I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 217

Now, she was no longer Ivonne, but Novnie. The body of Ivonne, which had borrowed time for what seemed like forever, had vanished..

And so, Ivonne would disappear from the memories of all who knew her.

With a single gesture from Novnie, Larissa forgot her.

As Ivonne stepped onto the surface of the pond, where she had been watching the lives of humans, Amelin, Berthe, and the other children from the Tens mansion, along with their parents, all forgot her.

As she moved, creating several ripples in the water, Ivonne disappeared from the memories of everyone she had encountered—from the Imperial Palace to the Sortenic Empire, and the people she met in the Ortensia Republic.

Novnie was now standing in the center of the pond, which had expanded into a lake.

Once she had disappeared from the memories of the supporting characters she had briefly interacted with, only the main characters remained.

‘First… Arnold and the Pope, who Herix trapped in his nightmare.’

Two men, unable to wake up from the deep slumber they had been forced into, floated in the air, struggling with their hands and feet.

“Ugh, that damned… beast… making me…!”

Arnold groaned. It seemed he was being chased by Herix in the dream, the very person he had feared the most. Sweat ran down Arnold’s forehead and fell into the lake, but it didn’t even cause a ripple.

Though he was called the ruler of a kingdom, in front of god, he was nothing but an insignificant creature.

‘If I had truly returned, there would have been no reason for Herix to clash with Arnold at the birthday banquet.’

The curse had long been lifted, and despite having more power than Arnold, Herix had humbled himself, as Ivonne had wanted, in order to preserve this world.

After realizing just how much Herix had endured and stepped back for her sake, Ivonne’s heart broke anew.

Thus, Arnold’s punishment would surely come from Herix’s hands. That was the first atonement for the life Herix had lost because of Novnie’s interference.

Novnie turned to see the Pope.

“Ugh, God… Oh, God!”

The Pope, who had changed the myths over centuries and even declared himself a god, now sought the very god he had once kidnapped—Ivonne, the obstacle he had seen.

It was almost laughable. When Novnie placed her hand on the Pope’s head, his sinister plans deeply embedded themselves in her mind.

‘He tried to kill Ivonne.’

He had planned to eliminate the person who had been haunting Herix in order to destroy his spirit. Breaking a man completely and then controlling him was nothing for the Pope, who had turned Arnold into his puppet.

‘His punishment will be… Ah, of course. By correcting the distorted myths of the past, he will naturally vanish.’

The Pope’s power he had built up, his ideologies, and perhaps even his very existence—his punishment would be the erasure of his self-actualization.

And this would be the second atonement for Herix.

It was simple to turn back time to correct the corruption of the temple and the destruction of the myths. Deep down, Novnie even wondered if Arnold might be able to raise Herix with love, untainted by the false mythology…

But in the end, fate would continue to turn in its cycle.

“This is how it ends…”

In order for Arnold to become Emperor, the cooperation of the temple was necessary, and another pope, aiming for the power of the Emperor, approached young Arnold. After that, the steps followed the same pattern.

Arnold ascended to the throne on the blood of his family and had Herix. Aiden had been eradicated by Novnie, so his birth never happened.

— You have the eyes of the blasphemous fox!

In the end, Arnold placed the same curse on Herix again. Though the phrase ‘the eye of the Emperor’s mark’ had disappeared, it was ominously thought to resemble the purple fox in the myth.

“Why do they obsess so much over the color of the eyes?”

Indeed, Blitzen had no power, so the Ulfest title would be inherited by his cousin. Afterward, though he had no title, he lived peacefully, which seemed to suit him well.

Novnie, lying near the lakeside, watched the entire series of events with a bored yet somewhat entertained expression.

“…”

Novnie’s gaze never left Herix. Herix grew up in the basement. It was inevitable, as he was the center of Novnie’s attention.

Then, one day…

“…!”

Novnie, unknowingly, stopped breathing.

‘His eyes… met mine, didn’t they?’

Herix stared back precisely where Novnie was looking. It was as though Herix knew that Novnie was watching him.

‘It must be a mistake…’

Herix, who had the habit of looking into the air in the basement, might have just accidentally looked in her direction. But Novnie felt an overwhelming joy in that moment. The young Herix was so lovable, so adorable. His purple eyes, which had once harbored passionate love for her, hadn’t changed one bit.

“Hello, Herix.”

Even though she knew she couldn’t reach him, she reached out. She knew that if her finger touched the surface, ripples would distort Herix’s face, but she still wanted to touch him. The moment her fingertip gently grazed the surface, ripples formed.

‘As expected…’

Regret washed over her. If she hadn’t touched it, she could have seen Herix’s face clearly, looking directly at her. But at that moment…

— Hello.

“…!”

Novnie doubted her eyes. She doubted her ears. After reaching that conclusion, one hope began to rise within her.

‘Maybe… maybe…’

No, it couldn’t be. It was impossible. Herix….hadn’t forgotten Ivonne, hadn’t forgotten Novnie. That couldn’t be true. Ivonne had vanished, and she hadn’t left any reason for god to intervene by tampering with the past.

Now, Novnie has only become an abstract concept of ‘god.’