The Baddest Villainess Is Back
Chapter 54
“Whatever it is you’re thinking right now, Your Highness, it isn’t that. Please, just go to sleep.”
Even with her vision obscured, Roselyn had managed to sit up and clamp her hand over Arma’s mouth. He narrowed his eyes at her.
“Why are you sto— mmmph.”
“Don’t become the Emperor. You can even leave the Empire. Don’t live your life bound by words you’ve spat out only to regret them later. Just live freely.”
Roselyn spoke calmly.
With his mouth still covered, Arma stared at her in silence. His gaze widened for a moment before settling into a heavy, sunken depth rather than a gentle one.
A look of dissatisfaction directed itself at Roselyn, but since she could not see, she didn’t notice.
She simply wanted to eliminate the risk factors in this world.
Roselyn could not live a life dedicated to Arma. She had grown too numb for that, and she already knew a different Arma—one who was not him.
“You don’t need to endure anything for my sake, Arma.”
Arma grabbed her hand, pulling it away from his mouth. He stared silently into her unfocused red eyes.
“Sometimes, Roselyn, it feels like you aren’t looking at me. No, it’s more like you’re looking at me, but not seeing me.”
“…….”
Roselyn remained silent. The one she was seeing was the Arma she had loved.
‘Is that man full of regret in that other world?’
If she didn’t go back—if she didn’t return to the past to change the future…….
Would he continue to live like that?
In truth, she felt no guilt.
‘He got what he deserved.’
Since it meant he had been toying with people from the very beginning.
And yet, she still hoped he would be happy.
“You’re not denying it, Roselyn.”
To be honest, Roselyn didn’t particularly like the idea of sacrifice.
Pain was horrific, and death was not something she desired.
However, if she could put a price on her life, she wanted to try using it for someone else’s sake just once.
And that was for her own sake, not for this man.
“Is it because I’m weak?”
He asked suggestively.
Roselyn shook her head.
The person Roselyn knew and loved was someone who was frail and timid, yet never backed down.
Even if that had been nothing more than a fabricated mask…….
What Roselyn had loved was that mask. And so, now that it was broken, the thing she loved no longer existed.
“Is it because I’m a pathetic prince who gets looked down on by others?”
At Arma’s question, Roselyn shook her head again.
“……Then would it be enough if I became stronger than anyone else? If I trample over others and stand above them, if I even seize the title of Crown Prince—will you look at me properly then?”
By now, Roselyn’s brow was furrowed. She felt as though they weren’t communicating at all.
“Whatever this emotion is, I don’t want to lose you, Roselyn. So why are you driving me mad?”
“Um…… If you’re only going to say what you want to say, Your Highness, why are you even talking to me? You might as well go to your room and talk to a doll.”
At Roselyn’s dry, dissatisfied remark, Arma clamped his mouth shut.
After a moment of silence, Roselyn spoke.
“Arma.”
“Yes, Roselyn.”
“Once, you asked me why I wanted to break off the engagement.”
“……Yes.”
“The ideal type I mentioned before was actually a lie.”
Arma hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should confess that he already knew. In that interval, Roselyn’s lips parted again.
“In truth, I liked the you who was frail and timid, yet kind to me.”
She brought words to her tongue that she hadn’t been able to say a long time ago. Perhaps because it was something she had regretted so many times, the words flowed easily once she finally opened her mouth.
Arma froze, his eyes widening at her words.
“But the truth is, that’s not your actual personality, is it, Arma?”
If you don’t tell someone clearly that something is impossible, they end up harboring expectations.
Just as she had in her younger days.
Just as she had believed in the unconditional kindness of others when she first left home.
“I don’t know what your real personality is like, but I can tell you aren’t a frail person. You were wearing a mask, weren’t you?”
“Roselyn, that’s……!”
“I’m not interrogating you.”
She tried her best to keep her voice devoid of emotion. She didn’t want to make him uncomfortable by injecting her feelings into it; she merely wanted to convey the facts as clearly as possible.
“It’s just that I loved the mask, and I’ve caught a glimpse of the person behind it.”
Arma clenched his fists at her words.
“I only loved the character on the stage. Don’t you think it’s cruel to demand that I love the actor behind the scenes as well?”
Roselyn explained softly, hoping that Arma would understand.
“The dream you had was just a dream. Of course it won’t become the future.”
“…….”
“So there’s no need to be scared in advance. That will never become reality.”
Roselyn would make sure of it.
“Actually, those six months were the time I needed to forget your mask.”
At Roselyn’s blunt honesty, Arma looked at her with a shocked expression. Her words were so candid they left him speechless.
“Why……”
Roselyn turned her head away with a faint smile.
“……Because I liked you very much.”
Arma’s expression stiffened slightly at the words that drifted out after a long silence. And Roselyn said nothing more.
* * *
“To the radiant and noble Su—”
“That’s enough, sit down. It’s true that I am the sun, but I’ve heard that more than twenty times today alone; my ears are practically bleeding. I don’t even have the motivation for it. Isn’t there a more refreshing greeting? How tedious, how tedious.”
The Emperor waved his hand dismissively from the sofa, looking bored and annoyed.
‘A refreshing greeting?’
Roselyn frowned for a moment before speaking.
“Then…… greetings to the extinguished sun.”
“……You’ve certainly grown bold, haven’t you?”
“My goodness, why are nobles always so dissatisfied when I do exactly as they ask……”
Roselyn muttered under her breath.
Whether it was Ian Bellion, the Emperor, or her father—whenever she did what they asked, they just got cranky for no reason.
Though she grumbled about how difficult they were to please, Roselyn dutifully sat across from him as instructed.
“I heard you summoned me.”
“I summoned you a week ago, actually.”
“…….”
Looking at the Emperor, who acted more like a thug picking a fight at every turn, Roselyn spoke with a nonchalant face.
“I apologize for being late.”
“No, I don’t need an insincere apology. Still, I’m pleased that you’ve brought back quite a decent result.”
The Emperor replied honestly to Roselyn’s flat tone.
“Yes, I know.”
Roselyn stated simply.
The Emperor stared at her with a look that asked what kind of person she was, then nodded a beat late. He didn't know how she had managed to handle those ignorant, brazen Kalutans who couldn't be reasoned with, but she had certainly been a help.
“So, has Your Majesty’s headache eased a bit?”
The Emperor grinned at her.
“Very much so.”
The Emperor, smiling with a face as innocent as a young boy, rubbed his chin.
“That is a relief.”
Honestly, it was a great achievement. It was an accomplishment the Emperor hadn’t managed to achieve until his death in Roselyn’s previous world.
“Now there is only one thing left. Once I feel a bit better, I intend to handle the disappearance cases. Once that is settled, I ask that you dissolve the engagement as promised.”
“……Hmm.”
The Emperor rubbed his chin.
“What do you plan to do after the annulment?”
“I plan to go on a journey.”
She said.
Even for Roselyn, telling the Emperor that she intended to seek asylum in another country was out of the question, so she deflected with a vague answer.
“About that……”
The Emperor looked at Roselyn and smiled with a somewhat troubled expression.
As Roselyn froze with a sense of foreboding, he spoke again.
“It’s become a bit difficult.”
He whispered, leisurely rubbing his chin.
