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

<Episode 71>

The other side of evil deeds.

 

One day, Chastia, unlike usual, left home and did not return for a long time.

Even Roberick who was taking care of Allea, kept looking back at the quiet doorway out of concern.

Creak-

“Chastia?”

How much time has passed?

At last, Roberick laid Allea, who was sleeping soundly, in the cradle and hurried to the living room.

“Ah, Roberick……..”

However, the Chastia he faced had an appearance that Roberick had never expected.

“You……why are you, like this?.”

How did she end up with food scraps all over her body?

From her hair to her face to her clothes, there wasn’t a single spot that wasn’t dirty.

Roberick, who was caught off guard by the unexpected sight for a moment, grabbed Chastia, who was trying to leave in a panic, and asked with sadness mixed with anger.

“Who did this?”

“Roberick……It’s nothing, it’s just that I accidentally trapped and…….”

“Don’t try to cover it up with lies. Could it be that the village residents are the ones who did this to you?”

Roberick, as he questioned Chastia who was avoiding his gaze and slightly trembling, recalled the attitude of the village residents towards Chastia and Allea and spoke with a straight face.¹So, the village residents are more perspective than him, how amusing (⁠@⁠_⁠@⁠)

“………”

As if it was the correct answer, Chastia’s eyes widened and she was unable to say anything.

Ha, Roberick said, letting out a sharp breath.

“What the hell are the people in this town thinking……Why would they insult an incredibly good person like you like this?”²They are thinking straight, you are just stupid nothing more(⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

Roberick had no doubt about her.

That’s because this poor woman in front of him was the one who saved him and did not extort money from him based on his identity, she just purely saved the life of a person who had fallen unconscious and was bleeding.³I think she is just aiming for something more than money…

Consequently, even in his poor circumstances, he treated her patiently and with sincerity.

So, Roberick was even more enraged by the behavior of this village, which went from ostracizing a poor woman with no one to rely on to going so far as to subject her to evil harassment.

Chastia, who had thick tears falling from her bright red eyes, lowered her head as if to hide them and spoke.

“………I am okay.”

Was she going to protect them even in this situation?

“What the hell!”

“Because you are here.”

Roberick, who was shouting in anger at the frustratingly kind woman, stopped at the words Chastia uttered at that moment.

“I do not hate them, or despise them…… Because I have you who sees me as I am.”

“……..”

“It’s okay now, so don’t be angry……………….”

Boom, his heart sank.

What kind of miserable life had she lived… How could be so thankful for the very natural favor he gave to the benefactor who saved his life?

“………Don’t cry.”

He couldn’t bear to say anything more.

Hesitating, Roberick looked down at the pitifully sobbing woman, and, not caring that she was stained with dirt, stretched out his hand and wiped the tears flowing down her cheeks.

The next day, Roberick left home under the pretext of going for a walk, went straight to the village chief, and asked in a high-handed manner.

“Why are you persecuting a poor, helpless woman with such baseless malice? I think my anger will subside a little if I hear the reason.”

“Well, that is….”

The village people who gathered at the village chief’s house were filled with fear and panicked at the noble and beautiful man who, at first glance, seemed to be different from them from birth.

“Well, we didn’t want to do this either. If that woman just leaves the town, everything will be resolved……”

“Where on earth can a woman who has nothing and even a young daughter go? It’s absurd.”

Was this their excuse for what they had done?

Roberick was truly dumbfounded and said with a sneer:

“……You’re saying that because you don’t know how vicious that woman’s dead husband was!”

However, the story that came from them was something he had never expected.

Roberick narrowed his eyes and looked intently at the face of the village chief who spoke those words.

The emotion that dwelled within it and clearly revealed its existence was nothing else.

It was fear.

 

***

 

“A servant has just arrived from the Emperor’s Palace, and said that the Grand Duke Heilian will come to the villa after his audience with His Majesty!”

“Oh my god, Leah. Take a look at my appearance. Isn’t your hair matted? I couldn’t sleep last night, so my complexion must be a mess…….”

“It doesn’t matter. Has His Excellency the Grand Duke ever given a glance to inferiors like us?”

The maids belonging to the villa where Grand Princess Heilian was staying were moving around in a hurry and showing various reactions to the news that Grand Duke Heilian would come.

Because their master, the Grand Princess, did not appreciate her father’s visit, Grand Duke Heilian would visit the villa only rarely, about once a month.

