The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 41
‘…Unbelievable.’
Roxelyn shook her head. Gilbert was completely different from her memory.
He’s even more… corpulent than she recalled.
This Gilbert seemed to have indulged even more, plumping up noticeably.
That’s the problem with him.
Raised overly pampered by a conservative baron family in a rural estate, and too steeped in the belief that men are superior.
Plus, Roxelyn had only glared in response and never properly turned him down before.
In other words, he was a frog in a well[1].
Even for a country bumpkin, he was too ignorant of the world. One should know there are certain statuses you just don’t provoke.
Roxelyn smiled sweetly and began to speak.
“I’m a bit fuzzy on the memory, but did the Gilbert family engage in the business of livestock?”
“Uh? Gilbert is not my name, Ducal Lady. I am Gil Robert.”
“Ah, right. My mistake.”
“That’s alright. Ha-ha, it seems your secluded life has kept you out of the loop.”
“…”
“We’re mainly in textiles and minerals.”
Gilbert, Robert, or whatever. As this man who oozed sweat inched closer, Roxelyn’s smile deepened.
“Ah, is that so? My apologies. Being human, my memory has its limits.”
She said with a deceptive sweetness, picking up a wine bottle from a nearby table.
“Yes, that can happen~”
He laughed indulgently, unaware he was being mocked for his lack of brain cells.
“Being ignorant is a sign of a good wife who can support her husband. I prefer a demure woman over an outspoken one.”
Gilbert’s hand crept slyly toward Roxelyn.
“I thought the Gilbert family dealt with pigs, given how prominently the animal seems to appear.”
“It’s, it’s not Gilbert but Robert…”
“Ah, I keep forgetting.”
“Anyway, Lady Roxelyn, do you have a fiancé or a lover? I believe you haven’t received any marriage proposals. If not…”
Gilbert reached out his hand toward Roxelyn.
‘To think he still doesn’t know about my engagement… Why even bother entering high society?’
Roxelyn inwardly sighed, and those around clicked their tongues.
They expected that the stammering lady, who only knew how to glare silently, would just shut her mouth as always.
At the moment Gilbert’s hand touched Roxelyn’s waist.
Crash—!
“Aaah!!”
A sharp shattering sound accompanied Gilbert’s staggering.
Roxelyn grimaced, looking regretfully at the slightly overflowing wine.
“An oafish pig doesn’t know his place, going after people.”
“I, I, blood… Dad, Dad!! I’m bleeding!!”
Gilbert, blood and wine mingling down his head, began to thrash about, screaming.
Roxelyn snorted and looked down at him.
The banquet hall went silent, then all eyes slowly turned their way.
“You, you, you…! You shameless wench!! How dare you, to a man! You must have gone mad!”
As Roxelyn looked down at the man, now ashen and collapsed on the floor, she snorted.
“You really want to know who’s gone insane here….”
She spoke with an incredulous tone then, soon—
Pressed her stiletto heel between Gilbert’s legs.
“Even if you’re an ignorant country mouse, you should at least know the difference between high and low status.”
“Ahh! Ahhh!! ACKK!! Dad!!”
Roxelyn saw Baron Robert, with a stunned expression, watching from afar.
“Look here, Gilbert. It’s not me who should be behaving demurely, but you.”
“Dad! DAAAAD!!!”
“Why is your great father, who should be rescuing you from my indelicate and rude behavior, standing there like a statue? Huh?”
His eyes widened in shock.
Being too pampered leads to issues.
He thinks he’s the highest of all, unaware of the existing hierarchy.
“Dear little frog, beyond your well, you must realize that there are women who stand way above your head.”
“Stop it…! Didn’t I tell you not to?!”
After struggling for a while, Gilbert used his bulky frame to shove Roxelyn aside and stood up.
Roxelyn staggered, and a large hand mercilessly swung down at her.
Swoosh—!
Her eyes widened.
“…Roxelyn.”
She was firmly caught around the waist.
Zerti, sensing the commotion from the center of the banquet and swiftly moving to a secluded spot, was holding her steady.
And in front of Roxelyn was…
“Your Highness the Third Prince…?”
[1] Frog in a well: an idiom about a frog who lives happily in a well, having no idea of what’s outside the confines of that well.
In other words, it’s a phrase referring to a narrow-minded person who doesn’t see the larger world around them. ↩
