The Baddest Villainess Is Back
Chapter 55
Roselyn felt a surge of irritation flare up within her, but after seeing who she was facing, she slowly suppressed it.
She wanted to strike the Emperor’s ever-smiling face, but she couldn’t actually do so.
Even if the Emperor was beaming with a playful grin, he wasn’t generous enough to overlook an act of insubordination.
She had to resolve this through conversation while he was still in a relatively moderate mood.
“…What exactly do you mean by that?”
Roselyn asked dryly, keeping her emotions in check and her annoyance under control.
The Emperor tapped the armrest of the sofa with his index finger, then spoke with a bright smile.
“Kaluta specifically designated Roselyn Bellion for the diplomatic role.”
He knit his brows and pulled the corners of his mouth downward, looking as if things had become quite troublesome. Based on his expression alone, he seemed deeply sympathetic.
“…….”
“From my perspective, it’s become a bit of a pity for you to break off the engagement.”
Of course, Roselyn didn’t believe a word of it.
Roselyn stared at the Emperor in silence.
Her stiff face showed no signs of softening, and the Emperor met her dissatisfied gaze with a look of genuine fascination.
‘So she can make a face like that.’
The Emperor rubbed his chin.
‘In the past, she always looked at the floor without a single expression, just like a doll, but now…’
It seemed she was capable of getting angry.
The Emperor shrugged at Roselyn.
Originally, as long as she kept her promise, breaking off the engagement wasn’t a bad idea.
His youngest son had no interest in the throne, and the Emperor had no intention of giving the crown to a child who didn’t want it.
‘The problem is that Kaluta trusts the Lady of Bellion quite a bit.’
The Emperor recalled the young leader of Kaluta he had briefly met.
The boy’s voice, conveying his opinions as the envoy of Kaluta, had been firm and resolute.
‘The moment the Lady of Bellion breaks her engagement, all the credit will go to the Bellion Ducal House.’
That was unfavorable in many ways.
From the Emperor’s standpoint, it was better for Roselyn to hold the title of ‘Fiancée of the 3rd Prince.’ It was more beneficial for the Emperor if she maintained the current engagement.
‘…And if the young lady is around, the youngest might just change his mind.’
The Emperor, Severus, was not a fool.
He knew Arma Dianitas resented him. He also knew well that as much as Arma resented him, he also resented the Empire he ruled.
Arma resented everything born of the Empire. Thus, his youngest had long ago given up on loving the Empire.
To turn his eyes away from everything in the Empire and to ignore his given duties and responsibilities, Arma had hidden his claws and crumpled his body to fit into a box that didn’t suit him, playing the fool.
The Emperor remained silent because his own contribution to the youngest choosing that path was immense.
“I understand Your Majesty’s position.”
Roselyn nodded.
The Emperor raised his head, emerging from his thoughts to look at Roselyn.
“It certainly seems like a loss for you.”
She spoke stiffly, quite shamelessly, as if stating an unchangeable fact.
The Emperor suppressed a sudden urge to burst into laughter at her arrogant yet brazen remark.
‘Why on earth was a gem like this hidden in the mud?’
The Emperor wondered.
‘Did the Ducal House hide her on purpose?’
Just as he had.
Severus had tried desperately to hide the person he had come to love.
It is said that one naturally wants to give everything to the one they love, but the Emperor was not like that. He was the possessor of a base and sinister personality that wanted to keep her solely for himself.
And so, he hid her from the world—the woman who should have held the most noble position.
To prevent news of her survival from spreading, he told the young Arma that she was dead.
Because of that, the boy had to grow up in envy and solitude for a long time.
Attaching Roselyn Bellion—a girl who received no attention in social circles and was closer to a laughingstock—as his fiancée was also for that reason.
If one had to be precise, Severus cherished Arma the most among his three sons, but because he cherished him, he had to pretend not to love the boy.
However, the Emperor was aware that Roselyn Bellion was the precious treasure of the Ducal House.
