Living a Scheming Marriage with a Mad Villain - Chapter 60

The man at the peak of the Ashelite Empire. Those who had seen Den Aren Ashelite smile often thought it looked pure and clear.

Of course, that was the impression of those who had never seen the cruel depths of the emperor, who was made of pure evil.

“You monster…! Get out of here now! Drag that thing out of my room!”

Monster. That was the word his own mother, the Empress, always used for him like a habit.

It wasn’t that the Empress was especially cruel or treated her own blood like a bug.

She never outright called him a monster, but his father, the Emperor, wasn’t much different.

In fact, the Emperor hated the Crown Prince more than anyone else.

And Den knew all of this very well. He had never understood what laughter truly was, so he wasn’t easily fooled by kind words or a gentle face.

As a child, he silently watched those who hated him and simply accepted it.

But at some point, the way they looked at him like he was a bug began to drive him mad.

So he just killed them all.

His mother, who blamed him with an annoying voice. His father, who spoke in gentle words but looked at him with the coldest eyes.

Once he got rid of the bothersome ones, Den’s world became eerily silent.

The smell of blood coming from those who could no longer speak would sometimes remind him of reality. But he didn’t feel fear.

Instead, Den felt a strange thrill, a shiver rising all over his body.

From then on, he began playing with people’s lives as he pleased.

Once he had the throne in his hands, there was no one left who could stop him.

The Empress’s son, who was originally chosen to succeed the throne instead of Den. His brothers. The annoying palace servants.

He killed anyone who got in his way. But no one noticed the Emperor’s cruelty.

That was because, although he lacked emotion, Den was gifted with brilliant intelligence.

The Emperor knew exactly how others saw his true nature, and what benefits he could gain by hiding his brutality.

So he also knew what to take and what to discard to get what he wanted and how much patience was needed.

The Emperor’s death was ruled an accident. The Empress’s death, a suicide. Every other death came with a convincing explanation. All of it every excuse was a product of Den’s mind.

That’s how Den slowly and perfectly took control of the royal family while fooling everyone.

So Rikassen Rochester wasn’t especially foolish for being tricked by the monster behind a kind mask.

Then how did the secret power of House Rochester end up reaching the Emperor’s ears? The truth was simpler than expected.

It all began when Rikassen himself saved the monster using that very power what could be called the start of the tragedy.

Thinking Den was his closest friend, Rikassen risked everything and saved the Emperor from poison. But in doing so, he only stirred the monster’s curiosity.

Not long after, the Emperor gave a command to his most loyal shadow—Cain.

“What?”

“Rikassen Rochester. I said bring him to me alive.”

With that, the Empire’s only Grand Duke became prey to the Emperor.

Two people played the biggest role in capturing him.

The details are unclear, but Count Ivelle caused the carriage accident after being promised ownership of the Empire’s largest magic stone mine. And Cain, the Emperor’s longest-serving shadow.

As planned, the carriage fell off a cliff.

The Grand Duchess and the coachman died instantly. Normally, the Grand Duke would have too but a healing power barely kept Rikassen alive on the verge of death.

Then Cain dragged the tattered Grand Duke before the Emperor.

From there, everything followed Den’s original plan. A funeral was held with only one arm. His dear friend was kept from escaping.

No longer needing to wait, Den began cruel experiments to steal Rikassen’s power.

But the experiment failed.

It was a predetermined outcome. The power of House Rochester could only be passed through a special ceremony and only direct bloodlines could inherit it.

Even the Emperor, who held the Empire in his hand, had no way of taking that power.

Den looked down at the broken Rikassen with a touch of regret.

He had been useful while alive.

Now that his body was cold after being cut open, it was nothing but a nuisance. And the heart containing the core of his vast magic and healing power was no easier to deal with.

The owner of the body was dead, yet the heart kept jumping on its own. What to do with this headache?

Den didn’t think long. It was regrettable, but worthless things should be thrown away.

He decided to bury Rikassen’s heart in the vast forest owned by Count Ivelle.

