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

<Episode 72>

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Thinking that today was the day he would meet his daughter for the first time in a long while, Roberick arrived at the back garden where Edith was with a smile on his face.

His complexion brightened even more as he looked at Edith chattering happily with someone on a small hill with fresh greenery.

But when he took a step toward the child and turned his gaze to the one by her side……

“……Impossible.”

He discovered the identity of the man sitting casually next to her, gently holding the child’s small hand with a gentle smile.

All the smiles on his beautiful face disappeared.

“Why are you here…….”

Roberick, caught in a shock that seemed to have robbed him of his rationality, cried out in anger that soon burned like a flame.

“Meinhard Ciel Astrape!”

As her peaceful time was disturbed, Edith trembled and turned her head at the sudden shout of fierce anger that rang out.

She soon spotted Roberick striding towards them.

“You, the descendant of a lowly sinner, dares to enter the majestic imperial palace. Shouldn’t you leave immediately?!”

Roberick did not hesitate to pour out insults towards Meinhardt.

His behavior made Edith feel uncomfortable, thought Meinhardt was extremely indifferent and did not even give Roberick a single glance.

“How dare you…….”

Roberick showed even more cruelty at Meinhardt’s disregard, and grabbed Edith’s hand, pulling her away from Meinhardt and pulling her to his side.

“You should not be in the same place with such a lowly sinner. I’m sure Siorn Archaic brought him here. We need to kick that guy out right now…..”

“I asked him to stay!”

Roberick, who was talking furiously, looked down at his daughter with a blank expression at the words uttered by Edith, who was trying hard to shake off his hand.

“……What?”

Edith, who was looking up at Roberick with dissatisfied eyes, pulled her hand out of Roberick’s grasp, which momentarily lost its strength, and spoke sharply.

“I asked him to stay with me. Meinhardt has helped me several times and is a good person I can trust. So, no matter what his family name is……please don’t insult Meinhard any more.”

Roberick, who looked bewildered at the words his daughter said, immediately gritted his teeth and shouted in retort.

“Edith! That’s because you have no idea what kind of cursed blood he inherited. Listen to me. If he stays with you…!”

“I know.”

At that moment, Roberick stopped getting angry and frowned at Edith’s quietly muttering voice.

Edith glanced back at Meinhard, who still seemed indifferent even though sharp criticism was pouring in right in front of him.

He was also looking at her.

At first, I also thought those black eyes were unsettling because I couldn’t understand their true intentions, but………

“He is the only blood relative left by Judith, the great spiritist of the past who was my grandfather’s comrade in arms.”

Now, I could see the pain hidden within that solid front.

Because I knew of his gentle affection that was not revealed.

“!”

“You, father, completely blocked and distorted my knowledge of the onset of the disaster and the heroes who defeated it.”

Roberick looked visibly embarrassed.

Edith said with a slight smile, as if sarcastically thinking about what he had done to her.

“I never told you this before, but now I know everything, father.”

“Edith…….”

Roberick, who seemed to be speechless and unable to control his emotions, closed his eyes tightly and barely suppressed his rising emotions as he continued speaking.

“……….Even if the he is Judith Sephemia Kandel’s niece and only descendant, nothing will change. I can say this to you with peace in mind now that you know everything, the Kandel family broke a taboo that should not be dared to be broken. They offered human sacrifice to Arkane. They have done it! You should never have a descendant of such a vicious bloodline by your side.”

Edith, who was quietly watching Roberick, asked.

“What about the Grand Duchess?”

“……What?”

For a split second Roberick asked, wondering what this meant.

“The Grand Duchess was also a member of the family of someone who worshiped the evil and sinister Arkane.”

As Edith spoke in a calm tone, Roberick absentmindedly recalled memories of the past.

 

***

 

“………He was vicious? What are you talking about? Tell me so I can understand.”

The village chief broke out in a cold sweat and spoke in a voice thick with fear.

“Actually, we didn’t know that he was such an evil person until he died, but……….”

The story that came out of his mouth outlined a man who was secretive and strong-willed.

The name of the man who was the husband of Chastia Phrium and the owner of the castle Phrium was Charlise Phrium.

One day, a young man suddenly appeared with his eye-poppingly beautiful wife and settled in this village.

His dark black hair was grown thick and hung near his shoulders, resembling the mane of an animal, and his body was unusually thin.

