This Villain Is Mine Now

Chapter 95

It was an unfortunate event for the Imperial Theater, but among the nobles returning home, not a single one remembered the opera that had taken place that night. Everyone was preoccupied with discussing the incident between Marquis Redwood and Archduke Grant.

The Marchioness of Redwood, who had followed shortly after, approached with a face so pale she looked ready to faint. She pressed a cloth soaked in cold water to her husband’s lips. The Marquis, who had collapsed with his eyes closed, finally regained consciousness after some time.

People feared that Lyle might attack the Marquis again, so they ensured he was kept as far away as possible. Their concerns were not unfounded. Lyle looked like a man who would kill the Marquis the moment he saw an opening.

The one who intervened and mediated the situation was the Duke of Winchester. After assessing the Marquis’s condition, he expressed his apologies. The sight of the most powerful noble in the House of Lords bowing his head on behalf of his son-in-law left everyone speechless.

“My goodness. What on earth happened here?”

“They say people don’t change easily… What good is all the wealth in the world?”

“In the end, one’s true nature cannot be concealed.”

Marquis Redwood, who always played the role of a benevolent nobleman in public, had lost control of the situation. The people had no difficulty deciding who the victim and the perpetrator were.

It was inevitable. Though it was called a fight, it had been nothing but one-sided violence.

A vivid red mark remained around the Marquis’s neck, like that of an animal caught in a noose. As the tale passed from mouth to mouth, the details grew exaggerated, painting an even more dramatic and scandalous picture.

Thanks to the Duke of Winchester’s intervention, the situation was swiftly brought under control. Before word could reach the Emperor, the Duke dispersed the crowd and personally escorted Lyle and Elaina back home.

“You made a mistake.”

The Duke of Winchester spoke after arriving at the Grant mansion once the opera had ended.

“I have informed His Majesty that you left early due to feeling unwell. However, we cannot keep the truth hidden forever. You must formally apologize to Marquis Redwood as soon as possible.”

Despite the Duke’s words, Lyle remained silent, offering no response. Elaina looked at him with growing concern.

“Lyle.”

She placed her hand over his, calling his name softly.

“I know you wouldn’t do something like this without a reason. But if you don’t tell us why, we can’t understand. What happened?”

The Duke, too, gazed at him with frustration. But even with Elaina’s plea, Lyle did not explain what had happened.

How could he?

How could he possibly say that the Marquis intended to harm Elaina, just as he had done ten years ago?

He had been careless. A complete failure.

His attempt to extract information from Marquis Redwood had backfired, exposing his own weakness instead.

Even worse, he had no idea what method the Marquis had been referring to. Despite reading his grandfather’s journal every day since returning from Pendita, he had yet to find a single lead.

He didn’t want to tell Elaina what had happened today and make her worry in the midst of all this uncertainty.

“…I’ll send a letter to the Marquis’s residence in the morning.”

This was the best response Lyle could offer to the Duke’s demand.

***

The next day, news quickly spread throughout the capital that Archduke Grant had sent an envoy to Marquis Redwood to express his regrets.

People speculated endlessly about what had transpired between the two men. The official explanation was that Lyle had been drunk and acted recklessly.

However, the nobles who had witnessed the confrontation firsthand were no fools. Those present at the Imperial Theater remembered quite clearly that not a single trace of alcohol had been on Lyle’s breath that night.

Marquis Redwood graciously accepted the Archduke’s apology. As compensation, Lyle sent him a decorative sword encrusted with jewels and a diamond necklace for the Marchioness. With this, the matter was formally settled. There was nothing to be done about the rumors surrounding Lyle that had spread among the nobility.

“Lyle.”

“Just leave me alone today.”

Today, he said. But hadn’t it been the same yesterday, and the day before? Yet, Elaina could not bring herself to point this out.

Ever since the incident at the Imperial Theater, Lyle had been like a man haunted. It wasn’t mere frustration over being forced to issue an apology or offering extravagant gifts as reparations—there was something much deeper casting a heavy shadow over him.

