She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 106

Even in a state where she couldn’t open her eyes, Melisa reached out a hand toward the Duchess. It was a fierce obsession.

Of course, she had no intention of letting Melisa have her way. After all the trouble of saving the Duke and breaking the curse, letting the Duchess slip away now would make it all meaningless.

Idel channeled aura onto the sword she had taken when she cut in between the two people. It was an unpolished, clumsy aura, but it was enough to stop Melisa.

Calmly confirming her target, she swung the sword precisely toward Melisa’s hand.

A spine-chilling ‘crunch’ was heard close by, but Idel didn’t stop there. She followed through, shifting the sword’s path to strike Melisa’s side, and then distanced herself from him.

Melisa, gripping a wrist that was clearly broken, managed to open his eyes, gritting his teeth.

“…Idel, you’re going to stop me until the very end…”

“Of course. I intend to end everything today.”

Listening to his voice, which was as rough as his ragged body, Idel glanced at the sword she held.

‘I should have just borrowed one from Gianna. I just picked this one up, and it’s a decorative sword, so the impact is minimal.’

She had mimicked the aura to break the wrist, but she had wished for it to be completely destroyed. So that Melisa couldn’t easily use black magic.

Of course, that was just Idel’s personal disappointment; in the eyes of others, Idel had more than done her part.

“Heavens!”

“Did you just see that?”

The nobles, who were evacuating under the protection of the knights, stopped in their tracks and let out small gasps of awe.

When the former Countess Lopez was exerting his power, their lives were paramount, so they rushed to evacuate, but frankly, they were curious about the conclusion of this affair.

How many opportunities would they have in their lives to witness such a scene with their own eyes!

“You must move now!”

“Wait, just wait a moment!”

While a few nobles shook off the urging knights, Count Bright let out a refreshing laugh and threw himself toward Melisa.

“That was a splendid move, Miss!”

Vivian had no intention of missing the opportunity Idel had painstakingly created. Remembering the effort the child had put in, it was only right to subdue Melisa as quickly as possible.

“End it? Me? Don’t be mistaken, Idel. I…”

This was also to prevent him from saying any more unnecessary things to Idel.

However, before Vivian could even reach out a hand to Melisa, an unexpected person struck him down first.

It was Patrick, who hadn’t shown his face at all while people were exchanging greetings, and whom she had therefore assumed hadn’t attended today.

“Oh dear! Asking me to go with him while bleeding profusely—it’s quite frightful. Madam and Lady Idel, are you both alright?

Hearing his usual flippant voice, Idel’s expression hardened.

‘I didn’t think he’d step forward where people are present.’

She didn’t know what he was aiming for, but he had consistently maintained his position as ‘Dante’s escort knight.’

The moment Patrick’s golden eyes turned towards her, Idel tensed up her body defensively. She even pulled on the Duchess’s clothes to prevent him from approaching her.

“Idel?”

“Oh my, Lady Idel seems very startled.”

“Idel, it’s alright now. My sister… has lost consciousness at Sir Patrick’s hands.”

Thinking Idel was clinging tightly to her clothes out of fear, the Duchess immediately knelt down, hugged the child, and patted her back.

It had no effect. Idel was stiff because of Patrick.

Only her soothing touch managed to awaken Idel’s stopped mind.

‘Snap out of it. I can’t let this fish slip away now that I’ve almost caught it.’

It was the moment Idel, who had tightly closed and opened her eyes, was inhaling to call Count Bright.

Patrick, who made eye contact with Idel over Rowena’s shoulder, subtly raised his index finger to his own lips.

‘Shhh…?’

Idel’s brow furrowed deeply at his utterly suspicious behavior.

‘Is he threatening me right now? That if I don’t keep quiet, he’ll “accidentally” take care of me?’

No way.

Idel curled the corner of her mouth as if to say ‘go ahead and try,’ and opened her mouth again. However, Patrick, as if he had expected Idel to do just that, pointed to his own wrist with his other hand.

Idel rolled her eyes to check Patrick’s wrist and frowned a little more intensely. This was because there was a pointlessly cute-looking rabbit dangling on his wrist.

‘A rabbit? It’s not like he’s showing off. Why suddenly…? Wait, does he mean the rabbit’s hole?’

Idel’s mind instantly became complicated.

Seeing the confusion in the child’s eyes, Patrick cracked a smile, then, pretending nothing happened, turned back to face Count Bright and the Duke.

