I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand Chapter 117

Half a day had passed since the noblewoman’s abduction—by now, the Grand Duke would have returned from his hunt.  

 

Unaware of what Helena and Shuel might have done, Ariene had anticipated this scenario:  

 

The Grand Duke, having finished his hunt, would immediately seek out Merria, only to discover her disappearance.  

 

At first, he would simply trace her steps, but after hearing the maids’ accounts, his approach would change.  

 

Lexie would testify that the last person to visit Merria was Shannon.  

 

Whether she was a suspect or an unwitting victim, Shannon would naturally become a key figure in the noblewoman’s disappearance.  

 

When the Grand Duke pursued Shannon’s trail, it was crucial to let him stew in his impatience—to agitate and disorient him.  

 

And once Ariene received Deston’s magic stone, all preparations would be complete.  

 

When someone found Shannon collapsed unconscious in the marketplace and reported it to the guards, the Grand Duke would come to her himself upon hearing the news.  

 

Who could have imagined?  

 

That the culprit behind the noblewoman’s abduction would be a woman with such a delicate, fragile face.  

 

A perceptive Grand Duke might have grown suspicious—but Shannon lacked one critical element:  

 

‘A motive.’

  

If Shannon truly were the perpetrator, what could she possibly gain by kidnapping Merria?  

 

Why would a mere bastard child of a count, who had only met the noblewoman a few times, commit such an act?  

 

The reasons Ariene possessed were absent for Shannon.  

 

Moreover, Ariene planned to meet the Grand Duke wearing Shannon’s face. If she handed him Merria’s ring then, he would have no choice but to believe her.  

 

It was a flawless plan.  

 

“If I can just meet the Grand Duke alone, things will proceed smoothly.”  

 

The Grand Duke was under the faintest trace of her hypnosis—or more accurately, in a latent state.  

 

But that was enough.  

 

What she wanted from him was no grand demand.  

 

Just one sip of the tea placed before him.  

 

That was all.  

 

💫

 

Her body refused to obey, as if weighed down by something immense.  

 

Merria furrowed her brow, straining her fingertips.  

 

At first, her stiffened limbs barely responded, but gradually, they began to move.  

 

The brush of fabric against her skin felt foreign, like the sensations of someone recovering from paralysis.  

 

A twitch.  

 

Merria’s eyelids fluttered.  

 

“Mmm…”  

 

A faint murmur escaped her lips.  

 

Though her eyes remained closed, she could feel the oppressive darkness surrounding her.  

 

Still blind, she called out for her maid.  

 

“Lexie?”  

 

Her mind was awake, but her thoughts were foggy, her body weak.  

 

Given how dark it was, she must have slept for quite some time. Had she pretended to be ill only to actually fall sick?  

 

A feverish breath escaped her.  

 

Hot—no, cold.

  

Was it hot?  

 

Too cold.  

 

The erratic shifts in her body’s sensations left her disoriented. She struggled to move her stiff fingers, forcing them to flex. She needed to get up, to prepare to meet Reukis.  

 

Merria’s crimson eyes flickered open in the darkness. She stared blankly into the void before squeezing them shut again.  

 

It felt as though sleep would claim her once more. Her body, drugged and sluggish, refused to cooperate.  

 

To rouse herself, she shook her head roughly.  

 

The strands of her hair whipped against her cheeks, finally bringing some clarity to her vision.  

 

As her eyes adjusted to the dark, her surroundings gradually came into focus.  

 

And she realized—she was no longer where she had been before losing consciousness.  

 

‘A room…? But I was definitely in the Etowas Forest.’

  

At first, she couldn’t process it. Had someone noticed her poor condition and brought her back to the estate? 

 

But as the thought passed, the gravity of the situation struck her.  

 

Clink—

 

“…What?”  

 

The cold, blunt weight around her wrist was unmistakable.  

 

Shackles—

 

The icy, foreign metal against her bare skin made her shoulders tense. Her heartbeat quickened.  

 

Yet her body remained lethargic, fueling her frustration.  

 

Merria’s eyes darted around the darkened space. She needed to find a light.  

 

Even with her adjusted vision, the darkness had its limits.  

 

Bracing her legs, she tried to push herself up—  

 

Thud!

 

Her weakened limbs gave way, sending her crashing back to the floor.  

 

“Ugh—”  

 

Pain shot through her knees as they struck the ground. Tears welled up, threatening to spill.

 

But she gritted her teeth, refusing to let the tears fall.  

 

Crying wouldn’t help when she didn’t even know where she was.  

 

Yet the unease clung to her, and out of habit, she clutched her left hand. Merria collapsed back onto the floor.  

