I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 223

The next afternoon, a delegation arrived from the Ortensia Republic.

“You’re really not tired?”

It was already the fourth time he asked. Ivonne shook her head as she took medicine to loosen her muscles, which were beginning to stiffen.

“No, I’m not tired.”

“Why?”

Herix asked, as if he couldn’t understand. The one who found the question hard to understand was Ivonne.

“Why?”

What kind of question is that? She set the cup, now with only a few sips left, down on the table and turned to look at Herix.

A few strands of hair, loosely pinned up, fell, resting on her slender white neck. A few strands loosened from the ear he had been nibbling on just moments ago. Herix swallowed a dry gulp as he saw this, and Ivonne quickly spoke.

“Touch me again with one finger.”

Face-to-face? What are you going to do? His playful and slightly cheeky gaze scanned her slightly pale face. Now that he wasn’t the mere human he once was, this playful behavior was inevitable.

The heat radiating from his gaze was something that couldn’t be helped. The woman who always seemed out of reach, someone who could never be caught no matter how much he reached out, was now within his grasp, always there for him. It was hard to hold back, to be honest.

Ivonne’s perfectly shaped eyebrows, her lashes that reached towards the sky, the slight furrow at the corners of her eyes from the dull pain, her sharp, intelligent green eyes that were so bright compared to this morning, her slightly pale cheeks, and the delicate chin.

And the moist, slightly red lips she had just drank water from. Every single feature was greedily devoured by his purple gaze.

‘Could it be again…?’

In truth, she was somewhat scared , but Ivonne didn’t think it was wrong for her lover, now her husband, to show his desire whenever he pleased. It wasn’t unpleasant or uncomfortable.

However, even if love might make one forget time and place, Ivonne still wanted to keep a sense of time and place for love. Especially in a seat like this, the throne, where everyone was meant to look up at them.

Perhaps it was because, as Herix thought, Ivonne, being god, still appeared unnervingly rational, to the point of seeming inhuman.

Ivonne thought as she watched Herix clench his fist, staring at her lower lip.

‘I have to be firm.’

One wrong move here and it seemed that today, the delegation from the Ortensia Republic would be greeted by Herix alone.

That was one disaster she wanted to avoid at all costs. There was now no one in this world who could oppose Herix. After all, it was Herix who brought down Novnie, who had been in paradise, into the human world.

If a war broke out, victory would be inevitable. However, even if they won, she couldn’t guarantee that there wouldn’t be any casualties. Ivonne, as the Empress with no known background or even any common rumors about her, was still a commoner.

No matter how much people around her liked her, she didn’t want to be caught in any scandals personally.

So, Ivonne took a deep breath and spoke firmly.

“We’ll have separate rooms.”

“……”

A long silence followed. In reality, only a short amount of time passed, but for both Herix and Ivonne, it felt like hours. The tension between them was so sharp it felt almost unbearable.

At first, Herix couldn’t believe the words coming from Ivonne’s mouth—such absurd, awful, unimaginable words that would make him drop to his knees and beg.

All he could think was “Why?” and then “Why?” followed by “How, to me?” In a complete panic at the thought of her suggesting they sleep in separate rooms, Herix realized that, when he said nothing, Ivonne, too, remained silent, her stubborn expression firmly in place.

‘She’s serious….’

It seemed that Ivonne truly wanted to greet the delegation from the Ortensia Republic herself. But Herix felt wronged. And so, a grumble slipped out.

“Not that it matters.”

“What did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Luckily, his voice was so low that Ivonne didn’t hear him.

Since Ivonne had gone so far as to threaten him in this way, Herix knew he couldn’t force her. There was no other way; just the thought of spending even one day—no, even one hour—on separate beds made his heart ache as though it was being torn apart.

He felt the urge to grab her round, delicate shoulders right then and there. His clenched fists turned white, and the veins on his hands stood out. So, Herix finally exhaled deeply after a long time, something he hadn’t done since the big argument on their honeymoon.