I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 52
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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“Apparently, he was just there in his cabin that was leaking all over the place. Even for summer, that’s no condition to be in.”
“Leaking? But the inside didn’t seem that worn out from what I saw…”
“Wait, Ivonne, have you been to Rix’s place before?”
Ivonne was momentarily at a loss for words. She remembered the day after the dinner that was organized by Hamel and seeing Rix’s true form in his cabin.
‘I mean, I’m Rix’s mentor and neighbor, so it’s not really odd that I’ve been to his place…’
Why did she feel like she had a lump in her throat? She couldn’t find the words to speak, even as Johann’s gaze became more insistent.
Just as she was about to say something, Johann opened his mouth with an understanding look.
“After the trip, he has been swamped. Looks like there was no time for home repairs. And today’s sudden storm seems to have completely wrecked the place.”
Ivonne’s thoughts momentarily cleared. Not just because Johann implied that Rix had been left in such a perilous situation, but also because…
“I asked him why didn’t he go to your place instead of staying there like that, ah.”
Johann abruptly stopped talking, as if he had caught himself revealing something he shouldn’t have. It was as if Rix had asked him not to tell Ivonne. However, Ivonne felt she might know what Johann was getting at. She frowned as if a sharp thorn was stuck in her throat.
“Earlier… right after work. It seemed like Rix had something he wanted to say to me.”
Could it have been related to his house? Perhaps he wanted to ask for help because he couldn’t stay there? Her heart ached for him.
“But I had personal matters and didn’t listen and just shut the door on him.”
Regret tinged Ivonne’s voice.
‘So much for protecting him. When he might have wanted to ask for much-needed help, I didn’t even give him a chance to speak.’
Throughout their time together, Rix had noticed and accommodated Ivonne’s unspoken difficulties. He had helped solve her problems, stood by her side, and even fought for her when necessary.
Her heart was heavy, and her conscience troubled. Johann, sensing Ivonne’s mood, chose not to press further.
“Uh…”
Rix groaned weakly, perhaps from the fever. Ivonne quickly approached him, gently brushing back his sweaty black hair, which had a few strands sticking to his forehead. As Ivonne’s hand moved towards his glasses, Johann urgently said,
“Oh, leave the glasses. I heard they were a gift from someone special to him, and when people are sick, they tend to hold onto something like that.”
“Understood. Rix…. can stay at my place for a while. It’s fortunate I have a spare room.”
“Is that so? Ah, I didn’t want to impose on a lady living alone… But it’s better than being alone, I suppose. Rix is innocent and kind, after all.”
Having achieved his purpose, Johann bid farewell to Ivonne and left her house. Ivonne hastily saw him out and immediately returned to Rix.
Johann suddenly looked back after a few steps into the rain with the umbrella Ivonne lent him.
In the fierce downpour, the warm light from the living room was clearly visible. There was Ivonne fetching a wet towel.
Despite the warmth of the scene, Johann felt a chill. His face paled, and goosebumps formed on his forearms. Shivering, Johann mused to himself,
‘I thought he was crazy, but not to this extent. What kind of person destroys their house so elaborately and ingests poison just for some attention?’
Despite Helix’s resistance to almost any poison, it doesn’t mean there are no effects. Fever is one. And that fever is precisely what Ivonne is tending to now with the wet towel.
‘To think a day will come that I’d ever describe the Crown Prince as innocent and kind. Uwack.’
He was tempted to rush home and cleanse his tongue with holy water. Shivering once more, Johann hurried away.
Meanwhile, Rix was shivering for entirely different reasons.
This is problematic…
He lay on the couch Ivonne most frequented, and the palm cooling his forehead belonged to Ivonne.
‘It feels like I’m being hugged.’
No matter how deeply he inhaled, Ivonne’s scent wouldn’t fade. While intoxicating, it also placed him in an awkward position. Despite the expected lethargy from the poison, his lower abdomen tensed as if a hard lump formed there.
Now, he was feverish in a different sense.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
How much time had passed? Rix, in this state of heightened alertness towards Ivonne, slowly opened his eyes.
‘This should be fine now.’
Contrary to his dark thoughts, his blinking eyes were innocently clear. He made sure not to forget a slightly rough turn in his movement as if just waking up, to make Ivonne notice.
As planned, Ivonne, who had been dozing off beside him, quickly got up and asked him.
“Rix, are you coming around?”
Worry was the sole expression on her face and in her voice.
“Ivonne…?”
“Ah, good. Seems like the fever has gone down a bit.”
“Where is this… Why are you here…?”
Rix blinked innocently like a meek sheep, pretending as if he knew nothing.
