"Some people are still alive but already dead, and some people are dead but still alive.
But I am different. Not only am I dead, but I've also been buried."
— "Roselle's Testament 2.0"
In the moment when the warm atmosphere between father and daughter vanished, Roselle really wanted to curse a certain Angel of Secrets' entire family, write his will, and return to the depths of the Black Emperor's tomb to lie in that beautifully crafted coffin. Yes, there really is a coffin in Roselle's tomb. However, Roselle usually preferred to sit on the iron-black throne rather than sleep in the coffin.
Unfortunately, he couldn't do that. On one hand, he couldn't defeat Lynn. On the other, Bernadette was still waiting for his response. Although Roselle could try to bluff his way through, he knew he could only deceive her for so long. This time's deception might lead to even worse consequences next time.
'Especially with that troublemaker watching...' Roselle glanced at the Angel of Secrets. If looks could kill, Lynn would have been slain a hundred times over.
"Father, what are you looking at?" Bernadette's voice suddenly rang out. She looked at Roselle with a slightly cold expression, "Or are you not planning to give me an explanation?"
"Uh..." Roselle couldn't help but cough. His eyes wandered everywhere but at Bernadette.
When facing matters of others, Roselle could be righteous and fearless. But when it came to his dearest daughter and his embarrassing romantic history, he really had no confidence to stand firm.
After looking around for a dozen seconds, Roselle seemed to have made up his mind. He gritted his teeth, imagined a thousand ways to punch Lynn in his mind, and forced a smile at Bernadette, "If you 'Really' want to know the contents of my diary, I don't mind reading it to you."
Hearing this, Bernadette's expression softened a bit.
Even though she couldn't force Roselle to read his diary if he didn't want to, Bernadette would feel a bit disappointed in him if he chose to evade.
She knew her father was a philanderer, and while it made her angry, she was even more upset that he wrote these things down. However, if Roselle bravely admitted these, Bernadette would be willing to forgive his foolish behaviors.
Conversely, if Roselle chose to avoid it, she would feel disappointed.
"But I don't have the diary with me right now..." Roselle continued, but before he could finish, Lynn magically produced a stack of diaries.
"If you need the diary, I have some here. You can have them for free," Lynn said with a smile, looking like a helpful person.
'Damn you!' Roselle cursed inwardly. However, since he had anticipated this, he wasn't too angry. He took the diaries from Lynn and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth, "Thank you so much!"
Undoubtedly, this translated to: "Just you wait!"
Lynn pretended not to understand the hidden threat in Roselle's words and continued smiling warmly, "No need to thank me. It's what I should do. If you need more, I can provide additional diaries."
In other words, if you threaten me again, I'll make sure Bernadette learns all the embarrassing contents.
Both of them gave each other fake smiles. Roselle shook the diary in his hand. As he read the square and upright text on the first page, his body stiffened.
The first sentence read: "16th January, the taste of a Demoness still isn't bad."
"You..." Roselle abruptly looked up at Lynn, who smiled innocently back at him.
Lynn looked at Roselle, ignoring his murderous glare, and said, "Don't worry, your daughter isn't that fragile. Besides, she needs to know at some point, right? Better sooner than later."
"Furthermore, with the atmosphere in Intis, it's not that big of a deal, right? At least it's not unsuitable for broadcast..." Lynn glanced at a corner.
Roselle and Bernadette couldn't see it, but as the master of this dream space, Lynn could see that in the corner, Mr. Fool and his large avatar were eagerly watching the upcoming embarrassing moment for Roselle.
If it were anyone else, Lynn wouldn't arrange such a hidden audience. He would bring them openly. But for Roselle? He deserved it.
Lynn's conscience might hurt a bit for tormenting others, but not for tormenting Roselle.
After all, Roselle brought it upon himself. Adults must learn to bear the consequences of their actions.
"Even so, you can't just..." Roselle was so angry that he struggled to speak coherently. It was his strong self-control that prevented him from lashing out directly.
"Read it now. After all, you and your daughter have just reunited, and Bernadette's love and longing for you still outweigh other feelings. Plus, you haven't fully resurrected yet, so you have some sympathy points in her eyes, like an 18-layer filter. Later on, it might be harder."
Lynn continued with a smile, knowing that he wasn't lying. While there was a component of teasing, he did consider that now was the best time to read those diaries.
Bernadette still had various filters for Roselle. Waiting for later would only make it worse when the filters were gone.
It's like a college student returning home; they're treated like a precious protected species for the first few days, then, well, you know the rest.
Hearing this, Roselle paused. As much as he wanted to punch someone, he had to admit Lynn was right.
Now, freshly reunited with his daughter, reading these diaries, while embarrassing, would be relatively easier to manage. Waiting until later, after time had passed, would only make it more problematic.
'If that bastard Lynn isn't lying, Bernadette will probably find out anyway, even if I don't read the diaries...' Roselle struggled internally before finally making up his mind. He took a deep breath, looked at Bernadette, and said.
"Bernadette, I know the contents of the upcoming diaries might anger you. I admit my past was wild, but those are things of the past. You have to believe that I'm not like that anymore."
Clearly, Roselle was giving Bernadette a heads-up.
(End of Chapter)
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