The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 28
Roxelyn slowly shifted her gaze from Ian to her father, then to the Duke, and finally to Aegis sitting next to him.
‘But Carmel’s been driven away, so it should be fine now.’
Roxelyn smiled instinctively as she caught the Duke’s eye.
The Duke hesitated for a moment and then cleared his throat with a ‘Khm’.
“Let’s eat for now.”
Today, the Duke was wearing a suit with floral prints, which made Roxelyn inwardly click her tongue.
The meal was quiet.
Well, it had been.
It was about halfway through the meal when suddenly Roxelyn’s father, Zerti Bellion, decided to speak.
“Roxelyn, I am against it.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected comment, Roxelyn, who had been merely moistening her lips with wine after the meal, lifted her head.
Zerti looked at her with somber, gloomy eyes.
His gemstone earrings dangled from his ears.
“Why in the world are you meeting a married man!”
“…”
Roxelyn’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Anyway, I’m against it. So…”
“Father, if you’ve read the newspapers, Gerun and I are not in that kind of relationship.”
“…’Gerun’?”
Zerti’s voice trembled slightly as he caught onto Roxelyn’s word.
“Yes, Marquis Gerun Wilfred. We just happened to become acquainted, and it’s not the kind of relationship that the rumors are painting.”
“Yes, right. It’s impossible to know what’s going on in Gerun’s head. I can’t fathom what you were thinking of dating a man like that…”
Roxelyn, looking slightly weary, interrupted Zerti and raised her hand lightly.
“Father, I didn’t meet Marquis Gerun for such reasons, nor are we in that sort of relationship.”
“…What?”
Zerti’s eyes widened, then trembled at Roxelyn’s firm tone.
Her narrow eyes met his uneasy gaze.
“And you don’t need to send those letters and flowers anymore. I’m already well aware of my place.”
Roxelyn frankly spoke, reaching her limit with the unending flower gifts over two weeks.
Zerti froze as if he had turned to stone.
“…Your place— What do you mean by that?”
“I’m talking about the notes you send every day with the flowers.”
Roxelyn spoke with a tired face.
Whether it was some kind of torture, she was tired of seeing the flowers and the short phrases written on the notes sent daily.
“The commonplace flowers, the cheap ones, or those randomly picked…”
Roxelyn didn’t even particularly like strong scents.
“I know I’m not favored in your eyes, Father. I’m aware that I’m not worthy of receiving such things.”
It had always been like that.
Her father never loved her.
That fact seemed to remain unchanged in any parallel world.
Her father was endlessly indifferent to everything, and on the rare occasions she asked for something, he would tighten his lips and harshly refuse.
He even kept her from coming near him.
There had been times when she hoped for just one hug, but he would retreat with a look of horror whenever she approached.
So, Roxelyn had learned to give up.
Even after somehow traversing into another parallel world, she had no desire to try and alter their relationship like in some fictional novel.
Because long ago, just as her father had erased her from his heart, she too had erased him from hers.
That’s why she decided to be clear about her stance, something she hadn’t done before.
“You might not believe me, Father, but I’m grateful that you’ve raised me this far.”
This was the truth.
Even as a bastard child, I am grateful that you’ve raised me until now.
“I have no shameless expectations beyond that.”
Roxelyn smiled slightly.
As she finished speaking, the Duke Bellion, Aegis, and even Ian’s gazes simultaneously turned to Zerti.
Zerti remained frozen, staring at the profile of Roxelyn, who wouldn’t meet his gaze.
His quivering lips were pitiful, and his shaking pupils were almost miserable.
“It’s regrettable that I am not impressive enough to win your heart, Father.”
Zerti moved his lips, wanting to say it wasn’t so.
That she wasn’t a bastard child.
That it didn’t matter if she wasn’t outstanding.
But his voice wouldn’t come out.
As he fluttered his lips, trying to bring one of the many words swirling frantically in his mind to his wooden tongue, it was Roxelyn who broke the silence again.
