This Villain Is Mine Now

Chapter 94

Marquis Redwood silently glared at Lyle. As if he had forgotten that this was the Imperial Theater, he could not hide the violent emotions that made it seem like he wanted to tear Lyle apart on the spot.

“Honey?”

The Marchioness, who had been seated earlier, stepped into the hallway in search of her husband. Her voice was filled with confusion as she recognized him standing there facing Lyle.

“Honey, what are you doing there?”

At his wife’s question, Marquis Redwood slowly opened and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, the viciousness from moments ago had vanished, and he had returned to his usual amiable demeanor.

“It seems my wife is looking for me. I must excuse myself,” said the Marquis with a cheerful smile.

In response, Lyle also nodded with a gracious expression. “Do so. And take your time considering what price would be appropriate for the Deftia villa.”

At Lyle’s words, the Marquis let out a hearty laugh.

“As I have said before, I have no intention of giving it away to anyone—unless, of course, my family falls into such dire straits that we face bankruptcy.”

With those parting words, Marquis Redwood refused to continue the conversation. Turning toward his wife, his steps felt unnaturally stiff as he walked away.

The new opera, making its long-awaited return at the Imperial Theater, was magnificent. However, neither Lyle nor Elaina could properly focus on it.

It had been nothing more than a simple conversation. There was still no tangible evidence in their hands.

However, the reaction Marquis Redwood had shown upon hearing that they had entered the Archducal Castle—and his firm declaration that he would never give up the Deftia villa—left no doubt in their minds.

‘Deftia.’

Lyle stared at the grand stage from afar, deep in thought. There was something hidden in Deftia. He did not yet know what it was.

He glanced at Elaina. Remembering how she had been frightened by Marquis Redwood’s reaction, he felt a moment of regret. He could have seated her first and confronted the Marquis alone to gauge his reaction.

Holding Elaina’s hand, he found her gaze fixed on the stage just as his was. Startled, she turned her head when she felt his touch. When their eyes met, she smiled faintly. Seeing her expression, the cold stiffness in Lyle’s own face softened, and a faint smile, mirroring hers, emerged.

***

Shortly after the second act of the opera began, Lyle rose from his seat.

“Where are you going?”

“The air feels stifling. I thought I’d step outside for a moment.”

His thoughts were tangled, and sitting through the long performance only made him feel suffocated. Seeing him rise, Elaina also tried to stand, but Lyle gently pressed her shoulder down and shook his head.

“I’ll go alone. I won’t be long.”

A brief moment outside on the balcony, clearing his mind in the night air, would help him regain focus. Though he wouldn’t have minded Elaina accompanying him, he needed time to himself.

Lyle stepped into the hallway and opened the door leading to the balcony. Since the opera was in progress, the hallway was deserted.

However, he was not alone on the balcony.

Marquis Redwood was already there. He was smoking a cigarette. Each time he inhaled, the tip of the cigarette glowed red before dimming again. Leaning against the railing, he tapped his foot restlessly, his body tense with unease.

“…Marquis Redwood.”

At the sound of his name, the Marquis flinched violently. He turned around hastily. Recognizing Lyle, his face twisted into a scowl.

“The opera must not have been to your liking.”

“And you, Marquis, must have found your seat rather uncomfortable.”

The Marquis spat on the ground before crushing his cigarette against the railing. He made no effort to conceal his insolent, arrogant demeanor.

Outside, he had to maintain appearances due to the many watching eyes. But here, there was no need for such pretense. All the nobles were engrossed in the opera, and on this balcony, there were only the two of them.

Without an audience, Lyle was nothing more than an inexperienced youth in the Marquis’s eyes.

Marquis Redwood intended to brush past Lyle and return to the theater. However, Lyle blocked the door, refusing to let him pass.

The Marquis, always shrouded in secrecy and as cunning as a serpent, rarely let his guard down. Yet now, he was clearly anxious. Lyle realized this was the perfect opportunity to extract information.

Even if it meant taking the risk of exposing his own intentions in return.

“What are you trying to—”

As the marquis raised his voice in frustration, Lyle interrupted him, his expression unreadable.

“Aren’t you curious about what I found in the Archducal Castle?”

The Marquis instantly fell silent. Slowly, he scrutinized Lyle’s face. He knew this was a provocation, yet he had no choice but to take the bait.

