The Villainess is Tired of Everything-Chapter 26

‘This can’t be happening.’

It was an unfamiliar experience. Guilt was an emotion he never thought he would feel towards Marceau.

After all, the reason he had never felt any guilt for continuously harassing Marceau and lying to Reshuan was that Marceau was the villainess.

It was the same reason he had planted Letty in the Etvar household.

Marceau had to be the villainess.

“….”

Ryan clenched his hand around Letty, who he was supporting, and glared ahead.

That vile woman must have done something to him.

He couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

Ryan walked past Marceau. His steps were firm and decisive as always, as if nothing had changed.

That is, until he looked back.

Ryan’s gaze unconsciously followed Marceau’s retreating figure.

Then he locked eyes with Darcy, who was standing beside her.

His eyes were filled with even more intense hatred than before. Darcy, who had been watching him with a cold gaze, moved his lips. Though far away, Ryan clearly saw what he was saying.

‘See you later, brother.’

Ryan flinched and quickly turned his head away.

It was just a fleeting emotion. It would pass, just like everything else.

Ryan believed that.

“Her condition isn’t too serious. With a bandage and a few days’ rest, she’ll recover completely.”

Thanks to the swift attention of a doctor, Letty was able to pull through.

The immediate crisis seemed to be over, but Ryan’s mind was still in turmoil because of the expression on Marceau’s face earlier.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he might have misjudged her.

Ryan ruffled his hair as he headed to his office. It was time to start preparing to become the Crown Prince.

‘I also need to meet the Emperor.’

If Kies hadn’t been killed, Ryan needed to discuss Darcy’s presence with him.

Who exactly was Darcy, and how were they supposed to deal with him?

He had never imagined he would have to compete for the position of Crown Prince. That had always been his by right. And it had to remain that way.

Darcy was no simple opponent, so he needed to find a way to eliminate him completely. Magic was powerful, but everyone had a weakness.

...Oh, and there was one more thing.

‘I need to find out who neutralized my rumors.’

Ryan had long been puzzled by the fact that negative rumors about Marceau had failed to spread as expected.

Where should he start? Lost in thought, Ryan was suddenly interrupted by a voice calling his name.

“…Kaysen?”

Kaysen, his rival for Reshuan’s affections and the captain of the knights, was standing there.

After a polite bow, Kaysen got straight to the point.

“Have you met Darcy, sir?”

For a moment, Ryan doubted his ears. How could Kaysen know about someone Ryan had just met today?

It was enough to make him suspect they were in cahoots.

‘The fact that he even mentioned that name in front of me….’

It was a very bad omen. And it soon became reality.

As Ryan narrowed his eyes in irritation, Kaysen calmly replied.

“I believe he is more suited to the position of Emperor.”

“…Are you saying you’ll oppose me?”

Ryan growled. It wasn’t surprising that Kaysen had chosen Darcy.

Ryan, as the current Crown Prince and future Emperor, was in a much better position to do things for Reshuan.

Kaysen, who had risen from being a slave to a mere knight captain, must have seen Ryan as a thorn in his side.

“I understand what you’re thinking… but he’s not that kind of coward.”

Kaysen shook his head slowly, his gentle eyes firmly expressing his opinion.

“I simply thought about what would be better for this country.”

“A thug like him is suited to the Emperor’s position?”

Kaysen must have been blind or perhaps brainwashed. It was clear that everyone had fallen under Darcy’s spell.

The fact that Darcy hadn’t brainwashed him yet must mean he hadn’t fulfilled some condition.

Having already been bested by Darcy once, Ryan’s mood soured as he sneered.

“Are you saying this out of spite because Reshuan didn’t choose you?”

Recently, Reshuan had come to him in tears. She hadn’t explained why she was crying, but Ryan had been elated that she had come to him in her time of distress.

He had finally been chosen, he thought.

Word had spread quietly among the nobility, and Kaysen must have known.

“How dare you bring up Reshuan—”

Kaysen’s eyes flared in anger. He couldn’t tolerate anyone insulting Reshuan.

