Living a Scheming Marriage with a Mad Villain - Chapter 98

Things went completely opposite to what Theron wanted, but leaving everything aside, Reus needed to calm down his excitement.

“I’ll handle it myself…”

“Handle it yourself, what—?”

“You just stay by Loelle’s side.”

Just hearing Roel’s name made the ruthless look on his face falter. Reus, who had been about to speak, then lowered his head weakly.

It was clear just from seeing him disturbed over a small weakness being exposed.

‘Looks like he’s not going anywhere.’

Reus would never let Loelle go. No, he definitely would never let him go.

Ten days passed like that. Outside the window, the summer colors had faded a little in the scenery of the Viscount’s estate.

Reus wanted to leave the Plona Viscount’s estate immediately, which he thought should have been burned down by now, but he couldn’t. He was worried that if he acted rashly, Loelle—who still couldn’t even open his eyes—might get hurt.

Even though Reus had hardly slept and his eyes were bloodshot, he never left Loelle’s side as long as he could stay close.

Holding Loelle’s hand tightly, he probably kept sending meaningless healing energy.

“Loelle.”

During that time, Reus talked to himself more and more. It was still painful not to get an answer, but when he ran out of things to say, he called Loelle’s name over and over for no reason.

He remembered what Helen said when Claude was in a coma on the battlefield.

[“My father said that people who are close to death, even if they seem like they won’t wake up, can still hear everything we say. So, call their name until they get tired of it. So they don’t lose their way.”]

So even today, he called out the woman’s name endlessly.

Unfortunately, Loelle was already deep asleep, with a face as if he had left far away.

“You must wake up before autumn comes. Didn’t you promise to go to Ferrochel with me?”

As always, Reus’s low voice was gentle. But his back looked a little tired as he stared at Loelle.

“Do you hate me for this?”

“I promised to make you happy, but I couldn’t keep that promise.”

Reus was about to ask if Loelle now hated him so much that he didn’t even want to look at him anymore, but he closed his mouth.

Did he even have the right to ask that?

He had no conscience. Reus closed his eyes tightly and rested his forehead on their tightly clasped hands.

“Loelle……”

Then, at that moment, he felt a slight movement in his palm.

Reus quickly lifted his head and looked at Loelle. But it seemed the signal he had felt was just a delusion made by his desperation; the woman’s face remained calm.

The brief hope quickly turned into an overwhelming disappointment. His judgment had never been so clouded before.

Everything was a mess.

Gritting his teeth, Reus cursed himself silently, then fell back into pain as before. Habitually, he called Loelle’s name once, then repeated words of repentance and self-blame.

After struggling in guilt for a long time, Reus raised his head.

“Loelle, please……”

Then, an unbelievable sight appeared before his eyes.

Loelle was struggling to lift his eyelids. Reus thought he might have gone crazy, but he could clearly feel a slight movement from the small hand he was holding.

“Loelle?”

“Loelle, are you coming back to your senses?”

The water-colored eyes revealed beneath the very slowly moving eyelids were still blurry.

He had woken up from the endless calling of his name, but Loelle still couldn’t tell reality apart.

“Loelle.”

Then, feeling warmth on his cheek and hearing the urgent voice asking for a clear answer, Loelle slowly regained consciousness. Soon, Reus’s figure became clearer in those cloudy eyes.

“Ah… Reus.”

Reus wanted to answer immediately. But if he spoke now, his voice would tremble terribly, so he squeezed her hand again instead.

Getting up from the chair and lowering himself to meet her eye level, Loelle barely spoke in a weak voice.

“Am I… alive?”

Again, Reus couldn’t answer.

Loelle could not have failed to feel the shadow of death that had struck her. He knew this too well and that made him feel even more unforgivable.

She wasn’t the kind of woman who should have gone through this.

The one who caused this was ultimately him. Even after she went through it, he couldn’t do anything for her. And even now, he stayed silent, feeling worthless.

He felt miserable about himself; how much must Loelle resent him?

Reus was overwhelmed by feelings he didn’t know whether he wanted to die right away or kill himself.

At that moment, Loelle tried to move her limp hand. Seeing her weak attempts to move it, Reus guessed she wanted something.

Soon, Reus realized she wanted to touch his face, so he gently brought her hand to his face.

“Why… are your eyes like this?”

Reus’s eyes were bloodshot, as if his tired body was screaming in pain. Despite the haze, the rough feel of the man’s face made Loelle worried.

“Your face is a mess… Did you not sleep again?”

Hearing the steel in her voice, Reus grimaced.

“Reus… are you really okay?”

“Why are you worrying about me at a time like this?”

