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Chapter 22
“You…!”
“You need to win over Count Lenister. Only then, when he comes of age, you can have his child.”
“…And you think you can spend the baron’s money however you want? You spent a fortune on the banquet without my permission?!”
‘What an excuse. He just doesn’t like that I fixed the baron’s house. That’s why he wants to crush me.’
Solia couldn’t hold back a sarcastic smile.
“I know, Father. You’re generous when it comes to your games, but you think it’s a waste if your daughter spends money. Even more so for your future son-in-law.”
He beat his only daughter and probably hated paying for an expensive priest to heal her.
“You little—!”
“Still, you should know when to invest and do it properly. If you want results, you have to spend wisely.”
Solia twisted her head and looked up at Baron Rotten. It hurt, but she pretended nothing was wrong. She was used to this pain by now.
“I’ll allow it just for today, Father. But if you ever do something like this to me again…”
“How dare you act so arrogant in front of the baron!”
Merlin tried to step forward as she shouted, but Solia, who had been swaying, stood up. As she did, her long hair flowed down elegantly.
She calmly fixed her hair and said to Merlin,
“Too bad. I could have made sure you didn’t leave the baron’s house in one piece. But if I can’t get married, it would be a big loss. Isn’t that right, Father?”
Solia gave a twisted smile. Merlin trembled, and the baron’s face turned dark.
“Too bad, I don’t plan to be your plaything, Father. That’s just boring.”
Solia slowly licked her lips, her stomach in knots from all the pain she’d held back—or maybe for another reason.
“Remember this, Father. If you ever hit me again, the one who will become your plaything is you.”
Her steady eyes locked onto the baron. Even in her weak body, Solia looked like a top predator.
“Ha, ha… You’ve finally gone crazy! Completely crazy!” the baron yelled, shivering. The way she licked her bloody lips sent chills down his spine.
“Yes, I’m crazy. If you don’t want to see a daughter you don’t even understand, you’d better be careful.”
Now, Solia didn’t care about the baron anymore. Noah had already asked to be her friend. That meant she had at least part of his heart.
‘After everything I’ve survived, do you really think I’ll kneel to someone like you?’
He probably wanted me to beg for my life, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“Stay quiet, Father. If you do as I say, I’ll give you a grandchild who looks just like me. Just wait quietly for four years.”
Solia’s face showed no change, as if she’d expected all this.
She only looked at the man called her father with empty, cold eyes.
“How ungrateful! After everything I did for you! What would your dead mother think? You’ll have a child just like yourself—!”
Solia walked up to the baron, closing the distance. But it was the baron who stepped back.
“I’m tired of your insults. I’ve heard enough to last a lifetime. You’d better stop barking. Didn’t I tell you before?”
She turned her head as if bored, rubbing her neck and letting out a deep sigh.
Wasn’t it the baron who would be in trouble if she was gone?
“You really don’t know your place!”
The baron shouted, his veins popping in his neck, but in his head, he was quickly calculating.
‘In four years…!’
By then, Solia would be twenty-one, and Count Lenister nineteen—both adults. He swallowed hard when he finished his thoughts.
“It must be a boy! A girl is useless! Remember that, Solia Rotten!”
Solia laughed.
“Why is a girl useless? You’re still using me right now, aren’t you?”
The baron looked shocked, and Solia’s eyes narrowed into a smile.
“Sometimes girls are even more useful. So don’t upset me again.”
She was rude, with no trace of manners. The baron was stunned, but finally snapped out of it and shouted,
“There’s a limit to how much I’ll tolerate! Keep acting so arrogant, and—!”
“You’d better be nice to me, Baron. Before I marry off as Duke Benzo’s second wife and trample you myself.”
Solia ran a blood-stained hand through her hair and smirked.
The baron clutched his heart, tears covering his old face. Solia had been the one beaten, but it looked like the baron was the real victim.
“How can you say such things to your father! Without me, you wouldn’t even be alive! You’re out of your mind!”
“Out of my mind, huh… Not bad. I’d like a world without a father.”
Solia smiled coldly and snapped,
“If you don’t want to end up crumpled like a piece of paper, just shut up. If you think I can’t do it, keep talking.”
Her warning sounded very real, so the baron finally shut his mouth, just muttering about her being arrogant.
Solia replied calmly. “Tastes change, Baron. No one can resist real beauty.”
“It doesn’t matter. If Count Lenister doesn’t propose, I’ll just become the duke’s mistress. If I have to, I’ll even jump in front of his carriage just to get his attention.”
“Do you think you have two lives? The duke will never look at a girl like you!”
“His wife has been missing for five years, hasn’t she? If I become the new star of society, maybe he’ll notice me.”
The baron was terrified. As strange as Solia was, no one could deny her beauty. Even the duke himself had admired her portrait.
“Your daughter… She’s too good for Count Lenister. With her looks, she could be empress. If only she had a better family, she might have been the crown princess.”
That’s what the duke once said, but the baron twisted the meaning and got angry instead of happy.
“I spent thousands on you!”
He hadn’t raised her with love, but his only daughter was acting like she had nothing to lose.
“It’s lucky if you only spent thousands.”
Solia laughed and adjusted the baron’s collar for him, whispering,
“Dear Father. Don’t upset me. Behave.”
Then she said quietly so only he could hear,
“I heard thirty percent of the arboretum profits go to Duke Benzo. He helped you start the business when you had nothing.”
“H-how did you know…?”
She first learned about this when she was beaten for no reason, and after investigating in her third life when she was out for revenge.
She knew everything—the baron’s business, the embezzlement, where he kept his money, even the duke’s own crimes.
Even though her revenge had succeeded, she died in an explosion too.
“You kept reporting low profits, cheating the royal family on taxes, and lying to your benefactor the duke. That’s what you did.”
“That’s nonsense! You’re just crazy!”
Solia just laughed and grabbed his collar tightly.
“If you want to know if it’s true, just ask the duke yourself. I wonder if he really doesn’t know… or if he’s just letting you get away with it.”
The baron turned pale. Now, Solia was scarier than the duke.
He’d been acting proud, but that was all gone now.
Solia smiled, finally satisfied with his quiet attitude.
“If I ever see that madam again, I’ll run straight to the duke’s bedroom and reveal everything.”
The baron had tried to use his daughter as a tool for marriage. What could be scarier than this?
“You’ve really lost your mind!”
“What can I say? After a few beatings, I don’t care anymore.”
Her constant threats made the baron tremble.
‘She must be possessed by a demon! Otherwise, how could a daughter act like this to her own father?!’
“He’s a great noble! Why would the duke want someone as worthless as you?!”
“For my looks. I’m beautiful, aren’t I? And I know a lot, too.”
The baron clutched his chest, shocked. By “knowing a lot,” Solia meant she knew his weaknesses.
Solia smiled, but her eyes stayed cold. She pointed at Merlin and sneered.
“You should go back to Leona Port, madam. That’s the only home for someone like you.”
In other words, stop pretending to be a tutor and go back to being a brothel owner.