“The Grand Duchess is alive and well, and he has even found the legitimate successor, Grand Princess Edith, so how could his Excellency be attracted to another woman?”

“I’m not doing this with such impure intentions!”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Of course, it’s because…… His Excellency, Grand Duke Heilian, is so handsome that he could even rival Ignis!”

A maid named Melissa shouted, cupping her flushed cheeks with her hands.

The other maids looked astonished at their colleague, who was even casually blaspheming the Spirit King.

“If my ugly appearance were to show up in those bright eyes… Ah, that would never happen. I shouldn’t leave a single speck of dirt on him.”

Melissa, caught up in her mad adoration for Archduke Heilian, fell into a trance, talking to herself in a hazy voice.

“So, no matter how bad I am by nature, shouldn’t I tidy up my appearance as much as possible?… Ah, how good it would have been if the Grand Duchess had a son who resembled His Excellency the Grand Duke. Of course, he is still as lovely as a young spirit, but if he were Confucius, I would have been happier serving him.”

“You’re seriously ill… You must never reveal your madness in front of the Grand Princess.”

The maid, who was shaking her head and muttering as if she was helpless with her, could also understand Melissa’s feelings to some extent.

Usually, in the Roshan Empire, there would be one person from each generation who was so handsome that he would beat up all the handsome men in other countries.

The handsome man from the previous generation was.…… Oh yeah.

It happened to be the former Duke Bastevan who was residing in this villa.

Her grandmother used to say in a faint voice that there was not a single woman of her age who did not imagine burying her face in that broad, firm chest.⁴Well, I don’t ever want my grandma to tell me something like this🤢

He didn’t only have a power that could match the power of the spiritists, but he also had a body so strong that it could even defeat them with its immense strength.

It was said that even his appearance exuded a dangerous and wild beauty that was not found in corrupt nobles, which made him capture the hearts of many women.

Moreover, he was a comrade in arms with……Who was it again?

In any case, it was said that after marrying the Great Spiritist of Water, who was from a ruined country, he did not have any scandal with any woman even after her death.

That pure love was something that was attractive even to her, who had never seen the former Duke of Bastevan in his youth.

But now, who was the most handsome man in the Roshan Empire?

It was Roberick Arne Heilian, a man with a beauty that was completely opposite to that of Siorn.

It was said that among the spirit kings, the one with the most sublime beauty is Ignis, the spirit king of light.

However, Archduke Heilian was a man so handsome that even the noble and old noblemen truly admired him, thinking that he would be just like Ignis if he were to appear as a human.

He had a divine nobility that makes you instinctively shrink, as if he was born different from ordinary humans

He had pure white hair as if not even a single filth was allowed on it, and deep and bright red eyes that seem to be submerged in delicate yet inexplicable water……

It was said that a man could never possess the fragile beauty of a woman, but if there was only one who broke that rule, it would be Roberick Arne Heilian.

“He’s coming! Quick, quick, get back!”

While they were thinking about the handsome men in the Roshan Empire, the Heilian Archduke finally came by.

They all took a step back, lowered their heads, and remained silent, all smiles hidden.

Grand Duke Heilian, who seemed to be forever young and beautiful, passed in front of the maids, waving the hem of his white cloak, leaving behind a unique sweet and refreshing scent.

Meanwhile, Melissa couldn’t suppress her pounding heart, and just as the Archduke was passing by, she slightly raised her head and looked at his face.

When there was not even a sign of Archduke Heilian left, Melissa suddenly looked back at her fellow maids who were helping her frighteningly as she staggered while clutching her heart, and cried out helplessly.

“……He was smiling. How happy he must have been at the thought of meeting his daughter……so divine and beautiful that even the Spirit King of Darkness surrendered in front of his smile… ” ‎‫

“….…Here we go again.”

Thinking they were worried for no reason, the women exchanged glances with each other, gritted their teeth and shuddered.

“By the way, isn’t the Grand Princess not staying in the bedroom but in the guest room? Don’t we have to tell him?”

“It’s okay. Before coming to the villa, I already sent an attendant to ask where the Grand Princess was.”

“I see…Wait…But, the person who is by the princess’s side right now is….”

The maid, who had been speaking in a calm tone, looked back at the spot where Archduke Heilian had left from and murmured in a low voice as the face of the person suddenly appeared in her mind.

“Master Meinhardt is with the Princess.”