I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 203

‘That’s why I’m crying like this.’

Ivonne confronted the reality that what the Ulfest family and Blitzen truly needed wasn’t someone growing and maturing, but a well-behaved, obedient young child who could lend them magical power.

She had always known this deep down but had chosen to ignore it.

“Why… why did you betray me…? The only person who ever saw me as human was the Crown Prince, but then why… why did you, why did you betray me…?”

Her words tumbled out, mixed with her tears. The emotion Ivonne felt wasn’t directed at Blitzen but at Herix. Her feelings toward him filled the dim, early summer graveyard.

The distance between them was significant, yet that distance was erased in an instant by Herix.

“Huff.”

He ran forward and hugged her. The warmth of his embrace was so intense that it threatened to break the protective shield she had put up against the rain. Ivonne with her breath caught in her throat from the impact, didn’t push him away.

“I was wrong.”

Herix whispered quickly.

“I… I misunderstood.”

The rain fell heavily on Ivonne.

“I like you.”

It was a sudden confession, but the desperation in his large hands holding her tightly told her that these words had been suppressed for a long time.

“I like you.”

“Huff…”

“I like you.”

The confessions kept coming.

“But…”

Before the words could escape, tears came first. It didn’t matter, though. With just his confession, Ivonne started to understand the full story.

They rented the gravekeeper’s small hut. Although she could have used magic to cleanse herself, Ivonne doubted that it would warm her to the core, so she heated some water.

“I’m fine, Ivonne.”

“I’m not fine.”

“But…”

“Hurry up. Look, your arms are as cold as ice.”

Ivonne urged Herix, who hesitated to enter the bathroom. Still, Herix looked at her with a wary glance as he took slow steps.

“What’s bothering you so much?”

Unable to hold back any longer, Ivonne asked. Herix spoke slowly, in short bursts.

“Will… will you stay here? …for good?”

He was worried that when he came out of the bathroom, Ivonne would be gone. The memory of her disappearing in an instant when he had tried to catch her earlier resurfaced.

“I won’t go anywhere. I’ll stay here. We still have things to talk about.”

“…”

Herix’s gaze flickered slightly. He still looked uneasy. Seeing this, Ivonne sighed and spoke as if to reassure him.

“You still doubt me? Now that I think about it, it makes me angry. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Ah, no. It’s my fault. Ivonne… you’re not at fault. Everything, it’s all my fault.”

Herix quickly replied with a stammering voice. His face showed a sense of relief as well.

“Then… I’ll be right back.”

Even though it was just a matter of entering the bathroom on the other side of the hut, separated by a single wall, Herix spoke gravely.

“Go ahead.”

Ivonne watched as Herix, with a stern expression, nodded deeply to her greeting before finally stepping into the bathroom.

‘I wonder… who could possibly think of that man as the Demon King?’

On one hand, she felt sympathy.

‘For a whole week… what on earth was he thinking?’

She was curious. She wondered what had led Herix to realize his mistake, and why he had chosen to stay by Blitzen’s grave.

‘And… why me…?’

― I like you.

Herix’s voice echoed in her ears.

“Hah!”

Ivonne got startled, quickly covering her ears as if blocking out the sound would somehow erase the confession echoing in her mind. Of course, that was impossible, and Herix’s voice continued to resonate.

― I like you.

The embrace had been cold, but his words were so warm they sent chills down her spine.

― I like you.

It was a confession, awkward and unpolished, lacking any grandeur. His words lacked confidence, as if he was a humble and pitiful crumpled vessel. Even a ten-year-old boy would have made a more elaborate confession.

‘A dragon-slayer, a war demon driven mad by blood, a butcher who sold his soul to slaughter, the Demon King who killed ten thousand monsters…’

The one bearing all these notorious titles was none other than the Crown Prince of the Sortenic Empire, a man known as the Lord of Terror.

And yet, this pure confession, so innocent and unguarded, felt so perfectly fitting for Herix in Ivonne’s eyes.

‘It’s no different than me, trapped in childhood.’

Ivonne realized that she had always known the person who she had broken the curse. She remembered the small animal, caught in a trap, too terrified to even scream as it awaited its fate. A child who didn’t even know how to ask for help.

That shared sense of vulnerability made Ivonne more compassionate toward him than she had expected.

Before long, the bathroom door opened.

“You’re still… here.”

Herix emerged, his voice sounding almost surprised as he peeked through the small gap in the door, then stepped out into the room. Perhaps it was the warm water that had relaxed him, but his expression had softened, and there was an unexpected warmth from him. He wore only a small bathrobe, and water droplets rolled down from the exposed areas of his chest.

Ivonne quickly responded to his question.

“You were worried about that the whole time you were bathing?”

“…I believed you wouldn’t go. But still… just in case…”

He carefully expressed his true feelings. He spoke just like a child. Ivonne found his innocent manner adorable. She didn’t hesitate and walked closer to him.