The Baby Fairy Is A Villain [EN]: Chapter 172

The flower created by a fairy is special.

It was clearly different from naturally blooming flowers.

Its luscious shape was exceptional, but its most prominent feature was its fragrance.

The captivating floral scent was absolutely unmistakable, unlike any perfume.

It wasn’t just because he had seen countless flowers Chesha had created.

In the last moment, he lost Chesha…

It was the scent he had sickeningly smelled back then.

He could recognize a flower his daughter made even with his eyes closed.

A chilling coldness, as if swallowing ice, swirled within his body.

Serea, who was watching from the side, was startled and stepped back.

“Kieren!”

She called his name belatedly as she stepped back, but he ignored her.

Kieren immediately moved.

A dance tune filled the banquet hall.

In time with the musicians’ cheerful performance, people began to pair up and dance.

A dizzying sensation arose for a moment at the sight of the dress hems blooming like flowers everywhere.

His body, which had not rested properly, was signaling its limits.

“…….”

Without hesitation, he bit down hard on the inside of his cheek.

The pain helped him regain his senses.

He swallowed the pooling blood and strode across the banquet hall.

He roughly pushed aside the people blocking his path.

Those who were suddenly pushed while enjoying the dance turned around, annoyed.

However, they were quickly startled to see that the one acting so rudely, even insanely, was Count Vasillian.

Perhaps by tomorrow, the rumor that Count Vasillian was a madman would spread throughout the capital.

Or, he might be the talk of the town before the day was even over.

But he didn’t care.

He didn’t have the mind to care about such things.

“Count Vasillian!”

Someone called out, as if scolding him, but he didn’t hear.

“Count, what on earth is going on!”

Another person grabbed his arm, but he shook it off.

He was just following the floral scent.

The thought that his sons couldn’t possibly be unaware of this crossed his mind.

However, he couldn’t delve into it deeply.

His cunning mind was frozen by the floral scent, unable to think of anything else.

Kieren went onto the balcony of the banquet hall.

He threw the doors wide open, but there was no one there.

He immediately approached the railing and looked down at the garden.

Since the dance had just begun, there were few people strolling in the garden.

After scanning the garden thoroughly, Kieren jumped over the railing without hesitation.

The people taking a walk screamed in horror.

Kieren ignored them and walked quickly.

It was a night with a full moon.

The bright moonlight illuminated the surroundings.

As he came out into the garden, the floral scent became fainter as it mixed with various grassy scents.

However, Kieren moved with an inexplicable conviction.

Before he knew it, he had reached a place where splendid roses were in full bloom.

This place, where rose vines climbed the pillars, was not unfamiliar to Kieren.

In the past, when he had entered the Imperial Palace with Rose…

Tired of the crowded banquet hall, they had briefly taken a walk in the garden.

At that time, Rose, enjoying the sights of the Imperial Palace garden, had picked a rose herself.

He still vividly remembered her face as she tucked a rose blossom into his ear and smiled, saying it was pretty.

Decorating his ear with a flower was something he had never done, even as a baby.

But because Rose was happy, Kieren was simply happy too.

The place filled with painful memories was still as beautiful as that night.

A gust of wind blew.

The faint music from the banquet hall brushed past his ears.

The blood-red roses swayed in the night breeze.

Among the scattering petals, Kieren found the one he had been desperately searching for.

In the place he had been with Rose, a child with the exact same face as Rose was standing in front of the roses.

It wasn’t the image Kieren remembered.

Not a doll-like baby, but a fairly grown child.

Even though her appearance had changed, he knew.

It was Kieren’s child.

At that moment, he felt like he was going to die.

Kieren covered his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Haa, haa…….”

His heart was racing, causing a throbbing pain.

He gasped, his face pale.

Struggling to suppress his rapid breathing, he tried to think rationally.

He shouldn’t expect anything.

Perhaps this, too, is an illusion.

His mind always created plausible illusions.

The sight before his eyes might also be entirely an illusion, and might shatter like glass at any moment.

But.

“Kieren.”

Still, just once…….

“Kieren, I love you.”

Just once, it wouldn’t hurt if it wasn’t a lie.

He desperately sought the god he had abandoned long ago.

He prayed, even knowing that God had never held his hand.

It was an irresistible force, an instinctive plea.

He forced his lips to move.

“…Chesha.”

He regretted it as soon as he said the name.

His voice sounded too strange.

It was a voice that was locked and trembling.

He should have composed himself more.

What if she doesn’t recognize her dad’s voice?

He might have changed a lot in the past year, too.

Kieren forced a smile.

He tried to smile as he always had.

Drawing a soft and gentle smile, not a sneer, he called her name again.

“Chesha…….”

Pink eyes captured Kieren.

His own appearance reflected in those clear eyes felt terribly ugly.

Unlike him, who was out of his mind, wandering the streets and getting blood on his hands, the child was pure.

Because she was still the most beautiful fairy in the world.

Kieren approached the child.

He pressed down on his gloomy heart and spoke to her like a kind father.

“Chesha, my daughter, why don’t you say anything?”

But no matter how hard he tried to pretend to be calm, it wasn’t easy.

In the end, his dark heart showed.

“Answer me, Daddy…….”

Kieren stopped right in front of the child.

Then he bent his knees to meet her eye level.

He wanted to hug her, but he couldn’t dare to touch her.

It felt like she would disappear like a bubble the moment he touched her.

Like a prisoner waiting for sentencing, Kieren just endured quietly.

The child’s pink eyes flickered with complex emotions.

With wavering eyes, she finally opened her lips.

“…Dad.”

Kieren slowly closed and opened his eyes.

Fortunately, the child in front of him did not disappear.

“I’m so… sorry for being late. I was going to come early.”

He gently reached out and cupped her cheek.

Only then could he feel the warmth of her skin.

Kieren hugged the child tightly without a word.

Even though he hugged her roughly, she didn’t even make a sound of pain.

She was just hugging him back.

Hugging the proof that told him it was reality, Kieren gasped and poured out words.

“I waited. Dad really… kept waiting. I was afraid you would never come…….”

In fact, he didn’t even know what he was saying.

If this was a dream, he felt like he would die the moment he woke up.

He babbled whatever came to mind and suddenly said something absurd.

“Keep talking to Dad. Let me hear your voice, huh?”

He couldn’t bear it, even knowing that he wouldn’t look sane.

The child greeted him quietly.

“I’m back.”

Suddenly, the strength drained from his body.

His vision momentarily turned black before returning to normal.

This time, it was neither a dream nor an illusion.

So, it’s reality just once.

“…Yeah.”

Kieren answered in a whisper.

“Welcome back, my daughter.”