It was because Roselyn's eyes had widened infinitely as if she were surprised.
She looked genuinely surprised.
“Are you my granddaughter?”
“...Ah, yes.”
Roselyn blinked and answered.
This was because Roselyn never doubted that she was an illegitimate child of the Bellion family until the day she died.
"Why am I not an illegitimate child? It is clearly in the family register..."
"It is properly registered in the family register. You are indeed the only granddaughter of Devon Bellion and the only daughter of Cherty Bellion."
Devon, who had been moving his lips to add an explanation, put a cigar in his mouth instead of speaking.
This was because it was determined that it would not be beneficial for a third party to get involved.
"Ask your father for the details."
Roselyn slowly nodded.
It was because she thought that even she didn't like hearing such things from others.
'Why on earth?'
Come to think of it, why did I come to think that I was an illegitimate child?
Roselyn thought.
'Father... He never said it himself.'
Because they rarely met face-to-face in the first place.
However, young Roselyn wandered in search of a reason.
The reason why her father hates and dislikes her.
"So... this old man hasn't heard your answer yet."
At the sound of the voice, Roselyn quickly snapped out of her thoughts and nodded.
"Yes.."
It was a lie.
There is no such thing as ability.
However, she only decided to do so because it would make it easier to operate if she called herself the Abyss that sees the future.
“As expected, it was like that.”
"Yes."
Devon Bellion nodded with a satisfied expression.
“But grandpa.”
"Hmm?"
Devon Bellion quickly nodded at the proper title he was finally being called.
"Why, is there something you need?"
"Yes."
"Tell me anything."
Roselyn opened her mouth after quietly saying thank you with an indifferent expression.
"It smells like cigarettes. Could you please turn it off?"
At Roselyn's words, the cigar Devon Bellion was holding dropped to the floor.
It was because he was flustered by the unexpected words, so the strength drained from his fingers.
He moved his foot to rub the cigar in so as not to show that he was flustered.
When Devon calmly raised his head again, a faint look of contempt was visible on Roselyn's face.
She looked as if she had seen an ugly adult spitting on the street in broad daylight.
He groaned in distress and lowered his head.
***
Cherty Bellion had rarely attended banquets.
Except for being forcibly pushed out to a banquet that he had no choice but to attend after his coming-of-age ceremony, and standing there like a statue.
Even though he was over forty, he could count on one hand the number of banquets or social gatherings he had attended.
Therefore, Roselyn Bellion also did not have a proper debutante ball.
This was because there was no one to look after her carefully, and he himself wasn't particularly interested in that area.
Above all, she was always sick during her childhood, and her father always disapproved of her going out.
Roselyn lowered her gaze and unfolded the heavily crumpled letters one by one.
[Roselyn, I heard you are attending a banquet at the Imperial Palace. If by any chance the seat next to you is empty...]
[I'm anxious because I couldn't even have a proper debutante ball, so if you don't mind, please come to this banquet with me...]
[How about we go to the banquet together? I'm worried you might cause trouble if you go alone...]
[I'm worried you might collapse again, so how about we go to the banquet together? Of course, I'm probably a burden for you, so you can refuse, but if you're okay with it, I'll put on a few more restraints to keep you safe...Damn it...]
[I'm sorry, going with father with this father...]
It was full of paper crumpled up like this.
And it was Dean, the butler, who came earlier today to deliver this.
Roselyn let out a sigh.
'What do you intend to do by wearing more control gear?'
Control tools are not good for capable people.
She heard that the more you wear the Abyss, the more painful it is because it forcibly suppresses your abilities.
It feels like his strength is gradually draining away and he is becoming lethargic.
Seeing that, the Emperor, Duke Bellion, and her father, who were all wearing multiple control devices with nonchalant faces, were all remarkable people.
'That might be why my father's face is always so sallow.'
Even the word 'father' written in the last letter was almost completely covered in scribbles.
She knew he wasn't indecisive, but he was too cautious.
'Well, I suppose it is a deadly ability if you aren't careful.'
But what on earth was he thinking, writing over ten letters only to crumple them all up and throw them in the trash?
'It's not like it's a love letter.'
For reference, Roselyn did not receive any of these.
Looking back now that time has passed, it seems her father wasn't entirely at ease either.
And Roselyn found all of this frustrating.
So, without a second thought, she headed straight to her father.
Despite being the heir to the Bellion family, he stubbornly insisted on the underground room.
Of course, she heard that he didn't become the successor because he wanted to.
The first was a bloodthirsty berserker who wandered around seeking out war zones, and the other was a drunken hooligan who never came home, so all that remained was her father.
'Even so, it's not like he's some kind of mole...'
That is why they never met again.
Cherty Bellion rarely came out of the underground, and since Roselyn never had a reason to go down to the basement, Roselyn frowned as she went down into the dark basement.
'It gets gloomy being in a place like this.'
She clicked her tongue and shook her head.
As she went down, the lights were bright, as if people were living there.
The cool air from underground rose up. It was a place originally converted from an underground prison.
She heard that the new underground prison was moved under the annex.
She scanned the hallway, which still retained the damp atmosphere characteristic of the basement, and retraced her memories to find his room.
She leaned in slightly to sense if there was anyone there, then knocked a couple of times.
"Get lost, it's a nuisance."
"..."
Roselyn's eyes widened slightly.
She knocked on the door once again without answering.
"Get lost! Stop bothering me like a jerk. If you want to get addicted and die, go...!"
Burst. The door opened.
Cherty Bellion, who had been raising his voice with a distorted face, opened his mouth and widened his eyes.
"Where...where..."
He stammered as if he had seen Roselyn's indifferent face.
"We need to go somewhere and train safely... so we don't kill anyone."
The mouth that had been chattering away in an attempt to clean up the mess finally spat out something bizarre.
Cherty hurriedly opened his mouth, thinking he wanted to slap his own mouth.
"...What brings you here? Didn't I always tell you? That if you carelessly come down to a place like this, you'll just end up sick and infirm again, which will only be a nuisance..."
Cherty was seized by the urge to bite his tongue.
When he was nervous, there was absolutely no way to stop the thoughts that just kept running out of his head.
So he was more comfortable writing letters than talking, and he preferred reading books to attending classes.
After all, you can write a letter and then send it after thinking about it for a long time and mulling it over.
"So... Father is saying that you, worried that I, who have been sickly since childhood, might get sick because of the bad underground air?"
Roselyn, who had been staring blankly at Cherty as she spoke with a stern expression, spoke candidly.
At that, Cherty paused.
"..."
"I thought you were telling me to get lost because you didn't like me."
"...That was just a slip of the tongue."
Cherty Bellion parted his lips, but realizing that whatever he said would sound strange, he closed his mouth again.
He wanted to be a perfect parent to his daughter, without anything lacking.
But he ruined everything from start to finish.
He ruined everything.
"Should I keep standing here? Or may I come inside?"
"...Okay."
He nodded and turned around, but flinched in surprise at the mess in his room, then tensed his legs and threw it out the corner of his mouth.
"No, let's go up, not here."
"I like it here. Because it's hard."
"Then to the reception room next door..."
He moved his lips, then recalled the numerous poisons in the drawing room and closed his mouth again.
“No.”
He quickly shook his head.
However, there was nothing special in the basement except for the room where he stayed and the reception room.
Next to it was a laboratory.
Next to it was a practice room for practicing controlling the Abyss.
Other than that, there was a bleak restaurant.
'And next to that... the one managing the poison...'
Cherty's face turned dark at the thought.
It was not suitable to take the child anywhere.
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