The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 60

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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 60
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“You seem to have had quite the pleasant time.”
After conversing for several hours, Rozelin excused herself and stepped out into the corridor, where Garen—who knew not how long he’d been standing there—spoke to her with an undertone of amusement in his voice.
“It was fun.”
Rozelin shrugged as she answered.
“And now you’ve taken to stalking as well? How disappointing.”
At Rozelin’s words, tinged with a subtle mockery, Garen faltered.
As his eyes narrowed, she gave another shrug and opened her mouth.
“Yes—rescued from a burning inferno and left with scars, traumatized by heat itself, dropping teacups and unable to bear hot water or showers—what possible reason could the great Duke Garen Wilbrid have for waiting for me?”
……
Rozelin spoke with leisurely precision, and Garen fell silent.
Unusually flustered, he dragged a dry hand across his face and let out a low click of his tongue.
“What exactly have you been discussing?”
“Well, the only thing the Marchioness and I have in common is you, isn’t it?”
……So that’s why you looked so pleased.”
“Yes—because the Marchioness dislikes you rather more than expected, and she was more than willing to agree with every word I said.”
At Rozelin’s deliberate needling, Garen regarded her with clear displeasure.
“You said you wanted to have a conversation with me.”
Rozelin looked at Garen, then nodded.
“Yes, I had things I wanted to tell you as well.”
……You wanted to tell me?”
“Yes.”
“That’s unexpected. Have you finally decided to become my daughter?”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Rozelin answered curtly and walked with measured steps toward the room he indicated for her.
The hour was late, and while the Missing Person Case was being resolved, she would be staying at Garen Wilbrid’s Mansion.
Of course, due to Cherti’s firm objections, others had come to stay as well, not just Rozelin.
“You seem to be receiving quite a bit of protection here. Your face has filled out considerably—you look better than before.”
“Yes. It’s my first time receiving this sort of care, so it often feels strange. And yet……”
Rozelin smiled quietly.
“Being protected isn’t entirely unpleasant. Today, my father even threatened to chain my wrist if I left the house.”
……That sounds rather problematic, actually.”
Garen said, his brow tightening slightly.
“What about a drink, Garen?”
……That wouldn’t be unpleasant.”
Garen did not refuse Rozelin’s suggestion.
“You know, my father’s embrace is quite comforting. Warmer than I expected.”
……
“My grandfather speaks harshly, but he’s quite kind. My Second Uncle is irritating, but he’s not a bad person, really. My First Uncle is more lighthearted than I thought.”
These were all things that twenty-seven-year-old Rozelin had never known before.
Garen, hearing Rozelin’s words without warning, looked at her with surprise.
As he opened the door to his room, Rozelin stepped inside.
“Garen, even though I dislike whatever you might do……”
……
“Because of you, I’ve been able to shed at least some of my regrets.”
At Rozelin’s words, Garen’s eyes widened slightly.
Rozelin seated herself before a small table in the room, which bore no signs of life, and spoke.
“So I do have a small measure of gratitude for you—the tiniest fraction of it.”
“You might as well say you don’t feel any at all.”
“No, I do feel some.”
“Do ants even have claws?”
“Well then, let’s say I’m grateful to you by the measure of your fingernails.”
“When did you start using my things as a measure of gratitude?”
“Because mine are too precious to waste.”
At Rozelin’s shameless remark, Garen, who had been retrieving Whiskey from a display cabinet, let out a hollow laugh.
“You’re the only one who speaks to me this way in my presence.”
“The Marchioness does, you know.”
“She doesn’t treat me as carelessly as you do.”
“I’d beg to differ.”
Rozelin let out a small, derisive murmur.
Garen pretended not to hear, setting ice and a glass before her, then settled into the chair across from her and poured whiskey into the tumbler he slid forward.
Rozelin, who had been watching the entire sequence unfold, accepted the golden whiskey and swirled it gently.
“You had something on your mind, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
Rozelin laughed at his admission.
