The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 45
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Arma Diyanitas.
The Third Prince of the Diyanitas Empire.
Also, the Emperor’s bastard.
The only child born to the woman whom the calculative Emperor genuinely loved.
Born after a difficult labor, the Emperor didn’t seek more children from Arma’s mother.
He truly loved Arma’s mother.
She was the only one who could defy the Emperor’s mood and the only one who knew all of him.
Yet, surprisingly, she was not the Empress.
Not even residing in the imperial palace.
Arma was treated as a bastard because the Emperor gave her no power.
Instead, she was kept in a heavily secured mansion.
However, due to a major arson incident in the past, the public believed she had died.
Declared dead by the Emperor’s decree.
Arma grew up enduring the stigma of being a bastard.
A dead person cannot be killed.
A dead person cannot be rivaled.
Thus, Arma’s mother was the safest existence among the Emperor’s possessions.
The irony that the most powerful Emperor’s greatest love was a commoner he met incognito.
…this was what Arma, in a private audience with the Emperor, pondered.
“So… You’re saying to release Gil Robert?”
The Emperor, lounging on a sofa with a disheveled appearance and tilting his wine glass, chuckled softly.
“Yes, Father.”
Arma replied briefly with a slight bow, his beautiful face awkwardly smiling with a large gauze bandage prominently attached.
Due to yesterday’s incident, the banquet was postponed for two days.
It had become complicated due to the involvement of the Bellion Duchy and the unexpected intervention of Arma.
If Arma hadn’t interfered, it would have ended as a mere noble dispute.
But with his involvement, it escalated to the crime of defamation against a member of the imperial family.
Of course, Emperor Severus Jean Diyanitas had no doubt all this was his cunning youngest son’s calculated move.
“So, you’re not going to punish for defamation and imperial family member?”
“Yes… Lord Gil Robert surely wouldn’t want to be beheaded for just such a matter.”
So, it’s more accurate to say he tried not to suspect.
“I made a mistake too…”
Arma’s face showed embarrassment as he scratched his cheek with his fingertip.
“…A mistake?”
“Yes. Ahaha…”
The Emperor knew too well that the foolish demeanor and expression were not true.
His youngest son, a peculiar genius, could easily rise above his incompetent brothers, yet stubbornly persisted in this naive act just because holding power within his grasp was bothersome.
But the recent mention of a ‘mistake’ was sincere.
‘My son, being as calculative as he is, making a mistake?’
The Emperor narrowed his eyes, pondering the sincerity behind the words.
“Well, if you, the concerned party, are fine with it, I will release him.”
The Emperor recalled the dozens of long letters and petitions he had received from Baron Robert, responding accordingly.
“I feel sorry for Baron Robert, too.”
The Emperor spoke in a voice that betrayed no actual sympathy.
“It’s unfortunate that his only son is such a fool.”
At over sixty, the Baron had no hope of seeing a new heir, and his thoughtless son was destined to be the next Baron.
“He was somewhat competent, even if old-fashioned, but to fail so spectacularly in raising his son…”
The Emperor mused with a habitual smirk.
“Ha, ha, ha, Your Majesty, you do jest…”
Arma shrugged under the Emperor’s knowing gaze.
“I haven’t exactly failed. I have something quite splendid before me.”
He flicked his finger and chuckled lightly.
At that moment,
Knock, knock.
A sound came from the door, followed by a precise knock.
The Emperor, lounging with his wine, nodded to Arma.
“Come in.”
Arma greeted with a gentle smile, maintaining his formal tone even as the Emperor’s youngest son.
“Interrupting a father-son chat, what’s the matter?”
The Emperor spoke in a laid-back tone as the soldier who entered bowed hastily.
“I apologize for the intrusion. Urgent news I thought best to deliver immediately.”
“Oh… What’s happened?”
Arma asked naively.
“Ducal Lady Roxelyn Bellion has disappeared!”