And that the Little Duke’s way of showing love was incredibly clumsy.
Conversely, such was Severus’s love.
He was the Emperor, the supreme being, and the only sun of the Empire.
If he showed favor toward something, everyone would target it and try to exploit it. If he showed dislike, they would use it as a weakness.
Thus, Severus never revealed his likes or dislikes to anyone.
That was the life he had lived, and it applied to people without exception.
Therefore, the only person he truly loved could never be proudly revealed to the world.
He had never once truly embraced the son born of that beloved person, either.
So, Severus acknowledged that the entire process he undertook to protect what was his must have left Arma scarred.
That was why the Emperor did not raise Arma to be the Crown Prince.
The capacity for being an Emperor was clear. Coincidentally, it was the youngest, Arma, who most strongly inherited his blood, and the Emperor did have ambitions for him.
Yet, he did not force the throne upon a child who did not love the country.
He didn’t provide him with the education of an Emperor and remained a bystander regardless of how he lived. He only taught the 1st Prince and 2nd Prince the ways of kingship and supported them.
Even so, there was only one reason he had yet to appoint a Crown Prince.
It was to give Arma the opportunity and time to choose.
If Arma wanted it, the Emperor intended to hand the throne to him.
However, despite waiting a long time, Arma Dianitas still showed no interest in the throne.
‘…No, I thought he didn’t.’
The Emperor looked at Roselyn, who was frowning and showing clear signs of frustration.
It was obvious she wanted to storm out of the room this instant, but couldn’t move because he was the Emperor.
The Emperor had experienced love. It was a very twisted love.
There was also a period when he denied the love that had found him for quite a long time.
Days created by the arrogance of thinking he could never truly love someone.
Locking up a free-spirited person in a giant birdcage he built, yet unable to even visit often….
The poor soul who ended up receiving the love he gave.
Severus’s love was a form of imprisonment.
And Arma was just like him.
As he saw it, Arma already had feelings for Roselyn.
Roselyn’s presence would keep Arma in this Empire.
She would be the reason the youngest, who resents the Empire, would come to care for it.
As long as Roselyn belonged to this Empire, Arma would lavishly tend to the giant birdcage that was the Empire.
Just as he had.
‘So, while I’m sorry to say it, I cannot let you go easily.’
The Emperor slowly rubbed his chin.
“Is there nothing else you desire besides the annulment?”
“Yes.”
Roselyn answered firmly.
“It’s a bit awkward for me to say this, but my youngest is quite impressive. What you see isn’t everything.”
“I know.”
Roselyn replied flatly.
The Emperor paused at the sincerity contained in that dry voice.
“But His Highness the 3rd Prince is not someone I can handle. More than anything, he does not wish to become Emperor.”
“His mind might have changed.”
“If the reason his mind changed is me, then that’s a problem.”
Roselyn’s voice was resolute.
The Emperor looked at Roselyn with a smiling face and tilted his head.
“Why do you think that?”
Roselyn looked at the Emperor in silence.
“Because what I loved was the mask of His Highness the 3rd Prince.”
“A mask…?”
“The 3rd Prince is very much like Your Majesty.”
The Emperor’s eyes narrowed.
“The fact that he can hold his breath and hide his claws for nearly ten years for the sake of a single moment, and that he won’t hesitate to do anything or discard anyone for his goals.”
“…….”
The smile on the Emperor’s lips deepened.
Even though Roselyn saw it, she continued to speak.
“I understand you covet me because you think I’ll be of help, but I have no desire to be helpful.”
Roselyn paused for a beat and then added.
“More than anything, I dislike people who are two-faced. I have a history of being stabbed in the back.”
At Roselyn’s words, the Emperor burst into a loud laugh.
Just as a faint irritation began to cloud Roselyn’s expressionless face at the sound of his boisterous, sky-shaking laughter—
The Emperor abruptly stopped laughing.