“Let me take a guess.”
She took a sip of the drink.
With the tip of her finger, she traced the rim of the crystal glass, leaving a mark of lipstick, then opened her mouth with deliberate charm.
“Were you curious how I learned the New Church belonged to Makruksa? Or perhaps……”
She swallowed.
The movement of her throat seemed almost designed to seduce.
Garen clicked his tongue, watching Rozelin slip into the bad habit she always adopted when she was about to peel back someone’s secrets or strike a bargain.
“……how I found that one-eyed bastard? Or was it……”
“You want to know the connection between the arson case, the missing person case, and the epidemic.”
Garen cut her off mid-sentence, and Rozelin faltered.
“No, precisely speaking—what you’re curious about is how I know the relationship between these three.”
Rozelin looked at him with an expression of mild displeasure, then propped her chin on her hand with indifference.
“If I answer this, I’d like you to do something for me in return.”
“Do something……?”
“Yes. A favor.”
Garen blinked once, involuntarily taken aback by a word he would never have expected to hear from Rozelin’s lips.
His expression grew subtle.
“A favor from me?”
“Yes.”
“What would you ask of me?”
“Will you do it?”
Instead of answering his question, Rozelin asked again.
“It’s not my habit to agree to something without knowing what it is first.”
“It won’t harm you. It’s a simple request.”
“A simple request makes it even harder to understand.”
“It’s simple, but it’s something I can’t ask of anyone but you.”
At her loaded words, Garen smiled with genuine amusement.
She had always delighted him—always managing to surprise him in ways he could never anticipate.
“Fine. I’ll do it, within the bounds of what I’m able to.”
“Good. If you’re asking how I found out, the answer is simple.”
Rozelin’s eyes curved beautifully as she smiled.
“I once received a proposal from the King of Makruksa for the role of Queen.”
“……From the King of Makruksa?”
“Yes, to be precise—not from the leader before I died, but from the ‘King’ before that leader changed.”
Garen remained silent, regarding her intently.
“That’s when I heard it. That all of this was part of some ‘Great Plan’ they spoke of.”
A faint smirk crossed Rozelin’s lips.
“The Great Plan?”
“Yes. A plan for State Overthrow.”
“……State Overthrow? You mean a rebellion?”
Garen burst into laughter.
He laughed for some time before finally tapering off with gasps for breath.
“That’s the funniest jest I’ve ever heard.”
Rozelin shrugged her shoulders.
“And yet, remarkably enough, all of it was sincere. And truthfully—wouldn’t you say it’s been quite successful?”
The great Emperor had died young.
Kaluta had suffered grievous losses in war and gone to ground, while the Empire, ravaged by conflict and plague, groaned under the weight of endless suffering.
Criminals ran rampant on all sides, breeding unease, and the inexplicable phenomena that erupted without cease had worn the people’s trust thin.
The reason they’d arrested Rozelin and planned a grand public execution was surely to address this.
An attempt, however small, to appease the people’s hearts.
The great noble houses, shaken to their core, had suffered the theft of internal secrets and confidential information.
Criminal organizations had surfaced and begun operating openly under the name of the Guild.
Garen fell silent, and after a long moment, spoke again.
“……Then you must have seen the King’s face.”
“He was wearing a mask, so I never saw his face directly. But…….”
Rozelin’s gaze dropped.
“I have my suspicions about who it might be.”
Rozelin spoke quietly.
“Garen, is this world pleasant to you?”
“……I can’t say it’s bad.”
“I feel the same way, but that’s precisely why I can’t leave my world as it is.”
“…….”
“You understand now, don’t you? In that world…… there were far too many sacrifices.”
Rozelin looked at him.
“Garen, I’m going to die and return. So I’d appreciate it if you’d handle my body.”
“……What in the world are you saying?”
At Garen’s question, Rozelin smiled and finished her explanation. His face turned rigid in a way it never had before.
Not long after, the perpetrator of the Missing Person Case that had been the talk of the city was finally revealed.

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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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