She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 84
Leaving a flustered Diane behind, Melisa entered the room with a small snort.
What caught her amethyst eyes was quite interesting.
A broken vase, Sigmund lying with his eyes closed, and Idel, who was sobbing beside him.
“Idel?”
Hearing her calm voice, the child looked up with teary eyes. Melisa’s purple gaze met Idel’s eyes directly.
She wanted to confirm whether there was any resentment toward her in the child’s eyes.
‘If she gets used to this now, she should be able to kill the duke without any issues later, right?’
However, before Melisa could assess Idel, the child, who had been crouched down, burst into tears and ran to Melisa, hugging her tightly.
“Mom…”
“Oh dear, Idel. If you cry like that, you’ll get a headache.”
“Sig… Sigmund…”
“Right, I asked Idel because I thought it would be difficult for Mom. So, do you hate Mom?”
Idel shook her head vigorously while clinging to Melisa.
“Mom is on my side…”
“Exactly. Let Mom take a look.”
Melisa pulled the child away from her embrace and read the sincerity in her eyes, letting out a satisfied sigh.
It didn’t matter much to her what emotions Idel had or how difficult it was for her after causing trouble.
‘Of course, if it escalates into problematic behavior, then I’ll have to think of a solution…’
For now, it was enough that her discontent was not directed at her.
Melisa felt pleased that she didn’t need to spend more time on this and gently patted Idel’s head.
“Idel, don’t worry. Mom is trying to give Sigmund a special gift.”
“A gift…?”
“Yeah, it’s for Sigmund. Do you really think Mommy would hurt your precious friend?”
Idel’s eyes sparkled as she muttered to herself in response to Melisa’s gentle words.
‘She’d definitely hurt him. What a lie without even a hint of sincerity.’
Sigmund, who was pretending to be collapsed on the floor, was likely thinking the same thing.
And just as Idel suspected…
‘Damn it, even in a raven’s den, it’s best to avoid crazy people. If it weren’t for my master, I wouldn’t have set foot in this ridiculous place.’
With his teeth clenched, Sigmund was mentally cursing in various ways.
Of course, he wasn’t just cursing. Famous as the “mad dog” in the raven’s den, Sigmund knew very well how to utilize the opportunity Idel had given him.
‘If I can’t eliminate the enemy completely, it’s better to take risks.’
He didn’t know how it was elsewhere, but that was how it had been in the raven’s den where he had lived.
Nothing was eternal there.
Not money, not power, not strength, not allies, and not enemies.
‘In other words, the gap between me and the madman trying to curse me won’t be eternal either.’
That’s why, the moment Melisa cast the curse, Sigmund planned to engage in a tug-of-war with her curse.
He would get cursed, but he would grip the reins tightly enough to endure it.
Cursing is fundamentally a process of connecting minds to dominate the opponent.
‘In theory, it’s possible, but whether it can work in practice… well, who knows.’
However high the risk, Sigmund had no intention of backing down.
After all, it would be useless to just tuck his tail between his legs here.
‘Earlier, I saw that the brainwashing curse activated in the form of telepathy, right? In other words, the moment I evade the curse with all sorts of protective magic, my side will be exposed.’
If something had to be revealed, it should be the opponent’s hand, not his own. Even if it meant flipping the table and getting into a scuffle.
While he was thinking like this, Melisa approached the fallen Sigmund and stared at him intently.
‘The physical traits aren’t bad at all.’
With abilities like this, even as a puppet, he seemed like he could become a decent asset.
‘Then, unlike Idel, I should engrave the mark on his head.’
The mark engraved on the heart is stronger and more destructive, but once it’s damaged, it’s over.
‘The mark on the head can be replaced.’
In the worst case, he could still retain his magical power.
As she unfolded this extremely wicked thought without a care, she raised a finger and poked Sigmund’s forehead.
“Ugh…!”
“Shh, it’s okay, Sigmund. Just for a moment.”
Hearing Sigmund’s low groan and Melisa’s voice soothing like she was lulling a child to sleep, Idel furrowed her brows. A flower was being engraved on Sigmund’s forehead, albeit lighter than her own.
‘That’s what I saw when I first visited Vilred. The floral pattern near my heart.’
Could it be that the curse is working?
Piercing through Vilred’s protective magic and Sylvia’s ring necklace?
As Idel anxiously watched the two, her heart racing, Sigmund was quietly yet fiercely battling Melisa’s magic.
‘I need to taint part of the magic used for the curse with my own magic.’
As it was a binding inscribed in the soul, excruciating pain surged through him, but he didn’t want to crumble under it.
Sigmund cleverly blended his magic without the opponent noticing.
He was splitting the mass of magic poured out to dominate another’s mind, covering it with strands of his own magic.
Ignoring the sensation that felt like his nerves were burning, Sigmund bit down on his lower lip.
‘…This hurts like hell!’
Having gripped his hands so tightly that he cut into his palms, Sigmund didn’t notice. He was fully focused on implementing a method that had only existed in theory.
Naturally, this wasn’t something just anyone could do. If it were that easy, other magicians, including Vilred, would have already completed safety studies and applied them in practice.
Gritting his teeth, the moment he tainted the last strand…
‘It worked.’
Sigmund instinctively realized he had gained the upper hand in this tug-of-war. Even amidst the pain that felt like his head was splitting, a rush of exhilaration surged through his neck.
“Ugh…”
He let out a groan that was half-acting, half-genuine, slowly opening his eyes.
The first thing Sigmund saw upon opening his eyes was, of course, Melisa’s face, looking down at him with a somewhat peculiar expression.
Raising an eyebrow slightly, Melisa commanded,
[Sit up straight.]
At that moment, her eyes met the child who had suddenly sprung up from the floor.
[Raise your right hand.]
As if commanded, the child raised their right hand…
[Spin around once.]
She watched him spin around aimlessly and rolled her eyes lightly.
‘Something feels off…’
Objectively speaking, everything seemed to be going well. The curse was properly engraved on the forehead, and the commands given three times were successfully executed.
‘Even though he should still be in pain…’
So, the brainwashing curse should be functioning without issues.
‘But why do I feel so uneasy…?’
It felt as if someone had sneaked in and taken the most delicious part right out from the middle.
Just as Melisa narrowed her eyes and reached out toward Sigmund, a loud commotion echoed from outside the room, accompanied by a distant voice.
“Ah…Sir! You can’t just barge in like that without a notebook…!”
“Sorry, but if I don’t do it now, I won’t have the time.”
“Then, I should at least say something—ah!”
With Diane’s startled exclamation, the door to the room burst open.
“Idel, I think I need to say this before I go… Hmm? What’s going on here?”
Melisa, who was about to scold the rude intruder, bit her tongue, her eyes narrowed in surprise. She had expected it to be just Gianna, but the person who entered was completely unexpected.
“Lord Knightley?”
“Oh, I didn’t expect you to be here, my lady…”
Dante Knightley looked flustered, his lips twitching awkwardly as if he hadn’t anticipated this encounter at all. Scratching his head in embarrassment, he bowed politely to Melisa.
“I apologize for my rude behavior. I imagine you must have been quite startled…”
“Ha! So you do realize it was rude. I thought you had different standards from me.”
“Well… I have no excuse.”
Dante, once again apologizing, glanced at Idel. Then, like a curious child wanting to know what was happening, he suddenly spoke up.
“By the way, what on earth is going on? There are shards of glass everywhere, that boy seems injured, and the Countess is here as well…”
Could it be that a fight has broken out?
