The Crazy Villainess in This Area Is Me

“Sit down.” He pressed his lips tightly, suppressing an impending cough, and spoke in a low voice.

Frinel slowly walked in and sat next to Duke Gracie.

“We don’t have a relationship where we exchange pleasantries. I’ll get straight to the point.”

“If not a relationship to exchange pleasantries as parent and child, then what kind should it be?”

“Our relationship is hardly that of a typical parent and child, isn’t it?”

Blue eyes filled with coldness turned towards the emperor. His eyes were so cold that it was hard to believe he was looking at his own father.

“…Frinel.”

The emperor slightly furrowed his brows and opened his mouth. Duke Gracie gave him a subtle nod, urging him to apologize properly. Serious courage was needed to rectify what had been twisted long ago.

“

” The emperor let out a cough, almost deliberately.

Yes, everything Duke Gracie said was correct. He had ignored Frinel at the moment he needed him most, using the excuse of helplessness. He was undeserving of being a parent. His diseased heart throbbed painfully.

If he hadn’t been so cruel to the Shinsu clan, or at least not killed them, they could have easily cured such a disease. Everything was his karma. The emperor smiled bitterly and slowly opened his mouth as he finally made up his mind.

“…I’m sorry, Frinel.”

“…What?” Taken aback by the sudden apology, Frinel slightly furrowed his brow in surprise.

“I know I have no right to say this to you. That all the circumstances given to me are just excuses to you… I understand now.”

As he spoke, his heart ached, whether from emotional pain or his illness. Yet, the emperor’s eyes were increasingly reddening.

“I’ve always wanted to apologize for my past actions and have a conversation like this with you.”

“

…!”

Frinel let out a hollow laugh. The situation felt surreal, as if he was in a dream or watching a play. Otherwise, this contradictory and strange scenario made no sense.

“Does your heart hurt?”

“…What…?”

“Do you understand the feelings of a child who must resent their parents?”

Frinel continued speaking, struggling to suppress his emotions with a cold, fair face. “The existence of a parent who brought me into this world… The feelings of a child who must resent such parents…”

Frinel’s brow crinkled in pain. “Are filled with self-reproach.” His voice wavered slightly, barely concealing the moisture in his eyes.

Memories of his painful childhood flashed through his mind. He was always lonely, in pain, struggling. Yet, he never had an outlet to express those emotions. His father, who should have been his steadfast shield, had instead ignored him.

Frinel’s fingertips trembled uncontrollably. He clenched his fist and shouted. “Even for someone like you, who never fulfilled their duties as a parent, I, merely because I am your child, have lived feeling guilty…!”

Suddenly, Frinel found himself standing up, his breath rough and dry. He slowly regulated his breathing.

The emperor’s shocked face was very satisfying. Yet, a part of him felt heavy. It was the foolish guilt he always felt whenever he saw him.

“Don’t even dare to hope for forgiveness. Don’t even apologize.” Frinel steadied his emotions and spoke coldly. “I don’t want to hear it.”

His eyes, once moist with unshed tears, now slowly dried up, thanks to a lifetime of pretending everything was fine.

“That’s not why I came here.”

Duke Gracie nudged him from the side. Frinel awkwardly slumped back into his chair.

“…I’m sorry. That’s all I had to say.”

For a moment, the emperor had hoped. Hoped that by apologizing and acknowledging his mistakes, his son might forgive him.

The emperor blinked slowly, then pondered over his words and past actions. He had committed unforgivable acts. Asking for forgiveness with a mere apology was nothing but selfish. Although he couldn’t ask for forgiveness, there was still a way left to atone to his son.

“Didn’t I tell you not to apologize?”

“…Yes. As you said, I won’t ask forgiveness. Instead…” the emperor firmly concluded his trailing words. “I’ll give you what you want.”

Their strikingly similar blue eyes met. It was the first time they faced each other so directly since Frinel became an adult.

“What do you want?”

“What do you think I want?”

“…Speak clearly.”

“It should be obvious.”

He chuckled with a hint of scorn. Then, staring intently at the emperor, he made a demand that sounded almost like a threat.

“Grant me the position of crown prince. No, promise me the throne.”

“…It was always meant to be your place from the beginning. Why do you think I never immediately appointed Lawrence as crown prince?”

He had anticipated it, but it was not an easy matter. The throne was always intended for the eldest son. Frinel was the firstborn and lacked nothing to inherit the throne. However, Duke Bonitare’s family had been eyeing this position, hoping to place Lawrence as crown prince.

Duke Gracie had been keeping them at bay, but the power of the two factions was evenly matched. If he granted the crown Prince position to Frinel now, it could potentially spark a war.

“Have you lost your nerve?”

“…What?”

“The emperor has a weakness, doesn’t he? The Empress.”

Frinel took a stack of documents from Duke Gracie and tossed them in front of the emperor.

“These documents detail the abuse I suffered from the empress in my childhood, with witnesses and testimonies.”

“…

…”

A hollow gaze fell on the documents.

“Read it carefully. It’s about the past you ignored. Every single word of it.”

He clenched his jaw as if his heart was being torn apart.

Frinel continued to speak. “I will use this as an excuse to threaten Duke Bonitare. Once the empress is deposed, the Bonitare family will lose their influence in society.”

“But, it could lead to war. Their forces are—”

“

war?” He scoffed and openly ridiculed the emperor’s words.

“For defending an empress who abused a child? Do they even have a just cause to start a war?”

“He’s right, Your Majesty. Duke Bonitare may be greedy, but I doubt he’s the kind of person to start a war over this.” Duke Gracie joined in.

“Yes. He won’t take such a gamble if he doesn’t want complete dishonor. And…” Frinel slowly trailed off. “If war does break out, would I have just been sitting idly by all this time?”

His gaze shifted to the window. In the distance, the first prince’s palace was visible. Near it, knights he had personally trained were practicing.

“All the knights I’ve trained are powerful enough to wield sword energy.”

The first prince’s knights, including Alter, had grown powerful enough to easily surpass average knights. They were all prodigies he had personally scouted from various places.

“Those knights…?”

The emperor looked at him in surprise. He didn’t expect to see them gathered at the first prince’s palace since he had seen Frinel only loafing and drinking around.  Had it all been a façade? How deeply had he been planning?

“To be honest, I was unsure. Whether to use them or not. Whether I could dare to dream bigger.”

He had been gallivanting around like a wastrel at various balls and gatherings. Yet, he couldn’t let go of his ambitions for the throne, training knights in the background and collecting evidence against Duke Bonitare’s family. It was as if he was lost, unable to decide on a path. But someone finally ended his wandering.

The ringing voice and the face that looked at him with a slight tilt flashed before his eyes.

Thinking of Lobelia, he smiled faintly. “But after seeing someone, I made up my mind.”

“Someone…?”

“Yes. A very strong and admirable person.”

Watching her live so fiercely, Frinel felt a flame ignite in his heart.

“Duke Gracie will help me.”

“Yes. I will assist His Royal Highness, Your Majesty.”

“So don’t worry about anything else.”

Frinel slowly rolled his eyes and drove the final nail in. “Prepare for the crown prince’s coronation ceremony.”