I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 190

— I am Ivonne. And this is a secret, but I’m stronger than an ancient wizard.

Because they met.

The terrible curse that Arnold had Marquis Cyand made, turning a person into a fox—this curse, which was inflicted upon Herix, was undone by none other than Ivonne.

— Oh, you’re the Crown Prince.

She, who embodied the very essence of spring, was unfazed when she discovered that the fox’s true identity was Herix.

— It’s because the fox has such striking purple eyes.

Perhaps from the very beginning, Ivonne had known that the injured fox was Herix. Yet, she still told him that he was beautiful, with a smile even more radiant than her own.

— Aren’t I… scary?

Herix asked. Ivonne, smiling calmly, responded in kind.

— Should I be?

At that moment, Herix felt a strong impulse. He wanted to beg her not to. He was overwhelmed with fervent emotions and wanted to say something, but the feeling was too foreign for him to comprehend. That was when he realized:

— I think it will be sad.

— Then I won’t do it.

The moment he recognized his feelings, it was followed by a reward.

— Honestly, it’s true. I’m not scared of you, Crown Prince.

— Why not?

— I don’t know. But I’m not scared. You don’t seem scary to me. I think it’s because… you’re just like me.

Ivonne was the first person to truly see him, despite the infamous labels attached to him.

The dragon had been right.

The god of spring was kind to him. So, he would never be consumed by winter.

Johann was unaware of one thing. Herix’s life now had someone who didn’t fear his dreaded title: Ivonne.

— Don’t bother saying the curse has been broken.

At this moment, when the curse was lifted, Ivonne sat in a comfortable armchair, and Herix sat on a small cushion she had placed for him.

Whether it was out of consciousness or simply because he had been conditioned to behave this way, Herix knelt, trying to squeeze his large frame onto the tiny cushion.

Yet it felt so natural and fitting that Ivonne didn’t feel any discomfort as she looked down at him, the Crown Prince, kneeling before her, a commoner.

His purple eyes were truly innocent, so beautiful that it was unimaginable for such a notorious figure to possess them. The curse had lasted so long that his pupils had become slitted like those of a fox, but that strange feature made him even more strikingly handsome.

With a submissive expression, with his blank gaze fixed on Ivonne, the man’s thick lips parted.

— But you’ll know.

— Yes. Once again, I was swayed by my feelings and turned the Crown Prince, but what if he doesn’t change into a fox again.

— Then what should I do?

Herix didn’t know. How blindly he was following Ivonne. Despite having just met her, it was clear to anyone that he was relying heavily on Ivonne, the one who had broken his curse.

‘Is it because I said I was stronger than an ancient wizard?’

Herix firmly believed that the woman who had broken his curse would also help him solve any troubles from here on. Out of place, Ivonne felt a slight flutter in her chest.

‘How long has it been since someone expected something from me like this?’

He knew how powerful her abilities were, yet he wasn’t envious or jealous. Instead, there was an unspoken expectation in his eyes—an expectation without a hint of sarcasm, asking for genuine help. This was exactly the kind of gaze Herix had toward Ivonne.

‘It was the same with Blitzen in the past.’

A distant memory surfaced, and Ivonne couldn’t help but smile. For Blitzen, her abilities and wisdom had long since become something he simply took for granted.

After a moment of reflection, Ivonne looked into Herix’s eyes and spoke.

— Doesn’t the Crown Prince use magic as well?

— Ah, yes. It’s not great power, but…

Herix downplayed it, but the fact that he had killed the last dragon of the Grand Old Mountains was well-known to everyone. The power he had gained from slaying the dragon was not something to be taken lightly.

— Maybe, Your Highness’s power could rival that of an ancient wizard. It’s just a guess, but when the Emperor activated the curse, wasn’t there a precursor? Perhaps a certain incantation was spoken?

Herix nodded at Ivonne’s words. His blinking purple eyes seemed confused, as if he didn’t fully understand what she meant. Ivonne muttered to herself.

— What I’m suggesting is that it might be possible to pretend to be cursed. There’s a world of difference between using magic to turn oneself into a fox and being cursed into becoming a beast by someone else, isn’t there?

In other words, it’s a difference of nuance. Some might argue it’s ultimately the same and call it a fallacy, but not to Herix.

— By… my will.

That was the key. The free will that had seemed eternally out of reach, denied, and unthinkable for Herix.

His eyes that were lost in thought, became even deeper.

But within the depths of his gaze, the emotion that became visible was none other than fear.

The Herix of now seemed like a child who had fallen alone into a vast desert. No, perhaps the more fitting description was that he was too afraid to even attempt to dive into nature as vast as the Pacific Ocean and just got frozen in indecision.