The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 184
Roxelyn Bellion had said she wouldn’t talk because she didn’t want to get involved in troublesome matters, but he wasn’t foolish enough to believe such an innocent statement.
“…This is the worst.”
The worst.
The captain rubbed his face harshly with his palm, muttering under his breath. Then, grabbing his hair as if he were about to tear it out, he gritted his teeth.
“…Does the Emperor know too?”
Lately, the Emperor had been giving him more attention than usual. It started right after Roxelyn Bellion had spoken to him, almost as if she were threatening him before leaving.
The Emperor had become quieter, as if lost in deep thought, and every now and then, when he turned his back, he could feel the Emperor’s gaze on him.
Normally, the Emperor didn’t care whether he was there or not, but lately, things had been different.
Having spent decades together, there were certain things he could pick up on. The Emperor was trying to act as if nothing had changed, but it’s clear that something had.
What was most telling was that while the Emperor still kept him close, he hadn’t completely lowered his guard.
‘…She definitely said something.’
Even if Roxelyn hadn’t gone into detail, she must have at least hinted at something.
Otherwise, there was no reason the Emperor would be keeping his distance from him like this.
“…How did things end up like this?”
He had never planned to let everything fall apart because of one girl. He had prepared carefully and methodically over a long time.
By now, according to his plan, they should have already extracted the secrets of each noble family.
He should have been sitting on a mountain of wealth, and the leading noble houses should have at least wavered.
‘Especially, I should have stolen that technology the Bellion heir was secretly developing.’
If that had happened, the Bellion Duchy would have suffered the biggest blow.
According to Carmel’s report, the duchy had invested a substantial amount of money into developing that product. They had spent a long time on it.
If he had managed to steal that technology—if Carmel hadn’t died, if he hadn’t lost Ian Bellion like that, if Aximus hadn’t been captured so pathetically—
If only those things hadn’t happened, so many problems could have been solved.
And the fact that one person had caused all those things to go wrong was something he couldn’t believe.
“…It’s all because of that girl.”
The middle-aged man finally muttered coldly.
Yes, it was all because of that young lady, barely out of childhood, who had interfered with him at every turn.
“And now she’s run off to the duchy.”
He rubbed his face several times before slowly lifting his head.
Yes, she had run off to the duchy. After ruining all his plans, she was now trying to protect her own life.
“Haha…”
The Captain of the Imperial Guard let out a dry laugh.
“Yes, that’s right.”
The middle-aged man slowly closed his eyes and then opened them again.
“…It won’t end like this. I won’t let it end like this.”
He whispered under his breath.
“You foolish wench, I’ll teach you that hell exists even in life.”
That day, an unprecedented murder occurred in the capital, and the Captain of the Imperial Guard disappeared.
***
“Ahem. Ungrateful little brother, you rarely show your face, so what brings you here?”
“I need to ask a favor.”
Arma had, for the first time in many years, sought out his older brother, the First Prince, and now stood before him.
At Arma’s words, the First Prince, Silvran Diyanitas, raised his eyebrows slightly.
He had almost never heard the word ‘favor’ come out of Arma’s mouth, either when they were children or even now.
“…A favor?”
Silvran scratched his ear, forgetting his usual dignity, and furrowed his brows as if he hadn’t heard correctly.
“Did you just say ‘favor’?”
“Yes.”
“…So, Arma, you’re asking me, your older brother, for a favor?”
Arma saw Silvran’s cheek twitch and curved his lips into a slight smile, nodding.
“Yes.”
“…Hmph. You normally don’t even bother looking my way, and now you come asking for a favor? You’ve got some nerve.”
Silvran’s cheek twitched as he let out a mocking snort.
“Well, if you politely call me ‘big brother~,’ maybe I’ll think about it.”
“Big brother.”
“…!”
Silvran, who had been crossing his legs and sipping tea, froze.
