"I am an even bigger villain than you, who stabs villains in the back."
She smiled without backing down, even while being grabbed by the collar.
"I know. Why did you believe in the dream?"
Roselyn added in a whisper.
"I know who, how, and for what reason is showing it."
Galio's eyes widened at the next words.
"There is no god to watch your back. Only villains target a villain's back."
It was only then that he realized he had been thoroughly toyed with by Roselyn.
"You rascal!!"
Quack!
He grabbed Roselyn by the collar a little tighter.
She furrowed her brow at the tightening pain, yet curled the corners of her lips crookedly.
"And to believe in a dream where Garen Wilbreed appears... don't you think that's too stupid?"
At the sight of Roselyn, who would not stop babbling, Galio, already blinded by rage, raised his hand, gripping the sword again.
With her collar grabbed, Roselyn dragged out her words with her feet suspended in the air.
Something slipped from the sleeve. Roselyn caught it.
Roselyn laughed fiercely as she watched Galio, who looked as if he were about to stab her at any moment.
"I told you, why the hell did you lay a hand on my people? If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have cared whether you overthrew the world or seized the throne."
Why did they have to lay hands on the Duke of Bellion of all places?
Why, of all places, did this bundle of inferiority complex ruin my own family? Why did it have to be that I pushed them into misery?
"Galio, remember, the reason you are bound to lose in this state is..."
Why did she pretend not to know such a family?
Why.
Why?
Why?
'Because I couldn't muster up the courage even once...'
Did she turn away from the hand asking for help even after seeing her family falling into such ruin, acting all alone as a strong and haughty enemy?
'If it wasn't for this guy.'
Roselyn glared.
No, no.
'...If only I had been a little more honest.'
Roselyn slowly closed and opened her eyes, adding.
"It is because you laid a hand on me... my family, of all people."
She smiled brightly, reached out her arm, and grabbed Galio's shoulder.
At the same time, Galio raised his sword high with an unpleasant look.
It was then.
Phew!
What Galio felt was a dull pain accompanied by a chilling sound.
Galio instinctively pierced Roselyn's chest with his sword and threw her to the ground.
Roselyn grinned as she was thrown to the floor.
He saw the purple dagger stuck in his side, widened his eyes, and glared at Roselyn.
"Do you... know what that is?"
Coughing, Roselyn, who had coughed up blood, was still smiling.
"It's an Abyss Weapon containing Dad's Abyss. They say it leads to the most agonizing death in the world..."
Roselyn moved her lips further, feeling her vision blurring and her fingertips growing colder and colder.
"They say if this is used, Dad gets summoned immediately, no matter where he is in the world..."
Roselyn slowly closed her flickering vision and moved her tongue.
"Roselyn—!"
"He said he would come running."
“Ugh!”
Galio, who was about to run away at the sound of the voice, stiffened and collapsed to his knees as he felt his vision blur.
"Congratulations on ruining your life. My dad cares about me... a lot..."
Roselyn slowly breathed her last as she muttered to the very end that she was doomed to die a peaceful death.
As if death had arrived.
***
[A few days ago]
"... What?"
" I'm thinking of dying."
Quang!
Roselyn looked down at the table splitting in half, then cautiously picked up her teacup and looked at the enraged Duke Bellion.
"What kind of bullshit is that? Do you really think such nonsense makes sense, babbling in front of your grandfather and your father? Your arrogance has truly crossed the line!"
She felt a shiver run down my spine as Duke Bellion shouted with a fierce expression.
Of course, Cherty Bellion and High Priest Irbon also looked flustered, and Arma did not seem to like this content very much either.
The only ones who remained calm were Roselyn and Garen Wilbreed, who had heard the situation roughly in advance.
"Of course, I would appreciate it if you could keep this a secret within this place."
Roselyn said that and reached out, gently grasping the back of Duke Bellion's hand.
"Grandfather, I'm begging you. Please at least listen to me."
"No matter how cute, lovely, and cherished my one and only granddaughter is—something that would fly away with a light touch—some things just aren't allowed!"
"I'm not saying I want to die forever."
Roselyn cautiously added, watching Duke Bellion speak like a machine gun while turning his head sharply.
“I will definitely come back.”
"So, aren't you saying that the people of your original world are precious to you, so you want to die and return to them?!"
Roselyn slowly shook her head.
"The precious things are Grandpa and Dad, who are in front of me right now."
That much remained unchanged.
She indeed kept thinking about her family in that other world.
However, Roselyn made many mistakes and wrong choices in that world, and as a result, she lost everything and died.
That is the ending Roselyn has already faced.
The Roselyn of that world was already dead. Even if she were to die here once more and cross over to that world, Roselyn could not return to her own body.
It's already over.
To shamelessly suggest starting everything over again now...
Roselyn had already seen the end of that world.
"But I end up regretting it when I spend time... with my dad and grandfather."
Why couldn't I have done that back then?
Couldn't such a future have been possible for me as well?
If she keeps doing that, eventually she won't even be able to enjoy the present moment with peace of mind.
"I genuinely wanted to be happy here."
"..."
Roselyn said firmly.
At that, Duke Bellion let out a groan and shifted his fierce gaze to look at Roselyn.
"To do that, there are also things that cannot be ignored."
Roselyn of this world is dead.
Perhaps the deceased Roselyn is a fellow owner of the Abyss, and she might be living in another world.
Or maybe she could live in a timeline even further in the past than now.
However, it is she who exists as Roselyn Bellion in this worldline right now.
"It's just that so many things I turned a blind eye to are weighing on my mind. I will resolve those matters and definitely come back."
She has also made sufficient arrangements for that.
Roselyn saw Cherty Bellion.
"So please listen to me, Dad."
"..."
Cherty, who would normally have already shown signs of going berserk and screamed that it was absolutely forbidden, did not shout that it was forbidden outright, even though he was clenching his fists tightly with a stiff voice.
Cherty remained silent for a long time.
Roselyn waited, silently enduring the uncomfortable silence.
After a long silence, Cherty slowly nodded.
“...Tell me.”
Cherty knew that Roselyn would act as she pleased anyway, even without permission.
Although she wasn't as blatant a scoundrel as his second older brother, Roselyn had enough of a scoundrel's temperament.
Where on earth is there a daughter who, when things don't go her way, personally shoves medicine down the throats of her grandfather and father to put them to sleep?
'...It’s probably better to at least hear the story than to faint and wake up to find nothing there.'
But Cherty knew.
That it was a fight he was going to lose anyway.
When experiences of fainting and getting hit on the back of the head accumulate to this extent, perhaps a person develops the power to see the future.
"Once you hear the plan, you will give your permission."
No, Roselyn will make him allow it even if he does not.
Even if it means threatening them.
"If Dad does not allow it, I will not go."
No, this child will shove medicine into his mouth, knock him unconscious, and then leave again.
Leaving behind just a letter of apology
"I wish my Dad would trust me."
No.
She will leave whether he believes it or not.
And when she returns, she'll nonchalantly say, "I'm back," and then, like a sly snake, toss out a single word of "I love you" to avoid getting scolded.
Thus, Cherty nodded with a half-resigned look on his face from countless studies.
Roselyn smiled and continued her explanation.
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