Living a Scheming Marriage with a Mad Villain - Chapter 55

I looked around a little and saw some familiar pub signs.

“Huh? If I walk a little more here, I think I’ll find the restaurant street?”

Luckily, it didn’t seem like I had arrived in a completely unknown place.

‘Should I go toward the busy area, take a carriage, and go to the hotel? Or should I just wait here?’

I wanted to wait as much as possible, but the street looked like it would stay empty for a long time, so I was seriously worried.

‘Even if Reus doesn’t come first, maybe at least one guard might show up…’

Still, I was about to decide to wait a little longer.

“Ah…!”

Someone suddenly grabbed me hard, and I let out a short sound as I was pulled backward.

I was so surprised that I missed my step. Just as I was about to fall, someone pulled my arm strongly and helped me up. Then, with a slightly dazed voice, they called my name.

“Loel…?”

I squinted my eyes wide at the unexpected person appearing here.

“Why are you…”

“Is it really Loel…?”

The person holding me was Cassien.

‘He even changed his hair color and wore different clothes than usual—how did he recognize me?’

I was already in a bad mood because of the sudden meeting, and then the unbearable smell of alcohol made me squint again.

Seeing my twisted expression, Cassien seemed to tense up slightly. But I didn’t have the energy to care about that.

‘No way. I can’t wait. I have to go to the restaurant street and go straight to the hotel.’

“Loel…”

I ignored him on purpose and shook his hand off strongly. I turned around quickly, but couldn’t take more than a few steps before he caught me again.

“Loelle, we need to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“You left like that last time, and I still have things I haven’t said, okay? Just listen to me… Please, let’s talk. Please…”

He looked so desperate that I thought maybe I could listen to him for a moment.

But this is the festival street, so I couldn’t stay with Cassien any longer.

If anyone saw us like this, ridiculous rumors would spread in no time.

‘I have no reason to listen. Our story ended long ago.’

I shook off Cassien’s trembling hand without mercy. I was about to walk away fast this time, but my body was quickly turned roughly.

“Ah…!”

Cassien stepped closer and grabbed my wrist, then walked with big steps toward an alley behind the pub.

“Let me go! Let me go! Ah… it hurts!”

I tried to get away, but the harder I struggled, the stronger his grip became.

My wrist hurt so much that I couldn’t even make a small sound, and I was dragged along.

Only when we reached the dead end of the alley, Cassien suddenly stopped and quickly let go, looking shocked.

“Loelle, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to. I was just afraid you would run away again…”

He had held my wrist so tightly it left marks. But even when apologizing, he didn’t let go completely.

Soon, his face went pale, and without warning, he kneeled and grabbed both my hands.

“I was all wrong.”

“So please don’t go… I really messed up… It was all a mistake, really. A real mistake, Loelle.”

Sigh…

It was always like this when I was with Cassien. I had no control over anything.

Even now, months after breaking up, I couldn’t move because Cassien acted however he wanted.

‘And even if I try to run away here…’

All around me were walls. The only exit was blocked by Cassien’s back, so running away seemed impossible.

‘Can the guards find me?’

I changed my attitude a little, thinking I had to buy some time until then.

“How long are you going to keep doing this?”

Cassien slowly raised his head at my words.

I didn’t know what had happened to make him look so worn out.

His eyes were bruised to the point they looked painful, and the skin under them was deeply sunken, maybe from lack of sleep.

His hair was a mess, and his lips were pale—he looked like a sick person.

“Loel…”

“If you have something to say, say it now. Today will be the last time we meet like this.”

“Why…”

Cassien looked at me with eyes full of grievance.

I automatically squinted in disbelief.

“If you have nothing to say, then stop…”

I moved a little, and his trembling hand suddenly jumped up to desperately grab my skirt.

“Loel! Don’t go! I’ll talk! I’ll talk… So please don’t leave me. Don’t leave me alone. I’ll tell you everything… everything…”

Big tears started falling from Cassien’s eyes. Once started, the tears flowed endlessly and soon soaked his cheeks.

Looking at him, I felt no pain, but discomfort. Wasn’t all the love between us just my one-sided crush?

I couldn’t understand why he acted like there was something more.

Cassien bit his lower lip hard, trying to hold back his tears, but soft sobs escaped from between his teeth.

Finally, he opened his mouth.

“Why… no, since when… since when did you think of breaking up with me?”

He seemed to keep the words he heard from Reus when we last separated close in his heart.

[“Loelle was planning to completely break up with you even before meeting me.”]

Reus’s words were not entirely wrong.

But I couldn’t say exactly when I stopped caring about Cassien.

Still, since I knew this would happen eventually, maybe it was right to say it was from the start.

“I knew I couldn’t marry you. From the day I first met you.”

“I clearly remember how you looked at me.”

“That’s…! Back then, I really didn’t know anything… After that, it really changed, Loelle. Only the beginning was like that, and later I really loved you, really. Please believe me.”

“You loved me?”

“I did. I love you… I still love you, Loelle.”

I had heard so many times in novels about his boredom with me. How could I believe those words after being hurt every time I faced it.

At that time, Cassien was feeling extreme disgust toward everything around him.

The attention everywhere he went, the shallow attitudes without his own will. Especially, women who always acted like they didn’t care but clung to him—it made him sick.

His habit of not dating one woman seriously had been like that from the start, but at that time, the meetings happened more often.

It got to the point where the Ersian Marquis, who didn’t see anything wrong with his son’s view on love, had to step in.

Since Cassien’s name was frequently talked about in society, the Marquis decided to cover the scandal with a bigger rumor, even if it meant a messy fix.

It wasn’t because he feared his son’s reputation being damaged.

It was well known that society was especially forgiving to men for such behavior. And the Marquis expected that other noble parents whose children were hurt by Cassien would also step in first.

Still, the reason he personally tried to cover up the rumors was only one:

To show that such rumors would not harm the Marquis family or its only heir, Cassien Ersian.

‘If I arrange an engagement, the rumors might quiet down a little.’

At that time, the Marquis noticed Loelle Ivelle.

The eldest daughter of the Ivelle Count family.

Her family was a perfect match, so good that he wondered why she had never been considered before.

Her love life was pure, with no worries, and her manners and speech were flawless—the perfect bride.

Among all her qualities, what pleased the Marquis most was her beautiful appearance.

Clear eyes that easily won anyone’s favor, fine facial features that seemed carefully shaped—he liked everything.

A woman whose beauty was noticeable without being too flashy.

If his son was tied to her, her presence would make him shine even more.

So, there was no need to find another sacrifice.

While everyone else was eagerly watching for a chance to be engaged to Loelle Ivelle, the Marquis visited Count Ivelle.

What both wanted was clear, and the discussion ended quickly.

The Marquis got a firm promise for his son’s engagement to Loelle, and Count Ivelle received everything worthy of his daughter.

Loelle’s own will and feelings were completely ignored, but no one complained.

The Marquis was satisfied just to have the perfect bride for a low price.

But no matter how carefully he brought the woman to sit beside his son—

The terrible Ersian scoundrel did not change his bad habits until right before meeting Loelle.

Even though he was told to behave quietly until the engagement, Cassien couldn’t keep it and fell back into his wild lifestyle.

Cassien only started paying some attention to the woman who would soon be his fiancée after learning Loelle’s name was often talked about among men his age.

Not just because she was his fiancée, but because many men were interested in her, so the gossip never stopped.

Looking back, there were many men who looked at him with envy when they heard about the engagement.

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