The Baddest Villainess Is Back
Chapter 22
Arma, who had told her to run first so he could face the assassins alone, never appeared at the promised location.
So, excluding the man standing before her now, Roselyn had never seen anyone block her path before.
It wasn’t because she was strong that she hadn’t seen it.
It was because no one had ever tried to stand in her way.
It was the same inside the Duke’s estate and outside of it.
Thus, she lived without even expecting it.
She had intended to handle things on her own anyway.
There was no one to help even if she cried, and venting about her struggles would only burden the listener further.
‘In that case, I should just endure it alone.’
She had lived her life thinking that way.
The twenty-seven years Roselyn had lived in her own world were a time of becoming accustomed to loneliness.
Thanks to that, Roselyn was now fine even if no one protected her.
That was why she remained composed even when pointed at as a wicked woman without a shred of loyalty who had abandoned all natural ties.
She had survived perfectly well as a criminal framed for the regicide of the 3rd Prince.
The period she spent on the run was about a year, but Roselyn had learned more in that one year than she had in the previous twenty-six.
She gained enough medical knowledge to treat her own wounds.
She learned how to survive alone without leaning on others.
She realized that stealing was harder than she thought.
She felt that there were almost no people to trust.
She developed the patience to endure pain.
She learned that enduring, holding it in, and staying silent were not always the best solutions.
She realized that if you don’t speak, some things will never be conveyed.
She engraved the way of living alone into her body.
She came to know a bone-deep loneliness.
She realized what love was.
She knew loss.
…And she learned regret.
“Granddaughter, are you alright?”
So…
Those words made Roselyn feel a bit choked up.
She thought she had long since given up on things like relationships…
But why did those few words sound so poignant?
She couldn’t even remember the last time she had been asked if she was alright.
However, Roselyn thought:
She had felt that her returned life wasn’t great but wasn’t bad either, but in truth, that wasn’t quite the case.
It was then.
Suddenly, Roselyn’s vision blurred.
Drip.
In an instant, tears poured from Roselyn’s eyes.
The first to notice and freeze was Devon, who had been asking after her.
The next was Cherti, standing behind him.
And finally…
“…My Lady?”
It was Arma, who had been blocking her path.
He was looking at Roselyn with wide eyes, like someone who had seen something that absolutely should not be seen.
“Are, are you alright? Are you in much pain? I… for a moment, no. I mean… here, a handker—”
Just as Arma was hurriedly fumbling to pull something out to offer her.
“Granddaughter!! Why are you crying!!”
Devon, who had been standing with his mouth agape for a long while, shoved Arma aside and rushed forward, shouting.
Crying?
‘Who?’
Roselyn thought blankly.
“Is it that bastard? Did that bastard hurt you?! Fck, I’ll trample that fcking sht-stain from his dck up and kill him. This motherf*cker must be crazy to want to die so badly…!”
A strange wind began to howl around his murderous aura.
This was despite being indoors.
Just as Roselyn was about to reach out in panic.
“…Child.”
A trembling hand grabbed Roselyn’s sleeve.
“You…”
Cherti’s fingertips were shaking faintly.
Only after seeing the droplets hitting the floor did Roselyn realize she was crying.
“…Oh.”
She let out a soft exclamation at the tears flowing down her cheeks.
“…My, I have no idea what is happening during this joyous banquet I’ve attended with my wife for the first time in a long while.”
Someone placed a hand firmly on Roselyn’s shoulder and spoke.
“Roselyn, are you alright?”
Now even Marquis Gerren had appeared.
Roselyn felt like she was about to faint.
However, unlike her sickly body, Roselyn’s mental state was quite tough and tenacious…
And unfortunately, she did not faint.
“…Marquis Gerren…!”
Instead, Roselyn pulled a small pill from a pocket in her sleeve and shoved it, along with her finger, down the throat of Cherti, who was standing there with his mouth open in shock.
“Gack—!”
Cherti, who had been staggering on the verge of a rampage, passed out.
That was it.
Since Roselyn couldn’t faint herself, she decided to make someone else faint instead.
And it was a brilliant success.
“Is this for real?”
Roselyn, lying in bed with a cold wet towel on her forehead, muttered softly.
A room with an excessively flashy chandelier, so large and wide it made the person lying down feel uneasy, and shimmering with gold in every direction so that one only wanted to stare at the ceiling.
A bed that was more than spacious—excessive enough for five people to sleep in.
Various gift bundles placed by her bedside.
Even a flamboyant bouquet of flowers stuck in an over-the-top vase.
Indeed.
Roselyn was currently lying on a massive bed in a massive room in the castle, assigned to her through the Emperor’s consideration.
The reason was nothing major.
‘To think I’d catch a fever just from crying a little yesterday.’
Come to think of it, she had been weak around this time.
She had thought her body felt a bit warm after the banquet ended in such a mess yesterday, but she hadn’t paid it any mind.
Back when she lived away from home, a fever of this degree was laughable.
Was it because of that?
Thinking back, she might have been at her healthiest then.
A fever of this level was actually proof that her cells were working hard, so she could live vigorously.
But now, thanks to her excessive guardians, she was buried deep in thick white blankets with only her neck sticking out.
‘I’d rather move around.’
She was used to this kind of fever; it was nothing.
If she was going to live independently, it was annoying to be sickly every time this happened.
Based on experience, a sickly body is just something you get used to.
As such, after a brief deliberation, Roselyn rose from her seat.
Since she was already at the Imperial Palace, she intended to visit the library.
She wanted to grasp the political situation better and minimize the deviation from her original world as much as possible.
Of course, even if she became independent, she had no intention of living like a beggar as she had before, so she needed to think of a suitable business item.
‘And… it’s about time I catch the culprit of the disappearance cases.’
However, the reason she wasn’t moving right this second was because those disappearances weren’t scheduled to happen again for a while.
Even if they did, Marquis Gerren would handle it on his own.
The problem was the business.
‘I already gave the bonanza mine to the family…’
It was a mine that would have been difficult for Roselyn to manage alone anyway.
She had stopped it from falling into others’ hands, so it wasn’t a bad result.
‘Let’s go to the library first and think about what comes next.’
Thinking briefly, she threw on a shawl and left the room.
She never imagined that such a trivial action would turn the Imperial Palace upside down.
