Chapter 14. The Villainess' Father

Count Stevenson de Clorance is a well-known figure in the nobility. The Clorance County, in particular, holds a distinguished status due to its close ties with the Imperial Family.

Their close bond can be attributed to the promises made by the First Emperor and the First Count of Clorance. The two were renowned as best friends and shared a close relationship. They aspired to unite their families through marriage, hoping for a deep connection between their lineages. However, many years passed without either family bearing a daughter.

That was not until Cassia was born. The first female descent of the Clorances. At that time, there was also the emperor who had a son whom was at the same age as Count Clorance's first born.

At long last, it seemed that the promise made by their families' earliest descendants would be fulfilled. The news of the Clorance family welcoming a daughter surprised the entire Empire. Expectations were high for the young lady, Cassia Clorance, as the sole and first daughter of her family. Yet, reality proved to be quite the opposite.

Cassia Clorance may have everything like dresses, toys, jewelries, shoes and everything a young lady would want - but for Cassia neither of those were the ones that she wants.

Love. Although that word is foreign to her, an indescribable longing fills her heart. She yearns for the unconditional love and tender affection a father bestows upon his daughter. It is the one thing she desires above all else.

To love and to be loved.

But she never, even once, received any of those from his father - nor even his pure-blood and only brother.

She was lonely all of her life. And that feeling of loneliness and emptiness, she tried hiding it inside her. But then one day, she bursted out.

Violence - that was the result of it. Whenever the Count would ignore her, she would always went angry and violently hurt any maid that would caught her attention or view.

Henceforth, she came to be known as the infamous "Villainess" - the sole lady of Clorance, Cassia Clorance.

All just because she was never given love and affection by someone.

And now, as someone who has been reincarnated and possesses Cassia Clorance's body, I, too, assume the identity of Cassia Clorance. Today, I am about to meet the person.

❛ ━━･❪ 🌹 ❫ ･━━ ❜

The Count of Clorance sat motionless, his gaze fixed upon the window of the carriage. His mind seemed distant, lost in contemplation. Today marked the schedule of his return to the grand Clorance Main Manor.

[ Additional Information: The Clorance Family have only not one, nor two, but a total of four manors in the Lucrenze Empire, located in different places. Not only just that. They also have four villas, one in each countryside: one in the north, one in the east, one in the west, and lastly, one in the south. ]

Count Steven has his reasons for urgently and out of a sudden returning back to the Clorance Manor. After having that dream he couldn't take out of his head. Although it has been a week, the scene that he saw in his dreams are still vivid in his mind.

The whimpers of his wife. Crying and sobbing while holding a dead body in her arms. It was a lady with the same hair color as his daughter Cassia has.

Steven was walking towards his wife to comfort her and to make her stop crying when she looked at him, with anger in her eyes. Although she wasn't gritting her teeth or anything, her eyes was full of sadness and anger.

"Why...?" was the word asked by his wife that made him confused.

He was about to speak up and ask when the Countess spoked first.

"Why did you leave her all alone?"

"Why did you make her feel that she is all alone?"

"Why didn't you save her?"

"Why didn't you fulfill your promise, Steven. Why?"

"Why did you... let our daughter die?!"

Recalling those words again said by his wife in his head. Steven can't help but massage his temple.

But that wasn't just it. Because after that dream, it was followed by another one. This time, it wasn't his wife but rather, it was Cassia, his daughter, at the center of the town square. There were a lot of people in the area. This is... a scene wherein someone will be beheaded because of a sin from the imperial family.

"Why am I here?" The Count thought, talking to himself.

He was supposed to walk away when the noise began to go louder and there goes the commotion. Seems like the person being beheaded has come.

Strangely, the Count had the urge of looking at the direction of the person who's going to die in his dreams. And when he turn to look at that person, he was frozen like ice.

The lady that has the similar hair color as his daughter and the same clothes that his wife was carrying in her arms in his previous dream.

Steven flinched when their eyes met. Eyes filled with sadness. He felt a stung in his heart. He looked down to his chest and massaged it.

"Cassia Clorance. Do you have any last words before you die?"

Steven immediately raised his head to look at the scene in front of him. He wasn't near the front but he could clearly view what was happening.

Again, Cassia and his eyes met. She weakly smile at him and whispered words that made him tear up and broke his heart.

