I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 121
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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“Your Highness.”
“……”
“……Your Highness.”
“……”
“Please, Your Highness!”
What used to take one or two calls now required a third, a fourth plea, and even a fifth desperate attempt to get a response.
“What are you going to do if this really goes wrong?”
Herix was strangling himself. Yet despite Johann’s anxious worries, Herix had already choked himself over eighty times in the past week—twice an hour!
That number was equivalent to the number of missing palace attendants since Ivonne had disappeared. Soon, the number of missing attendants would reach over a hundred, yet no one dared question the Crown Prince who had given such orders.
Moreover, the remaining attendants were too fearful to express their concerns. They had nowhere to vent their frustrations, nor could they plead for their lives or tremble in fear.
“If I kill anyone, it will be…”
It was clear that Herix was the one most afraid of the very orders he had given. He was unable to voice his complaints, to ask for mercy, or even to shake with fear.
“Your Highness!”
Finally, Johann roughly seized Herix’s wrist and stopped him. He could no longer watch the deep red of Herix’s face or the burst blood vessels in his eyes turning yellow.
“…Kuh, cough!”
A harsh cough erupted from him. The sudden influx of oxygen caused Herix’s broad chest to inflate and deflate rapidly. While he struggled to regain his composure, gasping and nearly retching, Johann familiarly brought over a magical device filled with oxygen.
The device resembled a dog muzzle, covering Herix’s jaw and aiding his breathing. Seeing him like this, Johann couldn’t help but think he looked like a rabid dog, finally calming down only after being muzzled.
“Hah… ha…”
Barely clinging to life, Herix shot Johann a resentful glance as he tried to catch his breath again.
Johann had grown used to Herix’s fury over the past week, receiving it every two hours, and calmly responded.
“Why do you keep doing this? If you’re going to kill the attendants, then why hurt yourself instead?”
In truth, there was one secret known only to Herix, Johann, and those who had received the orders: while Herix had indeed commanded the elimination of those who could not find Ivonne, not a single one among them had met their end.
That was the very command Herix had almost uttered just moments ago.
— Absolutely, do not kill anyone.
Johann couldn’t understand it. He knew better than anyone that the infamous reputation trailing Herix was not merely a misunderstanding or baseless rumor. This made it even harder for him to grasp.
“Just kill them.”
“…No. Cough, cough… no.”
“Rather than harming yourself, you should harm your enemies; you’ve always said so!”
This was how Herix chose to self-harm in an attempt to suppress his rage. Johann was now at the point of anger.
For the past week, Herix had repeatedly tried to take his own life at least eighty times. Though he was just an aide, his patience was wearing thin.
“Just say something, please. Can you?”
Johann thought about it. The despair of being unable to stop Herix from self-harming versus the frustration of dying from not hearing anything—what would come first? It felt like a conclusion was looming on the horizon.
Regardless, Herix continued to choke himself, gasping for breath, sprawled carelessly on the couch for an entire week without proper sleep or food. His black hair hung damp and tangled like seaweed pulled from the water, and his unshaven jaw was rough and untidy.
Even after Johann called Herix’s name several times, his tired eyes offered no response. In truth, he lacked the strength to reply. Having repeatedly choked himself without care for his own body, there was no energy left. Yet it seemed his mind was still somewhat active.
‘Ivonne… Ivonne…’
His mind was, of course, filled with thoughts of Ivonne. At this point, it felt as if Herix’s brain had been shaped entirely by the name “Ivonne.” Perhaps not just his brain, but all the organs in his body, including his heart, had been molded by her presence.
Finally, Herix received some meaningful news. Johann, who had been anxiously watching him, lent an ear to a hurried attendant who arrived with information.
“Your Highness, they’ve found Count Ulfest.”
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Although the splendid reception hall was bright and dazzling, the man trapped inside it trembled as if he was in a terrifying place, repeatedly thinking the same thing.
‘I’m going to die, I’m going to die… I’m definitely going to die…’
His honey-colored hair clung to his forehead, matted with cold sweat, while his usually bright blue eyes now darted around in sheer panic.
That wasn’t all; it seemed he hadn’t slept, eaten, or washed properly in a week. His disheveled clothing and body emitted a sour odor of stale sweat, even as winter approached.
‘They’re going to kill me. There’s no way they’ll let me live.’
