Strategic Marriage with the Mad Villain - Chapter 119

Despite everything, Roel tried to persuade the man again. It wasn’t with the intention of inciting rebellion. She simply didn’t want Reus to do something he might regret in a moment of emotion.

Although he said he would give up everything for her, she thought it impossible to forget a lifelong wish overnight.

However, even at the woman’s earnest words that he would surely regret it deeply if he ruined things in a moment of emotion, Reus only gave an obedient look.

As if he would gladly regret it if that’s what she wanted, even if he was confident he wouldn’t do so himself.

And while pouring out blind affection, Reus didn’t forget to politely refuse Roel’s departure, adding that he would do anything she told him to.

Ridiculously, that was his own way of being considerate towards the woman. There was no way for the pitiful woman to escape from him anyway.

He was telling her that although it was unfortunate, he would always remain constant by her side, and that she could manipulate him as she pleased.

During this time, Roel’s wings were slowly broken. It was a predictable outcome after the failure of her first and last attempt to be cruel and leave completely.

“Roel.”

Reus called out to the woman who had turned her back to him, lying weakly on the bed. Roel didn’t answer. But that was okay.

Even if he didn’t get her gaze, Roel was still by his side. It was stranger that he felt afraid when he could touch the woman’s silky hair just by reaching out.

Reus, who had been fiddling with Roel’s hair, pressed his lips to the ends of her hair and then pulled away. A deep satisfaction flowed from the series of actions.

“Roel. Shall we go eat?”

“……”

“If you don’t want that, I’ll bring the meal to the room.”

“……I don’t want to eat anything.”

“Don’t be like that… You should eat at least something light.”

There was no response. Reus got up and went in front of Roel.

Kneeling on both knees, Reus gently brushed aside the woman’s hair. It was as careful a touch as if handling a glass doll.

But Roel found the man’s affectionate behavior unfamiliar. She couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but Reus had definitely changed. Roel, who found it difficult to look at the man properly, closed her eyes tightly.

She felt powerless, as it seemed the situation only worsened the more she tried to do something.

‘What should I do?’

Roel didn’t know that Reus’s feelings were of a kind that couldn’t be dissuaded by mere words.

A strong desire sleeping under intense affection. She really hadn’t known that he had been nurturing a desire to monopolize her entirely for some time now.

But what brought Roel down was not Reus’s obsession that had grown bloated on affection as food, but rather Reus’s virtue of knowing how to dig into the woman’s weak points.

“Roel.”

“……”

“Roel, won’t you look at me…?”

Roel barely managed to ignore Reus calling her name endlessly.

“Roel.”

She had learned that if she didn’t answer, he would eventually give up and wait for her quietly. But during that time, Reus had also learned something of his own.

“I didn’t suddenly change my mind, Roel.”

Even though Roel’s eyes were tightly closed as if not trusting him, Reus didn’t care.

Rather, Reus, who was skilled at pretending to be pitiful, grabbed the woman’s hand and buried his cheek in her palm. Then he wheedled for her to feel sorry for him.

“I did it because I wanted to live……”

At those words, Roel flinched and was greatly shaken, her closed eyes trembling.

Expressed differently, it meant he didn’t want to die. Roel took it to mean that he wanted to avoid the destruction at the end of rebellion. It was a feeling no different from her own.

Perhaps Reus had also been hoping for someone to stop him? Is it okay to leave a man like this? Really? Is it okay to just leave alone when he’s struggling and confused like this…

Roel slowly opened her eyelids.

Perhaps because he had properly touched the vulnerable part of her heart, she seemed to have completely forgotten that Reus had said he would give up everything as easily as flipping his palm.

Reus noticed that the woman was greatly shaken. The distrust in her eyes looking at him disappeared and began to fill with pity.

He had to make sure the woman didn’t realize the lie he had told. So he pretended to be dejected, as if revealing his true feelings for the first time.

Soon, Roel’s wariness quickly melted at the man’s reddened eyes. Not missing that moment, Reus climbed onto the bed and burrowed into Roel’s arms, pretending to be even more pitiful as he spoke.

“Roel. I don’t want to be broken anymore……”

“……”

“I want to stop now. I’m… so tired.”

He kept whispering that he had always thought that way. He complained that the years he had endured until now were actually too difficult.

