Born as the Hidden Daughter of a Villainess and the Male Lead

<Episode 63>

 

“……..”

Meinhardt gritted his teeth and remained silent.

As soon as she heard a faint sign, she finally turned around and faced him.

“When was the first time you and I met? Looking back, the years have passed so quickly.”

When she was angry, her golden eyes were so gloomy that he couldn’t even make eye contact with her due to the overflowing sense of intimidation, but now she was calm and gave the appearance of being deep in thought about something.

“I was able to tell you all about my fate that I couldn’t even share with my father.”

“…….”

Meinhard suppressed his agitation and stared directly at Mariette.

“Meinhard Ciel Astrape, there is only one command you must do now.”

Mariette, as always, was a pale and expressionless beauty, that didn’t show any clear emotions.

“Protect the child I will leave behind.”

She gently placed her delicate hand on her stomach, which had not even felt any fetal movements yet.

Mariette gave him one last command.

“…This child.”

But Meinhard could no longer show indifference in the face of that order.

“Do you really love it?”

He asked the question in a slightly trembling voice.

It was the child of the man who was consumed by feelings of inferiority and unrealistic fear, and ultimately made a foolish choice that ruined everything.

Does she even love such a life?

Or, is it just something she wants to protect as it had to be born for a ‘destiny’ that must be completed?

“Love…”

The woman, who recited ‘love’ in a calm and sonorous voice, immediately answered without hesitation.

“Yes, I love it. Just as my parents cherished me, I also cherish this child.”

“……..”

“Even if this child was not born with any destiny, I would still love my child…”

She whispered softly, showing a faint warmth of affection on her pale face.

“I would have loved it.”

‘You are Meinhardt? You are cute, I’m glad you don’t look like your father.’

Why?

The appearance, situation, and voice were not similar at all….

Why did memories of those times that I buried because I didn’t want to relive them come back and appear overlapping with the reality in front of me?

Meinhard lowered his head, barely suppressing his surging emotions.

“…………The words about this should be spread later. After this moment, leave without leaving a trace. And when seven years have passed, inform Roberick of the existence of the child I gave birth to.”

“Wouldn’t you mind if I do that?”

How would she feel as she ordered for the man who betrayed her and completely plunged her into the abyss to be entrusted with the child she gave birth to through life-ending pain?

“I don’t mind leaving the child to Roderick as long as he can protect it. No, it should be that way.”

Even though I tried to ignore it, it was a question that bothered me.

Her strength was not shaken by weak emotions.

“Because that’s fate.”

Fate.

Unlike the starry night sky, there was not even a single point of light in my eyes filled with empty darkness, but there was only the image of a pale but strong woman who was not broken by any adversity.

Why did the light purple hair blowing in the night wind feel so cold?

Because I knew that if this moment passed, we would no longer be able to see each other.

Meinhardt stared endlessly at the woman standing in front of him.

“I will follow your orders.”

I answered while biting down on my cold, slightly trembling lips.

That was the last time….Meinhardt left her side.

Even at her deathbed, I couldn’t be there to protect her.

Watching Mariette die from afar was the only mourning he was allowed to do.

“Baby, our lovely granddaughter……You are the granddaughter of me and Atara, and the daughter of Mariette. Nothing else matters. Even if he exists, he has nothing to do with you.”

After his daughter’s funeral, the old hero, who had lost all his former glory and had become an old man overnight, muttered as he held the baby, who was sleeping soundly and oblivious to the world, with a gentle hand, shedding tears.

“Your name from now on is Edith. Edith, Ronen……Bastevan.”

It was truly funny, because I didn’t think what the old hero was thinking, as he gave his newborn granddaughter a name that resembled a friend who had died a long time ago.

As a result, Meinhardt looked at the writhing baby wrapped in white cloth with even more incomprehensible feelings.

The child of Roberick Arne Heilian, whom he hated, and Mariette Aydin Bastevan, who he revered.

At the same time, the new life was given a name that resembled ‘Hers’ so much

How on earth should I feel about that child?

“Even if all this fate had been arranged for that child……”

Sacrifice and love… were just boring words now.

Meinhard gritted his teeth and forcibly took his gaze away from the child and turned around.

I was in pain now, and I couldn’t like that child.

No matter what…

 

***

 

Meinhard never left and watched Mariette’s daughter grow up.

The time when fate would begin had not yet arrived, but she was someone that needed to be protected from any possible danger.

