I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 157
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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‘But even so, I can’t share everything.’
This was one of the burdens Herix would have to carry forever. He had no intention of sharing it with anyone to lessen its weight.
Not now that Ivonne had left. There was no one left in this world who would forgive him.
Despite this, there was a reason Herix had decided to speak.
‘Ivonne will never believe me now.’
It was a bitter and painful thought, but it was the truth.
Everyone in the world called Herix brave. Or they called him cold-blooded. They said he wouldn’t have committed so many murders and bloodshed without being one of those things.
To many, he was a villain with no heart, but because of the heat of the blood on his hands, the Sortenic Empire remained safe. So, people thought Herix was fearless and ferocious. But that wasn’t the truth.
Herix was a coward.
In reality, he was more cowardly than anyone else, someone who simply wanted to live quietly, a vile coward. That’s why he hid Ivonne from the world. He never wanted anyone to take her from him. Even if that ‘world’ was the one wanting her.
There’s a saying that goes, “To deceive the enemy, deceive your own side first.” So, even after he had reclaimed Ivonne, even though many knew of it, Herix kept renewing the wanted notice on her.
He didn’t care if people called it hiding his head in the sand. As long as he could hide Ivonne from the world, as long as she could stay by his side, even if it meant deceiving Ivonne herself, he would do it.
Blinded by love, unable to even hear or think straight, the man was a coward, petty and despicable.
But now, even if he spoke the truth, Ivonne would never believe him. So, the best course of action was to have the truth passed on through someone Ivonne trusted.
‘Even if she doesn’t believe everything right away, at least… she’ll think about it.’
That’s why Herix had decided to speak to Johann. This would be using Johann, but it was something Johann already knew, so it didn’t matter.
Herix could tell from Johann’s eyes—those bright blue eyes—that he wanted to help, in any way he could.
‘As long as I keep the explanation to what he can understand, he’ll get it.’
If it were anyone else, Herix might have hesitated, but Johann was sitting here with him now. He would surely understand the core of it. And because of that, Herix could speak without too much guilt.
“Actually… I don’t remember.”
The words were passive and fragmented, but Johann didn’t mind.
“I don’t remember. Right, I… I think I passed out. But I was there.”
Herix said this with a frown while speaking slowly. The past wasn’t even that far back, but Herix spoke as though it were a distant memory, which puzzled Johann. However, Johann didn’t show any signs of confusion.
“There was a body.”
Johann couldn’t help but take a sharp breath. The subject wasn’t explicitly mentioned, but Johann knew. The body was Aiden, Herix’s half-brother.
“So, I guess… I must have killed him.”
When piecing together Herix’s fragmented story, it seemed that he had no memory of killing Aiden, but when he woke up after passing out, Aiden’s body was in front of him, and he assumed he must have done it.
However, this raises a strange point.
“Why did Your Highness think that? How can you be sure that the body in front of you was your work?”
“Because… I had to. I had to kill him.”
So, Herix woke up from his unconsciousness to find Aiden, who had been alive, now a corpse, and though he couldn’t remember the actual act, he thought he must have killed him.
‘I see…’
Johann stroked his chin. Earlier, Herix had said:
“That’s how….the people of this world see it.”
Yes, the story Herix was telling was indeed very different from what the world had come to know.
‘The rumor is that he threatened the Emperor to name him Crown Prince by killing his half-brother Aiden right in front of him…’
At that moment, Johann’s mind worked quickly. He understood why Herix had said, “I had to kill him.” Herix’s reasoning was clear. Johann didn’t need to probe deeply to deduce the situation.
‘It’s the Emperor.’
One piece of the puzzle finally clicked into place. If the Emperor had forced Herix to do it, then Herix’s recurring actions of choking himself when he was anxious might also be related to the Emperor.
The story that the world knew about the former Crown Prince’s assassination involved three people: Arnold, Herix, and Aiden. Aiden was dead and couldn’t speak for himself, while Herix told a story that contradicted Arnold’s.
This meant that one of them was lying—either Arnold or Herix. Unfortunately, Johann’s bias made him lean toward Herix.
‘Does this mean the Emperor ordered the crown prince to kill the former Crown Prince Aiden?’
But why? And why didn’t Herix directly say it? Why make Johann infer it himself? A new puzzle had emerged, but Johann didn’t mind. At least one, no—two pieces had been solved.
“So, does this mean that the former crown prince Aiden is still alive?”
“…”
