Living a Scheming Marriage with a Mad Villain - Chapter 68

Feeling better, Reus thought it wouldn’t be anything too special and gladly agreed to talk about the library. But the words that came out of Roel’s mouth stopped his thoughts in an instant.

“It looked like there was a passage hidden behind the picture frame…!”

The Rochester Duchy Castle—to young Reus, it had been the last trace of his parents. But without his knowledge, the Emperor had sent shadows into the duchy and wiped out anything that might stir up trouble, replacing the empty spaces with convincing fakes.

After discovering that the Emperor had rummaged through the duchy, it became impossible to hold affection for it as he once had.

Since then, Reus had destroyed everything touched by the Emperor, no matter where it was.

But even then, he just couldn’t bring himself to touch the library. So he buried it along with his childhood memories and had pushed it so far from his mind that he forgot it even existed.

Perhaps because the memories of his childhood were rising to the surface, Reus suddenly felt queasy. Still, he slowly pulled up those long-lost memories.

Sunlight filtered into the attic, shining into the hazy memories that had long been hidden in mist. One by one, the old memories appeared.

The golden light of sunset gently settling through the glass dome into the attic. His mother, smiling at him with warmth. And… the image of his father—never once forgotten.

His heart suddenly ached. Reus wanted to stop remembering, but once the memories became vivid, they expanded uncontrollably.

His mother, lying next to him, drawing pictures. His father, pasting those drawings onto the wall. More and more scenes overlapped with that one.

As he struggled with emotions he couldn’t name whether he was trembling or just overwhelmed his eyes landed on the picture frame next to the drawing.

If it was the attic’s picture frame…

A family photo.

“That should be the only one.”

Then suddenly, he remembered something his father had said in passing.

He had said there was a secret archive of the family, hidden in the most precious place. Reus clearly remembered him saying so.

Shortly after meeting Theron, he had tried once to find it. But unfortunately, they couldn’t discover any secret archive or hidden passage, no matter how hard they looked.

Reus had naturally assumed that the Emperor had erased even that.

But what if that place really did lead to the secret archive his father had mentioned?

Outwardly calm, Reus’s fingertips trembled slightly.

“Reus, are you okay…? You suddenly look really pale.”

As a soft hand brushed his cheek, Reus instinctively placed his hand over Loel’s.

Her kindness felt like it gave him room to breathe again.

“I guess… I should have been more careful with stories like this. If it’s too hard, we can talk later or never again. I’m sorry, Reus.”

“Loelle.”

His voice, which had been fine just a moment ago, now cracked with metal-like roughness.

He hadn’t called her name expecting a response. He just couldn’t believe what was happening and needed something to hold onto. That something happened to be the woman’s hand he was holding.

Despite his cracking voice, Reus called out to her once more.

“Loelle.”

What if there really are traces of my parents in the place you spoke of?

A wave of hope and unexplained fear swelled tightly in Reus’s chest.

Loelle had saved his life. And not just that—she taught him how to breathe again, helped him find light in a world that had long gone dark.

And now she was handing him even the remnants of his parents… How could he ever repay all this?

He had nothing.

Reus opened his mouth and cautiously asked:

“Could you… give me the ring?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? It’s the Rochester family ring—it practically belongs to you.”

Loelle picked up the ring from the table and placed it in his hand, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Reus stared blankly at his palm, then, unable to hide the trembling in his voice, stammered:

“Exactly where… I mean, where should I use this…?”

“Are you going there?”

Loelle seemed surprised, but after thinking for a moment, she quickly replied.

“Bottom left corner of the picture frame. If you insert the ring there, a metal button will pop out that opens the frame.”

“Bottom left…”

Right now, Reus couldn’t focus on anything but the attic passage. Loelle was aware of that too.

“But I’m a little scared of that place… Reus, would you go check it out first?”

Her gentle smile left Reus speechless. Her kindness today pressed heavily on his heart.

Reus arrived at the library. He had rushed there before in a panic while looking for Loelle, but this time felt very different.

A place long locked away, as tightly shut as his heart. He had truly believed he would never come here again.

If he hadn’t given Loelle the key… or if she had never taken interest in this place…

His thoughts wandered until he reached the Forest of Silence.

The forest from the day he was ready to die, and yet lived.

Yes. Everything had started from the moment Loelle saved his life.

Reus slowly entered the library. The scent of sunlit wood was just as he remembered from childhood. Calm and warm.

The only real difference was that now, traces of Loelle could be found here and there.

Reus took all of it in as he walked upstairs. He soon reached the stairs that led to the attic.

As a child, he had raced up these stairs. But now, for some reason, he hesitated.

Why was this staircase so daunting? Reus stood staring at the attic entrance for a long time, queasy with emotion, before finally ascending.

He remembered the entrance being huge as a child, but now it was small enough he had to stoop to get through.

Once inside, the soft, comforting air welcomed him.

Nothing had changed in the attic beneath the glass dome. Even the smell was the same. He felt breathless.

This was where his parents’ touch still lingered. Where his happy memories were stored. A space full of innocence.

And now, seeing it unchanged, he realized just how deeply he had missed it.

Things he used to look up at now lay below his eye level. It made him laugh—strangely. And in that laugh, a little sadness crept in.

The emotions that hit Reus couldn’t be described with a single word.

Was it guilt for forgetting so long? A desperate wish to return, even just once, to those days? Or simply joy so great it overwhelmed him?

Reus walked up to the picture frame and stared at his parents.

He was happy to see them… but it felt a little awkward.

In moments of deep hardship, he had sometimes recalled their adult images in his mind. But in the photo, they didn’t look much different from him now.

Feeling the weight of time, a wave of sorrow washed over him.

Afraid he might spend all day staring at these slightly unfamiliar faces, Reus quickly knelt down. He searched the bottom left corner of the frame, just as Roel had said.

There was a groove carved into the wooden frame, shaped just like the ring. Without hesitation, Reus inserted the ring.

A slightly faded golden metal piece popped out. He pressed it lightly, and with a soft clunk, the picture frame opened like a door.

Behind it, just as Loelle described, was a dark space and a ladder leading downward.

Without hesitation, Reus descended. At a certain point, the lights automatically turned on, illuminating the area.

When he stepped off the ladder, he was standing in a space glowing with bright light.

It was the secret archive his father had told him about.

The secret archive looked so old, it was hard to believe it was inside the Rochester Duchy Castle. The heavy scent of aged wood in the air made it feel like stepping into a long-lost past.

The old walls, furniture, and uneven stone floors—all of it looked ancient. There were armors and helmets from long ago, rusted swords, and randomly placed shields.

On the largest wall hung a worn fabric with the family crest drawn on it.

A round orb on a column pedestal, flanked by two white lions guarding it.

Looking closely, the crest resembled the current one, though rougher in design.

Judging by how many times it had been revised, this was likely the original emblem, which had evolved over time into the current one.

At the far end of the archive, another dark passage led further inward.

Drawn to it, Reus walked forward. The air was damp, making even his breath feel wet. It resembled a cave. At its center was a pool of clear water, and in the middle stood a pedestal, just like the one in the family crest. Above it, a massive orb floated in the air.

His father had always said the moon goddess blessed their family—so this was likely a symbol of the moon.

But the orb looked dim, as if it had lost all power.

Reus looked around. All that remained were the water, the pedestal, and the lifeless black orb above it.

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