The Crazy Villainess in This Area Is Me

Duke Gracie knelt in front of the emperor, who felt triumphant, as if he had become an emperor after killing the Shinsu clan. On the condition that he wouldn’t abandon the Shinsu faction, he promised to marry Ashter to Baron Reinbyu’s daughter, who had the lowest rank among the imperial nobility.

Some time passed, and the wedding day quickly approached. Ashter still didn’t get along with Duke Gracie, but fortunately, Baron Reinbyu’s daughter, Etsi, had a kind personality.  

He told Etsi everything. He told her about him having a lover and having to find her and that he felt sorry for Etsi. Still, he couldn’t give Etsi love. Instead, he said he would be considerate and care for her as she had been his wife.

Etsi then said that she wanted nothing else from Ashter and asked him to allow her to have just one baby for her to bear for the rest of her life. Although embracing the woman he didn’t love was difficult, Ashter eventually agreed to her earnest request. That was when Duchy Gracie’s new hostess became pregnant with a cute baby.

Ashter went out again that day without hearing the good news to find Aurellia and her baby. But unfortunately,

“Get out the way, get out…!”

He died in vain due to an accidental carriage accident. He didn’t know the truth that Aurellia, who had fled, was actually eagerly waiting for him. It just so happened that she was shocked when she saw him on the day of his wedding, so she ran away again.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Lobelia’s eyes blinked quickly after hearing all the stories. She felt a tingling shock to the back of her head as if she had been hit hard. She cleared her throat and began to speak.

“Then the difference in status…”

“Yes. The lower one was on my son’s side.”

Duke Gracie swallowed a sigh. “…I thought… when your mother, Aurellia, disappeared, I was glad…”

He continued bitterly. “I had the foolish thought that humans shouldn’t dare to embrace the sun.”

Aurellia would never die. If she were alive, she would return with a stockpile of strength… He thought so.

Duke Gracie had a complacent thought that as long as she could see a gap and come back, he would solve all the misunderstandings then. His priority was to protect his son and his family members.

“If only I had somehow found her back then…”

What would have happened if he had somehow found Aurellia?

If he had used his private soldiers to start a war, would his son have died in vain like that? He felt sorry for Bella, Etsi’s daughter, but it was he who forced his son to marry and ultimately drove his son to death. And that guilt was pressing down on his heart like a rock.

“The two wouldn’t have ended up like that.”

After his son died, he searched for Aurellia and the baby. But somehow, Duke Gracie could never find them, whether they were still alive. Then, because of Bella’s illness, he forgot about it for a while and lived for his granddaughter.

“I’m glad we met now.”

Then, he met Lobelia, who collapsed by the river. Duke Gracie saw Aurellia in her, then led Lobelia to find his diary. On the day when Lobelia completely cured Bella’s illness and collapsed, he found on her wrist the pendant that had belonged to his son. Immediately, he took the family’s seal and found out that the Gracie family’s blood was flowing in Lobelia’s body.

“The price of my sin… I’ll pay for it.” His voice gradually became quieter.

Being hated by his grandchildren was heartbreaking, but he had to go through this. He felt sorry for Lobelia, who was listening to this story, and for Bella, who found out that her mother and father didn’t love each other.

Duke Gracie couldn’t do anything, even if they blamed him. He made the best choice in that situation, but the best choice didn’t always give good results. He was wrong. And now it was time to pay for that sin.

“I’m sorry, Lobelia. I don’t even have the qualifications to become your grandfather. Bella, the same goes for you too…” With no face to look at his grandchildren, Duke Gracie’s head bowed.

In front of him, Bella and Lobelia’s eyes met. They seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“My mother…”

It was not long before Lobelia opened her mouth first.

“She used to wait for someone from time to time.”

A calm voice rang out quietly.

“Even though we can’t settle down in one place every day and live wandering… She used to say it as if we were always on a journey.”

Duke Gracie’s head slowly rose.

“My mother’s resting place, the Duke’s son… No, it was my father.”

Lobelia was smiling slightly. She understood the circumstances of her father, her mother, and Bella’s mother. If she looked at it one by one, no one was the perpetrator. They all just did the best they could. Therefore, Lobelia had no reason or intention to blame him.

It was the same for Bella. Although it shocked her that she wasn’t a child from a loving relationship, she didn’t grow up without love. It was natural for her to miss her parents, whom she couldn’t even see. But to her, Duke Gracie was no different from her parents. How can she throw a stone at someone who worked hard to heal her illness and give more love on behalf of her parents? Bella also couldn’t blame Duke Gracie.

“What’s wrong with Grandpa?” Bella spoke boldly.

If someone had to be blamed and made to pay for their sin, the arrow had to point in the other direction.

“The fault was done by the emperor… How could he be a human being and do something like that!” Bella shouted with more anger than Lobelia, the person concerned.

“…Aren’t you surprised, Bella? And… Lobelia.”

As they frowned, a worried gaze fell upon them. The eyes that once seemed so fierce when they first met now looked after his granddaughter with care.

“That I’m the real sister to Lobelia? Yes, that’s surprising.” Bella shrugged lightly. How can she not be surprised? The person who saved her life was actually her half-sister. Even if it was just a twist of fate, it was unbelievable.

“That my mother and father didn’t give birth to me out of love…? Well, it’s a shock.”

She let out an empty laugh. “But it’s not Grandpa’s fault. To put it bluntly…”

Her sparkling blue eyes slowly looked alternately at Lobelia and Duke Gracie.

Bella’s fist clenched. She wasn’t showing it on the outside, but her fist shook angrily.

“It’s really fascinating.” Lobelia, who was still listening, helped with one more word.

“Um, about what?”

“The reason for poisoning the Shinsu clan. I heard the two ladies are Kriella and Empress Patricia.” She mentioned their names casually. In fact, those names were so dirty that she didn’t want to put it in her mouth.

“And the emperor who eventually killed all the people who would have been my relatives or cousins.”

If it weren’t for them, her mother and father might have been able to live happily. And she, too, would never have been harmed by crazy Endimion. Or at least, she wouldn’t have had to see her daughter being abused and neglected by them. When she thought of Merilly, a fire lit up in her heart again.

“…Yes. You’re right, Lobelia.”

“It’s surprising that Grandpa saved me and that I saved Bella, but what’s even more surprising is that they were the ones who tormented my mother.”

Duke Gracie’s eyes slowly blinked at how she addressed him, which had suddenly changed to ‘Grandpa.’

“What does that mean…?”

“I’m glad though. I can completely trust Grandpa and Bella now.”

Lobelia smiled playfully at him and Bella, who were puzzled.

“Honestly, I had some doubts. Because you were too kind to me.”

“…Lobelia…”

“Now that I can trust everyone, I must tell you my story.”

“If it’s your story…?”

Right. She had said before that she couldn’t trust people. Duke Gracie was curious about his granddaughter’s story. Why did she stop trusting people, and why was she unconscious by the river?

“Yes. How deeply connected Marquis Hamilto family and I are…”

Seeing them looking at her blankly, Lobelia, who had been slurring her words, slowly concluded her words.

“You will be surprised when you hear it.”

The bitter smile on her lips represented how tragic Lobelia’s life with Marquis Hamilton had been.