 

Rolling her throbbing head, she muttered to herself.  

 

‘I feel like this has happened before…’

 

‘Ah, right.’  

 

‘That day Reukis captured Shannon.’

 

Back then, too, she had woken to find the ring she treasured like a talisman—gone without a trace.  

 

Merria buried her face in her shackled hands.  

 

‘The ring Reukis gave me is missing…’

 

It wasn’t just any ring. The gemstone embedded in it was a magic stone—the first gift Reukis had ever given her.  

 

For many reasons, that ring held value far beyond mere jewelry exchanged between lovers.  

 

To her, who secretly battled anxiety, it had been both an escape and a safety line.  

Its presence alone had comforted her.  

 

And now, even that had slipped from her grasp.  

 

Why? When will I ever break free from this fear?

 

She felt cornered, teetering on the edge. All her desperate clinging to security had amounted to this.  

 

A hollow laugh escaped her as she struggled to accept reality.  

 

Then, like a slow-creeping tide, fragmented memories surfaced. Herself and Shannon talking in the barracks.  

 

The rickety carriage.  

 

A black robe filling her vision.  

 

And then—nothing. Her mind raced to piece together the abruptly severed recollection.  

 

Snap—  

 

Merria lifted her head, scanning her surroundings. She roughly wiped the moisture blurring her crimson eyes.  

 

‘Shannon!’

 

The last person with her had undoubtedly been Shannon. She was certain Shannon had to be here somewhere.  

 

Their conversation had taken place shortly after the hunting tournament began.  

 

But now, she couldn’t even tell what time it was. This place was pitch-dark, sealed off from even a sliver of light.  

 

The only hint it was a room at all was the presence of a bed.  

 

Following a thread-thin beam of light, Merria moved slowly.  

 

At least her feet weren’t bound like her hands. Keeping one hand against the wall to avoid tripping, she circled the room—until she finally reached the source of the light.  

 

Running her fingers along the surface, she realized it was a door. She wanted out—into any place with light.  

 

Not being able to see properly made her feel far more vulnerable than she’d imagined.  

 

Her hand closed around the doorknob.  

 

Click—

  

The turn stopped short, as if blocked by something. Locked from the outside.

 

Merria’s hands moved frantically.  

 

Click. Click—

 

“Is anyone there? Hey!” she shouted hoarsely.  

 

“Hello! Can’t you hear me? Please—!”  

 

For over ten minutes, she rattled the knob and yelled until her voice cracked. No answer came.  

 

Bang!

 

She hammered the door with balled fists.  

 

Once. Twice. Blindly, desperately striking until friction burned her skin red.  

 

“Ah—!”  

 

Her assault ended before anyone could respond.  

 

A sharp pain lanced through her hand—maybe from hitting a decorative fixture.  

 

“…”  

 

Merria slid down, cradling her injured hand. Back against the door, she curled into herself and shut her eyes tightly.  

 

No matter how long she waited, not a single sound reached her.  

 

Burying her face between her knees, the reality sank in. She was alone.  

 

Trapped.  

 

Her lips trembled. Without Reukis’ ring, she felt utterly powerless.  

 

Who did this? Where am I? Does my family know?

 

And—  

 

“…Reukis.”  

 

She missed him. If she’d known this would happen, she wouldn’t have parted from him like that last night. She should have spoken softer, held his hand instead of pushing it away.  

 

Maybe then, the regret wouldn’t sting so much.  

 

The wounded look in his eyes haunted her, needling at her heart.  

 

‘Why do humans always regret what’s already passed?’  

 

Her shoulders shook faintly. Her mind, still sluggish from whatever had drugged her, refused to function properly. 

 

No matter how hard she racked her foggy thoughts, no solution came.  

 

Just as she stared blankly into space—  

 

Scritch. Scritch—

 

The sound of soft slippers shuffling against the floor reached her ears.  

 

At the faint noise filtering through the walls, Merria’s lips parted slightly. She had to locate its source before it faded away.  

 

Moving with careful precision, Merria inched forward.  

 

The sound waxed and waned before stopping completely. She drew a sharp breath, eyes widening.  

 

Unease coiled tighter in her chest—  

 

What if even this faint footstep abandoned her too?  

 

Yet her mind raced through possibilities, settling on the most plausible candidate.  

 

If her last memory was any indication, only one person should logically be here with her.  

 

Just as Merria stared silently at the wall where the sound had ceased—  

 

Creeeak—  

 

A rectangular shaft of light pierced what had been an unbroken darkness.  

 

Then came the unmistakable sound of a door opening, flooding her vision with crimson.  

 

And there, framed in scarlet light, stood a woman with eyes just as violently red.