The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 228
Roxelyn was not weak.
Her spirit was quite firm, something even Gerun Wilfred acknowledged. Yet Zerti continued to act as if she were a fragile wildflower.
Intrigued and somewhat amazed, Gerun stroked his chin, a subtle and conflicted expression on his face.
“…I haven’t even approached her.”
“Don’t come anywhere near her.”
“You make difficult demands,” Gerun said, shrugging his shoulders and glancing briefly at Roxelyn.
Ordinarily, Roxelyn would’ve intervened to calm things down, but instead, she silently looked down at the hand held tightly by Zerti.
“Is it miserable living without a daughter?”
“Then why don’t you try to have one, Marquis?”
With a smug and challenging tone, Zerti growled. Gerun Wilfred shrugged.
“Well, I’m expecting one soon.”
He spoke while giving Roxelyn a meaningful look. Roxelyn scratched her neck and smiled faintly.
“Father, let’s go inside.”
“…I have plenty to say to you.”
“Yes, I have a few things to say as well.”
Roxelyn nodded slowly.
“Things to say?”
Zerti repeated, puzzled by her ominous words, but she didn’t offer any further response.
‘How am I supposed to tell him that I’ll likely die soon?’
Roxelyn pondered, hoping her father wouldn’t go into a frenzy. Of course, no clear solution came to mind.
* * *
It was a night drenched in moonlight.
Roxelyn sat on the headboard of her bed, reading a book, before slowly tilting her head back and retracing her recent steps.
She looked down at the worn Seven Stones Bracelet, which now only held a blue stone and a half-sized yellow stone.
The purple stone had been crafted into an Abyss weapon containing Albus’s Abyss, shaped as a ring. Roxelyn looked down at the silver ring on her left index finger, then lifted her gaze, taking a deep breath.
‘Everything is prepared.’
She had made all the necessary arrangements, though she wasn’t entirely confident about coming back intact. Now, all that remained was to wait for the right moment.
‘The exiled captain of the guard will undoubtedly come to kill me.’
She had disrupted his plans repeatedly. He must have realized by now that Roxelyn had been to the mansion in Monsterwood, just as she intended for Edward to let slip.
Roxelyn methodically set up her pieces, cutting off his limbs and, with Gerun Wilfred’s help, severing his financial support.
She stared quietly at the chessboard on her side table.
The black pieces filled the board, while only a lone white King stood on the other side.
She had woven this trap meticulously from the moment she accepted the inevitability of death, ensnaring him step by step.
‘Gerun Wilfred played a significant role.’
Thanks to him showing Captain Galleo what had occurred in the original world, things progressed much more smoothly.
‘It was just something I mentioned based on the dreams Father and Arma had, but I didn’t expect it would actually work.’
Hugging her knees, Roxelyn slowly pressed her cheek against them.
‘It seems I truly made a deal with an extraordinary devil.’
She hadn’t even known such beings existed, let alone expected to meet someone with a contract with one.
‘The child with the Abyss of Wind from Landarin seems to be under the care of the Marchioness…’
Meanwhile, the illegitimate child of Roxelyn’s aunt, recently rescued, was being lovingly cared for by Ian Bellion.
Count Aximus Baldur was also under their influence.
And she managed to bring the last link, Edward and Albus, onto her side.
‘With this, I’ve severed all the limbs of Makruxa’s King…’
Now, only the King of Makruxa remained.
Apart from Makruxa, there hadn’t been any significant issues. After all, she hadn’t had access to much information before her death, so who knew what might have changed during that time?
‘But Gerun will likely handle that on his own.’
For the sake of his wife, if nothing else.
Luck had been on her side.
Gerun Wilfred was far more helpful than expected, and her family relations turned out to be stronger than she had anticipated.
Once the King of Makruxa was dealt with, the future would be flawless.
It would be the kind of future she had yearned for when she was a little girl—a future that she could barely remember now.
Yes, a future like that.
‘…It’s a bit of a shame.’
If she could just close her eyes and look away, she would undoubtedly find happiness.
But Roxelyn…
She had grown too attached to her family to ignore them.
Though her temperament was cold and aloof, making her affection hard to show, Roxelyn could no longer disregard the presence of family woven into her life.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded.
‘Has he come already?’
The visit was earlier than she’d expected.
Roxelyn tensed, clenching her fist and slipping her hand beneath the pillow in preparation.
