A Lovely Villainess Lady

Chapter 9: Tired Villainess

By the time Rosa opened her eyes once more, the sun had begun to set. Relena stayed by her side the entire time, refusing to leave, knowing that Rosa would need her when she awoke.

"Huh? Mother what am I... no, I... I killed..."

"Sweetie, just breathe," Relena said to her daughter, trying to make sure that Rosa wouldn't freak out again.

"M-mother, why... why did I do something... l-like that.?" Rosa was still shocked and didn't understand why she did such a thing. She wanted nothing more than to believe that it was a dream, but she couldn't. Everything was still fresh in her mind.

"Sweetie, the world is a cruel place. You've seen pieces of that cruelty already. The maid who tried to poison you and the crown prince who forced you into an engagement that you never wanted. In this world, it is hard for the weak to survive. Our family refuses to be weak; we make sure that those who dare to harm us pay the price in one way or another. We train our family members from a young age to be able to deal with this cruel world."

"Living in fear is no way to live. In order to get the results you want, you must be willing to do whatever it takes. Before, I used our family's training method to force you to do that to the maid. You were merely following my orders."

"Why?" Rosa couldn't understand why her mother would make her do this."

"To protect you," Relena knew the cost of those who didn't follow the teachings of their family. Each one of them perished. "I did it to protect you. I know that what I did was wrong to you, but after what happened with both maids and those thugs that caused you to lose your memories, I couldn't handle it any longer. I'm sorry for being a bad mother. I-"

Rosa couldn't stand to see her mother act like this. She knew full well that what her mother did was wrong, but she couldn't be mad at her. This world was filled with nothing more than death flags for her. This world didn't care about her besides using her as a stepping stone to push the heroine to her chosen partner. If she did nothing while people kept harassing her, assaulting her, and trying to kill her, then it would never end. But there was no way that she could deal with them by herself. She embraced her mother to show her that she could never hate her.

"I... I forgive you," Rosa said to her. The skill that her mother helped her get was the best possible thing to help her right now. She knew she was far too emotional and weak of heart, but this skill would help her be strong.

"Sniff! I don't deserve a kind child like you," Relena and Rosa sat together for a while after that, each comforting the other. It would have been nice if they were allowed to spend this time alone, but unfortunately, such things were impossible.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Excuse me, Madam, there is a matter that requires the young Miss' attention," Jessica said from the other side of the door, not sounding pleased at all.

"Please come in and explain," Relena said, speaking in a calm manner as the duchess of the house was expected to.

"Thank you, Madam," Jessica said, entering the room. "About the matter that requires the Young Miss' attention, it is not a pleasant one. The crown prince arrived a half hour ago and refused to leave without seeing the Young Miss."

"Tell him that she is still recovering from his birthday party," Relena said, annoyed that a mere boy, despite being the crown prince, would come here again unannounced and demand to see her daughter. It was utterly ridiculous.

"Madam, we had already tried that, given your recent orders, but he refuses to see reason. As the Duke is not currently in the mansion, there is no one with a high enough ranking to force him to leave."