The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 230
“Roxelyn.”
“Yes.”
“I find myself thinking of you even when I’m still. When I’m enjoying a good meal, I wish you were there to share it with me. When something upsets me, I want to see your face, and when something makes me happy, I want to share it with you.”
At this quiet confession of love, Roxelyn fell silent.
“Does love have to be some grand, dramatic emotion?” Arma asked gently.
Roxelyn shook her head. She understood that love wasn’t always a passionate, storybook kind of feeling.
Gerun Wilfred and Roxelyn had both been fools who only realized the value of people in their lives later on.
“I like you. No matter where these feelings may have started, that won’t change.”
Arma smiled.
“Roxelyn.”
“…Yes.”
“May I reintroduce myself formally?”
Roxelyn looked puzzled at his sudden statement.
Arma stood up, taking two steps back, and then smiled.
“My name is Arma Jean Diyanitas.”
Roxelyn’s eyes widened in shock.
It made sense, because…
“As the third prince of the Diyanitas Empire…”
Among the imperial family, only those with a middle name were…
“…I am the Crown Prince.”
…only the Emperor and the Crown Prince, his successor.
“…Will you truly become Emperor?”
“I told you before, didn’t I? I will become Emperor.”
“…I didn’t think you meant it.”
Since the Emperor had granted him the middle name ‘Jean’, Arma would remain Crown Prince until the end, unless he perished. When he’d first mentioned becoming Emperor, she’d thought he might change his mind.
Becoming the Crown Prince wasn’t something that could be achieved by mere desire, and the First Prince had long held that title firmly.
‘…What exactly did he do?’
Roxelyn looked at him with a questioning expression but kept her lips sealed.
“So, Roxelyn.”
Taking her hand, he bent down and kissed the back of it, softly murmuring.
“Please become my Crown Princess.”
“……”
“And when you return safely, become my Empress.”
Arma then took out a ring from his pocket and carefully slipped it onto Roxelyn’s left ring finger.
At first, it looked like black onyx, but on closer inspection, it was a diamond—a jet-black diamond.
The meaning of the diamond was eternal love.
Though it was a gemstone with an almost excessive symbolism, many chose it when they pledged eternity.
‘I’ve never seen a black diamond before.’
Roxelyn looked at the diamond with quiet curiosity.
It seemed as though something dark within the diamond itself was pulsing.
Just as she moved the ring closer to take a better look—
“…I will wait for you until you return.”
At his steady words, Roxelyn pulled her gaze from the ring and looked at Arma.
A young man with traces of boyhood still evident on his face.
“You will come back, won’t you?”
“Yes.”
Though she couldn’t promise an exact date, Roxelyn replied with firm resolve.
She truly intended to return.
“During that time, I will become an Emperor worthy of having you by my side. When you come back, there will be no escaping me.”
He gripped her hand tightly.
“Please keep wearing the ring I’ve given you. This ring will connect us.”
At his words, Roxelyn smiled quietly.
Even though only her soul would journey, and she couldn’t physically bring the ring he had given, she appreciated his thoughtfulness.
“I will.”
After answering, Roxelyn fell silent for a moment before finally speaking with a bit of caution.
“I will.”
Roxelyn spoke slowly.
“I’ll set everything in order.”
So that she could live fully in this world without any lingering attachments or regrets.
“Yes, I’ll wait for you. Though I hesitate to ask… would it be all right if I kissed you?”
