The Baddest Villainess Is Back
Chapter 42
Chapter 42
He lost.
Even if it was just a proxy, it was impossible to defeat someone called the Khan of Kaluta in a purely physical fight without using the Abyss.
From the start, the Kaluta were a people said to be born with the Abyss dwelling within every one of them.
Having been defeated in less than five minutes during his fight with Hatan, Arma—who hadn’t dared to step foot outside his tent since—buried his face in a pillow.
Even as he pounded his head with his fists, the fact that he was pathetic remained unchanged.
Only after his defeat did he realize why Roselyn had looked at him with such pity.
‘I was arrogant.’
He had been arrogant.
To begin with, the Khan’s proxy, Hatan, was not an opponent easy enough for Arma to defeat while hiding his true skills.
He should have recognized that despite Hatan’s youthful appearance, the man was far older.
The man was seasoned and possessed much more combat experience, while Arma was still young.
In truth, if Arma had gone all out, he would have been a much better match.
But Arma’s hands and feet were tied.
He couldn’t reveal his full power under the watchful eyes of Yuldian and Roselyn, and by the rules, the Abyss was forbidden.
“Dammit…”
He muttered softly, scowling.
There could be no confession more uncool than this.
‘Why on earth did I say those words back then?’
When told to state his ambitions, he had simply searched for something appropriate.
Hatan had offered his to his lover, so Arma had merely followed suit.
He swore he hadn’t intended to say anything bizarre.
He only wanted to delay the annulment of the engagement a little longer.
That was truly all it was.
After delaying it and delaying it…
‘What was I planning to do after delaying it?’
Arma lay sprawled on the bed, lost in thought.
Roselyn had told him it was all right, but she hadn’t said she would reconsider the annulment.
Her heart remained unchanged.
Perhaps Roselyn had even guessed that he would lose.
“If Roselyn says she dislikes me for being weak, I will change.”
“So if I win here, please reconsider the annulment.”
“Please allow me to like Roselyn.”
“I like you, Roselyn.”
“I love you.”
Arma let out a sigh and slammed his face into the pillow repeatedly.
It was the most foolish, idiotic thing he had done in his life.
‘What do you mean, “like”…’
He had intended to just stay low and play dead for a while.
After playing dead, he simply wanted to escape the Imperial Palace and live a comfortable life.
“Roselyn, Roselyn…”
Arma murmured softly.
‘What is it, exactly?’
In fact, for some time now, Arma had been dreaming of a world where Roselyn was dead.
In that world, Arma would go every day to sit silently by the grave where she was buried, returning only at sunset.
Even though he knew it was a dream, it was strangely vivid, making him unwilling to let Roselyn go.
He felt as though he must not let her go.
Perhaps because that anxiety took precedence, his words had outpaced his actions.
To deal with the words he’d blurted out, he had even spat out the unwarranted claim that he liked her.
‘I like someone?’
Arma chewed over his own words again and burst into laughter.
He exhaled slowly.
‘Ridiculous.’
His blue eyes sank deep, deep into darkness.
A dangerous aura surged over what had been lively eyes.
He slowly swept his hair back.
‘Who would I become the Emperor for?’
Instead of wearing a golden crown, he would wear black clothes.
He would interfere with the Emperor at every turn and pray for the downfall of the Empire.
“…”
He slowly sat up.
Due to the Emperor’s greed, his life had been nothing but an abyss.
Everyone ignored him, and everyone took him lightly.
Growing up amidst the title of a bastard and constant contempt, all he had were masks to hide his inner thoughts and a pitch-black darkness.
The more he excelled, the greater the threat became, and he had even developed immunity to the poisons he was fed day by day.
And the Emperor had turned a blind eye to all of it.
Solely for the sake of the one woman he had given his heart to.
To prove to the world that he had no interest or curiosity regarding that woman.
That was why Arma hated his father more than anyone else in the world.