If it weren’t for that impression, he would have been outstanding enough to be described as beautiful, but…….

Since there was always a sensitive and sharp air around him, he inexplicably gave the impression that he was wary of his surroundings and distrustful of everything in the world.

Charlise Phrium, like his appearance, was a quiet man, uninterested in village affairs, and rarely came out into the open.

Still, he was a man with nothing particularly notable about him.

Also, except for the fact that his wife, Chastia, had a very delicate personality and cried a lot, she was kind to everyone, so she blended into the village smoothly, and they thought that the years would pass in peace as always.

‘Fire! ‘Phrium’s house is on fire!’

That day, Charlise Phrium’s house burned down in a fire of unknown origin.

Chastia and her young daughter were fortunately unharmed, but her husband was unable to escape and was crushed to death by the collapsed ceiling.

It was an unfortunate accident.

The villagers felt sorry for Chastia, who seemed to have let go of everything after her husband’s death and could not even take care of her young daughter, and set out to repair the ruined house.

‘…… Hey, what’s that……. in the house lot?’

‘What?’

When the fallen pillars and piles of ashes were being removed, something hidden behind the small house was revealed.

The complexions of those who saw it slowly hardened.

Huge, extremely harmful techniques that would make any life instinctively feel unpleasant were clearly engraved on the charred stone.

‘This…… what?’

‘It is said that the spiritists outside know not only the power of the spirits but also the use of magic, but this could not be………isn’t this the camp done by evil witches?’

‘What, then, Phrium was a spiritist?’

‘Hey, come here! Maybe it’s because it’s deep in the backyard, but one of the warehouses is fine!’

The people who had lived in a small village their whole lives couldn’t even guess the identity of the pattern, so they put their heads together and pondered.

Then, at the call of another resident, they all headed to the front of the small wooden shed that was left unburned.

‘Let me open it.’

Creeeeaak-

The sight reflected beyond the door of the warehouse that opened with a somewhat creepy sound was……

‘………What is this again?’

White paper filled the small warehouse, with something dark and red drawn on it, as if it were a scaled down version of the bizarre pattern engraved on the camp behind the house.

Above all, the statue representing a certain being placed on a small shelf added fuel to the discomfort towards this strange sight.

Bang-

‘Oh my, old man! What’s going on here…….’

‘Ah ah ah ah ah!’

The moment they exchanged uncomfortable looks, the sound of something falling and screams of fear were heard one after the other.

When they turned to see the commotion, they it was saw the oldest man in the village, his face turning pale and his whole body shaking.

He stretch out your finger and pointed to the small statue in the warehouse.

‘That’s Arkane!’

‘……What?!’

At the words spoken by the old man who lost his entire family decades ago to the so-called followers of Arkane and lived alone until he became this old, the complexions of the men in the village turned paler than ever before.

‘Yes, I would never forgotten it, not even in my dreams! The dead Phrium was a follower of Arkane!’

The old man was shedding tears and muttering the names of his dead family members as if he had lost his mind. Eventually, his legs seemed to give out and he collapsed to the ground.

Those who hurriedly helped the old man looked at the warehouse with eyes full of deep disgust and hostility.

“Even though he seemed a bit sensitive and unusual………That day, we all learned that our neighbor, whom we had taken in without any hesitation, was none other than a follower of the vicious Arkane. Even after knowing the truth, would you able to treat the wife of the now dead Phrium so carelessly?”¹For me, it shouldn’t be enough reason to treat her badly, unless she was aware of what her husband was doing ┐⁠(⁠￣⁠ヘ⁠￣⁠)⁠┌

The village chief, who was touching his hands anxiously, spoke with a shudder.

“I, we could never do that. Even though we didn’t experience it ourselves, we who grew up listening to the horror stories of that era told by our elders and parents, would never!”

“…….”

Roberick was so shocked that he couldn’t say anything.

The husband of a good and pitiful woman like Chastia……was a heretic who worshiped Arkane.

It was an unbelievable story because it was true, the eyes of the village chief and the people around him were colored with pure fear and hostility, so it could not be dismissed as a lie.

At that moment, Roberick began to feel somewhat uneasy about the woman he had simply pitied.

 

***

TL:

This Roberick simply has no backbone what so ever…

Well, this chapter was somewhat short, so I am happy (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠).

I hope you enjoyed ❤️.

Edit: I just finished my finals and for celebrating, I will open all my locked chapters<⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠>.