I'm Secretly the Father of the Yandere Villainess's Daughter

Chapter 61: I can fulfill my master’s wish when I become like that entity.

Roger’s hands trembled and the slaps rained down on his cheek, while his mind dived deeper and deeper into that ill-fated day... the day of her fall.

Roger had been forced to betray her under the weight of the threat and tyranny of his senior fellow disciples, who surpassed him in power and influence. Yet, on that day when the betrayal occurred—the day that great woman collapsed before his own eyes and the eyes of the traitors—she remained just as she was. Even as she drew her final breaths, she maintained the same cold, indifferent expression toward the entire universe.

The current slaps brought him back to a dark moment just before the fall... the moment he walked down the dark corridor behind the maid who was advancing with normal steps, carrying the tray of the usual poisoned tea. Roger knew with certainty that this day was the end, and that history would record him, in his own eyes, as the most despicable and cowardly person to ever step foot on this earth.

He entered the room. The Empress was turning her proud back to him, standing before her massive glass window, immersed in contemplating the distant night stars. Roger stood behind her for a long time without uttering a single word. A fierce desire possessed him to scream, to tell her not to touch this poisoned tea; for if she drank it, she would likely not have the strength to fight or repel the upcoming attack. For seconds, he thought of smuggling an antidote and slipping it into the cup, but he remembered with despair that this slow poison had been accumulating in her body for a very long time, and unless the medicine was miraculous, she would not be able to resist it.

She took the first sip... followed by the sound of the cup being set down, while he looked at her with a heart gripped by terror. He felt it would be better to speak and tell her of the deception, but cowardice and fear overcame him. If he spoke, he would be the first to have his head cut off in this room; moreover, his traitorous brothers would panickingly back out and throw the blame entirely on him, claiming he was the one who slipped the poison.

Roger had long noticed from a long time ago that his master did not like him; rather, she despised him because he was the most failing and weakest person among her twelve disciples... "Roger Lafondue"... the greatest disgrace in the Hall of Stars. Surely, she would believe her other brilliant and genius disciples, and would never believe a piece of trash like him!

Her icy voice cut through his train of thought without her turning around: "Why are you standing there like a shadow?.. Do you want something?"

Roger tried to hint and bypass the catastrophe.

"My Lady... my senior brothers’ greed is increasing day after day... they always dream of greater power and influence, and are never satisfied with what they have... Are you truly content and aware of what is happening in secret?"

The reflection of her image appeared transparently and harshly on the window glass; her white eyes, which always seemed distracted in the kingdom of stars, did not need the Empress to turn toward him to speak. Instead, she said in a dead tone: "Why are you saying this now?.. You know very well that I do not care."

He felt fear gnawing at his entrails from her definitive words, and he no longer knew what to say to wake her up, so he asked in a trembling tone: "My Lady... do you truly... do you truly possess and hide The Forbidden Star Technique? All the disciples think that you are withholding this legendary technique from them because you wish to retain the throne and your dominance forever..."

She replied to him briefly and dryly: "Let them think whatever pleases their greed... I do not possess that technique."

Roger stammered... how could he tell her that the armies of treachery were standing behind the door? And that the time had come? The Empress continued coldly: "Roger... you are talking too much without need today. You want to say that they covet my throne, and that they are planning something in secret?.. In reality, I have let things take their course, and I do not care much about what goes on inside their rotten heads... You all know very well why you are my disciples in the first place."

Roger’s heart tightened as he remembered the true and miraculous reason that made their master take them as her disciples... She always repeated that she did not want disciples or followers to share her knowledge, but one day, a being of pure light suddenly appeared to her, descending from the sky, possessing a legendary and majestic aura of the pure star element.

Just by looking at his aura alone, the Empress’s mind opened and she realized many cosmic laws of the star element. And this entity told her—according to her words—that if she truly and sincerely wanted to achieve the deepest and greatest desire in her heart... she must take twelve disciples.

She did not say any other details at that time... but on that night, she turned her head slightly toward Roger, and said with a mysterious expression: "That entity, for whose greatness I find no words in human languages to describe, told me then that in order to achieve my deepest desires, I must... not only take twelve disciples... but twelve ’despicable’ disciples specifically. I have not understood the reason behind this strange condition until now... but that does not matter."

Roger was shocked by those hurtful words, and silence prevailed... The Empress continued in a tone that carried a rare touch of sorrow: "But... honestly, I do not think my wish will be fulfilled in the end. You, Roger... are not despicable enough like the others. I have tried over and over to treat you badly, and to pressure you to make you despicable and vile like them, but you are not... you are not like them. Therefore, in the end... nothing will happen, and the wish will not be fulfilled."

At that exact moment, Roger felt that something had shattered and been destroyed in the depths of his soul. He knew... he knew in secret that he was the greatest despicable and cowardly person she was looking for, because at this very moment, he was allowing her betrayal and poisoning without keeping the cup away from her lips!

He thought desperately: "In the end... it seems my master’s wish will be fulfilled because of my despicableness, while everyone else will enjoy ruin and blood!"

Roger said with a voice choked with tears, without realizing what was coming out of his mouth: "My Lady... there is no entity in this universe that fulfills wishes by gathering twelve despicable disciples... but... I can, yes I, Roger, fulfill any wish the Empress desires... even if the price is my life and soul!"

He wanted, by any means, to atone for that fatal feeling of guilt that was squeezing his heart. Roger waited for his master’s reply, but she remained silent for a long time, continuing to look at the stars, before uttering a single word that shook his entire being: "I have always desired a family..."

A family...? Roger wondered in bewilderment... why would a terrifying and powerful woman like her need something as trivial and minor as a family? Was she not strong enough to stand alone without feeling the need for any human being? This was strange and beyond his comprehension. He muttered foolishly: "I do not understand your meaning, my Lady Empress..."

The Empress finally looked at her disciple with her distracted white eyes, and said with an ambiguous question: "When will my wish be fulfilled, Roger?"

Roger thought to himself with sadness... certainly, this woman had lived through bitterness and pain in her childhood to grow up and become this icy, strict personality. If only she had had good parents to protect her, and a loving family to embrace her... she wouldn’t have become this cold and harsh. She didn’t need a throne or power... she just needed a family.

Roger replied, trying to escape the reality of the betrayal: "Perhaps, my Lady... perhaps when I become as powerful and magnificent as that nonsense entity you speak of... I will certainly be able to fulfill my Lady’s wish..."

These words were like pure nonsense and madness... how could he, the weak, cowardly Roger, devoid of personality and capability, become as powerful as that legendary being of light?