"...love...Father...sorry..."

After that the lever was moved and the saw was about to cut Cassia head. Steven tried to move, but he can't. It was like a nail was hammered in his feet that he can't even move an inch! He tried yelling at them to stop, but no voice or sound came out of his mouth. And before he knew, it was already too late.

He then woke up afterwards, heavily panting and endlessly sweating. It was just a millisecond before the sharp saw reached his daughter's neck and killed her. Because of that, the Count was unable to go out of this room.

The Count doesn't really hate Cassia. However, whenever he gazed into her eyes, memories of his mother, the former Countess Clorance, flooded his thoughts. Those ruby-like colored eyes served as a poignant reminder of her.

Steven had an intense disdain for his mother, stemming from her overwhelming desire for a daughter rather than a son. She had hoped for a child who could ascend to the heights of royalty, to become the mother of an empress. His father, on the other hand, found joy in Steven's existence, as he saw a reflection of himself in his son-a miniature version of his own being. However, the Countess held a different sentiment. Her discontent was palpable.

The Countess wanted to bear a daughter because she really wanted her child to be included in the Imperial Family. To be the empress, for her to be the Empress' mother. She wanted to be a royalty.

The former Countess resorted to unspeakable deeds, acts that the Count wished to forget. Her obsession with the Imperial Family drove her to entertain the notion of transforming him into a woman. She even forged a pact with a dark sorcerer, delving into the realm of forbidden magic.

Thankfully, Steven's father discovered the Countess's sinister plans and took immediate action. She was incarcerated, and after a few years, her life was cut short by a grave illness.

The Count owes his recovery from that dark chapter to his wife, Dahlia. She brought light and happiness into his life, and the two of them eventually married. Within a year, they welcomed their firstborn, followed by another two years later-their beloved Cassia.

At that moment, when Dahlia delivered Cassia, Steven was delayed in returning home from the palace due to his demanding work. As he approached the manor, an eerie silence enveloped the surroundings, hinting that something was amiss.

Upon entering the chamber where he and his wife resided, he discovered his son, tearful and clinging to his nanny. A wave of unease coursed through his veins, and though he had a faint inkling, his mind resisted accepting the truth. Slowly approaching the bed where the Countess lay, he was met with a sight that shattered his world. Her pallor and cold hands revealed the heartbreaking reality-his beloved Countess had passed away.

Steven's heart plummeted, his legs giving way beneath him. Tears streamed down his face, mourning the loss of the woman he cherished above all else. The silence was disrupted by the cries of a baby, drawing his attention to Cassia in her crib, nestled beside the bed.

As his gaze met Cassia's eyes, an intense rigidity seized him, and a surge of rage threatened to consume him. It was not directed at his daughter, but rather at those eyes-eyes he had come to detest. How could he harbor resentment towards her when she possessed the exact likeness of the Countess's visage? In that crucial moment, the butler's intervention spared the child from an unthinkable fate.

Truthfully, the Count had thought of ending his life. When he was supposed to do so, Cassia went in inside of his room, crawling, and kept on repeating the words 'dada'. That's when Steven snapped back to reality and punched himself for thinking something stupid.

Cassia... she was the reason why he can't leave yet. Although he wanted to follow his wife on the other side, he made a promise that he can't break.

"Our daughter... You must take good care of her, Steven. Okay?"

"What's with your sentence? Shouldn't it be 'we' not 'me'. We're the ones who'll be raising her. Together with our son, Cassius."

"Silly. But you have to promise me, Steven. No matter what happens. Take good care of our Princess. She's our Princess after all."

"Sigh. Okay, fine. I promise with all my heart that I will take good care of our Princess. She'll be treated even more better than royalty. There, I said it."

"Hmm. You better keep that promise."

"But how can you be so sure that our baby will turn out to be a girl, honey?"

She smiled. "I just have a feeling that she's going to be our daughter."

"I bet she'll be utterly beautiful, just like you are."

"Stop with your fluttery words. We aren't juvenile anymore."

"What? I'm just stating the truth."

"Protect our daughter no matter what happens, Steven. You have to keep your promise to me."

"I promise."

Steven was abruptly jolted back to reality by the voice of his loyal butler.

"My lord, we have arrived," the butler announced.

To be Continued...