Living a Scheming Marriage with a Mad Villain - Chapter 114

Reus immediately got angry and refused.

“If it’s something I, as her husband, shouldn’t hear, then I’ll just leave.”

“Ah… Why are you so angry? I just want to have a deep conversation with the Duchess.”

“I told you, if it’s something I shouldn’t hear—”

“Even if you think so as her husband, this is a very personal matter. The Duchess might want to keep it secret. But of course, I don’t mind if both of you listen.”

The moment the emperor said that, it was clear who would win this little power struggle.

“Reus.”

Loelle gently placed her hand on the back of Reus’s hand. It was a serious request and also an apology for breaking their promise.

The emperor, watching Reus’s frustrated face, spoke kindly.

“It won’t take long. Just a little while.”

“Loelle, let’s return to the castle now…”

“Reus, His Majesty said just a little while… Please wait outside.”

“Loelle.”

Even when Reus looked at her as if to blame her for going against their agreement, Loelle showed no sign of changing her mind.

This was why he didn’t want to come.

Even though it was a situation that didn’t benefit either of them, when a woman says something, you have to obey.

He hated that no matter what he did, he would lose.

“The Duchess seems to feel the same as me. I’ll leave now.”

“Loelle.”

He called her one last time, but Loelle turned her head without looking and looked back at the emperor. In the end, Reus had no choice but to leave the room.

Once only Loelle and the emperor were left, the emperor’s smile deepened.

Den, unable to fully hide his feelings, stood up and walked to the window. Even then, he kept biting his lower lip for a long time. If he hadn’t, he probably would have burst into laughter.

It didn’t really matter if the Duchess heard, but it would be a big problem if Reus did. Before anything could go wrong or be interrupted, he had to prevent trouble.

The emperor, finally calming down, spoke.

“I always thought… in this empire, there was no couple as well-matched as you two. When you announced your wedding, I was very happy. You probably don’t know that.”

But every time he spoke, laughter escaped his lips, so the emperor had to stop and start again. His strangely excited voice carried a strong feeling of anticipation that Loelle quickly noticed.

The emperor was very excited.

“But then you heard strange things, didn’t you? I thought a lot about whether to tell you this. But after thinking, I decided you needed to know, so I called you here quickly.”

Even though the emperor seemed a little strange, Loelle stayed calm. But soon, she couldn’t help but stiffen unnaturally at what the emperor said next.

“It’s about Reus’s parents.”

“Do you know they died in a carriage accident?”

Her head went blank, and she didn’t even hear the emperor barely holding back laughter when mentioning the carriage accident.

“I heard about it…”

“Reus didn’t say anything about it? I also heard he knows who the culprit is.”

Loelle couldn’t bring herself to speak.

She was the one who changed the subject whenever Reus’s parents came up.

She knew her father was involved in Reus’s misfortune but thought there was no need to bring it up.

Especially since she firmly believed they would separate anyway.

But the situation had changed, and she could no longer delay facing the truth.

Soon, the emperor spoke the ugly truth she never wanted to hear.

“So, Count Ivelle… he’s the main culprit in the carriage accident.”

Unable to hold back, the joy she tried to suppress finally burst out.

Reus was ready to break down the door at the slightest sound. But surprisingly, Loelle and the emperor’s private meeting ended fairly quickly.

The emperor behind Loelle looked as pleased as before. And Loelle… didn’t look happy or upset.

“Reus?”

Her voice calling him was still gentle, and her soft smile natural. But strangely, Reus couldn’t shake off his unease and held her hand tightly.

“Why are you like this again?”

Her laughing face seemed unchanged. She still held his hand without letting go, but why…?

She was usually so easy to read, but now Reus couldn’t understand what she was thinking at all.

The carriage ride back was very quiet. Both were lost in thought—Loelle quietly thinking, and Reus nervously watching her. Neither spoke until they reached the Duchess’s castle late at night.

As they quietly headed to the bedroom, Loelle suddenly stopped as if she had just remembered something.

“Reus. May I stop by the office for a moment?”

Reus hesitated even to ask why she needed to go. In the end, he said nothing and just nodded. Then Loelle smiled softly and wiggled her still clasped hands.

“Are you telling me to go or not?”

Only then did Reus realize he had been holding her hand too tightly. He loosened his grip and awkwardly let go.

“I just needed to think about something…”

Loelle smiled lightly without saying more and turned back the way she came. Reus watched her for a long moment before calling her without meaning to.

“Loelle.”

“Yes?”

“Never mind.”

He wanted to say everything was fine but please don’t run away, but the words stuck in his throat again. He just watched her walk away and helplessly lowered his head.

Loelle acted as if nothing was wrong while going down the stairs to her office. When she thought she was far enough from Reus, she nearly ran down the hallway.

Running as if chased, Loelle entered her office and collapsed onto a chair. The tension broke, and the tears she had held back poured out.

She tried to quiet her crying, but her breaths grew rough.

“My father…”

Her father killed Reus’s parents.

There was no way the emperor was lying. She already knew many things about Reus and had been trying to avoid the truth.

It was hopeless. She always suspected a deep connection between Reus’s misfortune and her father, but consciously told herself it wasn’t direct. She comforted herself that at least it wouldn’t grow into something worse.

It just can’t be that bad. Though her father wasn’t a good man, he couldn’t be that cruel. He wouldn’t be that harsh to her.

There was a foolish excuse behind this denial.

If her father had directly killed the Duchess and Duke of Rochester, Reus’s change would be unexplainable. That was a convenient shield only for herself.

But as if admitting she was wrong from the start, the truth gripped her throat tightly.

Reus loved the daughter of Count Ivelle—the one who killed his parents.

She hated herself for trying to avoid the truth until the end, and her tears wouldn’t stop.

In the end, Loelle didn’t return to the bedroom last night.

She said she would go out. Trusting that one sentence, Reus stayed awake until dawn but didn’t mention the previous day’s events.

Maybe he realized she wouldn’t come back the moment she stopped walking on the way to the bedroom.

Reus thought it was better this way.

Because if he pressed her one by one, they might cross a point of no return. He was actually thankful she said nothing.

But the distance that grew overnight only widened more. Even though they spent more time together than before the trip to the palace, the gap wouldn’t close no matter what.

In the end, Reus decided to be a little shameless as usual.

After meals, sometimes during work, before and after sleep, he stubbornly followed Loelle. Even if she got a little tired of it, he kept calling her name and forced himself to meet her eyes.

Loelle always replied and turned to face him but didn’t really look at him.

Still, Reus didn’t give up. He firmly believed that if he waited, she would come back.

But that hope faded sooner than he thought.

“Reus, I want to be alone when I read books. Could you please let me be?”

“I’ll do nothing and stay quiet.”

“It’s not about what you say. It’s just… when you’re here, I can’t focus.”

Reus sat quietly, looking at his own hands. It didn’t solve anything, but at least he could hear Loelle’s voice once more.

Even if it wasn’t kind to him.

“You won’t agree to my request?”

“Alright.”

At the sound of a book closing, Reus suddenly looked up.

“If you don’t want to go, I will.”

“No, I…”

“I’ll go then. You stay here.”

Though the tone was gentle, it was clearly a refusal. The more he should listen, the less he could control his body. His hand, which was about to grab her, stopped. Loelle also stopped immediately.

“Why are you following me?”

“I… I will go out, so—”

“No. You don’t have to.”

Reus tried to ease the mood, but at Loelle’s next words, he had no choice but to stay silent.

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