Thus, the heart of the Grand Duke of Rochester was sealed inside some device and buried somewhere in the Ivelle Forest.

Soon after, everyone who knew of this event began to die one by one.

The only one left was Count Ivelle, who hadn’t known the full truth and had merely been used.

It was a rather interesting affair, and Den couldn’t hide his disappointment that it ended this way.

He thought everything was over but that was a mistake.

Even buried deep in cold dirt, Rikassen’s heart left traces in the world.

The immense magic held in the core it was the color of a dark night sky. Power without a master began pouring out endlessly.

It didn’t take long before that magic consumed the entire forest.

That was how the Ivelle family’s forest gained a cursed reputation and came to be called the Forest of Silence.

It wasn’t long before the Emperor noticed too. But he left the forest as it was.

After all, no one but him knew what had caused it. So it had its own meaning.

Still, Den couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss.

‘No matter how I think about it, this shouldn’t have ended so meaninglessly.’

Maybe he should’ve kept at least one person alive. Then, perhaps, this disappointment would’ve eased.

Or maybe… should he drop a hint to Rikassen’s son about how his father really died?

If he could get the power, either way, it would’ve been a fun game to play…

But as mentioned, Den was someone who knew exactly when to hold back.

So he placed Reus Rochester in his father’s empty seat and made him submit to the one who had killed his father.

Looking at Reus’s innocent face, unaware of the truth, helped heal a bit of the pain of losing a friend.

Reus read through the paper that explained everything. Every single word crushed his heart.
His hands began to tremble.

He just couldn’t accept that his father died for such a ridiculous reason.
The unresolved injustice pierced through his whole body like thorns.

Right now, he wanted to rush to the palace and tear the Emperor apart.

But Reus was only ten years old.

All a child could do was cry. Reus knew that all too well. And that made the pain even worse so much that it felt like it was in his bones.

“I’ll get revenge.”

At that, Reus lifted his head, his eyes lifeless from crying.

“So you should too.”

Emotions were still flickering in Theron’s light brown eyes raw, unfiltered emotions.

Now Reus could finally understand. The wild rage of someone thirsty for revenge and the guilt directed at someone else.

Though it wasn’t Theron’s fault, he could faintly feel how heavy his father’s crimes were.

Tears filled with guilt dripped from Theron’s eyes as he watched Reus fall apart.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry… So please… Let me help. I’ll do anything. I’m sure I can be useful.”

Did Reus really have a choice?

From the moment he learned the truth about his parents’ accident and his father’s death, there was no going back.

Reus slowly nodded.

That was how he came to join hands with the son of his enemy. The boy introduced himself as Theron.

“I think… your father’s heart is buried under the forest owned by the Count’s family.”

The forest suddenly covered in darkness. The clue only someone who knew the connection between the incident and Count Ivelle could understand.

Reus ran through the vast Forest of Silence until he could barely breathe.

To bring peace to the father who was buried somewhere neither dead nor alive.
And to reclaim the power of House Rochester and complete his revenge.

Even as guilt weighed on him thinking he might be stepping over his father’s resting place he couldn’t stop running.

For Reus, hell was just beginning.

Reus started going to the Forest of Silence again, and terrible insomnia followed. That only deepened Loelle’s worries.

‘He barely slept before, but now…’

Lately, it seemed like he couldn’t sleep at all.

When Loelle woke up, Reus wasn’t there. Even if he was in the room, he’d just sit silently on the couch, lost in thought, or stare endlessly out the window.

But Loelle couldn’t bring himself to ask what was wrong.

He didn’t know the full story, but he basically understood the reason.

And even if Reus did open up, there wasn’t anything Loelle could actually do.

‘I wish the original story gave more background on Reus.’

All the novel said was that he was involved in matters related to the royal family, clashed with Cassien or Iris, or died a meaningless death while trying to rebel.

‘There must be something I can do for him…’

While deep in thought, Loelle suddenly remembered something Shanette had said.

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