The Baddest Villainess Is Back
Chapter 19
It was because Roselyn’s eyes had grown wide with shock.
She looked genuinely stunned.
“……I am your granddaughter?”
“……Ah, yes.”
Roselyn blinked before answering.
It was because, until the day she died in her past life, Roselyn had never once doubted that she was an illegitimate child of the Bellion family.
“Why am I not illegitimate? Surely, even on the family register……”
“You are properly registered. You are the one and only granddaughter of Devon Bellion and the only daughter of Cherti Bellion.”
Devon’s lips twitched as if to add an explanation, but instead, he placed a cigar in his mouth.
He had judged that this wasn’t a matter for a third party to meddle in.
“Ask your father for the details.”
Roselyn nodded slowly.
She agreed that this wasn’t the kind of story that would be pleasant to hear from someone else.
‘But why?’
Come to think of it, why had she been so certain she was illegitimate?
Roselyn pondered.
‘Father…… never said it directly.’
In the first place, they rarely saw each other face-to-face.
However, the young Roselyn had spent her days searching for a reason.
A reason why her father hated and disliked her so much.
“So…… this grandfather of yours has yet to hear your answer.”
At the sound of his voice, Roselyn quickly pulled herself out of her thoughts and nodded.
“Yes.”
It was a lie.
She had no such ability.
However, she had simply decided that claiming to have an Abyss that saw the future would make her movements easier.
“I knew it.”
“Yes.”
Devon Bellion nodded with a satisfied expression.
“But Grandfather.”
“Hmm?”
At the title he had finally been waiting for, Devon Bellion nodded eagerly.
“What is it? Do you have a favor to ask?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me anything.”
Roselyn offered a small, indifferent word of thanks before speaking.
“It smells like tobacco; could you please put it out?”
At Roselyn’s words, the cigar Devon Bellion was holding dropped to the floor with a thud.
He had been so flustered by the unexpected request that the strength had left his fingers.
To hide his embarrassment, he moved his foot and crushed the cigar out.
When Devon composed himself and looked up again, he saw a faint look of contempt on Roselyn’s face.
It was the look one might give a pathetic adult caught spitting on the street in broad daylight.
He let out a troubled groan and hung his head.
Cherti Bellion had almost never attended a banquet.
Excluding the time he was forced to go to one after his coming-of-age ceremony and stood there like a stone statue, that is.
Despite being over forty, the number of times he had attended a banquet or social gathering could be counted on one hand.
Consequently, Roselyn Bellion had never had a proper debutante ball either.
There had been no one to meticulously look after her, and she herself hadn’t been particularly interested.
Above all, she had always been sickly as a child, and her father had always disapproved of her going out anywhere.
Roselyn lowered her gaze and smoothed out the heavily crumpled letters one by one.
[Roselyn, I heard you’re attending the banquet at the Imperial Palace. If the seat next to you happens to be empty……]
[I’m worried since you never had a proper debutante ball. If it’s alright, this banquet, with me…….]
[How about going to the banquet together? I’m afraid you might cause an accident if you go alone…….]
[I’m worried you might collapse again. How about we go to the banquet together? Of course, I know I might be a burden to you, so you can refuse. If you’re okay with it, you could wear a few more Control Devices to be safe…… damn it…….]
[I’m sorry, but this banquet,
with Father
going…….]
The pile was full of papers crumpled up just like that.
And the one who had come by earlier that afternoon to deliver them was the butler, Dean.
Roselyn let out a sigh.
‘What was he planning to do by making me wear more Control Devices?’
Control Devices weren’t good for those with abilities.
She had heard that because they forcibly suppressed one’s power, the more one wore, the more painful the Abyss became.
It supposedly felt like the strength was slowly draining from your body, leaving you lethargic.
Looking at it that way, the Emperor, Duke Bellion, and her father—who all wore multiple Control Devices with nonchalant faces—were truly remarkable people.
‘Maybe that’s why Father’s face is always so sallow.’
