The Baddest Villainess Is Back
Chapter 30
To Geron, money was something he could earn as much as he wanted, so spending a billion or two didn’t even make him flinch.
In the first place, material wealth held little meaning for him.
Of course, the same likely applied to the Ducal House as well.
Geron Wilbrid hadn’t been interested in Roselyn from the beginning, either.
At first, her only way of resisting or counterattacking others was through anger and irritation.
She had been that naive back then.
As a result, her reputation in social circles was quite poor, and Geron, who detested foolishness, saw no reason to pay her any mind.
The first time he truly took notice of her was when Roselyn had fled the Duke’s estate and was suffering under the retaliation of the nobility.
One day, she intercepted a business venture Geron Wilbrid had set in motion.
To be precise, she had sold information regarding a project Geron was pushing forward to another Count’s family that despised him.
Without Geron knowing, that family lured away the people associated with the project and snatched the business away with better terms.
Geron Wilbrid, who had effectively been robbed blind for the first time in his life, started that day with a hollow chuckle and ended it with a burst of hearty laughter.
Initially, he thought it was the Count’s doing and intended to dig into their background and retaliate.
However, a month later, wails of ruin were heard from another family, and three months after that, yet another family met a similar fate.
What made Roselyn clever was that she rarely did anything to harm the parties she sold the information to.
Nobles possess a certain pride.
Moreover, none of them wanted the stigma of having bought information from a disgraced daughter of a Duke.
Since the businesses they started with that information were generally highly successful, they had no reason to open their mouths.
Because they remained silent, the victimized families had no way of discovering the source of the leak.
Of course, Geron Wilbrid was quite persistent and did not give up.
At first, he began tracking her out of a rare sense of fury, and by the time there were three victims including himself, he continued out of curiosity.
After blackmailing, coaxing, and threatening the Count who had snatched his business, he finally managed to hear the truth from him.
The moment the name ‘the Bellion Lady’ left the Count’s lips, Geron felt an immense sense of amusement.
For the first time since his wife’s death, Geron Wilbrid burst into a great fit of laughter.
From that point on, Geron Wilbrid’s interest became Roselyn.
In truth, even after identifying Roselyn as the culprit, it wasn’t easy to track her movements or gather information.
From what he gathered, she hadn’t lived a particularly pleasant life.
It seemed she had suffered harshly for the first year or two after leaving home.
Yet, instead of giving up, she had gritted her teeth and endured; rather than surrendering or submitting, she seemed determined to bite back using the information she had overheard and gathered.
Bloomed by being thrown into the harsh world, Roselyn was clever.
She fled well and wove her webs skillfully to avoid detection, selling information only to families where there would be no mutual harm.
With the money from selling that information, she hired guards and lived a comfortable life.
‘What surprised me was that she continued to meet the 3rd Prince even after leaving home.’
To be exact, it seemed the 3rd Prince visited her steadily to meet her.
‘There was likely information provided by the 3rd Prince as well.’
Yes, that was how Roselyn survived.
Falling from the highest position to the very bottom, even after becoming a merchant of information, she flaunted her luxury and pleasure with that money.
She survived like that, biting him, biting the nobles, and finally throwing filth at those who had driven her into a corner.
Thinking of that made him feel cheerful, yet as he stared at the firmly closed door, his heart sank heavily.
Before he knew it, Geron—holding the jewelry she had sent—stood before the closed door, straightened his clothes, and knocked.
Knock, knock.
「Come in.」
At the voice from within, Geron opened the door and stepped inside.
A woman with water-colored hair, seeing Geron enter with a box in his arms, widened her eyes and froze.
「……What brings you here at this hour?」
「Oh dear, it seems the Marchioness was already having refreshments. I asked to be given the afternoon tea time.」
Geron spoke as if in genuine regret while looking at the remnants of the tea.
She looked down awkwardly at the half-decimated desserts before looking back at Geron.
「When are you going to give me a divorce?」
At the words she asked now like a greeting, Geron smiled silently.
「I will not be divorcing you.」
「I feel suffocated.」
「Let us go for a walk then.」
The Marchioness bit her lip as she watched Geron casually change the subject.
「I am telling you that I feel suffocated when I am with you.」
Her eyes, the same water-color as her hair, glared at him with resentment.
「……That is why I only visit once a day during tea time. Have some heart.」
Geron said, placing the box on the table.
「I don’t know why you, who were so obsessed with work and didn’t have the slightest interest in me, are suddenly acting like this.」
「I told you, I like you.」
「What kind of prank is it this time? Please, just leave me alone. If you won’t divorce me, then ignore me like you used to.」
The Marchioness, who was usually calm and fragile, closed her eyes tight and shouted.
Geron remained silent, maintaining his picture-perfect smile as always.
Instead, he pushed the box he brought toward her.
「A child I wish to take in as my own told me to give this to you.」
At Geron Wilbrid’s words, the Marchioness’s eyes widened.
「……What is this about suddenly wanting to take in a child?」
「Exactly what it sounds like. I will tell you if you join me for tea next time.」
At Geron’s teasing tone, she clamped her mouth shut.
Opening the box with a reluctant gaze, she froze, her eyes widening further.
The Marchioness, looking back and forth between Geron and the jewelry with an expression of disbelief, finally parted her lips after a long moment.
「Marquis, what are you really doing……?」
Geron remained silent at her question.
「Since I was the one who asked for this marriage first, I didn’t resent the Marquis for being indifferent. But I’m human too, and it was hard for me. That’s why I let go little by little and have finally given up on everything, I finally let it all go……」
「……」
「If you hate the talk of divorce, I won’t do it anymore. I had no intention of tarnishing the Marquis’s honor, so please, stop this.」
The Marchioness was practically pleading. Geron’s eyes trembled slightly.
Looking at his terrified wife, Geron sat before her for a moment, then slowly rose from his seat after a long silence.
「I shall come again at this time tomorrow.」
「……」
「I have much I wish to say, but I will wait until the Marchioness is ready, so please tell me whenever you are.」
At Geron Wilbrid’s words, the Marchioness kept her mouth shut.
「That was bought by the Bellion Lady. She said she bought it with you in mind even if I am distasteful to you, so do not throw it away.」
「……」
「Have a good day, Marchioness.」
The Marchioness stayed silent until Geron closed the door and left.
Even long after he had gone, she sat there, staring down at the jewelry.
「Wha— Wha…… What?」
Ian Bellion, flustered by Roselyn’s sudden visit and her out-of-the-blue bombshell statement, stammered stupidly in response.
One of his eyes was black and blue, gauze was stuck to his cheek, and his face was so swollen it was hard to even recognize who he was.
It seemed the rumors were true—that he was receiving “mental education” directly from the Duke every day under the guise of sparring.
「I told you to quit Makruksa.」
「Not that! Before that!」
Ian Bellion screamed, his pronunciation slurring.
「Ah.」
Roselyn let out an exclamation with an expressionless face.
「If you don’t quit, you’ll die soon.」
「Not that, even before that! And why aren’t you calling me your uncle properly?!」
At the ridiculous sight of Ian Bellion pointing his finger with his swollen face, Roselyn furrowed her brows in annoyance.
‘Before that?’
Ah, how bothersome.
Roselyn decided to simply repeat what she had said earlier.
「I saw a future where you die, and because of you, the whole family is ruined. Grandfather, Father, and you—everyone dies.」
「……」
She spoke once more, her voice devoid of any inflection.
