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

Translator: Darling | Editor: Nebosuke

What goes around comes around…

“Sis Fio, watch your steps. It’s pretty dark here.”

“Don’t worry. I can see fairly well in the darkness.”

Guided by a suntanned young man, she walked through the cave.

The guy leading Fioria was tall and had a wide back.

As he briefly turned around, Fioria saw his profile, which appeared handsome. But a black eyepatch covered his right eye. Also, an old sword scar was carved in his face across his right forehead to his left cheek. This young man had an eerie impression.

He looked quite fearsome. 

He could overwhelm and intimidate even skilled adventurers. 

Fioria was relaxed as usual.

In fact, the young man cared for her a lot.

“Thank you for coming all the way. I’m glad to see you.”

“Me too, Lars. I wonder if everyone else is doing well.”

“They’re all good, and jumping up and down every day.”

The young man, named Lars, was the leader of the pirates.

They were not attacking and looting other ships though.

They lived off hunting treasure, or navigating and guarding merchant ships. 

In that sense, they were like “adventurers” on water.

He was one of the orphans saved by Fioria 20 years ago.

He once worked for the Granford Company, but he couldn’t give up his dream to sail to the ocean and dwell on the waters… About five years ago, he started up his business with his mates. 

Their base was one of the solitary islands scattered in the West Sea. Fioria was now visiting there.

“How about Prince Darc?”

“He is pathetic. He’s so scared of us and is trembling in the corner. If that brat is going to be the next emperor, the Regalia Empire will be in turmoil.”

Prince Darc was planning to visit the Kingdom of Tristan with his fiancée, Annerose.

Their means of transportation was a ship.

Along the western coast of the Belgian continent, their ship was slowly heading south.

Did Fioria order Lars the pirate to abduct Prince Darc? No, she didn’t.

A lot of unexpected things happened.

On the way, Prince Darc’s ship went through a series of troubles.

First, a big storm.

The hull of their ship suffered some serious damage and became temporarily wrecked. 

Next, there was a rebellion.

The engagement between Prince Darc and Annerose caused much dissatisfaction and discord. A group of the opposition fraction was hiding in the ship.

They were waiting for a chance to attack Prince Darc when the ship was wrecked. 

Finally, Kraken.

It was a great sea beast with a massive body like a fortress.

It was thought to be a legendary monster, but it appeared out of the blue and smashed the ship, on which Prince Darc was aboard.

Annerose managed to board a lifeboat and she returned to the Regalia Empire.

On the other hand, Prince Darc went missing.

While a desperate search was carried out, a piece of secret information was delivered to Fioria.

Lars, the pirate, accidentally rescued Prince Darc.

He was a prince from an empire after all. 

Lars wasn’t sure how to handle this situation.

That was why Lars reached out to “Sis Fio” who was always capable of improvising a way out.

“This is the Prince’s cell… I’ll be waiting outside. He was scared to death when he saw my face,” Lars looked down and mumbled.

He actually cared about the scars on his face.

“Such a rude prince. You are super cool to me. Lars, you look much more dashing than 20 years ago.”

“… Thanks.”

Lars turned around. 

“I know you’re busy right now, but come back when you can.”

“Of course, I’ll bring Lex too.”

Lex and Lars were childhood friends and were raised in the same orphanage.

Fioria thought they might want to catch up.  

She entered the cell.

The inside was surrounded by rock walls, but there was a large window.

There was a set of furniture, and it was like a hotel room.

The decently-sized bed looked soft and comfortable. 

Prince Darc was on it.

He put a blanket on top of his head and body and was trembling like a baby kitten.

“No… Dad, Mum……… help me ………”

Petrified tears ran down his face.

If Tiara saw him, she would have sighed and told him, “Your conceit, when you broke our engagement, had all gone.”

“Are you surely Prince Darc of the Regalia Empire?”

“Get me out of here ………What?”

Darc suddenly stopped shivering.

He put his face out of the blanket.

He blinked his eyes several times, and then he totally froze with his mouth half-open.

“… Such a foolish face you have.”

Fioria disappointedly sighed.

Perhaps Darc was a good-looking guy, but now his face was covered with tears and other stuff. Fioria couldn’t look at it.

“Hey, clean your face right away. I’ll take you out of here.”

She grabbed a towel on a corner of the room and threw it at Darc’s dirty face.

Scrub, wipe, rub.

Darc’s face got much cleaner. 

Anyways…

“Keep sleeping for a while. It’s troublesome if you make a racket.”

She cast her magic and knocked him out. 

Since the blanket was good in size, she rolled up the stunned Darc in the blanket and tied up with a rope.

“Sis Fio, I’ll carry him out.”

“He is not that heavy.”

“Be kind to women. That’s the motto of the Lars family.”

“You are sweet.”

Pat pat.

Fioria tiptoed and tapped Las’s head.

“I’m taller than you now.”

“I’m happy that you’ve grown up big and tall. I’ll see you again.”

“Yeah… Make sure you come back. I’ll be waiting.”

She activated her flight magic while Lars sent her off.

She flew at supersonic speed.

It went beyond the sonic range and generated violent shockwaves. 

Prince Darc had a part of his scalp shaved off, but she pretended that she didn’t see it. 

“Sorry if you get bald down the track,” she said to the unconscious Darc.

Fioria and Darc returned to the Kingdom of Tristan in less than a day.

She dumped Prince Darc, wrapped up in the blanket, at the Royal Hospital.

When she reported to King Vincent, he was thankful and said, “This can be a card to negotiate with the Empire of Regalia.”

“Sister, I have a question…” Tiara asked when Fioria returned to her villa in the royal capital.

“Why did you bring Darc to the Kingdom of Tristan? You could have taken him back to the Regalia Empire …”

“Because a plan should always be flexible.”

Annerose had already returned to the Regalia Empire.

Consequently, their visit to the Kingdom of Tristan had been canceled.

The Kraken’s attacks had also devastated the Regalian Navy. Their next sail wouldn’t be planned for a few years or longer.

Fioria had no intention to wait for it.

She was going to treat Prince Darc in the Tristan Kingdom first, then escort him going back to his country. In using this as an excuse, she intended to openly and officially enter the Regalia Empire. “Let me reveal Annerose’s true colors in public.” It was her desire.

“Tiara, if you’re free, do you want to visit Prince Darc in the hospital? He may fall in love with you again.”

“Absolutely not.”

Fioria was just joking, but Tiara took it seriously and shook her head.

“I’m happy if I have my sister. I want all men, every single one of them, to die out from this world… hehehe…”

**

Well, there were some unexpected events. It didn’t bother Fioria though.

She said “It’s all good. Rather it’s fun,” smiled and made corrections to her plan.

“… When I go to the Regalia Empire, shall I punish Tiara’s father too?”

Tiara’s father, the Duke of Sylberia, didn’t believe in his deceived and framed daughter at all.

Not only that, but he was outraged at her, and he cut Tiara’s hair with a sword.

This incident left a serious trauma on Tiara.

There was the betrayal of her fiancé Darc, and moreover, the horrific treatment from her own father.

It was understandable that she became a man-hater.

For Tiara to snap out of it, the Duke of Sylberia had to be penalized.

“…For my sweet sister-in-law, it may be okay even if I overdo a bit.” That was what she thought.

Eventually, Prince Darc recovered, and his day to return to the Regalia Empire had come.

Of course, Fioria would accompany him.

Next, a face-to-face battle at last.

By the way, when she was a kid, Fioria rescued a baby squid on a whim.