Translator: Nox

The Baddest Villainess Is Back

Chapter 60

“You seem to have had quite an enjoyable time.”

After several hours of conversation, she finally offered her late-night greetings and stepped out of the room. Gerran, who must have been standing there for some time, spoke to her with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“It was fun,” Roselyn replied with a shrug.

“By the way, have you taken up stalking now? How tragic.”

Gerran stiffened at Roselyn’s strangely mocking words.

As his eyes narrowed, she shrugged again and spoke.

“So, tell me. Why did Marquis Geron Wilbrid—the man who was rescued from a pit of fire by me, suffered burns, developed a trauma toward heat so severe he drops teacups and can’t handle hot water or showers—feel the need to wait for me?”

“…….”

Gerran fell silent as Roselyn drawled lazily.

In a rare display of flustered agitation, Gerran wiped his face with a dry hand and clicked his tongue lowly.

“Just what on earth did you two talk about?”

“Well, you’re the only common denominator between the Marchioness and me, aren’t you?”

“……So that’s why you looked so pleased.”

“Yes. It turns out the Marchioness dislikes you even more than I expected, so she was very eager to agree with everything I said.”

Gerran looked at her with a thoroughly displeased expression at Roselyn’s needling.

“I told you I wanted to talk.”

Roselyn looked at Gerran for a moment before nodding.

“Fine. I had something to say to you as well.”

“……You have something for me?”

“Yes.”

“That is unexpected. Have you finally decided to become my daughter?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Roselyn replied bluntly and walked leisurely toward the room he was leading her to.

Since it was late and they were in the middle of solving the disappearance cases, she had ended up staying at Geron Wilbrid’s estate.

Of course, due to Cherti’s adamant opposition, others were staying there along with Roselyn as well.

“You seem to be quite overprotected here. Your face looks much brighter; you look better than you used to.”

“Yes. It’s the first time I’ve ever been treated like this, so it often feels foreign. But still……”

Roselyn smiled quietly.

“Being protected isn’t half bad. Today, my father even tried to chain my wrists to stop me from leaving.”

“……That sounds like it might be a bit of a problem,” Gerran said, his brow furrowing slightly.

“How about a drink, Gerran?”

“……Not a bad idea.”

Gerran did not refuse Roselyn’s suggestion.

“Did you know? My father’s embrace was actually quite cozy and nice.”

“…….”

“My grandfather is foul-mouthed, but he’s quite a kind man. My second uncle is annoying, but well, he’s not a bad person. And my first uncle turned out to be much more boisterous than I thought.”

These were all things the twenty-seven-year-old Roselyn had never known.

Gerran looked at her in surprise at these unexpected words.

As he opened the door to his study, Roselyn stepped inside.

“Gerran, I dislike whatever it is you try to do for me, but……”

“…….”

“Thanks to you, I was able to let go of some of my lingering regrets.”

Gerran’s eyes widened slightly at Roselyn’s words.

Roselyn sat down at a small table in the room, which felt devoid of any sense of being lived in, and spoke.

“So, I do feel a tiny bit of gratitude toward you—about the size of an ant’s toenail.”

“I’d rather you say you have none at all.”

“No, it’s there.”

“Do ants even have toenails?”

“Fine, then let’s call it the size of your toenail.”

“Why have you been so obsessed with my body parts lately?”

“Because using mine would be a waste.”

Gerran, who was taking a bottle of whiskey out of a cabinet, let out a hollow laugh at Roselyn’s brazen remark.

“You are the only one who dares to act like this in front of me.”

“There’s the Marchioness.”

“She doesn’t treat me as recklessly as you do.”

“That’s not what I saw,” Roselyn muttered mockingly.

Gerran ignored her and brought over a glass and ice. He sat across from Roselyn, poured the liquor, and pushed the glass toward her.

Roselyn, who had been watching the process intently, took the amber whiskey and swirled it lightly.

“Weren’t you curious about something?”

