If there is a truth Roselyn realized during her life on the run, it is that you should earn money while you have the chance.
Because no matter how much you earned, money was never enough.
Of course that is true, but...
“No.”
"...Yes?"
"I said you couldn't leave."
I didn't expect to be trapped like this.
Roselyn, who had informed the High Priest of the information and was feeling better, was about to go out for some fresh air when she saw Cherty Bellion blocking her path with a stern face and stopped short.
"Why?"
"Because I don't know what you might do."
"...No. What would I do? Just..."
"If I let you go, I don't know when you might try to kill yourself. You're probably thinking only of abandoning this place and leaving at any moment."
Roselyn paused at Cherty Bellion's firm words.
She pointed to the garden.
"I'm just going to the garden..."
"Dangers are scattered throughout the garden as well. Fill in the pond and cut down all the thorny flowers, then wait until it is safe. Ah, I suppose I should cut down the trees too."
"The world decided to call it a field, not a garden... probably."
When Roselyn asked back in bewilderment, Cherty Bellion paused and shook his head.
"Was there anything uncomfortable in the room?"
"No. You take care of three meals a day, bring whatever you need immediately for two daily tea times, and if you mention what you want in passing, it appears on the table the next day. Books, pens, and paper—and even friends who visit regularly and pouring sunlight—it is almost perfect."
Even various board games, including chess of every kind, seasonal fruits, people who come in every day to give massages, and servants who enter within 3 seconds of pulling a rope.
"Then I guess you don't need to go out."
Roselyn paused.
"Am I being held captive?"
"It sounds a bit strange, so please call it self-imposed confinement."
Cherty Bellion said as he put Roselyn back in bed.
Suddenly, Roselyn got back into bed wearing her going-out clothes and sat leaning against the headboard.
"...So it was confinement."
“On probation.”
Roselyn scanned her surroundings.
The scent of sunlight was cozy amidst the various books of different kinds and the bedding that was replaced with new ones every day.
On one side, all kinds of jewels and gold bars were piled up like a mountain, as if to make one happy just by looking at them.
In the closet, there were even various new dresses and clothes that arrived from the Fluer boutique yesterday.
So, in fact, Roselyn had absolutely no idea until just now that she was being held captive.
'It was so luxurious I thought it wasn't confinement...'
After all, the only memory of confinement she had was being tortured in an underground prison.
"Aren't you even angry? I tricked Dad."
"...I was angry at myself. That's all."
Cherty Bellion said.
Roselyn looked at him with a slightly puzzled expression.
"Why?"
"According to you, I am a worthless, hopeless piece of trash who didn't even deserve to be a parent, having failed to protect both my daughter in this world and you in that world."
Cherty Bellion buried his face in his palms, muttering through his teeth as if chewing.
Roselyn was a little surprised by that.
It was because her father had a better grasp of himself than she thought. Though he had dug a tunnel a bit deep.
'If it weren't for me...'
Cherty Bellion thought.
If Roselyn is right, his daughter is dead.
Roselyn from that world also died. No, in that world, he was abandoned by Roselyn and gave up on living on his own.
The funny thing is, even if he were in the same situation, Cherty Bellion would have made the same choice.
Shocked by being abandoned by Roselyn, he would have given up on life in despair, without even thinking of talking to the child or holding onto her.
Ah. You said this was enough.
You said that if you left to find happiness, that is enough.
"Me too..."
Despite being holed up and agonizing all past week, Cherty Bellion could only come to the conclusion that he was trash.
"If it weren't for you, it definitely would have been like that."
Cherty Bellion still lacked confidence.
Even when the child was first born, he was not confident that he could raise the child well. After killing his wife, he came to think that it was not his own fault, but that he was unqualified.
So he kept his distance from the child. He tried to protect the child by keeping her distance, but... in the end, that choice was completely wrong, and Cherty Bellion killed even the child with his own hands.
If Roselyn hadn't stepped forward this time, he would have followed the same sequence.
'Did it hurt a lot? It must have hurt a lot.'
The child he turned away from out of his selfish greed to protect them must have died in resentment.
"No matter what kind of Roselyn Bellion you are in any world, the fact that you are my daughter does not change."
Cherty Bellion, who had his face buried in his palms, spoke without lifting his head.
He couldn't raise his head.
Actually, there were many things he wanted to ask the child.
“Roselyn.”
No, rather than that, there was something he really wanted to say. There was something he had to say.
"Yes."
"...I'm sorry."
Roselyn's eyes widened at Cherty's sudden apology.
"Because I couldn't protect you properly... because I made you lonely, and inevitably... caused you to die..."
Patter.
Tears dripped down Cherty Bellion's cheeks.
"I'm sorry for leaving you alone. I thought you would be happier without me."
"..."
"I distanced myself from you because I didn't want to be your misfortune, but in the end, I was the source of your unhappiness..."
Roselyn said nothing as tears streamed down the man's cheeks.
“I love you.”
"..."
"There hasn't been a single day I haven't loved you since the moment you were born."
With his main voice, in a trembling tone, the voice connecting each word contained many things that Roselyn had longed for so much.
There were things there that Roselyn once wanted to be confirmed and thought she needed.
Roselyn parted her lips but could not find anything to say and closed her mouth again.
"I'm sorry for not being honest, for being a cowardly parent..."
He wanted to protect her. He thought that he should protect her more safely than anyone else and help her grow without incident.
But they were all impossible.
"You asked me once."
He slowly opened his mouth with a very tense face.
"You are... not an illegitimate child."
"..."
"You are undeniably my child. You are properly listed on the family register. It is just that I couldn't be honest because I was worried you might dislike it..."
At that voice, mixed with tears, Roselyn finally found something to say and opened her mouth.
“I know.”
"... What?"
Cherty Bellion opened his eyes wide and suddenly lifted his head.
Roselyn gazed intently at the man's tear-soaked face and answered kindly.
"Grandfather already told me a long time ago."
She never imagined that he would be dragging out the question she asked back then until now, though.
"...What? I clearly said I would tell you."
“It’s too late.”
Cherty glanced at Roselyn at her cold words. It was because she had been a little heartless, even though she was his daughter. However, he kept his mouth shut because he had committed a sin.
"...And I know."
Roselyn slowly opened her mouth.
“Now I know.”
Roselyn met Cherty's cloudy eyes directly and spoke once again.
Roselyn held the Abyss Weapon, which was neatly kept in one of the drawers, in her hand.
She carefully took out the dagger, which glowed purple as it absorbed the Abyss of Cherty, and gazed down at the name written on it.
“So it’s okay.”
"..."
At Roselyn's words, Cherty squeezed his eyes shut and spoke the words he most wanted to say.
"My child, Roselyn. I am sorry for taking your mother away from you."
Roselyn paused.
She let out a small laugh.
Cherty Bellion's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected, refreshing sound of laughter.
"I can tell you for sure, I never resented Dad for that."
Roselyn shrugged her shoulders.
"I'd rather go to the Duchy."
"...Why are you suddenly saying you want to go to the Duchy?"
Cherty Bellion glared at the voice that was heard before his tears had even dried.
"It is to teach Kaluta agriculture, and at the same time to learn Kaluta's farming methods. Crops do not grow well in the Duchy, so..."
Roselyn wanted to do as much as she could before leaving.
He paused at her words.
"So let's go together, Dad."
Roselyn reached out her hand.
Cherty stared blankly at the hand the child held out, then slowly took it.
The tender hand that clasped tightly was firmer than expected, and Cherty's eyes widened slightly.
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