I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 137
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
read more chapters on luna kofi
Arnold was on the verge of losing his mind. He was consumed by fear—fear of his own son, Herix. In fact, his mind had already started to unravel. Despite the steady light in front of him, his pupils dilated and contracted, a clear sign of his mental disarray.
‘Ivonne… Even Ivonne. Is it true that even she is beyond reach?’
His shoulders trembled. His robe, usually draped comfortably around him, shook pitifully as he, like a trembling aspen in the winter wind, could no longer control his body.
‘I thought Ivonne was the only leash I had.’
Arnold had always believed that Ivonne would be the weapon to stop Herix, the only one capable of killing him and preventing his rampage. Arnold had been confident that this woman, the one Herix was deeply infatuated with, would be the key to controlling him.
That’s why he had turned a blind eye to Herix’s wild behavior. Of course, after Herix had lifted the curse that was on him, Arnold had no choice but to tolerate it, but his pride kept him from admitting that.
‘I thought once I had Ivonne, everything would fall into place.’
In truth, Arnold had intended to secure Ivonne when Herix left to suppress the rebellion in Osbloom. Had it not been for Blitzen’s sudden interference, Arnold would have certainly done so.
After Ivonne disappeared, Arnold had been frantically searching for her behind the scenes. Although Herix had gotten to her first, Arnold had already learned that she was somewhere in the Ortensia Republic.
‘But in the end, Ivonne couldn’t defeat Herix.’
It was said that Ivonne had been captured, and with shackles around her ankle no less! No matter how powerful an ancient wizard she was, if she couldn’t use her magic, she was no different from an ordinary person. She was essentially powerless.
‘Haa…’
In the middle of the chaos in his chambers, Arnold exhaled heavily.
The windows were shattered by things he had carelessly thrown and the floors were littered with glass shards. The chairs he had hurled against the walls had left deep dents. Decorations that had fallen from the impact were now shattered beyond recognition.
The sunlight streaming through the room caused the broken glass to sparkle like a chandelier. There was a contradictory beauty in the midst of the madness. But this was not enough to quell Arnold’s anger.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it.”
Arnold, far from the dignity expected of an Emperor, cursed as if it were second nature to him. He shakily picked up a ceremonial sword that had fallen to the floor. The sharp sound of the blade being drawn from its scabbard rang in his ears.
‘What’s the problem?’
Arnold couldn’t understand.
Arnold, born to a lower-ranking imperial concubine, had always found the Emperor’s position distant, something that seemed completely out of his reach. Yet, as a boy, he had dreamed of it. He thought that dreaming was free, and that it wasn’t a bad thing. Even though the imperial tutors taught him not to waste time on things that were beyond his grasp, Arnold had dreamt.
‘I didn’t know anything, but I worked hard anyway.’
Arnold’s efforts in his studies were not solely because he wanted to become Emperor. He had a natural aptitude for learning and a keen interest in academics, so much so that it irked his older brother, the Crown Prince. At the Crown Prince’s command, an imperial guard raised his sword to Arnold’s throat. And so, he killed him.
‘To survive, there was no choice but to kill.’
Fortunately for Arnold, he had excellent swordsmanship that matched his academic ability. After that event, Arnold’s position rose. He climbed up far higher than anyone would have expected, especially given his birth to a lower-ranking concubine.
However, there was still a limit. The position of Crown Prince was beyond his reach.
Just as Arnold was about to despair, a hand of salvation reached out to him.
‘They say that never making a mistake and seizing an opportunity is also a skill.’
Arnold had that skill. He never let go of the one opportunity that came his way. And so, Arnold took the throne through bloodshed. The aftermath was handled by the hand of salvation.
From there, his rise was unstoppable. He soared higher and higher, unaware that the heavens were watching and that his fall would come.
But as they say, the Tower of Babel eventually collapses because it angered God, and Icarus fell to his death. The common thread between these stories was hubris. The tower he built with so much effort was now crumbling. The wax was slowly melting.
The birth of Herix with the Emperor’s mark was undoubtedly the turning point for Arnold’s downfall.
‘Yes, I shouldn’t have cursed him. I should have killed him like I originally planned.’
But there was someone who stopped Arnold’s thinking. That person was the benefactor who had reached out to him just before he was about to despair. He couldn’t go against his benefactor’s words.
So, Arnold cursed Herix, making him a fox, a curse that would keep him from ever aiming for the throne.
‘As long as I didn’t directly defy my benefactor, I thought that was fine.’
Arnold had done many terrible things to Herix. He had commanded the young boy to kill the last dragon and sent him to war. The ugly reputation following Herix was all crafted by Arnold.
That was not all. Herix had even been forced to kill his own brother.
