always followed by some muscle?”
The Kalutan waved his hand dismissively.
‘Naryan and Batar aren’t here.’
As if catching Rozelin’s unspoken question, one of the Kalutans opened his mouth.
“Batar and Naryan said they were going to take a nap.”
Rozelin nodded lightly.
Since it had been a long journey so far, they planned to stay in Randarin for a few days to give the horses a rest.
But the atmosphere of Randarin was not pleasant.
“Something feels rather unsettling, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed it does. I’ve heard that not just the villages around here, but several settlements have burned to the ground overnight, and it happens often…”
A man from Kaluta let out a long yawn and chuckled.
“Whoever the bastard is, when they get caught, we ought to split them right down the middle. Damn it, what kind of fool pulls off a stunt like that when they’ve got nothing better to do?”
He muttered darkly.
Rozelin let out a light laugh at the crude curse, and the man glanced at her sidelong.
“Was that too rough for an outsider to hear?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Is that so? Ah, I’m Sanja. That one there is Nergui. Feel free to address us however you like, miss.”
“Very well.”
Rozelin answered curtly.
“Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve ventured outside Kaluta’s territories.”
As if to prove Sanja’s words, the gazes of people they passed fell upon them in surprise.
“This ominous feeling suggests we’d do well to reach the Capital as quickly as possible.”
Nergui, who seemed somewhat more grave than Sanja, added a remark.
“Ah, well, you do seem rather delicate, so we can’t say when you might suddenly collapse. It might be best to move quickly toward where the Emperor resides.”
Sanja spoke up.
Rozelin said she would think about it and lightly agreed, then entered a shop that sold Sandwiches.
She bought several items to eat lightly, including Sandwiches. The paper bags filled up completely—two of them.
“Eh, you came to buy that?”
“Yes, I need to do something in my room, and when I focus on one thing, I don’t move well.”
“Why didn’t you have someone else do it?”
“I wanted to clear my head. Anyway, thank you for the escort.”
Having finished her quick shopping, she handed one of the bags she was carrying to Sanja.
“You must be hungry—share these. Don’t stay outside too long or you’ll catch cold.”
Rozelin went into her lodging.
Sanja, caught off guard, received the bag and stared blankly at the bundle full of Sandwiches, then turned to look at Nergui.
“…What’s this ‘cold’ she spoke of?”
“It’s an illness. When it gets too cold, you keep coughing.”
“…She’s warning me about that? The Empire is hot enough to make you die.”
Hearing such a thing for the first time in his life, Sanja raked his nails across his chest roughly.
“Ugh, but do all outsiders really make your skin crawl like this with the way they talk?”
The corner of Sanja’s mouth twitched slightly as he muttered quietly.
* * *
“Ah, found you, found you! I was wondering where you’d gone… miss.”
Rozelin, returning to her lodging, was met by the man she had collided with earlier.
He held a spoon in his mouth, as if he had been eating alone in the dining hall on the first floor, and waved his hand.
When Rozelin stopped, he approached her with a delighted face as though he’d met an old friend, waving enthusiastically.
“Look, I didn’t think of what I wanted to say to you until later.”
The man spoke in a lazy, toneless voice as if exhausted.
“Miss, I have a knack for these sorts of things, you see…”
Standing with one hand in his pocket, he looked very much like a drifter.
Before she realized it, the man had drawn her deeper into the empty corridor and gripped her shoulder, then laughed.
“You know me, don’t you?”
The man bent his torso low, bringing his lips close to her ear, and whispered softly.

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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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