Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!-Chapter 18 -: 17 Rosel Augustus Hayes!

After Alfred left, Julius tightened his grip on the man’s throat.

"Where did you find the girl?" he asked.

His eyes were bright red from pure rage.

"Gahh—!"

The man struggled. Spit dripped from his mouth. His eyes rolled back from the pressure.

"Tsk."

Julius clicked his tongue and threw the man hard to the ground.

Cough! Cough! Cough!

The man coughed hard. Blood mixed with spit came out of his mouth.

Tears streamed from his wide eyes.

"Wait... sir, please... let me explain..." he begged. He dragged his body backward across the dirty floor.

Julius took one step forward. Two white circles appeared in front of him.

Chik!

The man’s eyes went huge.

Then—

"AHHHHHH!"

He screamed as loud as he could. Both his hands slowly fell off his arms. They dropped to the ground with wet thuds.

Julius stepped closer. He stood right over the man and looked down. His face was cold.

He looked at the man like he was nothing more than an insect he could step on anytime.

"Tell me where you found this girl," Julius said again. His voice was quiet. But it carried death.

The man whimpered on the floor, shaking, bleeding, broken.

Blood poured from the stumps where his hands used to be. The man sobbed.

"I’m s-sorry... we didn’t find this girl anywhere..."

Snot ran down his face and mixed with tears.

"She was born here. From a female slave..."

His voice shook. His whole body trembled.

"Her mother died right after giving birth to her..."

Julius stared down at him. He didn’t blink once. His red eyes burned with killing intent, and something else. Confusion.

Julius could tell the man was telling the truth.

Right now, in this moment, with death so close, the man couldn’t lie.

The words came out too fast. Too broken. Too real.

"Where is her father?" Julius asked. His voice was low and flat.

The man didn’t even wait to breathe.

Fear choked him.

"Her father... he was also a slave. Very beautiful. Already sold long ago..."

He swallowed hard. Blood and spit dripped from his chin.

"But we thought... his child would be even more beautiful. So we forced him. Made him accept a woman as wife."

"After she got pregnant... we sold him again. Not long after, he died. Abuse from his new owner."

The man’s eyes were wide with terror.

He looked up at Julius like he was staring at death itself.

"Please... that’s all I know... please..."

Julius stayed silent. He didn’t move. The black aura around him grew thicker.

The air felt heavier. Colder.

The little girl’s soft voice suddenly came from the cell behind him.

"Ron... don’t be scared."

She was still talking to her doll. Smiling.

Like nothing terrible was happening just a few steps away.

Julius’s shoulders tensed. His fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white.

Julius closed his eyes.

He didn’t understand why he felt this way.

Such deep affection. For a girl he had never met. Not even once in his life.

In the original novel, she was called the Daughter of Destiny.

She could see the paths of fate. She helped the hero many times. She blocked Julius’s all-seeing eyes again and again.

That was why he wanted her. He thought he would steal her and Use her power for himself.

But now...

The moment Julius saw her face, something broke inside him. An ache exploded in his chest.

The same sharp pain he felt in his past life, when he watched his parents die.

His mind went blank. Her small face hurt him more than anything else in the world.

More than betrayal. More than death.

"Haa..."

He let out a slow, heavy sigh to clear his mind. Then he started walking toward the cell.

He raised his hand. A purple circle appeared in front of his palm. He whispered one word.

"Weight."

Crack—!

The iron bars twisted and snapped like dry twigs.

The whole cell door broke apart and fell to the ground in pieces.

The little girl stared up at him. Her pink eyes went wide. Full of curiosity. No fear.

Just pure, innocent wonder.

She tilted her head slightly. Still holding her torn doll tight against her chest.

Julius stood there. Looking down at her.

His red eyes slowly faded back to gold.

But the pain in his chest stayed.

He didn’t speak.

Not yet.

Julius let out a slow breath.

"Hah..."

His red eyes softened. The killing intent faded. Only gentleness remained.

He bent down slowly. Kneeled on one knee in front of the broken cell.

The floor was cold and dirty, but he didn’t care.

"Come here," he said softly.

The girl hesitated. She looked at him with big eyes. Then she took one small step.

Then another. And another.

She stopped right in front of him. She was so thin.

Barely taller than his chest even while he knelt.

From her small round face, she looked only four or five years old.

Julius gave her a gentle smile. The kind he only used when he was with Rosalina.

He reached out slowly. His fingers, still stained with a little blood, carefully brushed the dust from her dirty cheeks.

"What is your name, child...?" he asked.

His voice was quiet. Warm.

The girl shook her head. Small and slow.

"I don’t have one."

Julius’s smile stayed, but something deep in his eyes ached again.

He looked at her for a long moment. Like he was seeing something no one else could.

Julius looked at her with soft eyes. "I will give you one. Is that okay?" he said gently.

After his parents died, he had only used this warm, careful tone with one person: Rosalina.

Now he was using it again. With this tiny girl he had just met. It wasn’t an act.

Not a trick to make her feel special.

It was real. Genuine care from deep inside his heart.

The girl’s eyes went wide. Her small mouth opened a little.

Then her whole face brightened like the sun had just come out inside her.

"Really?" she asked. Her voice was soft, but full of sparkling happiness.

It trembled with excitement. A tiny smile grew bigger and bigger until it covered her dirty cheeks.

She clutched her torn doll tighter, but not from fear.

From pure joy.

Her thin shoulders relaxed. Her pink eyes sparkled like they hadn’t in years.

She took one small hop forward, closer to him, like she couldn’t wait another second.

"Yes... really," Julius answered. His own smile grew a little wider.

Just seeing her happy made the ache in his chest feel... lighter.

The girl bounced once on her toes.

Her happiness was so bright it almost hurt to look at.

Julius looked into her sparkling pink eyes.

His hand moved gently to the top of her head.

He rubbed her soft, messy pink hair with care, like she was made of glass.

"From today onwards, you are Rosel Augustus Hayes," he said. His voice was quiet, but firm.

"You are hereby recognized as a member of my family. You shall bear my name and possess the same rights and authority as I do."

He smiled. A real smile, small, but full of something deep and protective.

The kind of smile he thought he had forgotten how to make.

Then he leaned forward. His arms slid carefully around her tiny body.

He lifted her up slowly. She was so light, too light for a child her age.

He cradled her against his chest. One hand supported her back. The other rested under her thin legs.

Rosel blinked once. Then twice. Her small hands clutched his shirt.

First hesitant.

Then tighter.

Like she was afraid he might disappear if she let go.

"Ro...sel?" she whispered. She tested the name on her tongue.

Her voice trembled with wonder.

"Rosel Augustus Hayes..."