“Then, do as you wish.”

Elaina forced a smile as she answered Lyle. But Lyle no longer smiled at her. He merely gave her a silent nod before disappearing alone down the corridor.

Back in his room, Lyle quietly reviewed the documents that had arrived from the North. Among the papers was a letter from Drane, who, having just received the news, was demanding an explanation.

「I know very well that you would never act without reason, Your Grace.」

Lyle’s gaze was drawn to one particular line in Drane’s letter. Everyone was saying the same thing—Elaina, the Duke and Duchess of Winchester, and now Drane as well.

Yet, once again, Lyle could not bring himself to speak about what had happened that night.

“Killing that Winchester girl instead would be much better. You understand, don’t you? Just how neatly I could make her disappear.”

The Marquis’s words clung to Lyle’s ears, tormenting him relentlessly.

The Marquis was right. Lyle knew better than anyone just how terrifying he could be. The memory of how the Marquis had driven his grandfather to madness, orchestrated a rebellion, and shattered his once-proud family in an instant was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.

What he could not bear most of all was the possibility that the same fate could befall Elaina. The realization that he had placed her in danger filled Lyle with deep self-loathing.

The Duke of Winchester had chastised him for his mistake, and he had been right.

The Marquis must never know.

Never know how much Elaina meant to him.

Lyle closed his eyes for a moment and pressed his fingers against his forehead. His dry, exhausted eyes burned as if sand had been rubbed into them. He recalled what the Marquis had said.

He had dismissed the idea as absurd. He had laughed at the thought of Lyle, who knew nothing about that villa, discovering its secret.

Only then did Lyle recall the Marquis’s response to his question.

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

Even when offered as much money as he wanted, the Marquis had refused to part with the villa.

Why?

It was not an income-generating land like a fiefdom, nor did it yield any taxes or revenues. It was merely a building.

“Deftia.”

At last, Lyle understood.

The answer lay in Deftia.

The starting point of the tragedy that had struck House Grant ten years ago. The source of the Marquis’s secrets.

There was no other way to rid himself of this ominous unease—the fear that Elaina was in danger—except by confirming the truth in Deftia himself.

***

From that day forward, despite the cold weather, Marquis Redwood made a show of keeping his neck completely exposed, as if daring the world to see. As a result, Archduke Grant’s reputation plummeted.

Lyle seemed indifferent to what others said about him. He focused solely on the projects being carried out in the North, working so relentlessly that no one ever saw him leave the estate.

Those who had once called him a murderer and a monster now derided him as a beast blinded by wealth. Some even mocked the Duke of Winchester, calling him the beast’s leash.

“That leash must not be working properly anymore, then. I hear the Archduke and his wife aren’t getting along these days.”

“He’s had his fun with the Duke’s support. Now, he doesn’t care about pleasing House Winchester anymore.”

“Speaking of which, have you heard the latest?”

A woman lowered her voice conspiratorially as she whispered to the men she was conversing with.

“Do you know what Archduke Grant has been doing with all that money?”

“Ah, I’ve heard something about that. Rumor has it he’s been cutting off Marquis Redwood’s financial resources.”

It was an interesting topic. Though Lyle himself never made an appearance, reports were circulating that an unidentified force had been systematically dismantling the Marquis’s businesses.

It was all speculation. No evidence existed. But those who still remembered the incident at the Imperial Theater strongly suspected House Grant was behind it.

“Isn’t that too far-fetched? There’s no way the Archduke would do such a thing. Didn’t he even apologize to the Marquis?”

“True, but how many people in the Empire have the wealth and power to put pressure on the Marquis like this?”

“Even if the North has become a land of gold, House Grant shouldn’t have enough influence to pull something like this off.”

Opinions were divided. However, there was one thing everyone agreed on.

For the first time since inheriting his title, Marquis Redwood was facing the worst crisis of his life.