I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 204

“There’s still much more I need to hear.”

As Ivonne approached, Herix’s expression quickly darkened. He had realized that this was the moment when he had to explain why he killed Blitzen, why he had plunged Ivonne into such deep sorrow.

Watching the man who couldn’t hide his expressions, Ivonne felt a flutter in her chest. She wasn’t sure whether it was because he couldn’t hide them, or if he was simply revealing everything to her, but she didn’t mind either way.

“You should dry your hair first. Come here.”

It was early summer, and a few damp logs were still burning in the cold, dark fireplace. Ivonne lit the fire again and gently guided Herix to sit in the rocking chair.

“I’ll dry your hair. You should get some rest.”

Herix, sitting obediently in the chair, glanced up at Ivonne and slowly nodded. His innocent eyes softened as he seemed to enjoy her gentle touch as she dried his hair.

‘I can let him rest for a while.’

Ivonne carefully dried his hair, making sure not to wake him if he fell asleep. In the meantime, she treated the wounds on his cheek and his battered hands. As she redressed the swollen wound on his cheek, it felt strange, even though she knew she had caused it herself.

When Herix woke up, Ivonne had already brewed jasmine tea. The fragrance of the tea was enough to pull him out of sleep, and for a moment, he thought it was all a dream.

“Drink this.”

“Yes.”

When he took the cup Ivonne offered, it seemed to shrink in his large hands, like a toy cup. His rough, large hands caught her attention.

‘Something…’

Inappropriately, strange thoughts kept coming to her. The thick neck where the wet hair clung, the movement of his Adam’s apple as he drank, the muscle outlines visible through his thin robe, and his sturdy forearms…

Among them, the most noticeable were his now rosy, healthy lips.

― I like you.

His confession echoed in her ears again.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

Ivonne was starting to feel disgusted with herself. So, in a somewhat rash manner, she decided to get straight to the point.

“Now tell me. How did you… decide to kill Blitzen?”

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

As Herix carefully began to unravel his story, Ivonne calmly absorbed it.

“Aiden.”

“…”

“Again… Aiden.”

Herix was the one who had made the choice to kill Blitzen. He was also the one who had so thoroughly desecrated Blitzen. His decision was made on his own, despite Aiden’s not-so-strong encouragement. But Ivonne understood.

‘Even if the Crown Prince hadn’t killed Blitzen, Aiden would have found a way to use him to do it.’

To make me suffer alone. A cold sense of disgust lingered at the tip of her tongue. Her sense of betrayal toward Aiden reached a new peak.

‘Using me to break the orb, trapping me in a human body… Yes. Those were things done to me. If you truly repent, I might forgive you.’

Ivonne had actually planned to speak with Aiden, to understand why he had made her this way. She was genuinely curious about it. If Aiden and Isaac hadn’t completely vanished, as if they didn’t exist in this world, she might have already been having that conversation with Aiden by now.

‘But… but not anymore.’

It became clear that Aiden hadn’t only targeted Ivonne. He had burdened Herix with an unforgivable sin and caused the death of innocent Blitzen—all driven by the single-minded desire to possess Ivonne, or rather, Novnie.

‘Possess, possess, possess!’

It had become unbearable. Ivonne knew that such desires were essential for human survival. But why couldn’t Aiden let go? Why couldn’t he admit it?

‘There are things in this world that no matter how much you wish for, you can never possess. People should never be among those things!’

Why was it that even a god like Ivonne understood this, but Aiden, a human, didn’t?

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The hot season had arrived.

The record-breaking storms that had seemed to bring winter back to the land, finally fading from the Count Ulfest’s domain and had now been gone for two months.

In that time, there had been little change in the Sortenic Empire. While everyone peacefully tended to the crops growing steadily, the only event of note was the upcoming celebration for the Crown Prince’s twentieth birthday.

The grand celebration, which had been skipped every year, was suddenly mentioned again. That, for now, seemed to be the greatest commotion. But with any commotion, there were always those who disliked it.

“Holding the…. Crown Prince’s birthday celebration?”

For those who considered Herix an enemy, this idea likely felt like a disaster.

“Ridiculous!”

Bang!

Arnold slammed his fist onto the conference table, where a few nobles loyal to the Emperor had gathered.

At the sound, a few of the Emperor’s allies looked flustered. Everyone knew that when Arnold got upset, it often led to bloodshed, and this room was no exception.

“Ha, this time there’s no valid reason to refuse the banquet.”

“What’s more, since the Crown Prince’s ascension, there hasn’t been a single banquet held. If this celebration, akin to a coming-of-age ceremony, is swept under the rug, there might be backlash from the people.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Arnold, frustrated, retorted sharply at the councilors’ words.

“Why would the people oppose not holding a birthday celebration for the Crown Prince?”