The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 65
“Where have you been all this time!”
Baian’s fist landed on Batar’s head with a thud.
“Do you have any idea how much Mother and I have been looking for you… How much we’ve searched for you!! What were you thinking, running away and leaving behind only a letter!”
“Ouch! It hurts! It hurts! I was wrong. I originally planned to return after just a week!”
So, he wasn’t incapable of using respectful language.
It was just that proper formal language didn’t seem to come out when he was talking to Roxelyn.
“But… Uncle, no… ‘Zhanbaga,’ that bastard kidnapped me!”
“…What?”
The relief that had been spreading across Baian’s face instantly hardened.
Young Chief Baian’s expression hardened, and the expressions of the other Kaluta tribesmen who came with him stiffened as well.
“Still, who am I? The Khan’s proud son and your younger brother. Anyway, I managed to escape halfway through…”
Batar’s voice trailed off into a mumble as he fidgeted with his fingers, having started his explanation with a fist proudly thumping against his chest.
Realizing Baian’s patience was wearing thin, Batar swallowed nervously.
“That is… I was captured by slave traders of the Empire and couldn’t make it back.”
The atmosphere turned menacing.
The air felt suffocating with hostility.
For the first time, Roxelyn realized hostility could truly be felt.
“At first, I was grateful for the food they shared, never dreaming they were bad people…! I had no idea!”
Batar raised his voice as if to justify himself.
Sensing the menacing atmosphere, the boy hurriedly gestured with his hands and continued.
“Anyway… I was almost put up for auction or something… but Roxelyn saved me.”
“…Saved you?”
“Yes, she bought me for a large sum of money, rescued me from that filthy place, and brought me here. She is a remarkable woman!”
“…Wow.”
Second Prince Yuldian, who had been silently observing the unfolding situation, looked at Roxelyn with a pale face, rubbing his arm.
“See, I told you it was all planned. It’s all just pretense.”
His murmured voice was loud enough to be heard. Roxelyn shrugged her shoulders.
“…I see.”
Baian murmured in a low voice.
“Round up Zhanbaga and all his people. If there are tribes that have communicated with Zhanbaga or hidden him, bring them all in.”
“Yes, Young Chief.”
“And find Zhanbaga.”
“Ah, about that, the second gift is exactly that.”
Roxelyn raised one hand, and, as if to protect her, Arma stepped to her side, allowing her to speak.
“…A second gift?”
Baian looked at Roxelyn with surprised eyes.
“Yes.”
At Roxelyn’s signal, another imperial knight dragged out a black sphere from the carriage.
The black sphere, hanging from thick chains, floated in the air.
“This here.”
“…What is that?”
Roxelyn took something out of her pocket and threw it towards the sphere.
Thud—!
Simultaneously, the black sphere burst like a soap bubble, and two people fell out of it.
“H-huaaaah!! Aaah! Aaaah!!”
A man began to thrash around, screaming.
His focus seemed half gone as he flailed his limbs wildly, his monstrous strength apparent.
It seems even in decay, a Kaluta tribesman remains a Kaluta tribesman.
The man who had been escorting the one offering to buy Batar from Roxelyn sat dazed, staring blankly at the sky, his focus lost.
One eye appeared dead, its pupil cloudy and color faded.
“This seems to be the work of an Abyss.”
Baian murmured quietly.
Roxelyn watched the middle-aged man, who was showcasing his formidable strength by thrashing around, easily subdued by the Kaluta tribesmen, and spoke up.
“While I was trying to save Batar, there was someone who said he wanted to buy him.”
Baian’s stoic, dry eyes met hers.
“So, I sought the help of another person at the auction house and captured this man. Had I been even a moment later…”
BOOM!
Before Roxelyn could finish, Baian stomped his foot.
The ground caved in.
Despite the menacing gaze, Roxelyn did not stop speaking.
“Batar would have been dead by now.”
As soon as Roxelyn said that, Baian’s figure vanished from in front of her.
“Uncle! How could you possibly do such a thing?”
Zhanbaga still seemed out of his mind.
Making strange noises and being held by the Kaluta tribesmen, he was lifted into the air by Baian by the neck.
“Young Chief, he seems out of his mind. He can’t even engage in conversation…”
“That so.”
Baian laughed savagely.
The young man, laughing with lips stretched wide under a menacing gaze, seemed more like a wild beast than a human.
“Then, making him regain his senses would be simple.”
