The Baddest Villainess Is Back
Chapter 48
“Fire—!!”
At that terror-stricken scream, Roselyn snapped her head up.
Pushing Cherti’s shoulder back, she rushed to the window.
Outside, massive flames were already flickering from the center of the village.
Boom! Bang!
Explosions echoed throughout the village, likely caused by flammable materials catching fire.
“Little Duke Cherti, Your Grace!”
The door burst open, and a knight of the dukedom rushed in.
“It’s an arson attack! We must leave the village immediately!”
Cherti quickly pulled Roselyn to her feet.
“Roselyn, let’s go.”
“Yes.”
She was only wearing a negligee, but that hardly mattered in the face of death.
“Wait!”
Cherti hurriedly shed his jacket and draped it over Roselyn’s shoulders.
“The world is full of thieves. You mustn’t show your skin so carelessly.”
‘…I’ve already shown it, though.’
Roselyn thought indifferently as she was pulled along by Cherti. She had already worn traditional Kaluta clothing back in their lands.
“For all I know, this whole atrocity was committed just to catch a glimpse of your skin.”
He was talking utter nonsense.
…Or so Roselyn thought, but she remained silent, realizing those words bordered on being somewhat sacrilegious toward a father.
“Roselyn! Are you alright?”
“Yes, Arma.”
“……Arma?”
Roselyn let out a low exclamation at Cherti’s questioning tone before speaking up.
“That’s right. Father.”
“Yes, Roselyn.”
“I’ve decided to officially date His Highness the 3rd Prince. For a limited period of six months.”
Cherti, who had been checking the personnel and packing in a hurry to leave the inn, froze.
“……Daughter, why are you telling me this while we’re running away from an arsonist?”
And that, too, when the flames were surging right before their eyes.
“I felt like I should say it before I die.”
“No, saying it in this situation makes me feel like I’m actually going to die, so please stop, child.”
Cherti spoke sourly, glancing at Arma, who had also frozen in shock.
“For now, the goal is for everyone to get out of the village.”
Cherti blocked Arma’s path and sent Roselyn and the others out first.
After stubbornly ushering everyone else out, Cherti stepped out last and slammed the door shut right in front of Arma’s face.
“…….”
Left alone inside the inn quite suddenly, Arma paused.
By the time he opened the door himself and stepped outside, the group was already preparing to depart.
“……This is madness.”
For the first time in his life, Arma felt the smile on his lips falter.
He quickly took charge, leading the others as they moved.
Roselyn was also watching the hectic scene while seated inside a carriage, directing others as needed.
After staring out the carriage window at the situation for a long time, Roselyn frowned.
Just before the carriage departed, she tilted her head with an inscrutable expression.
“Aaaaaah!!”
Screams erupted from all directions.
Rumble—.
The ground at the edge of the city began to shake and heave upward.
“Something’s strange……”
Taking advantage of the chaos, Roselyn slipped out of the carriage.
In truth, she had no intention of running away from here to begin with.
“……Why isn’t he there?”
The man who should have been the first to come out and take command was nowhere to be seen.
Hiding herself behind a tree, she waited a moment for the carriage to leave.
“Depart!”
Clatter, clatter!
The carriage set off.
Watching it recede into the distance, Roselyn let out a sigh.
‘I didn’t plan on running anyway, but still……’
Only after the carriage vanished from sight did Roselyn rub the back of her neck and step out from behind the tree.
The sounds of the evacuation were growing distant, and the inn where she had stayed was now eerily quiet.
She looked down at the bracelet-shaped Seven Luminaries Stone on her wrist.
The Seven Luminaries Stone.
Seven stones of different colors, each possessing a unique power.
She had looked into various things during her time in Kaluta after hearing about Sansar’s true identity.
Khan had answered Roselyn’s questions sincerely, as she had been quite curious about Sansar.
During those talks, the subject of the bracelet Sansar had mentioned—strung with seven different colored beads—had come up.
The Seven Luminaries Stone was a bracelet of protection.
It was said that the people of Kaluta possessed strength and defensive power so great they could easily withstand any natural disaster, and these stones were the source of that power.
‘And among the seven stones, the red one is said to ward off fire.’
Roselyn thought as she re-entered the empty inn and climbed the stairs.
Doors were flung wide open everywhere, a testament to how dire the situation had been.
She opened a few more firmly closed doors one by one. No one was inside.
Finally, she found a closed door near the room she had occupied.
After a brief hesitation, she turned the handle.
“……Dear me, what are you doing here instead of fleeing?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
Roselyn said bluntly as she closed the door.
She scanned the room, which felt utterly devoid of life. It was so desolate it made her want to ask if anyone had actually been using it.
The man stood tall in the center of the room. As always, he was dressed to a stifling degree, looking down out the window.
“I didn’t know your wish was to burn to death.”
“It isn’t particularly that. I simply thought dying around now wouldn’t be so bad.”
“Why? Now that you’ve sent me back here, has it become boring?”
At Roselyn’s question, Geran Wilbrid slowly turned to face her.
His violet eyes glowed with an eerie light in the darkness as he gazed at her.
“I wonder.”
“Or does the Marchioness still hate you after all?”
“…….”
At her words, he let out a low laugh.
And by that laugh, she realized her hunch had been correct.
“It’s only natural she’d hate you. You know how much your discord fueled the town gossip, don’t you? Even if you change your mind now, it would only be frightening from the Marchioness’s perspective.”
“……That is why I thought I might as well disappear.”
“My, what a pathetic sort of love.”
At Roselyn’s indifferent remark, Geran Wilbrid’s elegant eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Even if you die, the Marchioness will soon meet someone else and find a new love.”
“…….”
“She’ll likely forget a man as luckless as you in an instant. She’ll live grandly on the fortune you sacrificed to leave her, traveling with a new lover, living a fresh, happy life being loved.”
Roselyn spoke flatly.
Geran’s mouth twisted for a moment before he turned his head away with a smiling face.
“Are you mocking me right now?”
“I’m stating facts.”
“…….”
“It’s a joke. I’m glad you felt mocked. It seems my sense of humor hasn’t died yet.”
“It is dead.”
Geran said firmly.
When Roselyn paused at his bluntness, he added one more thing.
“To the point that I briefly contemplated whether I should kill you.”
“Even if you kill me, the Marchioness won’t like you.”
Roselyn snorted.
“I’d bet half your fortune that the Marchioness has more affection for me than for you.”
“Why are you betting my fortune?”
“Just because.”
Roselyn shrugged.
‘I’m tired.’
She rubbed her eyelids as her vision grew hazy. It seemed her physical condition wasn’t great.
“Geran.”
“What is it?”
At Roselyn’s call, Geran looked at her.
“The human heart is a fickle thing. If it’s out of sight, it’s soon forgotten, but if it remains in view, it simply cannot be erased.”
Roselyn spoke slowly, her lips moving languidly as she looked at Geran.
“By tomorrow, rumors that you were in this village and news that flames swept through the town will reach the Capital.”
The corners of Roselyn’s lips curved upward. Geran looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Roselyn continued.
“I dislike you enough that I wouldn’t mind if you really, truly died.”
“…….”
“But the Marchioness might feel differently.”
Roselyn spoke as she detached a red bead from her bracelet.
As she pulled at it, the bead came away from the translucent string and into her hand.
“That is……”
Geran’s eyes widened slightly as he saw her bracelet.
