I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 206

Herix hadn’t been forgiven for the harm he’d caused Blitzen, due to Aiden’s manipulation, which didn’t mean he was not hated either.

In fact, Herix had expected that once the rain stopped, Ivonne would return to the Ulfest estate. However, even when the rain stopped, there was no sign that Ivonne intended to leave.

Herix remained silent, fearing that speaking out would cause unnecessary tension. After leaving the gravekeeper’s hut, they moved naturally to a two-story house on the hill in the capital. Since that day, the two of them had continued to live in the same space.

‘I’m not sure why Ivonne still stays by my side, but…’

He had a sense that she was keeping a close watch on him. He occasionally saw a glimmer of relief in her eyes when she obediently followed his lead. Still, it was fine. That contradictory and subtle feeling was something Herix would have to bear as his own punishment.

‘If we continue like this, maybe someday… she’ll… forgive me?’

The thought flashed through his mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to voice it. He tried to push the fleeting hope aside, but despite his efforts, his chest swelled with emotion.

Herix remembered a conversation he had with Ivonne not too long ago.

― Is the fact that Blitzen’s body is not intact the final secret?

Ivonne had been horrified by the question but still tried to continue talking with him.

― Is there anything else?

At that time, they had been sitting across from each other at a table, and the distance between felt vivid. Herix had thought that if only that distance could be bridged, he would be willing to do anything.

― Yes, there is.

Even if it was something he should never, ever say to Ivonne, he believed that if it allowed him to be completely honest with her, it would be worth it.

― Tell me. Say everything.

Ivonne looked at him with a slightly exhausted expression. Having already heard that Blitzen’s limbs had been mutilated, she thought she would not be surprised by any further horrors. However, her expectations were completely wrong.

― I…

His voice, already small, faded even more as he spoke the last part.

― Sorry, I didn’t hear that.

Ivonne leaned slightly forward across the table. The movement caused her scent to brush against Herix’s nose. The gentle and sweet fragrance was intoxicating to him.

Despite sitting on the couch, there was visible tension in his body, his thighs tensed under the weight of his clenched fists. His neck muscles tightened, and his thick neck flushed a deep red.

― I did it…

The strained voice sounded as though it was being forced out.

A single, unbelievable word seemed to reach her ears.

— ……What?

As Ivonne stared blankly, something moved below—more precisely, between his thick thighs. Her green eyes flicked downward before she could stop herself. Something heavy.

By now, Herix’s face was burning so red it looked ready to burst. His voice trembled as if on the verge of tears.

— I… I touched myself.

— ……

— Thinking… of you, I-Ivonne. M-more than… ten times…

At Herix’s hesitant confession of his wrongdoings, Ivonne looked dazed, but she wasn’t deeply upset.

Herix found comfort in that.

On the other hand, Ivonne was quite surprised by her own reaction.

She wasn’t hugely offended by his sudden confession and the way he was standing before her in this vulnerable state. No, the fact that he was excited about her felt strangely satisfying.

‘Why am I feeling this way…?’

Her heart was pounding, and her lower abdomen was tingling. Why was it that the fact that Herix wanted her was making her feel so excited?

It hadn’t been long since she lost Blitzen. Could the emotional gap created by the union of Novnie and Ivonne be the cause of this? Or maybe…

‘At this rate, it’s as if I’m the one…’

Ivonne unknowingly became lost in her thoughts, just as Herix blushed and squeezed his legs together.

— Ugh, Ivonne…

Ivonne’s gaze was still fixed on his center.

— Ah! I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…!

Even so, with her gaze not wavering, Herix couldn’t cover himself, nor could he pull away.

In fact, he seemed to relax his legs further, as if it didn’t matter, willing to be a mere object for her eyes if that was the case. His both rebellious and innocent attitude made Ivonne swallow dryly without realizing it.

‘At this rate, I might really do something shameless to His Highness…’

Ivonne quickly shifted her thoughts away.

— By the way, um, I heard… you’re holding a birthday… birthday banquet?

— Ah… yes. Apparently, that’s… my birthday.

With a flush spreading across her face, Ivonne quickly turned the conversation away from Herix’s significant mistake.

Despite just hearing about it, she mentioned that, now that he had turned twenty and was considered an adult, she would make sure to prepare a gift.

— But I’m not sure if it’s really my birthday.

— Me neither. Strangely, I can’t really remember my birthday. So, I decided to make the day I met Blitzen my birthday. Honestly, it doesn’t matter when your birthday is. You were born, so it must have been on one of those days, right? So let’s not focus on the ‘birthday’ and focus on the ‘being born.’