I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 45
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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Since then, days passed safely and ordinarily for Ivonne.
After the trip, Rix had been continually absent, assisting other departments. Ivonne had thought she would easily see Rix again once they returned to their routine, but this expectation was completely exceeded.
‘The imperial palace is vast, but…’
How had she not encountered Rix even once in nearly two weeks? While it’s true that Ivonne was extremely busy in the Internal Affairs Department due to the upcoming twentieth birthday of the crown prince, she still expected to run into Rix at least once or twice. But even in the palace cafeteria, there was no sign of him.
‘From what I’ve overheard in the restrooms and break rooms, it seems he does come to work…’
However, what puzzled her was that some people said they were so uncomfortable with RIx that they believed they were going to die. Particularly, some male colleagues wished that Rix would transfer to another department permanently.
Ivonne couldn’t understand why.
‘Why? During our brief time working together, he helped with documents, found materials, blushed when complimented, quietly drank my alcohol at company dinners, read books in his free time, and never made crude jokes… He was incredibly gentle.’
Not to mention, how handsome he was behind those thick, old-fashioned glasses, how attractive his body was despite his slouched posture, and how bright his smile was when he called her name… Ivonne, who had only praises in her heart for Rix, felt awkward and coughed to clear her thoughts.
‘If someone heard my thoughts, they would surely accuse me of harassment.’
It was a feeling she absolutely couldn’t reveal. Anyway, in Ivonne’s opinion, Rix was the epitome of a ‘herbivore man’ or a ‘nerdy man’, seemingly having no other close friends.
‘Is it because he seems socially awkward?’
His few words and seemingly shy demeanor indeed created a barrier that was hard to breach.
‘But that barrier is thinner than it appears. If you get to know him, he’s a really good person who loves people and is deeply considerate.’
It was regrettable to Ivonne that others misunderstood Rix and didn’t properly interact with him.
While others, who misunderstood Rix, often encountered him, Ivonne, who truly saw him for who he was, had not met him since. This was more than just a disappointment; it was almost heart-wrenching. After all, she had been the closest to Rix, even his direct supervisor, for a week.
‘Sigh…’
Today again, Ivonne was preparing to leave work without having seen even a strand of Rix’s black hair.
But perhaps this intense longing somehow got twisted and reached the heavens in a distorted form.
“I can’t believe I’m invited to the crown prince’s birthday party tomorrow night! It feels like a dream!”
“Frankly, Celestia, being your partner at such a significant event feels like a dream for me.”
Instead of even catching a glimpse of Rix, whom she longed to see, Ivonne unexpectedly encountered Celestia and Blitzen, whom she hoped never to see again.
Since the incident on Yucoralini Island, she hadn’t been able to properly prepare for such an encounter due to being preoccupied with Rix’s matter. As a result, Ivonne only had a light protective barrier around her at the moment.
A fleeting sense of fear and disappointment crossed Ivonne’s face just as Blitzen and Celestia turned towards her, as if by fate.
“……”
“……”
“……”
An unsettling silence descended among the three.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
In the late afternoon sunlight streaming through a sunny window, a man sat, looking like he could dominate the darkness of the world, befitting only the night.
Scratch, scratch, scratch…
The sound of a sharp pen nib scraping against the paper followed the rhythmic movement of large, strong hands. The faint scent of ink mingled with the occasional breaths. The freshly signed document bore the seal of the crown prince. The large hand moved effortlessly between the pen and the stamp.
“……”
No, this was more than just familiarity. Was this the movement of someone who had repeated the same action hundreds, thousands of times?
A woman’s voice suddenly echoed in the mind of the mechanically moving man.
― “Until I come back, you mustn’t do anything.”
That familiar voice was instructive yet pleading.
He had been skeptical at first, but he had no choice. Enduring the pain of flesh being torn, muscles ripped, and bones pierced, he had promised. And true to her word, she returned.
He had waited, holding onto her promise in an uncertain time that felt endless. Now, it was the man’s turn to keep his promise. Before she went mad like him.
‘Actually, a little madness might be okay.’
If it were because of him, it seemed almost good. His purple eyes gleamed ominously.
Scratch, scratch, scratch…
The large hand, once again picking up the pen, repeated the same mechanical motion. Suddenly, his monotone voice broke through the white noise.
“Leave.”
“I apologize, but this is something you must hear.”
Like a shadow at a sunny window, a man quietly approached without a slightest sign of presence and knelt before him. His ashen hair gave a somewhat dry impression.
It was none other than Johann, the head of the Internal Affairs Department.