“I am.”

Roselyn smiled at Gerran’s reply.

“Shall I try to guess?”

She took a sip of the drink. Lightly rubbing the rim of the crystal glass where her lipstick had left a mark, Roselyn spoke suggestively.

“Were you wondering how I knew the priest was from Makruksa? Or perhaps……”

Gulp.

The movement of her throat as she swallowed almost looked like an attempt to seduce him.

Gerran clicked his tongue, recognizing the bad habit Roselyn displayed whenever she was trying to get under someone’s skin or make a deal.

“How I knew the whereabouts of that one-eyed bastard? Or maybe……”

“I want to know the correlation between the arson, the disappearances, and the plague.”

Roselyn paused as Gerran cut her off mid-sentence.

“No, to be precise, I am curious as to how you know the relationship between those three.”

Roselyn looked at Gerran with a bored expression before resting her chin on her hand nonchalantly.

“If I answer that, I want you to do me a favor.”

“A favor……?”

“Yes, a favor.”

Gerran blinked involuntarily at a word he never expected to hear from Roselyn’s mouth. His expression turned subtle.

“To me?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of favor?”

“Will you do it?”

Roselyn asked again instead of answering his question.

“I am reluctant to give an answer without hearing what the favor is.”

“It won’t harm you. It’s a simple request.”

“If it’s a simple request, it’s even more incomprehensible.”

“It’s simple, but it’s a request that no one but you can fulfill for me.”

At Roselyn’s cryptic words, Gerran wore a mysterious smile. She always managed to entertain him. She always surprised him in ways he could never have predicted.

“Very well. As long as it is within my power, I shall grant it.”

“Good. If you’re asking how I knew, the answer is simple.”

Roselyn’s eyes curved into a beautiful smile.

“I was once offered the position of Queen by the King of Makruksa.”

“……By the King of Makruksa?”

“Yes. To be precise…… not the leader from before I died, but from the ‘King’ who reigned before that leader was replaced.”

Gerran watched her in silence.

“That’s when I heard it. The fact that all of this is part of some ‘Great Plan’ they speak of.”

A faint, cynical smile touched the corners of Roselyn’s lips.

“A Great Plan?”

“Yes. A plan to overthrow the nation.”

“……Overthrow the nation? You mean a rebellion?”

Gerran burst into a loud laugh.

He laughed for quite a while before finally tapering off into wheezing chuckles.

“That is the funniest joke I’ve heard in my life.”

Roselyn shrugged.

“Surprisingly, they were completely serious about all of it. And in reality…… don’t you think they were quite successful?”

The Great Emperor had died early.

Kaluta suffered heavy losses in the war and went into hiding, and the Empire was devastated by war and plague, groaning in constant agony.

Criminals ran rampant everywhere, heightening anxiety, and public sentiment worsened as mysterious phenomena occurred without end.

The reason they had tried to capture Roselyn and hold a massive public execution must have been for that very reason.

An attempt to soothe the public’s anger, even if only a little.

Renowned noble families were shaken to their core as internal secrets and information were leaked. Criminal organizations emerged from the shadows, operating openly under the guise of guilds.

Gerran fell silent, and only after a long pause did he speak again.

“……Then you must have seen the King’s face.”

“He was wearing a mask, so I never saw his face directly. But……”

Roselyn lowered her gaze.

“I have someone in mind.”

Roselyn said.

“Gerran, is this world enjoyable for you?”

“……I can’t say it’s bad.”

“I feel the same, but that’s exactly why I can’t just leave my world be.”

“…….”

“You know it too by now. In that world…… there was too much sacrifice.”

Roselyn looked at him.

“Gerran, I am going to die and go back. So, I want you to take care of my body.”

“……What on earth are you talking about?”

To Gerran’s question, Roselyn smiled as she finished her explanation. Gerran’s face hardened more than ever before.

And not long after, the culprit behind the disappearance cases that had been stirring the world was revealed.