I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 168
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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It seemed like a mother didn’t exist for him. A mother isn’t something that everyone has, but something only special people, like his brother, possess.
But where does he come from, and where does he go? Why does he call this place a horrible place? What does it even mean for something to be horrible?
In a place where not even a single ray of moonlight enters, a place as dark as a cave when the shutters don’t open, Herix could only feel his way through and think to himself.
No one pitied the miserable life of the child. Whenever anyone tried to show sympathy, everyone would chime in, saying things like this:
“Shh, don’t pity him so carelessly. Don’t take an interest. You don’t want to end up like him.”
“Do you know how lucky we are that the Emperor doesn’t even order his eyes to be covered?”
“Yeah, his situation has gotten much better.”
“You could say his life has improved significantly now.”
The servants spoke quickly, as though making excuses. The truth was, the servants never really looked at Herix; they only feared the Emperor’s orders to cover his eyes.
It wasn’t because they pitied his swollen, tear-streaked eyes when the blindfold was removed, but because of the fear they felt from his purple eyes, which stared calmly without showing any emotion, like a doll without feelings.
The unfortunate prince with the Emperor’s mark, the prince born of the Empress, living like a beast.
‘If that prince grows up without dying…’
‘He’ll surely come for revenge.’
The thought of the harm he could bring terrified them already. Maybe that’s why these rumors started spreading in the corner of a lowly tavern:
“I’m just saying this among ourselves, but apparently, the ‘owner of that basement’ isn’t even human.”
“What? Not human? You mean, the rumor… that the fox from the myth really showed up in this world?”
“No way! Are you saying that a wicked fox is eating the prince and pretending to be him?”
“Yeah. My good friend’s cousin works in ‘that basement,’ and he says they’ve been feeding him for a week. It’s already spreading among people who know.”
“They say he wears a leash.”
“A leash?”
“Like an animal. Yes, the prince is definitely a beast.”
What started as someone’s doubts or a passing drunk remark quickly turned into an urban legend. The rumor didn’t stop there and began to evolve into a story that the prince was some kind of monster or something similar, and that he needed to be ‘hunted down.’
It came from the adults’ desire, born out of their hypocritical fear, to end the life of a poor child, believing it was too cruel to let him live.
“Yes, just say he’s not human.”
“Isn’t killing a beast the same thing?”
“Who cares if he’s the Empress’s son or whatever?”
“Please, just die and end the tyranny.”
“When that cursed prince dies, maybe we’ll finally have a chance at living again!”
Or perhaps it was due to the Pope’s plan, or the unfortunate fate of the scapegoat, the cursed one, who had no other use but for this.
If there was one thing the pope and Arnold overlooked, it was this:
The world always looks down on the weak. How could someone living in the lowest place dare to challenge the one living in the highest? Sure, the people may criticize their rulers if they can’t see them, but if there’s someone in a similar position, yet more vulnerable and with a more legitimate reason to be despised, they will be the target.
A small, young, already hated, and cursed prince. Oh, what an easy target for insults. The Pope missed this point. He would never become a god.
Life, after all, is a series of experiences. Likes and dislikes, preferences, are born from experience. Desire, too. Arnold’s insatiable need for survival came from having lived a life of comfort. Herix, however, lacked that.
From the moment Herix was born, he was exposed to danger. Yet, it was normal for him. He didn’t have the instinctual survival need to seek comfort. He didn’t even have the natural longing for light that any living creature would have.
So, what would he fear? He had no emotions to form fear. Arnold overlooked this fact. He would never win.
Then one day, the sunlight shone into the dark, filthy basement where only rats should roam. It was the year Herix turned seven.
Though he had never seen light and probably never bathed, Herix grew strong. Though he hadn’t studied or spoken to anyone, his tongue hadn’t become twisted, his teeth were perfect with no cavities, and his sharp eyes hadn’t dulled despite living in the dark.
“This is the boy who holds the Emperor’s mark.”
“Ah, does God watch over this prince?”
It was a miracle so profound that everyone who saw him under the brilliant sunlight thought the same. And in front of such a Herix, after seven years, Arnold appeared.
“That damn eye color still hasn’t changed.”
It took Herix three years to understand this. The boy, who had lost his mother at the hands of his father and was locked away in a basement, could never have known about the ‘Emperor’s mark.’
For some strange reason, Arnold raised Herix ‘like a human’ for three years. No, more accurately, he raised him as a ‘weapon in human form.’
“What in the world is His Majesty thinking….?”
