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

<Episode 76>

 

This face again.

I clenched my hands and gritted my teeth.

It was if the appearance of the lovely and innocent girl before was all an illusion.

I wonder if this was truly an expression that a child could make…..That emotionless face that was so creepy and grotesque.

“……What do you want to say?”

Soon, Allea smiled faintly and spoke in a friendly voice.

“I thought you knew. My biological father passed away when I was a baby who couldn’t even walk. So, at most I only know my father’s name, but I have no idea what kind of person he was.”

The eerie look on her face that appeared a moment ago was like a hallucination, depicting the appearance of a docile girl.

“……If you ask our ‘father’ about the truth of what I say, you will immediately know whether it is true or not.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, opened them, and started talking in a low voice.

“Your biological father was a dark spiritist. Your mother was his wife. You should understand what this means without me saying anything more.”

I then looked at Allea’s reaction, but to my surprise…

Allea just had an extremely calm expression.

I found her strange and added with a slight frown.

“His Highness the Second Prince has lived in captivity with his very existence erased simply because of the fact that his side spirits were dark spirits. If this fact were to become known to the entire world, including the Empire…..”

“………”

“……Can you continue to maintain your status as the Grand Princess of Hailien?”

How could this be?

No matter how much she didn’t remember, hearing that her biological father, who passed on his blood to her, was a dark spiritist who was treated as such a terrible and fearful being and was ostracized….

And still being able to have such a peaceful face…….

Stimulated by that I spoke as if threatening to reveal the mysterious and creepy girl’s true feelings, as she always wore a hard mask that did not show any cracks.

“Okay.”

However, Allea’s expression did not change one bit.

“You say my biological father was a dark spiritist.”

She picked up the teacup with an elegant gesture, poured over the tea, and set it down without making a sound.

“Why does that matter?”

“……What?”

I asked back, not believing my ears.

Allea responded with a calm expression.

“Even though my father knew the whole truth, he chose my mother over your mother. So he will never abandon me and mother.”

Look at this…

I was so dumbfounded that I let out a small laugh and asked.

“……What are you going to do if I tell His Majesty about this?”

“Well, tell him.”

Her slightly pink eyes curved into a beautiful arc.

“You know, Edith? It doesn’t really matter whether your parents were dark elementals or worshipers. The most important thing is your own attributes.”

“……..”

“I am a completely ordinary human¹You are ordinary?!!(⁠●⁠_⁠_⁠●⁠) being who has not received any spirit blessings. But, just because my biological father, whose face I don’t even know, was a dark spiritist..…..Would this be sufficient justification for His Majesty the Emperor to deprive me from the title that he bestowed upon me personally?”

I didn’t know what rabbish she was talking about.

If it was up to the Emperor who hated even his own son and imprisoned him because of the dark spirits, then she should be killed right now……

“There is no provision in the death penalty law sworn by all countries except Nisha stating that the family of a dark spiritist must be executed. Also, even though my father knew that my mother and I were the family of a dark spiritist, he brought us in and treated us as the Archduchess and Grand Princess.”

Allea said in a very kind voice.

“If His Majesty the Emperor finds out about this, will he be able to strip my mother and me of our titles?”

“You……”

“Have you forgotten, Edith? Because of your kidnapping a while ago, His Majesty the Emperor is trying to somehow hold on to his tenuous friendship with our father.”

As Allea continued talking, she brought up an unexpected topic.

“If he were to reveal the truth about my biological father, even if it cannot lead to our institutional downfall, my mother and I will suffer criticism from the entire continent and our father, who took us into his family even after finding out the truth, will also be criticized. However, would His Majesty really dare to do something that would completely tarnish our father’s honor?”

Allea’s friendly smile felt like a cruel sneer.

“No Emperor of Roshan would dare touch the Hailien of Light, unless he is a completely insane or crazy.”

Tucking her black hair behind her ear, Allea spoke in a friendly tone.

“The previous Hailien Grand Duke could not betray his loyalty and faced death, but our ‘father’ is by no means the same type of subject as his predecessor…”

“………”

I held my hand tightly without saying a word.

“So do whatever you want, Edith. I really don’t care. Even if this gets out into the world, I’ll probably only get the crowd’s criticism and anger.”

“……It’s a relief.”

After the long taunt, I suppressed my anger and spoke softly.

Okay, now I know for sure.

Allea Serafina Hailien….

That you are absolutely not the same type of person as me.

You are cold-blooded and meticulous.

You don’t care about good, evil, or people’s true feelings.

The only values that matter to people like you are the goals that you are fiercely obsessed with.

Perhaps your dead biological father was the same type of person as you.

“What makes you so confident? Do you feel like no one can threaten your position?”

Allea looked at me silently.

Her pink eyes that don’t show a single hint of agitation.

I said, smiling brightly at her.

“But it’s better not to blindly believe in your calculations. My father promised it himself. That he will pass his title on to me. He adopted you as his daughter, but since you are not related by blood, he cannot pass on the title of the Grand Duke to you.”

“……..”

I said these words slowly, noting the slight twitching on her gentle face.

