~Chapter 28~
Solia frowned under her yellow parasol.
‘Ugh, he’s at it again?’
What was Baron Rotten so unhappy about, anyway?
‘Why don’t the ghosts do their job and take guys like him?’
Solia walked gracefully, cursing Baron Rotten in her mind.
“Hey! Are you trying to die?!”
She stopped walking when the young gardener made a mistake with the pruning.
‘He’ll end up killing someone at this rate.’
Sure enough, Baron Rotten’s face turned red as he shouted.
“Hey!!”
“Father!”
Solia clicked her tongue, then yelled just as loudly.
Baron Rotten glared at Solia, but she ignored him and looked around the freesia garden.
Once things were quiet, the baron turned back to the gardener.
“How old are you?”
“I’m twenty.”
The baron tapped the gardener’s forehead, making his head tilt sideways.
“What kind of gardener does such terrible work? You’re twenty—shouldn’t you know better?!”
Solia took a deep breath and swallowed her anger.
“Father! Did you really read your daughter’s letter at your age?!”
The baron stopped pestering the gardener and stomped over to Solia.
He took a deep breath, ready to outshout her.
When it comes to battles of will, being the loudest is best.
“What do you take me for?! How far do you think I’ll let you go, huh?!”
“I think you’re a very skilled businessman, Father.”
Solia pulled her parasol back and folded it in front of him.
“You’re so talented that you handle tax evasion and embezzlement perfectly.”
“Solia Rotten! How long are you going to milk that for?!”
“Until you get caught and lose your head, dear Father?”
Solia spun her parasol playfully.
Now, it was time for Plan B.
It was her chance to lay the perfect trap that her prey could never escape from.
At that moment, Solia stopped spinning the parasol and spoke clearly.
“Stop picking on the hardworking servant.”
“…What?!”
The baron’s anger faded as he got a knowing look.
“Ha, I get it! Did you fall for that lowly gardener? Are you bored of that penniless count already?”
“Oh my… Maybe if he was like you, Father, but I have pretty high standards.”
“What?!”
“Unlike you, who runs wild at Leona Port because you can’t find a proper lady, I’m on a different level.”
“Are you crazy?!”
The baron stomped toward her, unable to hold back his anger.
But Solia’s reflexes were faster.
Whack!
Solia hit Baron Rotten’s hand with her parasol.
“Ahh! You crazy brat…!”
He screamed in pain as she struck his wrist dead-on.
“Aah! Now you’re hitting your own father? You devil!”
He rolled on the ground, clutching his wrist.
Solia signaled the gardener to leave and smiled sweetly.
“Oh… Sorry, Father. How could a useless daughter ever dare to hit her father?”
“Y-you…!”
The baron glared at her from his knees, eyes bloodshot, but Solia didn’t flinch.
“I’m glad I can finally show you the swordsmanship I’ve been learning as a lady.”
“You crazy brat…! Ahh!”
The more furious he got, the brighter Solia smiled.
“Couldn’t even learn swordsmanship properly, can’t keep up with lessons because your head’s full of crap…”
She quoted his own words, her voice dropping lower.
“Can’t do anything right, and when you’re grown, you still won’t be able to win a man’s heart, you useless thing! …That’s what you used to say.”
Solia spoke quietly as she walked closer.
“Do you remember saying that? Because I remember it very clearly.”
“I don’t!”
“You don’t even remember I started learning swordsmanship this year? It’s been two months. You probably don’t know my birthday, either.”
“Why should I?!”
He grumbled, as if it was nothing.
“You were right, Father. I really can’t do anything right, and even when I’m grown, I won’t be able to win a man’s heart.”
Whoosh!
Solia swung the parasol so the metal handle touched the back of his neck.
“W-what are you doing…?”
Baron Rotten shivered at the cold metal on his neck.
“Just this.”
Solia held the parasol, sneering.
“If you have something to say, just say it! And put down that stupid parasol… Solia?”
The baron swallowed hard. It was just like a royal guard about to behead a traitor.
Solia was smaller than him, but the energy coming off her was overwhelming—even Baron Rotten, who had survived a rough sailor’s life, was scared.
“Why? Should I show you more of my sword skills, Father?”
Solia gripped the parasol like a sword and circled around him.
“That way, you won’t look down on me anymore. Maybe you’ll finally stop taking your anger out on others, too.”
She tightened her grip on the parasol.
“The neck is called the cervical area. It’s a vital spot—lots of important organs.”
“I know that! Now put away that ugly parasol!”
“When a lion hunts a deer, it bites the neck all at once. The deer struggles, then dies.”
The Rotten family’s crest was a deer. The baron had chosen it himself when he bought his title.
Baron Rotten looked pitiful, just like a deer about to lose its neck.
“Even deer have to eat. Being hungry isn’t a crime!”
When no answer came, he squeezed his eyes shut and yelled.
“You’re a deer’s daughter! You’ll never, ever be a lion. No matter how you try, our fate is to be eaten by predators!”
Solia ignored his deer talk. For her, the only real predator was death itself.
People were supposed to be the scariest thing in the world, but she wasn’t scared anymore. After seven times being reincarnated, her soul was sharp as a blade.
‘It’s all the same. Whether you look down on me from above or up at me from below.’
Solia held the parasol in one hand and spoke coldly.
“There are seven bones in the neck. If you break the cervical vertebrae, you can’t breathe and you die.”
“What are you saying…?!”
The baron’s head swam, his hands and feet tingling.
“Do you know what life means?”
“I know! So put that down!!”
“‘Life’ means ‘the force that lets a person breathe and live’…”
Solia pressed the metal handle of the parasol into the back of his neck.
“So, if you stop breathing, does that mean you’re dead?”
“S-Solia!!”
Baron Rotten dropped to his knees and wailed, too scared to stand up.
His fear was so deep, he couldn’t control his body. His jaw trembled.
Solia laughed as she looked down at him.
“At least your money was worth it, right? With just two months of lessons, I already know where to hit.”
“I-I’m sorry…! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I was wrong!”
Solia curled her lip. Did it really take a threat to his life for him to apologize?
‘There. I’ve threatened him enough. That should do.’
She was going to stop there. But hearing his apology, her anger made her hand shake.
Her mind went blank. The emotions she’d controlled so well almost burst out.
“Ha, haha! You never apologized before… So why now?”
Baron Rotten was only apologizing to save himself. He still had no idea why Solia was so angry.
‘Is this really my daughter? How can a girl have such killing intent…!’
“Y-yes, I was a terrible father! But I only did it for you, to help you do well…!”
“Shut up.”
Solia let out a breathless, bitter laugh.
“A terrible father? Only now you say that? You did it all for me? Oh, really? Sorry, but I never saw it that way.”
She raised the parasol high. If she hit him now, she really might break his neck.
“You took your anger out on a little girl, made me do every dirty job, and acted like a tyrant. I was always anxious, always watching out for you. Every day I worried you’d barge in.”
Solia’s grip on the parasol tightened so much that her hand turned white.
“You say you did it for me? Never… You probably don’t even remember, but I do. You lost your money on a stupid investment and got mad. You never paid for Mom’s medicine, but always acted so proud.”
“It’s a misunderstanding! Please, it’s not what you think! There were reasons! R-Ria, my daughter!”
