BVIB 05

Chapter 5

“You—you! I’ll kill you! How dare you do this to me?” Carmel shrieked, her rage twisting her features.

“I told you,” Roselyn replied coolly, “you shouldn’t have bothered me. I was planning to leave soon anyway. Why go out of your way to provoke me, stepmother?”

“I’ll—kill—!”

Carmel’s voice rose in a frenzied scream, her face flushed with fury—then, suddenly, her eyes rolled back. The butler, having seen enough, struck the back of her neck with a swift, practiced blow. Carmel crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

“Master,” the butler announced quietly.

The Duke gave a single, approving nod.

At last, all the obstacles had been cleared away. Roselyn rubbed her eyes, feeling exhaustion settle over her. She’d spent the past few days running around, gathering information herself; sleep had been in short supply.

Now, she became aware of the meaningful stares fixed on her from around the table.

“I apologize for the disturbance,” she said, her tone even.

Aegis broke into booming laughter, waving her apology away. “Hah! No need, no need! You did us all a favor. I had a bad feeling about her from the start.”

Roselyn managed a faint, polite smile and nodded in acknowledgment. “I’m glad I could be of help.”

Aegis had never shown any particular resentment or prejudice toward Roselyn, making him one of the few in the family she found easy to deal with.

Of the two reasons she’d come to the formal dinner, Roselyn had just resolved one. Only one remained.

Without hesitation, she spoke up. “And… I’d like to leave the mansion soon. But after looking into it, it seems I don’t have any personal assets in my name.”

She still remembered how stunned she’d been to discover that a noble lady like herself owned nothing at all. Thankfully, it didn’t appear to be a case of embezzlement—she simply had no assets, not so much as a trinket to her name.

“If it’s not too much trouble, would it be possible for me to take a few pieces of jewelry with me when I go? I’m thinking of leaving in about a month—possibly sooner, if I can secure a safe place to stay.”

With every word she spoke, Roselyn could feel the atmosphere growing colder. She glanced up, meeting the frosty silence head-on.

“…Did I speak out of turn?” she asked, pausing to give them a chance to object.

A quiet voice finally broke the silence, tinged with disbelief. “Why… do you want to leave?”

Roselyn had never felt much attachment to her family. As a child, she’d spent most of her days bedridden by illness, and her father had rarely visited her. Books and the occasional kind maid had been her only friends—her world learned through pages, not people.

The only one who ever made the effort to greet her, even in passing, had been Aegis. He wasn’t one to be swayed by laws, social norms, or prejudice.

Even so, Roselyn found herself unexpectedly unsettled. She never would have guessed that her father—of all people, a man she could count on one hand the number of real conversations they’d had—would be the one to ask her to stay.

For a rare moment, she was at a loss for words, her lips parting but nothing coming out.

After mulling over his question for what felt like ages, Roselyn finally began to grasp what he meant, and her thoughts started to fall into place.

“I’m not planning to disgrace the family’s honor. I’m simply going to leave the Empire and settle somewhere safer, in another country,” Roselyn said, looking directly at her father, Cherty Bellion, for the first time in a long while.

He wore his long, wavy hair loosely tied back, as always. His striking features—so similar to her own—made it clear where Roselyn had inherited her beauty. There was a coldness to his expression, his sharp eyes as indifferent and feline as ever. His lips, set in a hard line, were half-shaded by his dark hair, and with his black hair and crimson eyes, a certain gloom seemed to hang over him.

Roselyn studied him quietly before continuing, “Of course, once I leave this house, I have no intention of using the Bellion name.”

“Then why?” he pressed, more persistent than she’d ever known him to be. Normally, he would have simply nodded and left it at that.

“You’re aware your health isn’t good. Haven’t I told you, over and over? You—”

“You mean I’d just be a burden out there?” Roselyn finished for him, her tone calm and even. Cherty faltered, taken aback.

She was more accustomed to this distant, cold side of her father than the awkward concern he showed now. It had always been easier for her when he kept his distance.

