The Baddest Villainess Is Back
Chapter 77
The voice, thick with guilt, sounded painful.
He placed a fresh, damp towel on the sleeping Roselyn’s forehead and remained by her side, holding her hand until the break of dawn.
Over and over again, he re-wetted the dried cloth and laid it back upon her brow.
It was only when Roselyn’s breathing finally grew steady and even that Cherti Bellion let go of the child’s hand and rose from his seat.
「I am sorry, my child.」
At the faint sound of that voice, Roselyn’s shoulders jerked as her eyes flew open.
‘Again….’
She had seen a scene that felt like a dream.
「…Roselyn? Are you still feeling very unwell?」
Hearing the voice, Roselyn realized her reality and slowly shook her head.
「No, I’m sorry. I must have been tired; I was lost in thought for a moment.」
「……Go back to sleep.」
Roselyn was about to close her eyes when she hesitated and spoke.
「Father, may I ask why you suddenly tried to hold my hand?」
He had never even attempted to do so until now.
At Roselyn’s words, Cherti Bellion stiffened, then stole a glance down at his fully grown daughter.
「……Just, someone told me that doing this helps one sleep well. And it occurred to me that I might never have held your hand before.」
「…….」
「I know it is late, but…….」
His lips parted as if to say more, but when Roselyn remained silent, he quietly held his tongue.
「If it makes you uncomfortable, I will leave.」
Roselyn watched her father, who looked ready to retreat into his shell again, and let out a small sigh.
「I never said it was uncomfortable. ……Appa.」
Cherti’s eyes widened just as he was about to let go of her hand. He turned his head sharply toward Roselyn, looking utterly bewildered.
‘If what I saw from Arma before was a dream he had, then just now….’
She suspected it might have been a dream her father had once had.
「You, what did you just……?」
「Ah, I’m sorry. You must dislike it, Father.」
「Dis—dislike? Who! Who said I disliked it? We—well, from now on, long explanations will only tire us both out, so why don’t you just keep calling me that? If you say another word, you might feel even sicker……!」
「Pardon? You’re talking so much that I’m not sure what you’re trying to say, Father.」
Roselyn frowned, speaking with feigned innocence.
「…….」
「I’m tired, so I’ll be going to sleep now. You should go in and rest as well, Father.」
「…….」
As Roselyn closed her eyes, Cherti spoke up hesitantly.
「Daughter, isn’t “Father” a bit stiff?」
「I’ve called you that my whole life, and you’re bringing it up now?」
Roselyn gave a short snort.
「……That is true, but phonetically, “Father” feels a bit distant…….」
「You call Grandfather “Father” too.」
「……Still, isn’t there something a parent hopes for from a daughter? Though I know I haven’t exactly been a proper father.」
「I think that’s a sexist remark. Are you saying you wouldn’t want to hear “Appa” from a son?」
「……I prefer “Appa."」
Just as Cherti finally declared his surrender, Roselyn called out to him nonchalantly.
「Yes, Appa.」
「……You are teasing me.」
「The problem is that you aren’t honest, Appa.」
Looking at his daughter, who refused to lose a single verbal exchange, Cherti let out a soft, dry chuckle.
Roselyn’s eyes rounded in surprise.
「You actually know how to laugh, Appa.」
「……What? I am human too.」
「You laughed so rarely that when I was little, I thought you were a porcelain doll.」
At Roselyn’s blunt honesty, he paused, his fingertips brushing against the corners of his mouth a few times.
「I see.」
「Yes.」
Roselyn stared blankly at the ceiling before speaking again.
「Appa, if I were to die, would you be sad?」
「……What? Do not even speak of such obvious things. If you die, I die as well.」
「……If there was something I absolutely had to resolve, but the only way to get there was by dying, what should I do?」
The sound of his breathing grew ragged at her words.
Roselyn stole a glance at Cherti and then fell silent.
From his wide pupils, she could feel a surge of anger and a sense of betrayal.
「I was just imagining it. Don’t make such a scary face. What if I’m too scared to go to the bathroom at night?」
「……Do not even imagine such things. You are all I have left now, Roselyn. If you are gone, I have no reason to live. Do not leave me as well.」
Roselyn thought of her father from the original world, who had died because of Lady Carmel.
‘……He wasn’t a man who should have died like that.’
Roselyn slowly knit her brows.
「I’ll try.」
She looked at the Seven Luminaries Stone fastened around her wrist.
‘The Seven Luminaries Stone I fed to that man seemed to have already reached its limit.’
Because when they met again, he hadn’t been shivering from the cold.
Though his whole body was covered in burn scars, in the end, a stone was just a stone.
It was clear that its efficacy would eventually fade.
「……What do you mean, you’ll “try”? I thought you said it was just an imagination?」
「I meant I’ll try to think of a way to solve it within that imagination.」
「You are saying the strangest things today. Did something happen at the Imperial Palace?」
Roselyn slowly squeezed the hand holding hers and shook her head.
「Just……」
「Just?」
「I saw an old snake.」
Roselyn slowly closed her eyes.
「……A wretched old snake that I can never forgive.」
She whispered softly and let out a yawn.
「……I am curious, but you can tell me later. Sleep now.」
「Yes. Don’t stay too late; go to sleep once I’ve drifted off.」
Listening to the faint voice, Roselyn drifted off, the events of the afternoon flickering through her hazy consciousness.
「Why did you offer me the position of Queen?」
At Roselyn’s question, the Captain of the Royal Guard paused, his brow furrowing in confusion.
「What do you mean, all of a sudden?」
「I was just curious. Why you offered me the Queen rank.」
Both then and now.
Now, one could argue it was because she was interfering with Makruksa’s business at every turn.
But in her previous life, she could never understand why he had offered her the position of Queen.
Especially when he had gone so far as to reveal his face, which he had kept so strictly hidden.
「Thank you for the escort. I’ll be going in now.」
Since she hadn’t expected a real answer anyway, Roselyn moved to step into the carriage.
「Lady Bellion.」
If only he hadn’t called out to her.
「Do you believe that light and shadow can coexist within a person’s life?」
「I’m not sure in what sense you’re asking. If you’re asking if life has its ups and downs…… then yes, of course it does.」
「I mean more in terms of the value of a life.」
Roselyn stopped her ascent and stepped back down from the carriage.
As she stepped back carefully and let out a short sigh, he let out a low laugh.
「Did an old man ask something too difficult?」
「Whether then or now, I’ve never quite gotten used to the way nobles talk in circles.」
At Roselyn’s dry and blunt tone, the Captain of the Royal Guard unexpectedly just shrugged his shoulders.
「If you had answered a bit faster, I wouldn’t have had to waste my energy climbing those steps.」
「……My apologies for that.」
「Yes, as long as you know.」
Roselyn shrugged and nodded readily at the Captain’s apology.
While the Captain of the Royal Guard frowned, she slowly extended her hand toward him.
The Captain let out a hollow laugh and silently offered her his arm to escort her.
「How do you find the garden?」
「It’s nice.」
As Roselyn nodded, the man politely escorted her through the grounds.
「You said that light and shadow exist within a person’s life, did you not?」
The Captain of the Royal Guard broke the uncomfortable silence, his question laced with hidden meaning.