She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 112

The ticklish, awkward atmosphere between Vincent and Idel did not last long.

Shortly after those words—which were embarrassing enough to turn her face bright red—Idel drifted back into a deep sleep.

‘She used to worry every time the child collapsed…’

But this time was different.

Partly because of the priest’s advice, and partly because he had seen Idel’s eyes brimming with sleep the moment her tension finally snapped.

Vincent firmly supported the child’s slumped body, gathered her into his arms, and slowly stood up.

The creak of the chair and the flickering candlelight felt exceptionally peaceful today. It was surely due to the warmth of the child filling his arms.

He flashed a faint smile at the deeply sleeping Idel before turning to head for the door. Now that he had seen her wake up without issue, there was no need to stay at the temple any longer; he intended to take her straight home.

‘I want to hurry and tell Rowena and Gianna about the conversation I had with Idel.’

Raising his head while imagining the identical smiles the two would wear, Vincent’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

The moment he stepped out of the room, he came face-to-face with none other than the Saint.

“Saint?”

“Hello, Duke. It is a fine night. It appears you are planning to return with our sister.”

The Saint’s characteristically soft voice spread gently through the hallway. The first thing Vincent noticed were the Saint’s eyes, said to be imbued with divine power.

Eyes where silver and gold mixed in a mysterious hue.

Of course, Vincent wasn’t looking at them simply because of their beauty.

What caught his nerves was the fact that the Saint, while speaking to him, never once took her eyes off Idel.

As if she were searching for something.

Vincent instinctively pulled Idel closer into his embrace and spoke to the Saint, intending to draw his attention away from her.

“Yes. As you said, I was just about to head back. But do you have some business with the child?”

“Ah, I suppose I was staring at her a bit too blatantly.”

Averting her gaze from Idel, she gave Vincent a polite nod as if apologizing for her rudeness.

“If possible, I had hoped to share a conversation with her. It is a pity that you are leaving.”

“If that is the case, I would appreciate it if you could send word to the Duchy later. I will provide an answer after consulting the child’s wishes.”

When Vincent drew a polite but firm line, the Saint shook his head lightly.

“No, it’s quite alright. Seeing her now, I don’t believe that will be necessary.”

“…….”

Hearing her reply, Vincent’s brow furrowed even deeper. The Saint’s demeanor was now perfectly refreshing, as if she had never been staring at the child so intensely in the first place.

‘Did she read something in her…?’

Just as Vincent’s lips parted to ask for more detail, the Saint spoke first, as if he had read the Duke’s mind.

“It carries no great significance. It is just that… I had the feeling we would meet again once time passes and the moment is right.”

“…….”

“When she wakes, please give her this token. Should a moment come when she feels a desperate need to see me, this token will be of help.”

“This is……”

Vincent’s eyes widened as he identified the small object the Saint had handed over. The item, which emitted a faint fragrance, was unmistakably a wooden plaque carved from a branch of the Divine World Tree.

‘Even His Majesty the Emperor wouldn’t be able to obtain something like this easily…’

Facing an object more precious than he had anticipated, Vincent’s expression grew complicated.

Just as great power carries great responsibility, an excessively valuable item often brings a proportional amount of danger.

After a brief moment of deliberation, the Duke asked the Saint point-blank.

“Saint. May I ask you one thing?”

“Anything.”

“Does giving her this mean the child will fall into such danger that she’ll have to seek you out? Like some predestined fate?”

His low, somber voice carried a faint trace of anxiety for the child.

Reading the emotion the Duke couldn’t quite hide, the Saint let out a short laugh and tilted her head slightly.

“Fate, is it…?”

“…….”

“Well. At the very least, our sister does not seem like someone who would simply follow fate.”

“Pardon?”

Before Vincent could press further, the voices of priests searching for the Saint echoed from the end of the hallway.

The Saint glanced briefly toward the source of the voices and bid Vincent farewell in his usual gentle tone.

“Oh dear, I only meant to take a moment of your time, but it seems… well, I must be going now.”

“……Yes. Thank you for your advice and the token.”