That base man who kept her hidden away in some secret place only he knew, preventing even his own child from meeting her.
“And yet, there’s no way I could fall in love.”
Arma let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Yes, it was clearly just a stubborn streak triggered by Roselyn’s refusal to be pushed away.
‘Right. Since she says she wants to proceed with the annulment so badly, it’s better to go ahead with it.’
Realizing that his uncharacteristic behavior had been sparked by Roselyn, Arma reached a firm conclusion.
‘If I am swayed by such small emotions, I won’t be able to achieve my goal.’
Standing up, Arma cleared his head and lightly stretched his body.
He had been lying down for a few days claiming to be unwell, but it was time to go out and let everyone know he was fine.
He was also scheduled to head back to the Empire in a few days.
Once things were settled, he figured he could just tell Roselyn to proceed with the annulment.
‘I was planning to leave the Imperial Palace soon anyway…’
There was no need to maintain the engagement with her.
It was then.
Knock, knock.
A soft knocking sound was heard.
“3rd Prince-nim, it’s Roselyn.”
At the familiar voice, Arma’s shoulders flinched.
“If you’re in there, may I come in?”
At those words, Arma’s eyes widened.
He glanced around once and then hurriedly dove back into bed.
He placed a dried water basin towel over his forehead and pulled the blanket up high.
“…Yes, please come in, Roselyn.”
His cold voice was nowhere to be found; he spoke in a heavily suppressed, raspy tone, sounding like someone who had been suffering all night.
Arma closed and opened his eyes tightly at his own foolish behavior.
‘There’s no other way to describe this but “stupid”.’
Why on earth had he decided to pretend to be sick?
As he watched the firmly closed door open, he felt like biting his tongue.
Seeing Roselyn enter, Arma attempted to carefully sit up.
If only Roselyn hadn’t raised her hand to stop him.
“No, you don’t have to get up. I heard you weren’t feeling well.”
“…No. How can I stay down when my fiancée is here?”
Arma spoke weakly while feebly propping himself up.
“It’s fine. I only came by for a moment because I have something to say. I won’t stay long.”
Roselyn scanned Arma once, then soaked the dried towel in water and placed it back on his forehead.
“When you’re sick, it’s best to sleep a lot. I know because I’ve been very ill before.”
Speaking dryly, Roselyn opened her mouth.
“3rd Prince-nim.”
“Yes.”
“Do you like me?”
“…”
Arma’s lips parted soundlessly.
Of course, those were his own words, but he hadn’t expected her to ask so bluntly.
“…If I say I do, would that make things difficult for you, Roselyn?”
However, what came out of his mouth was his unrefined inner thought.
At that, Roselyn gave a short nod.
“Yes.”
“…”
It was an incredibly cold-hearted answer.
Arma looked at her with an even more bewildered expression.
“Then why did you ask? If you’re intending to mock me…”
“I wanted to tell you that I like you too, Prince-nim, but that we can’t be together.”
“…What?”
At Roselyn’s bombshell statement, Arma had so much to say that he was rendered speechless instead.
“So, shall we try dating for just half a year?”
At the words that followed, Arma quietly raised his hand and pinched his cheek hard.
‘…It hurts.’
And it hurt quite a bit.
At the clear evidence that this wasn’t a dream, Arma unconsciously opened his mouth.
“Half a year…? No, more than that, you like me…? Me…? But why…”
He had so much to say that he couldn’t organize his thoughts, and there were too many dissatisfying words.
His heart throbbed.
‘Why is it doing this?’
He blankly raised his hand and pressed it against his chest.
“Is half a year not to your liking?”
If he said he didn’t like it, he felt as though she would immediately reply, ‘Then never mind,’ so he hurriedly nodded his head.
In other words, Arma was being blatantly swayed by the small emotion he had dismissed as insignificant just a moment ago.
“…No, I like it.”
It was a bold decision by the 3rd Prince, who was supposed to never fall in love.
