This Three Year Old Is a Villainess-Chapter 239

I nodded.

After a brief silence, Dad continued the story.

“The gardener’s son used to come to the castle often to help out, and since he was a bright kid, everyone liked him.”

“I see... Dad liked him too—”

“I was really unlucky, though.” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Huh?

As I blinked, Dad crossed his arms and scowled.

“My mother—your grandmother—and I found out she was having an affair with that gardener.”

“...Oh.”

I couldn’t help but gasp, and Dad shrugged his shoulders.

“A loveless marriage, joined to produce children, a husband called a murderer... Mother was a fragile person and probably couldn’t endure any of that.”

“Still, cheating can’t be justified... there are people who get hurt.”

Dad chuckled quietly and nodded.

“That’s right, so I hated that bastard and that guy. But that bastard Rishian often played with Beltri without any shame.”

“And then?”

“I bullied him.”

“Your «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Uncle Rishian?”

“Beltri.”

Dad’s personality really is something...

When I made a reluctant face, Dad laughed softly.

“Rishian was strong from the first stage of his blessing. It was useless to fight back, so he targeted Beltri.”

“I can understand that, but he wasn’t a good kid.”

“Exactly. But even after bullying him, he came every day.”

“Huh?”

“My disgusting father brought flowers he’d picked for my mother and came to our room every day.”

“...”

“I knew that if Mother left too, there would be no place for me in Astra. So I bullied him to stop bringing flowers.”

“...”

Dad closed his eyes tightly.

“One day, I angrily asked why he kept bringing flowers.”

“Yes?”

“Every time you brought flowers, Mother would leave the bedroom. The servants would never leave us alone if they found out. So I hated you.”

“...”

“So I hated myself, too.”

“Dad hates himself?”

“No, himself.”

Dad gave a bitter smile.

He said that Beltri cried after hearing that.

That’s when Dad saw it.

The bruises on Beltri’s neck.

The man who dared have an affair with Lady Mom was a piece of trash who even hit his own son.

“He said that too. ‘I know. But I’m scared... I’m so scared of Father.’”

“What did Dad say then?”

“...Me too.”

“...”

“I’m scared, too.”

I reached out to Dad.

He quietly took my hand.

I hugged his neck and patted his back.

Just like Dad had done moments ago.

“I see. You were also very, very scared of the adults.”

“...Yeah.”

Dad hugged me tightly.

“After that, Rishian, Beltri, and I became friends. The first friends I ever had.”

“Yeah. That must have been fun.”

“Yes, we stuck together every day, so Beltri was often bullied by the brothers.”

“Uncles Decons and Balderic? I’ll scold them for that.”

“It’s okay. Around then, I developed my blessing to stage two and sent them all running scared.”

“Well done!”

I raised both arms and giggled.

Dad looked at me fondly and stroked my cheek.

“Rishian was a good kid who never rebelled against your grandfather. But I was different.”

“You refused family education.”

“Yeah. And I went to the Ecliptic Academy. Together with Beltri.”

“Other classmates disliked Dad a lot. Why is that?”

“Devon hated me because I kept involving Beltri and breaking rules, and Cainrode shared a room with me.”

“They disliked you for sharing a room?”

“They hated the constant sounds of experiments every night, so I broke all the equipment several times.”

“...Wow.”

“I remember Cainrode crying while cleaning up. He couldn’t fight back, though.”

No wonder he hated you.

I narrowed my eyes and stared at Dad.

“You shouldn’t bully your friends.”

“But that kid bullied me too. Every night, there were countless explosions.”

“That’s a bit...”

“Everyone in the rooms above, below, and next door saw me as an enemy.”

“...Hmm.”

“Cainrode was useless at everything but magic, but the Ecliptic Academy strictly forbade students from using magic. So I saved him from getting beaten once.”

“Well, if that’s the case... what about Beltri?”

“If Beltri hadn’t come out and switched rooms halfway, either Cainrode or I would have died.”

Dad’s expression turned grim.

Sounds like he was thinking of killing someone.

“Beltri was a popular kid.”

“Considerate and bright.”

“Yeah. Devon, Cainrode, and even Leo all liked him. Especially Leo thought Beltri was a girl.”

“Really?”

“He looked delicate. Heart-throbbing delicate.”

I flinched and looked at Dad.

“Did you like him?”

“At the time, I didn’t know. I was confused, and even more confused... Probably the others were confused like me.”

“...”

“Until I found out he was a girl.”

Dad’s pupils trembled.

He whispered, holding me tightly.

“There was a battle near Astra. I wanted to live as a human named Daymond, not Daymond Astra, so I needed credit.”

“...To be able to leave.”

“Yeah.”

“I wanted to live with that kid. Back then, I thought he was a boy, but I had already admitted my feelings.”

“Yeah...”

“When I said let’s live together, I can’t forget Beltri’s expression.”

Dad said he looked confused and angry.

But he saw a faint joy in his eyes.

It made his heart flutter with happiness.

“Beltri also said he wanted to join the battle.”

“Why?”

“He was a spunky kid like you.”

“...”

“He said, ‘I’m the only one who can handle a nasty guy like you, so I’ll live with you.’”

“Cool.”

“And, ‘But I won’t let you handle everything alone. I’ll fight alongside you.’... like that.”

Dad’s expression darkened.

His hand holding mine trembled faintly.

I hugged Dad’s neck.

“Did Beltri... in that battle...?”

“Yes, he protected me and died.”

Ah, now I understand.

The friend Dad said died for him was Beltri.

Dad pressed his forehead against my shoulder.

“I found out Beltri was a girl when I took off the armor to treat his stab wound.”

“I see...”