At the same time, he had to look after the safety of his benefactor, Duke Bastevan.

“Grandpa!”

“Yes, yes, it’s grandpa! My Edith, I can’t believe you can already call me a grandfather!”

Siorn hugged his granddaughter, who had just started talking, and kissed her cheek.

The little baby smiled at her grandfather, her big, innocent red eyes sparkling.¹Cuuute(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

“……..”

Mariette had never smiled so brightly.

Although I had never seen her when she was that young, so I didn’t know for sure…..

‘Uncle Bastevan!’

In the distant past, which now seems disgusting, didn’t Roberick Arne Heilian laugh like that?

As if he didn’t know anything about all the dirty filth that exists in the world, as pure and bright as an angel who fell from the sky……

“No, how can I think like that about a child who doesn’t know anything…..”

Meinhardt wiped away the foolish thoughts from his mind.

That person is not important.

All I have to remember is that that child is the only child left behind by Mariette, and the master of the destiny that the Spirit King of Wisdom had longed for.

Meinhard jumped down from the lush tree and turned around with an empty mind.

 

***

 

Edith Ronen Bastevan grew up gradually.

However, when the child was about five years old, it became difficult to make a living without leaving his granddaughter’s side, so Siorn went to work.

Because of this, he ended up leaving the house during the day.

Because an unexpected situation could occur, Meinhardt was even more careful than before and did not take his eyes off the house where the child was left alone.

“It’s a dandelion seed…………. Phew.”

However, unlike most children of that age who could not bear the boredom, she did not even try to climb over the fence of the house and go outside.

Even though she knew the neighbors well, she never tried to open the door when she was home alone.

She just quietly wait for her grandfather inside the house, and when she couldn’t stand the boredom, she just went out into the yard and spent time looking at the flowers.

She had a sparkle that never subsided in those big, bright eyes, it was the same sparkle that was in Mariette’s gaze.

“……I’m glad you’re not as stupid as your biological father.”

Meinhard rested his chin and muttered quietly.

The child, who was smiling brightly as she looked at the white dandelion seeds floating in the air, fluttering with the slightest breath, lowered her head and muttered.

“I need to find one more – huh?”

“Bark!”

The child, who was scanning the garden with bright eyes, let out an exclamation when she spotted a young puppy that suddenly appeared with a small presence.

“You’re here again?…You came to ask for something to eat?”

“Wow!”

The young brown dog was wagging its tail and licking the child’s hand frantically.

“Oh, it tickles. Okay, I have leftover meat, but it’s a bit too salty for you to eat, so you should eat just a little bit.”

The child smiled as if she couldn’t win and stroked the dog’s soft fur.

Then the sound of the child’s laughter that sounded like a flower bud bursting spread around along with the young animal circling around her affectionately, as if repaying the person who gave it food.

“……..”

Seeing the peaceful scene that could only be seen in a dream, Meinhardt quickly forgot about the colorless agony that had filled his mind just a moment ago.

He just stared at that tranquility.

“Now, this way! Come here!”

“Bark!”

The puppy, which gorged on a small piece of meat, ran briskly after the child who was moving around, and the child laughed brightly, making his own unique laugh.

The Mariette Meinhard remembered had never smiled so freely even for a single moment.

That was what made the girl’s always calm and precocious complexion look so pale…….

“Was all of that a shackle for her?”

The fact that the mission given by king of Wisdom may become a heavy shackle for her, preventing her from having a pure smile even at a young age, crossed his mind.

Meinhardt was the first to think that Mariette might not have been born strong.

“Huh? Grandpa!”

“Edith, were you having a good time?”

The hair flowing behind the child as dhe ran at small steps across the lawn in late spring, where life was sprouting, and fell into her grandfather’s arms, looked so much like Mariette’s.

Maybe, in the future, if that child realizes the truth of fate and bears the weight of it…

Like Mariette, will she become unable to even conjure up a sincere smile on her faces?

As I thought that, my heart rang heavily, embracing the pain I had never experienced before.

“…..……”

No matter how much I reminded myself and promised myself that I could not erase the hatred I felt toward Roberick Arne Heilian that was at the bottom of my feelings toward that child.

The moment I realized that the fate that that child had suffered was as cruel and cruel as her mother’s…..

He could no longer hate Mariette’s daughter, who was born after taking her life….

***

TL:

I will be trying to increase the rate of updates through the next two weeks so if nothing goes wrong, there will be more chapters…

Enjoy (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