He was about to draw his sword when another voice cut in.

“No, he’s just realized that I’m much better than you.”

Darcy, placing a hand on Ryan’s shoulder, muttered before landing a punch on Ryan’s cheek.

“Kuh—!”

Ryan groaned as he was knocked to the ground. He was genuinely shocked by the force behind the blow.

It matched his own strength.

‘…He’s not just a smooth-talking wizard?’

Ryan, who had assumed he would have the upper hand physically, had to reconsider.

Darcy narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice.

“Is he crazy? What if Marceau had seen that?”

“I left immediately—”

Darcy cut him off and rubbed his ear, looking bored as he tilted his head slightly. Even that gesture looked like a masterpiece.

“And yet, you still haven’t learned your lesson. Pathetic.”

There were no servants around. This too, must have been Darcy’s intention.

Approaching Ryan, who had just gotten to his feet, Darcy tapped his head.

“What’s in here? Air?”

Kaysen, watching them with a blank expression, then bowed his head in a respectful greeting. However, he was confused.

…Marceau? The name, which he hadn’t expected to hear, made him tilt his head. What did Darcy mean when he said, ‘What if Marceau had seen?’

Though Darcy had always been indifferent to everyone except for his quest for revenge and reclaiming his birthright, it was clear that Marceau was the one person who had made him stay.

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But the name was too familiar.

Kaysen’s face went pale.

Could it be that Marceau?

“Darcy, are you talking about…?”

Is it that ‘Marceau’?

“Is there another Marceau besides the one from the Etvar family?”

“…Didn’t you say you were staying to become Crown Prince because of her?”

At Kaysen’s questioning tone, Darcy nodded cheerfully.

“Yeah, I need to become Crown Prince so I can use my power to give her what she wants.”

“And if what she wants is something evil—”

“Marceau wouldn’t want something like that. And if she did, she would have a good reason.”

Kaysen was bewildered. It was clear that Darcy’s perception of Marceau was entirely different from his own.

Or was there truly another Marceau out there?

Could someone as cold and calculating as Darcy have softened like this?

Ryan, listening to their conversation, was utterly dumbfounded. Hey, I’m still here, you know?

“Do you really think you can become Crown Prince? It’s a noble and meaningful position! Only someone who can serve the empire’s prosperity and well-being—”

Unable to endure Ryan’s continued nonsense, Darcy pulled out the gun from his belt and struck him on the temple.

Then he whispered in Ryan’s ear.

“Then you’re the last person who should be in that position. Standing before you is someone who had to betray his own kind for the sake of the empire’s prosperity and well-being.”

As he spoke, the faces of the wizards who had been captured and taken away flashed through his mind.

He had done it to survive, but the fact that he had betrayed fellow wizards was a stigma that Darcy would carry for the rest of his life.

Knowing that staying in the empire to exact revenge would eventually force him to face them again was perhaps why he had been so determined to leave. The fear of confronting the sins he had buried deep within himself.

Burning incense and losing himself in it had made everything seem to disappear.

But despite facing all of that, he couldn’t bear to see Marceau suffer.

Because in her, he saw a reflection of himself, different yet similar.

If he couldn’t be happy, he wanted at least Marceau to be happy.

Was this pity, or a sense of kinship?

One thing was clear: it wasn’t love.

It wasn’t the kind of love that had kept his mother tied to his father’s side.

It was sacred, beautiful, in a way his mother’s love had never been.

His lips tasted bitter.

Darcy grabbed Ryan by the collar, threw him into the office, and slowly turned his gaze.

He had learned a lot about the rumors circulating in the social circles and the palace over the past few days, but he didn’t believe all of them.

…Still, he wasn’t sure why he had lost his composure when he heard the rumor about Marceau’s affair.

He had a rule never to judge someone until he had met them and seen for himself.

So he needed to know.

“Kaysen Hoppen.”

“…Yes.”

“It seems like you have something to say about Marceau.”

Regarding Ryan’s and Kaysen’s actions toward Marceau.

And about Reshuan, whom they both claimed to protect.