“That’s why I plan to sever all ties with the Bellion family when I leave. As far as I know, my name isn’t even officially recorded under the family’s registry or yours,” she added, her voice steady.

Cherty opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again, silent. The uncertainty in his gaze made his confusion all too plain, and Roselyn tried to make it clear—at least in her own way—that she had no intention of causing them any trouble.

Even if she’d never felt much love or attachment, that didn’t mean she was without regret. She still felt guilt for not being able to help when it mattered most. The funeral she’d been unable to attend remained a lingering sorrow, a grief she hadn’t quite let go of.

As she grew older, Roselyn had come to realize how grateful she was that, despite everything, her father had chosen not to abandon his sickly child. No matter how much money one had, taking responsibility for another human being was never easy. Even if his care had bordered on indifference, it was that very detachment that had allowed her to receive steady treatment right up until the day she left home.

“Don’t you ever have regrets?” she asked quietly. “Wishing you had made a different choice at a critical moment, wondering if things might have turned out better… or if you could have built a different relationship with someone.”

“…”

“I find it a shame to let you die as a villain, Roselyn,” Geran Wilbrede had said. “Don’t you want to live?”

Roselyn couldn’t guess what Geran was thinking. All she knew was that years of running and being shunned had worn her down. Joy had become rare, and even sorrow felt muted now.

She supposed it was a shame, but she had no desire to forge new bonds.

“I’ve caused enough trouble for Young Lord Cherty and the Bellion family over the years. I only wish to settle my debts and leave with dignity.”

Just as Geran said, some relationships always carried regrets. Perhaps, if this strange miracle had happened years earlier, she might have clung to a shred of hope for something more.

“I’ll break off the engagement with the Third Prince myself,” she added. “I’ll handle everything cleanly, so there’s no need for you to worry about any fallout.”

It wasn’t as if Roselyn was incapable of feeling. Once, she had longed for affection and had wanted to be loved. She had simply done her best to survive for all of her twenty-seven years.

Now, all Roselyn wanted was to go somewhere no one knew her at all.

‘I’ll have to meet with Geran at some point too,’ she thought, collecting her scattered thoughts as she slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again.

“I’ll take care of everything as quickly as possible. Once it’s settled—”

“No.”
Cherty cut her off abruptly and sprang to his feet.

“I won’t allow it. Do you think an engagement with the Imperial family is so trivial?”

“I assure you I’ll—”

“Enough nonsense! Go inside, take your medicine, and get some rest. After causing such a spectacle, you’ve embarrassed us enough, and now—”
Cherty’s glare was ice-cold, frustration flickering in his eyes as he trailed off and stormed out of the dining room, slamming the door behind him.

“…?”
Roselyn stared after him in confusion, her brow furrowing at his sudden exit.

She rubbed her temples, exhaling wearily. Cherty had always been dissatisfied no matter what she did, so his reaction wasn’t particularly surprising. It was just… unfamiliar, after so many years.

‘How long has it been since we even spoke?’
It must have been well over a decade since they’d had any real interaction—not since she was a child.

‘Well, he did care for the Bellion family, after all.’

A strange sense of nostalgia washed over her as she turned back to the table.

“In any case, I’ll discuss everything with His Highness the Third Prince and coordinate things before I bring it up again.”

Aegis let out a groan. “So you’re really planning to leave?”

“Yes. I imagine Father’s just worried I’ll bring trouble to the Bellion name wherever I go,” Roselyn answered, smoothing over the tension as she rose from her seat.

“Well, I’m exhausted, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll head upstairs first.”

“Hey, Roselyn!” Aegis called after her.

“Yes, Uncle?”

Aegis shuddered at her formal tone, feigning horror. “Cut that out! Don’t call me ‘Uncle’ in that stiff way. You were calling me “uncle” and all sorts of other things just a moment ago—why so formal now?”1

Roselyn’s smile turned sly as she caught his unnerved expression. “Well…” she replied cheerfully, “I just wanted to annoy my soon-to-be stepmother a little.”