Ascension Of The Villain-Chapter 260: Assumed Unimportant

Vyan stared down at the small box in his hands, its weight suddenly unbearable. The sight inside—two severed fingers, pale, stiff, unmistakably Clyde's—was burned into his vision, but his mind refused to process it.

His breath caught in his throat.

Everything around him—Althea's muffled sobs, Iyana's sharp inhale, the distant morning sounds from the manor—blurred into nothingness. The world had shrunk to the gruesome reality in his hands.

Clyde's fingers.

No.

No, this wasn't—

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His thoughts clawed against the edges of his mind, trying—desperately—to make sense of what he was seeing.

Vyan swallowed hard, his body cold, his heart hammering against his ribs. His grip tightened on the edges of the box until his knuckles went white. A sharp buzzing filled his head, drowning out the rational part of his mind.

"This…" His voice came out low, almost lifeless. He swallowed hard and tried again. "This isn't him."

Althea let out another choked sob, gripping Iyana's arms as if that was the only thing keeping her from collapsing. "I—I don't know anymore," she gasped, her voice hollow. "I don't—Vyan, I don't know—"

Vyan shook his head, violently, his breath coming in sharp bursts. "No. He is alive." His grip tightened on the box as though he could crush the truth out of it. "This has to be a trick. A mind game. They are trying to rattle you, Thea. Today, you are supposed to welcome the foreign delegates, and they just want you to screw up this important task, that's it." His voice rose, frantic, as if saying it out loud would make it true. "They want you to be mentally unstable enough to make you appear incompetent in front of your father."

Althea hiccupped, her swollen eyes locking onto his. "Who are you talking about?" she whispered, her voice barely a breath.

"Who else?" Vyan's jaw clenched, his wine-red eyes blazing. "Easton and Sienna. They just want you to be distracted enough with Clyde so that you mess up."

Iyana stiffened beside him. Althea looked stricken, the color draining from her tear-streaked face.

But Vyan didn't care. He needed this to be a trick.

Because if it wasn't…

If it wasn't, then Clyde—his best friend, Althea's love—was out there somewhere, in pieces.

———

Vyan stormed through the palace halls, his steps sharp, Althea right beside him, her hands clenched into fists. Fury crackled between them, barely restrained, their bodies radiating raw, unfiltered rage.

They didn't need to announce their arrival—Easton and Sienna barely had time to react before they were cornered.

Vyan's eyes burned with fury as he stepped forward, his voice dangerously low. "Start talking."

Easton barely had time to frown before Althea, unsheathed her sword with a sharp metallic hiss. The tip gleamed under the morning light, pointed directly at them.

Sienna stiffened, her lips curling into something between amusement and irritation. "Are you both out of your minds?" she scoffed. "Why the hell are you glaring at us like that?"

"You know damn well why," Althea snapped, her grip tightening on the hilt of her sword. "Clyde. Where is he?"

"Clyde? As in Lord Magnus? Why would we happen to know where he is?" Easton scoffed, dismissive.

"Stop playing dumb," Althea warned.

"What is there to play dumb? Why don't you ask his master about his whereabouts?" Easton motioned at Vyan irritably. "Also, why are you even concerned about that guy? What is he to you—" Easton's brows furrowed in confusion before something seemed to click. His face twisted with more irritation as he raised a hand. "Hold the hell on. Don't tell me you were seeing that guy."

"So, what if I was?" Althea responded. "Just tell me where he is. I know that you are messing with him to get back at me."

"Look, I didn't even know he was your lover until this moment, so how the hell would I plan anything involving him?" Easton reasoned.

"Exactly! How would we even know to target him? We thought he is unimportant," Sienna added with an exaggerated wave of her hands.

But neither Vyan nor Althea believed them. The rage was too thick, the grief too fresh.

Althea took a step closer, her blade inching toward Easton's chest. "You are lying."

"Are you insane?" Easton snapped. "Think for a second, Thea!"

Before Althea could strike, a voice rang through the tension like a thunderclap.

"Are you both out of your minds?"

Iyana stormed into the corridor, her violet eyes blazing as she marched straight between them. "You can't just charge them like this without evidence."

"But we know they are behind it!" Althea shot back, her voice cracking with the weight of her fury.

"No, we are not," Easton gritted out, his patience thinning. He turned his sharp gaze toward Iyana, his expression shifting to something almost vulnerable. "Iyana, you at least know that I would never stoop that low—never use someone's lover as a hostage just to gain an advantage."

Iyana hesitated, her lips parting slightly as her breath caught. The intensity of his gaze held her still for a fraction of a second—too long.

Vyan immediately stepped between them, blocking Easton's sight with a scoff.

"Cut the melodrama," he said coldly. "As if Iyana would melt under your act." His voice dripped with disgust. "Now, spill it. Where. Is. Clyde?"

"For the last damn time," Easton growled, "I have no idea."

The tension thickened, an argument on the verge of exploding into something worse—until a new voice entered the fray.

Terrence strode in, his usual light demeanor slightly tense as he stopped beside Iyana, leaning in to whisper something in her ear.

Iyana's posture shifted. A subtle but distinct change.

She turned toward the others, raising a hand. "Enough," she announced, her voice clear, cutting through the rising hostility like a blade.

Vyan and Althea turned to her, both still burning with anger.

"It's not them," she stated. A grim certainty in her voice. "We have identified the culprit behind all this."

"Who is it?" Vyan asked instantly.

Iyana took a sharp breath and answered, "It's Clyde's brother. Myke Wels Magnus."