Reus hated that he was receiving her kindness. At the same time, he liked that she was still kind to him. That made it even harder to shake off his guilt.

“I’m sorry, Loelle. I made you go through this…”

Loelle didn’t know everything, but she knew that because of Reus, she had escaped death.

“Thank you…”

This time, Reus kept his mouth shut by his own will. He felt those words were not his to say.

“Why do you look like that, Reus…”

“It’s all… all my fault. I caused trouble that you didn’t have to go through.”

Loelle looked at the man’s face, full of self-blame, and slowly spoke.

“I heard your voice.”

After collapsing, Loelle had a dream of her past life.

The vague modern scenery felt a little strange, but she quickly adapted as if forgetting reality. She was led somewhere by people whose names she barely remembered. The more she went, the more the pain and memories faded.

People said she would feel completely comfortable soon. Without any doubt, she was about to keep walking, when a faint voice reached her ears.

It was a man’s voice, calling a name.

“Loelle.”

Even though it was someone unrelated calling, that voice kept making her stop.

She asked others if they heard a strange voice, but they all just looked confused.

At first, the man’s voice only repeated a strange name, but gradually it changed into a painful cry, then endless self-blame.

“Do you hate me for this? I swore to make you happy but I couldn’t keep my promise.”

“No, Reus… uh?”

Only after saying his name did she realize this was not reality. She understood that the place where she really belonged was where that voice came from. And as she moved away from reality, she was getting closer to death.

“Loelle, please……”

The moment Reus called her desperately, Loelle opened her eyes.

“If you hadn’t called me… I probably would never have opened them.”

“Now you’re my savior, Reus.”

Loelle gave a faint smile, wanting to say that Reus didn’t need to blame himself anymore. But drowsiness overwhelmed her, and she closed her eyes without finishing.

It went dark again. But the warmth she felt from his hand made her feel no fear.

After the Plona Viscount heard that the Duchess had regained consciousness, he heard that Reus immediately went to see Verodica.

Why did he want to meet his daughter?

‘He was with Visionha all along; there’s no way he already figured out who the culprit is.’

From the Viscount’s point of view, this was undeniable. But he couldn’t help feeling extremely uneasy.

After Loelle woke up, the people suspected were held for questioning, but the order came to release all of them without interrogation or even seeing them.

It was also because the culprit had been found.

Even if it wasn’t the Viscount, anyone who heard Verodica’s words after she miraculously opened her eyes would immediately recognize the culprit.

“This is impossible… Visionha is alive? Why? That can’t be…”

“You… could it be your doing?”

“This is really impossible. They said she would never open her eyes again. How could this happen…?”

Unlike before, when he was sure no one in the Viscount’s house was responsible, it turned out the person who tried to kill the Duchess was none other than his own daughter, Verodica.

The Plona Viscount tried to hide this by killing the servant who brought the cup, making it look like a suicide. He controlled his daughter, telling her to deny everything no matter what.

No, from now on, she must absolutely not be considered the true culprit of the Duchess’s attempted murder.

Since Areia was found in the cup, they had no choice but to cover things up. It was for later to ask where it came from, who gave it, and why they went this far.

But regardless of whether her father worried or not, Verodica’s mind was still on Loelle.

‘Why didn’t she die?’

She had heard it was extremely poisonous. Should she have given more? Missing this first and last chance!

Instead of reflecting, she blamed herself for failing to finish off Loelle properly.

Of course, she never thought Reus would find out. According to the person who gave her the drug, no one could ever find out it was her doing.

‘As long as that person doesn’t show up. The servant already killed himself, so no one will know.’

So Verodica was confident even when Reus came to her in person.

“You look fine.”

“Yes, Your Highness. Thankfully—”

“How dare you.”

“Yes…?”

Reus’s expression was cold when he looked at her, even though she thought he came just to check on her.

“I thought you were a fool who would smile at the one who tried to kill my wife. Too bad you’re not. Isn’t that right?”

There was no evidence pointing to her as the culprit, but Reus was certain she was.

No, this was more than certainty; it was the reaction of someone who already knew the truth.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Your Highness… I was a victim like Visionha that day—”

Verodica’s voice broke unnaturally as the sharp sound of a drawn sword echoed.

“From now on, be careful what you say.”

“Your Highness…!”

“I don’t intend to believe anything you say.”

“Please, just listen to me once—”

“This conversation will be only one thing.”

The sword blade moved slowly with Reus’s hand. The light reflected on the blade flickered on Verodica’s neck.

“Your punishment.”

“Unfortunately, I have nothing else to discuss with you.”

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