That voice felt just as soft and sweet as when he used to speak of love every day.

“It’s true. Please believe me, Roel……”

The man’s voice dug into Roel’s ears, creating the illusion that he was asking her to love him.

That was because the words flowing from Reus’s mouth were not words containing real pain.

Of course, considering the life he had lived, it wasn’t exactly a lie, but all the words flowing out now were merely made up for the woman’s sake.

But before Roel could realize that, Reus begged for the woman’s sympathy with a gentle attitude.

“I just couldn’t tell anyone. There was no one around me who would listen to this kind of story, or who wanted to hear it…”

Because the woman had found it difficult to handle him being swayed by her.

Mixing in appropriate lies, he kept saying that she had done nothing wrong. That it was just him being fickle, and that he was the strange one. That he was sorry for confusing her.

Really persistently.

“Roel.”

“…Yes, Reus.”

The woman who had only occasionally answered questions she couldn’t ignore finally responded to his call. In the woman’s watery eyes that met his, there was no longer any sign of finding him unfamiliar.

There was only worry for him and a glimpse of guilt that appeared and disappeared. Even if it was just mere sympathy, it didn’t matter.

Reus let out a low growl with his face buried in Roel’s nape. How could he not love a woman who eventually becomes affectionate towards him?

“Roel….. I’m so glad you’re by my side.”

The man’s words that he felt alive only because she was there were no different from shackles to Roel.

“So please don’t leave……”

Reus has done nothing wrong. So we should always respect his choices. We’ve done our part just by not interfering.

Theron’s words that she had no choice kept ringing in Roel’s ears.

If he had known she would recall his words in this situation, Theron would never have said that.

But Roel, whose reason was clouded by guilt, had already decided to align everything with Reus.

“I won’t ask for much. Just… stay by my side like now. Please… please, don’t leave.”

In the end, Roel’s wings were completely broken.

“As you say, Reus… I won’t leave. I’ll stay here.”

“Really…?”

“Yes.”

A clear smile spread across Reus’s face at the immediate response.

For some reason, Roel’s heart throbbed inexplicably as she looked at it. But she didn’t continue her thoughts from there.

This was what Reus wanted. All she had to do was accept it. There was nothing more complicated to think about.

She had decided to stay here, and Reus had decided to give up on rebellion.

It was impossible to gauge how long this uneasy happiness would last, but that too was not a problem for her to consider.

[This is the timeline separator]

Although Roel said she wouldn’t leave, from that day on, Reus locked all the gates of the Grand Duke’s castle.

That fact remained unchanged even as full autumn passed and winter with its cold winds arrived. Roel also knew that the inside and outside of the Grand Duke’s castle had been cut off for a long time.

But she didn’t bother to show that she knew this fact. She didn’t say she was curious about the outside world or that she wanted to go out.

Because that’s what Reus wanted.

Reus wanted her to exist solely by his side, knowing nothing. As a result, she could no longer spend time with the servants.

Neither Millie, nor Roteo. Not even Dwin could be met.

It was surprising that Reus hadn’t shown any signs until now, but he extremely couldn’t stand anything else filling Roel’s eyes.

To the extent that even when reading a book, he would soon crave attention, unable to endure the boredom.

Then, as if following a set pattern, Roel would stroke Reus’s cheek and meet his gaze.

“Reus. Are you bored?”

“No. It’s just……”

Saying that, Reus would pull Roel’s hand. The book, losing its support, would close with a sound not long after.

Reus didn’t tell her to finish reading the book. Of course, he didn’t let go of her hand either. Roel also didn’t open the book again.

Rather, she would put away the book, sit next to Reus, and gently soothe the man.

“What do you want to do?”

Although she asked that, Reus just kept fiddling with Roel’s hand. The touch going over the fair skin was careful as usual.

Occasionally, the obsession that couldn’t be hidden would seep through the thumb rubbing the back of her hand. It was a very overt emotion, so Roel noticed it right away, but she didn’t pretend to know.

Soon, Reus gripped Roel’s hand tightly. Then he rubbed his cheek against the back of her hand.

The skinship between the two was more natural than when they had been maintaining a fake marriage.

That’s not to say they had become a true couple with connected hearts, but no one could deny the fact that it had become more intense than before.

If there was a problem, it was that the relationship between the two was still one-sided.