This Villain Is Mine Now

Chapter 116

Just as Lyle had predicted, the nightmare that had briefly ceased resumed from that day on. Though she spoke calmly, it was true that it was tormenting. Like a beast thrashing about, her nightmares only grew more intense by the day.

In her dreams, she stabbed Lyle to death with a knife, or burned him alive. Sometimes she pushed him off a cliff, and at other times, she would force his head underwater just as he was struggling to climb back onto a boat, suffocating him beneath the river.

At first, only Lyle appeared in the dreams. But then her parents, Knox, and even Diane were pulled into them. In nightmares where everyone met a gruesome end, Elaina gritted her teeth and endured.

She had to hold out until the power of the ring, which had gathered magic for ten years, was completely spent. It was truly a battle of sword versus shield.

But Elaina had confidence she could withstand the Marquis’s attacks. The more horrific the nightmares became, the more precious the waking reality felt. Paradoxically, the nightmares reminded her just how dazzlingly full of love her life was.

Meanwhile, Marquis Redwood gradually began to lose his composure. He anxiously observed the movements of the Grant Archducal House, but the wretched Archduchess was not committing any atrocities as he had commanded.

He repeated his wishes countless times. But the more he did so, the more the gem of the ring lost its light. The fact that the jewel, which had once suddenly regained its glow, was dimming again meant he had only a few chances left.

The Marquis no longer kept the ring in the drawer of his study. He couldn’t risk those rats from the Archducal House laying their hands on his belongings.

Every day, he focused solely on conjuring nightmares to torment Elaina. He forwent meals and sleep. As such days continued, the Marquis’s thoughts began to harden, as though his mind were shrouded in fog.

When the Marquis, who had clung to the ring until dawn, returned to his bedroom, the Marchioness was already asleep.

Since the last time she had been struck by the Marquis, the Marchioness had been avoiding him. It had been quite a while since she had shared the same bedroom with him. She had lost all affection for her husband who acted like a madman, but she also couldn’t go on living like that forever.

“Mother. Even if you divorce, you should think about what you can get from Father.”

Even after hearing what had happened between her and the Marquis, her sons hadn’t taken her side. Instead, they urged her to reconcile. At this point, even divorce wasn’t feasible given the family’s circumstances. At the very least, they needed to wait until after next year’s harvest to profit from Nathan’s drugs.

The Marchioness was momentarily disappointed in her sons, but she also couldn’t say they were entirely wrong. So she had come to his room, intending to quietly extend a hand for reconciliation. Though she had fallen asleep before he arrived, tired of waiting.

Half asleep, the Marchioness opened her eyes when she sensed a presence.

In an instant, goosebumps rose all over her body. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was her husband crouched down, staring at her face up close.

His face, barely a finger’s breadth away, was strangely unfocused. It was so eerie, like seeing a ghost, that she couldn’t even scream. As the Marchioness sat frozen, her mouth moving wordlessly, the Marquis slowly stood up.

She could no longer stay with him. The Marchioness hurriedly got up and fled the room.

Watching her retreating back, the Marquis slowly turned his gaze to his own hand. The ring glimmered faintly.

Forcing Elaina Grant to suffer nightmares was meaningless.

And he couldn’t use the ring’s power on anyone else, either. If he did, the Noble Council would begin an investigation.

In that case—

He had only one card left to play.

“I wish you would act a bit more intelligently.”

Running his hand over the spot where his wife had been sleeping, the Marquis muttered to himself. He closed his eyes and took a moment.

A little while later, the ring, faintly glimmering in the darkness, lost its light completely. At the same time, the Marquis opened his eyes.

***

The first snow fell. Many events had taken place in the imperial capital this year. The most surprising news, without a doubt, was the marriage of Elaina Winchester and Lyle Grant. Other significant occurrences included the subjugation of monsters in Mabel of the North, the development of new drugs by Nathan Hennet, and the Archducal couple’s divorce scandal.

However, from the day the first snow fell, public opinion became unanimous. The most shocking event of the year had occurred on that very day.

「The Death of the Marchioness, Shrouded in Mystery」

It all happened in an instant. The Marchioness attacked Elaina and Lyle, who were visiting Salon Marbella to order winter clothing. Hiding a sharp blade in her bag, she aimed for Elaina’s life. But having lived her entire life as a noblewoman, the Marchioness couldn’t get past Lyle, who shielded Elaina.

The important part came next. After Lyle wrested the knife from her, the Marchioness instantly swallowed a vial of medicine from her bag. It was such a swift action that there was no time to stop her.

Later, it was confirmed that what she drank was poison. She died on the spot. It was a shocking incident in the middle of the city, broad daylight.

All of the imperial capital took interest in this event. Speculative articles were published for days. In this situation, the Marquis became a tragic man who had lost his wife.

“This is all the Grant’s fault! Who painted me as a murderer? Who dragged the honor and dignity of House Redwood through the mud? Who… who drove my wife to her death!”

The Marquis lamented in rage. Seeing him shout and even cry left a strong impression on those who had only ever known his confident demeanor. Public opinion rapidly shifted to the Marquis’s side, and Lyle and Elaina were criticized.

People believed the Marchioness committed such an act for the sake of her husband, whose honor had been tarnished. Though it was the Marchioness who wielded the weapon, the view was that the Archduke had driven her to such desperation.

Naturally, the Archducal House protested. They claimed they had done nothing wrong. In the end, the debate over the Marchioness’s death escalated into a legal battle between House Redwood and House Grant.

***

“…We were too complacent.”

Lyle muttered in self-reproach. If he had responded more properly, could this situation have been avoided?

“If only I had taken the vial from her, we could have had a key witness.”

The guilt over someone dying and the regret of missing a chance to bring down the Marquis tormented Lyle.

The Marchioness’s blind attack on the two had been far from normal. Lyle and Elaina instinctively knew. The Marquis had used “that power” on her.

“No. This isn’t your fault.”

Elaina comforted Lyle. Her words were sincere.

“The Marchioness was the only person the Marquis could use the ring on. Even if she had been captured, she would have bitten her tongue and taken her own life.”

If she were caught, she would have had to explain her motives. That was something the Marquis could never allow. Ultimately, he would have given an order that forced the Marchioness to die at the scene.

Death was the easiest way to protect the secret of the ring and the nightmares. It was painful to think that someone had made that choice for her. But there was no time to dwell on sentiment.

Rather than believing the husband drove his wife to death, it made more sense to assume that she was killed due to conflicts within a troubled household. Already, some had begun to believe the Marquis’s claims and were starting to doubt Lyle and Elaina.

“It’s okay, Lyle. The truth will come out eventually. We did nothing wrong. It was the Marquis who orchestrated the Marchioness’s death.”

With a firm expression, Elaina declared. The Marquis’s cruelty in discarding a family member of decades sent chills down her spine.

To be honest, Elaina had thought he would keep using the ring until its power was spent, making her suffer with nightmares. She believed the Noble Council meeting had tied the Marquis’s hands and feet.

‘He really isn’t someone to be underestimated.’

The Marchioness’s death was merely a means to an end. A stepping stone for what came next.

Though he had shifted public opinion, the Marquis stood to gain little from his wife’s death. He appealed to emotion and blamed House Grant, but it was the Marchioness who had launched the attack.

Ultimately, the losing side had already been decided. Could the Marquis really be unaware of that? The likelihood was low.

What could it be, then? No matter how hard she thought, Elaina had no idea.

Not knowing—not knowing his intent behind all of this, not knowing what lay ahead—that uncertainty, glimpsed through the Marquis’s terrifying nature, filled her with fear.