What had been discovered, and how much was known? The Marquis’s face was filled with desperation as he sought to find a clue in Lyle’s expression.

However, Lyle’s composed face betrayed no emotion. Marquis Redwood clenched his teeth and glared at him.

“Listen well, whelp.”

Marquis Redwood growled, lowering his voice in warning.

“Whatever you think you found, why should I care? The remnants of a ruined archducal house mean nothing to me.”

“Oh? Then let’s test that claim.”

“What did you say?”

Lyle threw out another provocation. “It sounds as if you wouldn’t mind if everyone learned exactly how the events of ten years ago unfolded, the incident that changed your life entirely.”

At the mention of the incident ten years ago, Marquis Redwood’s face turned deathly pale. His body trembled without a word.

But it lasted only a moment. Soon, a snake-like smile spread across the Marquis’s face.

“So, that’s what you’ve figured out? Then you must also know this—you have nothing to gain by provoking me.”

He twisted his lips into a sneer.

“If you don’t want to end up as pitifully as your father, you should know your place. Don’t go digging up the past. If you cross the line, I’ll kill you just like your grandfather.”

Kill you, just like your grandfather.

That statement was as good as a confession—just as Shawd had suspected, the rebellion ten years ago had been orchestrated by Marquis Redwood. The momentary crack in Lyle’s composed expression was all the Marquis needed to see before he added another mocking remark.

“No. No, that would be too easy. Killing that Winchester girl instead would be much better. You understand, don’t you? Just how neatly I could make her disappear.”

“Marquis!”

Lyle grabbed Marquis Redwood by the collar. But rather than being intimidated, the Marquis only laughed.

“So, you don’t actually know the details, do you?”

If he truly knew what had happened ten years ago, he wouldn’t be reacting like this. Seeing that he had struck a nerve, the Marquis smirked as Lyle shoved him toward the railing.

“I’ll kill you!”

Half of the Marquis’s body dangled precariously over the edge of the high balcony. Yet, even in that dangerous position, the Marquis did not stop laughing.

“Of course! It was nonsense from the start. A brat who doesn’t even know the truth about that villa—ha! That old man must have told quite the convincing lie even on his deathbed.”

The last words the late Archduke had spoken to him before dying had hung around Marquis Redwood’s neck like a noose for the past ten years.

“Fleang, it may seem as if you have taken everything for yourself. But humans must eventually answer for their deeds. There are no secrets that last forever. When the day comes that this secret is laid bare before the world, you will pay for today’s sins with your own blood.”

Did you really think I would commit such deeds without making any preparations? The ghostly figure of the late archduke had smirked as he spoke. How many restless days had the Marquis endured, tormented by those words that surfaced in his dreams just when he was about to forget?

“Guh… kugh…!”

Struggling to breathe, Marquis Redwood clawed at Lyle’s grip. But even now, a twisted smile remained on his lips. There was nothing to fear anymore. Despite what the late archduke had said, no one in the world knew what he had done.

That wasn’t all.

Deftia.

If he could claim that cursed villa for himself, he wouldn’t just be a marquis. He could aim even higher, beyond the Empire itself.

‘It won’t be long now.’

Lyle bore a striking resemblance to his father, Lucin. When he returned from the battlefield, he was twenty-five. To the Marquis, Lyle had always looked like a ghost of Lucin, returned from the grave.

But that brat was nothing like Lucin. If it had been the late archduke’s son standing before him, he would never have made such a reckless mistake as to let his emotions slip.

Had this meeting not happened, he might have been cornered by Lyle’s probing. But now, the tables had turned. The one holding the blade was no longer Lyle, but him.

Elaina Grant. That damned archduchess.

That woman was Lyle Grant’s greatest weakness.

“Kyaah!”

A noblewoman passing through the hallway screamed upon witnessing the violent scene. Startled by the commotion, a group of nobles rushed out. The men hurried to separate Lyle and the Marquis. The latter’s face had turned pale, almost bluish, from being strangled.

“I’ll kill you!”

As Lyle’s furious, beast-like roar echoed through the hallway, Marquis Redwood closed his eyes, pretending to lose consciousness. But the faint smirk on his lips remained, so subtle it was nearly imperceptible.