“But in the end, I couldn’t save him, and we couldn’t properly recover the body.”

Dad looked very exhausted.

I could tell how precious Beltri was to him.

I nestled into Dad’s embrace and said,

“I wish I could have met him too.”

“He would have liked you. You and he look exactly alike.”

I nodded.

For a very long time.

I felt bad all day.

Even after returning to the mansion, I was slumped, and Han Jihyeok noticed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

“It’s just that Dad’s sad first love story hurts my heart...”

Because that was their life, they must have closed their hearts like that.

I sighed, and Han Jihyeok nodded.

“That story you told me this afternoon.”

“Yeah. Oh, by the way, did you find that gardener’s family?”

“The gardener died before Beltri, falling while drunk, and the only surviving family member is a younger sister.”

“Oh...?”

“But that younger sister married a noble.”

“Huh?”

“...The son of Count Rospeng.”

I flinched and stared at Han Jihyeok.

“Rospeng? Blossom Rospeng?!”

“Yeah, Blossom is that sister’s daughter.”

“A marriage between different social classes. Rospeng is still a prestigious family though—how did they allow it?”

“Your grandfather gave them huge money and noble status as compensation for Beltri’s death.”

“Ah.”

“But he insisted they never contact Daymond again, pledging it on the Duke of Astra’s name.”

Suddenly, I remembered the requests Blossom’s group made to me.

“Our parents really want to serve the 2nd Duke of Astra! Aunt is still single, loves children, so a remarriage would be fine...!”

So that’s why they wanted to come to our mansion...

“To see Dad.”

“They can’t meet Dad separately because of Grandfather, so they tried to use me to meet him.”

“Yeah, probably because of the Eastern Wonhwa preliminaries.”

Now I understood why she was so bold in front of me.

“She knew about Dad’s relationship with my aunt.”

So no matter how much I acted out, she thought Dad wouldn’t intervene.

I gave a hollow laugh.

But then—

Knock knock.

With the knocking, Mari’s voice came.

“Miss, there is a visitor.”

“A visitor?”

Han Jihyeok and I exchanged glances.

Was it expected?

Seeing my look, Han Jihyeok shook his head.

It would be rude to visit unannounced.

Who would do that?

I left the room immediately.

Going down to the courtyard, I saw a noblewoman talking to the butler.

The child behind her was...

“Blossom Rospeng?”

Blossom flinched and lifted her head.

Then the noblewoman stepped forward with a bright smile.

“Pleased to meet you, Lady Astra. I am Bella of the Rospeng family, sister to Beltri. This is her child.”

So she was Beltri’s younger sister!

She handed the butler a box that looked like cookies and greeted me.

I bowed my head.

“Hello.”

“Yes. I heard your daughter made a serious mistake. Though Duke Astra wouldn’t like it, I risked coming to apologize.”

‘Look at this lady.’

She subtly hinted at her relationship with Grandfather.

At that moment, Dad stepped into the courtyard.

Dad stopped abruptly when he saw Blossom’s mother.

“Bella.”

“...It’s been a long time, Daymond, brother.”

“...”

“‘That person’ died and so much time has passed.”

“...”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk for a while, brother.”

“...”

When Dad remained silent, Blossom jumped out from behind her mother.

“Please. More than apologizing, Uncle, no, Aunt, no... anyway, I want to hear about ‘that person’...”

I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

‘They’re using Beltri.’

I wanted to salt the wound but decided to calm down.

‘If I send them away now, Dad will feel sorry for Beltri.’

Although Blossom hadn’t seen her aunt, she must have been an important sister to her mother.

Maybe her daughter’s happiness was so precious she’d use her sister.

Dad sighed deeply.

“Escort them to the reception room.”

The servants bowed simultaneously.

Then Blossom quickly said,

“Um, may I meet the young lords too? I want to tell them about Aunt using Aunt’s photo...”

Bella looked troubled watching her shy daughter.

“It’s this child’s joy to chatter daily to her aunt’s photo. Please... I ask.”

Dad stared at Bella, but soon told the butler,

“Bring Richmond, Joshua, and Balzac.”

“Yes, Master.”

Dad turned and headed to the reception room first.

Bella, Blossom’s mother, hurried after him.

“It’s truly been a long time, hasn’t it? I actually wrote several letters but couldn’t send them.”

“...”

“I was afraid of the Duke... and worried he might remember my sister.”

Blossom clung to her mother with a big smile.

“I heard so much about Aunt from Mother, so I prayed to meet the Countess.”

Somehow, I found myself watching them from a distance like an outsider.

Mari whispered to me.

“You should go now.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Don’t you know?”

Mari looked at me with an incredulous expression.

I opened my eyes wide as if asking what was going on.

“Why?”

“They say the Rospeng young lord and his wife are about to divorce.”

“...What?”

“All the servants of the Ishiron family knew. The Ishiron Duke is close to the Rospeng Count.”

I frowned and looked at Mari.

“Is Blossom trying to become a Southern Wonhwa too...?”

“My mother wants to have a position in the Southern Wonhwa before the divorce severs ties.”

“Impressive.”

“Want to know something even more impressive?”

Mari looked around cautiously and lowered her voice.

“That woman Bella is aiming for your stepmother’s position.”

“What...?”

“The coachman heard her say, ‘I want to protect his side in place of my sister.’”

I watched Blossom’s mother walking away in the distance.

Then a phrase flashed through my mind, the letters almost invisible due to the fading power of the root.

[‘My sister is a help to me in life and death. This time I will never lose this man.’]

I looked at Bella with a hardened face and said,

“Han.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Investigate Bella Rospeng thoroughly. If necessary, use Grandfather’s name.”

“Yes.”