Vincent had a mountain of questions he wanted to ask, but he couldn’t hold the Saint back in this situation.

‘Even if I held onto him and asked, it doesn’t seem like he’d give me a straight answer anyway.’

While Vincent swallowed his numerous questions, the Saint bestowed a blessing upon the two with a tender gesture. A warm, cozy energy softly washed over his body and then vanished.

“Then. May the Goddess watch over both your paths on the way home tonight.”

Having finished the blessing, the Saint turned and headed back toward the priests.

Vincent looked down at the retreating back and the token in his hand for a moment before turning back toward Priest Sedna’s room.

No matter how heavy the weight of the token in his hand felt, it was time to go home.

It was lunch the following day, a full twenty-four hours later, when Idel finally woke from her slumber.

Gripping her growling stomach as she slowly opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a crowd of people surrounding her.

“Idel! You’re finally awake!”

“Did you have a good dream?”

“How lucky. To think the Young Lady would open her eyes just as I arrived.”

“Sylvia, could you let Vincent know that Idel is awake? And Dr. Aiman as well.”

“Of course. I’ll go right away.”

Gianna, Dante, the Duchess, and even Count Bright. Behind the four of them, she could also see Diane, who looked ready to burst into tears, and Vilru78ed, who looked profoundly relieved.

‘What is all this…?’

She never expected to have to deal with so many people the very second she opened her eyes. Idel’s eyes rounded as her lips parted.

While Idel was silently reeling from the bewilderment, Gianna suddenly lunged forward and pulled her into a tight hug.

“I’m so glad you’re awake! Are you okay? Your head doesn’t hurt from sleeping too long? What about your stomach? Shouldn’t you eat something? Dad said you’d be fine, but even so, I was worried because it felt like you were sleeping forever…”

Having waited with bated breath for her sister to wake up, Gianna poured out her worries in a relentless stream.

When Idel winced at the non-stop chattering, Dante, who was standing beside them, grabbed Gianna’s arm.

“Gianna, you’re overwhelming her.”

“Oops…!”

“Indeed, Gianna. You have to give Idel room to breathe. Besides, remember what your father said? He said she needs rest because of the remnants of the curse.”

Gianna, who had been covering her mouth as if realizing her mistake, narrowed her eyes into sharp triangles the moment she heard the word ‘curse.’

“A curse! I’m seriously so angry! How could she cast such a terrifying spell on Idel? What if you had gotten seriously hurt?!”

“She did it precisely because she didn’t care about that…”

“Exactly! Now I understand why you couldn’t tell me, Idel! I really should have beaten her to a pulp back then…!”

“Gianna, watch your language.”

Rowena restrained her daughter’s aggressive outburst and gazed at Idel with eyes full of relief.

“Still, as Gianna said, I’m glad you’re safe. While you were asleep, I spoke with Count Bright… It seems you were entangled in many dangerous affairs. Both with my sister and that group called Nox.”

“…Ah, that’s…”

“I’m not trying to scold you. I’m sure you had your reasons for acting that way—especially given the horrific things my sister did to you. It’s just…”

After trailing off for a moment, the Duchess tenderly took Idel’s hand and continued.

“It’s just… I hope you won’t shoulder things like that alone from now on. We are family, after all.”

“That’s right! I heard from Dad! Idel, you… Mmph!”

Idel, suddenly clamping her hand over Gianna’s mouth, put intense pressure into her glare. She was terrified that Gianna might blurt out something utterly cringeworthy.

Her eyes darted around as she felt a wave of embarrassment at the mere thought of it, and after a light, awkward cough, she finally spoke.

“I… don’t intend to act alone anymore, either. Even up until now, I’ve received a lot of help from people, including Count Vivian.”

“I feel like I did little more than lend a single hand, though,” Vivian remarked.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do anything without that ‘single hand.’ Besides, seeing Dante reminded me… I’m actually going to need help again right away.”

“Hm?”

At Idel’s sudden change of subject, Vivian arched an eyebrow. Observing her expression, Idel gave a bitter smile.

“Do you remember that abandoned orphanage we went to three years ago? It seems I’ll have to pay it one more visit.”