“You are currently satisfied with your position as the Grand Princess and fully enjoy it. But no one can guarantee whether the rest of your life will be as peaceful as it is now.”

The tension settled in the air quietly.

She had an expression where all warmth of her face had disappeared.

After a long period of silence….

“I wanted to have an amicable relationship with you because of my father’s request.”

Allea stood up and muttered coldly.

“You ruined everything.”

And without another word, she turned and left the living room.

“………I feel like I’m running out of energy.”

I broke my upright posture and rubbed my sore cheeks.

“……..”

Nothing had changed.

There were some new additions, though.

I will rise to the rank of Grand Dukess of Hailien, and I will return everything my grandfather lost.

And…….

“I will remove the stigma attached to my mother.”

To do so, she will not hesitate to even go against the mighty darkness that has existed since the beginning of the universe.

 

***

 

“………Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince?”

“It’s been a while, Grand Princess Edith.”

As I was taking a walk around the garden to vent my complicated feelings, I suddenly bumped into the Crown Prince, who had been avoiding meeting me since Ashamed regained his position as second prince, and he was rejected in publica.

“What brought you suddenly…….”

“I have no intention of giving up the throne.”

“……What?”

I frowned slightly as I looked at the Crown Prince, who was spouting out random things with an expression that seemed intoxicated with his own determination.

“I’m sure you acknowledge in your heart that I am better suited to be the Emperor of the Roshan Empire than Ashamed.”

What was he saying now…..?

“So, no matter what adversity comes, I will definitely ascend to the throne as Emperor, even if you betrayed me……I will rescue you from Ashamed’s clutches.”

Why did he suddenly appear and say these things out of nowhere?

It was absurd, but to sum up the gist, it was about him sincerely engaging in the battle for the throne and ultimately achieving victory…… He seemed to be revealing his aspirations.

But why was he telling me that?

What was the relationship between me and him?

Besides, Ashamed was not some kind of devil.

What did he mean by saying he was going to save me from him?

“……Yes, I will support your efforts.”

However, I couldn’t tell the Crown Prince that I wasn’t interested in whether he became the Emperor or not, and that the fight for the throne should be resolved between the brothers.

I answered with a soulless smile.

“Okay, I won’t disappoint your expectations.”

The Crown Prince nodded, gave a brief greeting, then turned around and walked away.

“………This guy and that guy, why is everyone making a fuss on front of me?”

Shaking my head, I lost all desire to go for a walk, so I headed back towards the villa.

“Uh?”

And in the middle of the corridor leading back to my quarters, I found Meinhardt standing alone and rushed to his side.

“Lady Edith.”

Meinhardt, who knew I was approaching, lowered his head to look down at me.

“What were you doing?”

“I was watching the sunset.”

I nodded slightly in response to his answer and watched the setting sun with him in silence.

“…Edith?”

After sometime….

Suddenly, I heard a small shout, as Ashamed called me with a surprised look on his face.

“Ashamed.”

“What are you doing here? And the person next to you…….”

For some reason, Ashamed also knew Meinhardt’s identity, but he had not even exchanged a single word with him.

The atmosphere between the two was extremely awkward.

“I was looking at the sky. What brought you here?”

“…..Just”

Ashamed, who came to my side while being wary of Meinhardt, turned his head and answered while avoiding my gaze.

“I wanted to see.”

“Uh…”

When I was pondering the reason for his visit and not knowing how to react.

“Edith! Oh my, Meinhardt, you were there too and… you.”

“Grandfather………?”²What is that, is it a family union ლ⁠(⁠^⁠o⁠^⁠ლ⁠)

What, why did everyone suddenly appear?

My grandfather, who had been walking towards me shouting Meinhardt’s name, made eye contact with Ashamed, and his pale face plummeted.

“………Your Highness the Second Prince.”

“Greeting Grand Duke.”

Although he was stripped of his title and officially became a commoner, his past and lineage meant that even the royal family could not treat him carelessly.

Above all, since he was my maternal grandfather, Ashamed was using the honorific title to my grandfather, even though it did not fit his status.

My grandfather, who was looking down at Ashamed with a very disapproving look as he bowed, quickly glanced at me and then spoke to Ashamed with an even more disapproving expression.

“Your Highness the Second Prince is someone who may become the Crown Prince. Even if you are her fiancé, it is not the right thing for you to visit so often. You should use that time to further improve your studies.”

“……Grand Princess Edith is a thoughtful and intelligent lady for her age, so spending time with her is more helpful than looking through books.”

“………”

In response to Ashamed’s remarkable answer, Grandfather made an even more frightening expression and poured out questions as if he was testing him.

Ashamed answered each question one after another with an extremely indifferent attitude, and occasionally showed off his composure to the point of speaking to me during the test.

As a result, my grandfather tightly clenched his trembling fists, revealing on his face that he couldn’t take it because he hated Ashamed so much.

Still, he wouldn’t use violence against a child.

Hahaha

Even though there was so much noise around him, Meinhardt was quiet, as if he was detached from reality.

I looked up at the sky next to him, and eventually couldn’t stop myself from letting out a small laugh.³I think they are funny too🤣