20 years had passed when I woke up! ~ The villain's daughter’s thereafter and after that ~ - Chapter 19

Translator: Darling | Editor: Nebosuke

Fioria sipped her tea.

“………!”

Her fingers holding the cup quivered.

Her eyes opened up in startling.

Incredible.

No way …

“The tea Lex brewed is so nice.”

A rich scent of rose. 

Some refreshing acidity followed by ample flavors.

Cookies were delicious too.

They were crispy without any brawn bits.

The simple taste of butter amused her taste buds, and she couldn’t stop eating them. 

Munch munch munch munch munch munch munch…

At the terrace of the Duke of Florence residence.

Fioria and Tiara, her sister-in-law, sat facing each other. 

Enjoying their afternoon tea, they were going to discuss their next plan.

However…

“Sister, these are really yummy.”

“Yes.”

Chomp chomp chomp chomp chomp chomp chomp…

They kept eating the cookies without talking. 

Magical taste of cookies. 

Even Fioria, who had her steel-like self-discipline, couldn’t cease nibbling. There was no way for Tiara to resist it.

Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum…

There were still many cookies on a white platter, but they all would be gone shortly.

“Do you see any improvement in the tea and cookies, My Lady? Would you reconsider my ability?”

“You can do it. Why didn’t you try harder?”

“It’s a little secret. Do you want to know?”

“Not really.”

“This is my personal opinion though…”

Lex ignored Fioria’s reply and went on.

“My Lady loves the unexpected. That’s why you’re looking after Tiara.”

“… True. Tiara is unpredictable and so fun to be with.”

Since she met Fioria, Tiara had changed into a different person.

She didn’t behave like a reserved noble girl or honor-student any longer and exposed her savage personality here and there.

“In other words, My Lady is quite bored. You’re always seeking some thrill in this world….. That’s why you let Annerose trap you 20 years ago.”

“Do you mean I deliberately put myself in trouble?”

“Did you already realize that? … My apologies if I sounded rude to you, My Lady.”

“No, your perspective is interesting. I’ll keep it in my mind.”

Fioria beamed.

Her smile was appeasing and attractive like a flower.

………… Unlike him being poker-faced all the time, Lex unintentionally looked down.

“You got to the point, Lex. 20 years ago, regardless consciously or unconsciously, I wasn’t alerted enough because I was looking for “the unexpected”. Annerose ran over me as a result… Right, I see. I understand you a little better.”

Unimaginably bitter black tea and overcooked cookies.

Lex probably made them with his message.

While he warned her not to forget the poisoning incident, he tried to satisfy her longing for “the unexpected”.

Lex liked to go around, and around…

Fioria recalled when this young man named Lexall was still a little kid. He was cute, mischievous, and quite “twisted”. She felt his adoration for her.  

“Um… Can I ask you something?”

Tiara opened her mouth and put her hand up.

She was observing their conversation so far, and she tilted her head.

“Lex, do you love Fioria?”

She didn’t hesitate to ask him. 

“………”

Lex didn’t say anything.

As usual, he waited behind with his sculpture-like poker face. 

“I wonder if you don’t say anything because you want to orchestrate something unexpected later on.”

Fioria smirked.

“No need to answer. That makes me feel stoked.”

**

“So, Tiara, let’s talk about where we are at now.”

After finishing all the cookies, Fioria wiped her mouth and begun the conversation.

“Thanks to Tiara, about one-third of the Regalia Empire is now under our control. You did a good job. Thank you.”

“I must thank you. I’m so grateful to you for helping me out, sister.”

At the moment, all the aristocrats who were in Fioria’s tight grip had something in common.

All of their daughters or sons were somehow involved in Tiara’s deportation.

Some of them harassed Annerose as Elsa provoked them to. 

Some others said that Tiara directed them to bully Annerose. 

Some also made up bogus rumors about Tiara and informed Prince Darc.  

Due to what they did, they suffered severe retaliation from Tiara.

…… And they were still suffering. 

Fioria was also maneuvering some other plots under the surface, and when her plots came to fruition, a guillotine would decapitate them all. 

“Would you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Anything, as long as I can answer.”

“Why do you hate Annerose so much?”

“I see… You don’t know what happened.”

Fioria combed her golden hair up with her fingers.

Her eyes looked at a distant as if she reminiscing.

“You know that I was poisoned and fell into a coma 20 years ago.”

“Yes,” Tiara nodded.

Her tragedy happened back then was widely told all over the Belgian continent.

However…

“Then do you know who poisoned me?”

“Um…, sorry but I don’t know.”

“You may have no idea. I understand. It all happened far away from your birthplace… It was Annerose who tried to kill me.”

“What!?”

Tiara was stunned. 

“Wait a minute. It happened 20 years ago, right? Isn’t it so weird?”

“True.”

Fioria nodded.

“At that time, Annerose was 16 years old. If she is still alive, she should be 36 years old now.”

“B… but! The Annerose in my country doesn’t look like she’s 36 years old! Even she is very good at makeup, it can’t disguise her to be that young…”

“Yeah, what you are saying is right… but there are some exceptions out there.”

Fioria remembered.

The appearance of the Duke of Canossa.

When she met him again for the first time in 20 years, he was obese like an orc.

However, at the time of his uprising, he was lean and looked young, just like back in the days when he attended aristocratic school.

His weight loss while in jail couldn’t explain everything.  

Fioria thought it was suspicious, and so ordered Lex to investigate.

His research revealed an amazing thing.

Rejuvenating drug.

It sounded like a pipedream, but it seemed to exist.

Annerose herself was likely to be its inventor.

Chasing Annerose’s footsteps, Fioria discovered that she didn’t age while she was sleeping, Annerose made it from the same toxic herbs that she poisoned Fioria with. 

“Annerose keeps her youthful appearance by taking the drug. She was very good at seducing boys back then already. She now has 20 years of accumulated experience on top of it. I think it’s quite easy for her to take over a country or two.”

“… Annerose is such a terrifying person. What on earth is she aiming for?”

“Don’t know. You should ask her in person.”

What Annerose aimed for 20 years ago had already been investigated.

At the time, she was a spy from the Regalia Empire.

Her missions were to screw up the Tristan Kingdom and to assassinate Fioria de Florence.

Although the assassination attempt wasn’t completed, Annerose vanished after dumping a huge mess onto the Tristan kingdom.

She seemed to go underground for a while, but she had reappeared in the Regalia Empire a few years ago. At the moment, she lived in the aristocratic society under the title of “the Fall of the Baron Kriemhild”.

For some reason, she seduced the aristocratic men of the Empire and grasped the fiancée position for Prince Darc. It seemed to be exactly what she did in the Kingdom of Tristan.

Wasn’t Annerose the spy from the Regalia Empire?

Why was she running espionage in the Regalia Empire now?

These were unknown. 

“In any case, Annerose will soon visit the Kingdom of Tristan. Let’s welcome her with open arms.”

In 2 weeks according to the schedule. 

The First Prince Darc of the Regalia Emperor and his fiancée Annerose were to arrive in the Kingdom of Tristan.

Fioria didn’t know exactly what Annerose was conspiring. However, she whispered in her mind, ‘It’s convenient for me.’

“I’m going to get revenge for what she did to me 20 years ago.”

…… The day of the epic battle is approaching.