“The former Countess Lopez was a man! That’s truly shocking!”

“…Indeed.”

“I was so surprised I almost stumbled. Ah! I will keep watch over the former Countess Lopez. You have guests and need to look after the young lady, so the Duke and the Count should focus on more important matters. And please look after our young master, too.”

The Duke, who hadn’t yet withdrawn the aura he had spread even while watching Melisa collapse, briefly met Patrick’s eyes.

Patrick, receiving the Duke’s gaze, blinked with an expression of utter feigned innocence.

“Hmm? Did you have something to say?”

“No, I was just thinking it might be better for the children if the Knight was with them than us. How about entrusting Melisa to Count Bright?”

“Haha, is that really necessary? The Count also needs to look after his partner and…”

The moment the Duke heard Patrick’s awkward refusal, he didn’t hesitate to point his sword at him.

The sound of blades meeting echoed sharply through the hall. The sudden tension that engulfed the space caused a commotion among the nobles again.

He glanced at where the guests were, then joked again.

“Oh dear, Duke. Isn’t sparring a bit dangerous in a place like this?”

“Let’s drop the pointless mask, Sir. What are you hiding? Are you perhaps in league with Melisa?”

“Huh? Are you doubting me right now?”

“Yes. I am doubting you. So, I would like you to clear that doubt.”

“Oh dear, why me…”

“Because Idel was wary of you.”

Vivian, who had separated Melisa after the Duke started confronting Patrick, nodded slightly.

Rowena, who had hugged Idel, might not have seen it, but Idel’s face was perfectly visible to the two men standing behind Patrick. Things like Idel’s hardened expression upon seeing Patrick and her lips twitching as if she wanted to say something.

‘Her expression was different from when Idel usually sees Patrick.’

Recalling the child’s eyes, which were mixed with wariness, suspicion, and confusion, the Duke pressed Patrick once more.

“I assume you won’t retort by asking if it’s just because of Idel’s reaction, even after witnessing everything that has happened in the ballroom.”

“Ah, this is tough.”

Patrick smiled wryly as if he was troubled, then put force into his wrist, pushing away the Duke’s sword. Then, he put distance between them and scratched the back of his head.

“This way, the trouble of threatening the young lady to silence her is wasted.”

“…”

“I regret having to reveal my identity like this, but yes. I am working with him. I don’t like the guy, but I can’t deny that we are on the same side. So, I’m sorry, but I have to take that guy with me.”

“That won’t be possible.”

“Hmm… You will have to. Because…”

Just as Patrick trailed off, a loud crash was heard from outside the ballroom where the nobles were evacuating.

BANG!

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

“Aack! W-What is this…!”

“…Yes, because something like this was going to happen.”

The Duke glared coldly at his composed demeanor, as if the event was planned.

“You didn’t think I’d be shaken, did you?”

“Of course not. Who is more accustomed to a brawl than the Duke? Besides, you have a well-trained knighthood here, Count Bright, and even Vilred. Ah, or is it Colton you call him?”

“Yet you are so confident. Why?”

“A reason… hmm.”

Patrick exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders as usual and held up two fingers.

“I have two reasons. One is… hmm, they should be here by now.”

They should be here?

It was the moment the Duke and Vivian frowned at the cryptic remark. Figures with deep hoods pulled over their faces appeared behind Patrick.

“Damn it, how many times do I have to say I don’t have enough time to make money! You boasted so much that eating the Ducal family would not be bad for us, so what is this! I just wish he would die, but he plays a crucial role, so I can’t let him go!”

“I agree. But remember how much trouble we had losing Vilred. It’s better to spend the time now.”

He rolled his eyes to confirm the two grumbling figures, shrugged, and opened his mouth again.

“Oh, they’re here now. As you can see, the first reason for my confidence is that I am not alone. The other one is…”

“…”

“That both the Duke and the Count have a duty to prioritize the Imperial Family?”

“What?”

Vivian’s confusion did not last long. Just like the two incidents before, Dante’s flustered voice replaced Patrick’s explanation this time.

“…Sigmund? Wait, Sigmund! Get a hold of yourself! Sigmund!”

“Yes, exactly like this.”

Patrick answered Vincent and Vivian with a calm expression and conspicuously clasped his hands behind his back. The adorable rabbit on his wrist visibly swayed below his hand.