In the last letter, the word ‘Father’ was practically scribbled over.
She knew he wasn’t indecisive by nature, but he was far too cautious.
‘Well, I suppose it’s an ability that kills people if you aren’t cautious.’
But what kind of person writes over ten letters only to crumple them all up and throw them in the trash?
‘It’s not like they’re love letters.’
For the record, Roselyn hadn’t received a single one of these.
Looking back now that time had passed, it seemed her father hadn’t exactly been at ease either.
And Roselyn found the whole situation frustrating.
So, without further thought, she headed straight for her father.
Despite being the heir to the Bellion family, he stubbornly insisted on staying in the basement rooms.
Of course, she had heard he hadn’t become the heir because he wanted to.
The eldest son was a blood-crazed berserker who spent his time on battlefields, and the other was a drunken wastrel who never set foot in the house, so his father was the only one left.
‘Still, he’s not exactly a mole…….’
This was why they rarely met.
Cherti Bellion seldom left the basement, and Roselyn had no reason to go down there.
Roselyn frowned as she descended into the dark basement.
‘Living in a place like this is why he’s so gloomy.’
She clicked her tongue and shook her head.
As she reached the bottom, it was bright enough to look inhabited.
The cool air of the basement wafted up. It had originally been a renovated dungeon.
She had heard that the new dungeon had been moved beneath the annex.
After scanning the hallway, which still held the characteristic dampness of a basement, she searched her memory to find his room.
She leaned her ear against the door to check for any sign of life, then knocked twice.
“I’m busy, so get lost.”
“…….”
Roselyn’s eyes widened slightly.
Without responding, she knocked on the door once more.
“I said get lost! Stop being so f*cking annoying. If you want to get poisoned and die, then go ahead and……!”
Clack, the door swung open.
Cherti Bellion, who had been raising his voice with a distorted face, gaped and widened his eyes.
“Go ahead and…… go ahead and……”
At the sight of Roselyn’s indifferent face, he began to stutter.
“……go ahead and find a safe place to train. So you don’t kill anyone.”
His mouth, babbling desperately to fix the situation, ended up spewing something bizarre.
Cherti felt like slapping his own mouth as he spoke quickly.
“……What brings you here? Didn’t I always tell you? It’ll be a nuisance if you come down here recklessly and start acting all sickly and ailing again because of the bad air……”
Cherti felt like biting his tongue.
There was simply no way to stop the thoughts that burst out whenever he was nervous.
That was why he found writing easier than speaking.
Letters were more comfortable than conversation, and reading books was better than attending lectures.
With a letter, you could write it down, think it over for a long time, and reflect before sending it.
“So…… you’re saying you were worried that I, who have been sickly since I was young, would get hurt because of the bad basement air, Father?”
Roselyn, who had been staring blankly at the stiff-faced Cherti, spoke bluntly.
At that, Cherti flinched.
“…….”
“I thought you were telling me to get lost because you hated me.”
“……That was just a slip of the tongue.”
Cherti Bellion’s lips twitched, but realizing that anything he said would sound strange, he closed his mouth again.
He wanted to be a perfect parent, lacking in nothing, at least for his daughter.
But he had ruined everything, from start to finish.
He had ruined it all.
“Should I keep standing here? Or may I come in?”
“……Sure.”
He nodded and turned around, but then he saw his disastrous room and jumped in surprise, planting his feet firmly to block the entrance.
“No, not here. Let’s go upstairs.”
“I like it here. I’m tired.”
“Then to the drawing room next door……”
His lips twitched as he recalled the numerous poisons in the drawing room, and he closed his mouth again.
“No, wait.”
His mind raced.
However, there was nothing in the basement except for his bedroom and the drawing room.
Next to that was the laboratory.
Next to that was the training room where he practiced controlling his Abyss.
Other than those, there was only a bleak dining hall.
‘And next to that is…… the poison storage…….’
As his thoughts reached that point, Cherti’s face turned sallow.
There was nowhere suitable to take a child.
