I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand Chapter 123

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Ding—  

 

Suddenly, a clear bell sound echoed.  

 

It was an alert bell that rang whenever someone’s presence was detected beyond a certain distance from where Shannon was staying.  

 

Normally, it was used to anticipate Ariene’s visits so she could rush to the entrance, but today, it was to clean up the scene before Ariene returned.  

 

The presence detected by the alert might not have been Ariene’s, but there weren’t many who would come to this remote place at dawn.  

 

Ding, ding—

 

The shorter the intervals between the rings, the closer the owner of the presence was to the house.  

 

Shannon abruptly stood up and began bustling around.  

 

Merria followed Shannon with her eyes, as if asking what was going on.  

 

Shannon, who had been busily moving around the room, hurriedly returned to where Merria was.  

 

“Miss, I think you should return to your room now—would that be alright?”  

Instead of answering, Merria gave a small nod.  

 

Earlier, Shannon had asked Merria not to mention what she had done if Ariene returned.  

 

It was likely because she knew helping Merria would go against Ariene’s wishes.  

 

From their conversation, Merria had gained much. Even for her, getting caught in this secretive exchange with Shannon wouldn’t do any good.  

 

There was only one reason Shannon was acting like this.  

 

Ariene, who had gone out for a night outing, was returning. Merria clenched her fists tightly, her body tense for no reason.  

 

Shannon quickly cleared away any traces of Merria’s stay and then led her to the wardrobe.  

 

When she lightly pushed the wall, a door appeared where there had been nothing before, just like earlier.  

 

The thought of returning to the pitch-black space after being in a bright one made Merria hesitate to step forward.  

 

Seeing her hesitate, Shannon frowned slightly and muttered under her breath.  

 

“It’s too dark in there…”  

 

I’m sorry. Shannon apologized again. Yet, she showed no intention of leaving Merria there.  

 

In the end, Merria trudged reluctantly into the darkness.  

 

Creak—  

 

Thud—

 

When Shannon removed her hand, the door that had appeared on the wall vanished as if absorbed into nothingness.  

 

Instead of moving immediately, Merria stood still, staring intently at the spot. She hoped her eyes would adjust to the darkness.  

 

After sending Merria back to her original place, Shannon didn’t look back and headed straight for the front door.  

 

Ariene had been waiting for her by the window since earlier.  

 

Shannon flung the door open eagerly and greeted her.  

 

“Ariene! Where have you been—?”  

 

Thud—

 

Before Shannon could even fully open the door, a wrinkled hand came into view. The grip was unnaturally strong for an old person.  

 

“Hello, little miss.”  

 

A rough, metallic voice dripped eerily into the midnight air.  

 

Shannon’s eyes widened as she stared at the stranger. She gaped at her in disbelief.  

 

From beneath the deep hood hiding her face, dull magenta eyes lazily blinked.  

 

The strangely familiar yet nostalgic hue made Shannon furrow her brows.  

 

Only after locking eyes with the intruder did Shannon realize—too late—that she had let an outsider in.  

 

Shannon’s pupils trembled as they slowly dilated.  

 

“W-who…?” she asked in a shaky voice, but the stranger didn’t answer.  

 

Shannon took a few steps back without breaking eye contact.  

 

Seizing the opportunity, the unwelcome guest stepped forward and grabbed Shannon roughly.  

 

Despite its wrinkled appearance, the hand had a crushing grip. Dragged along like a sheet of paper, Shannon stared at the stranger in confusion.  

 

From under the shadowed hat, green-colored eyes relentlessly pursued her.  

 

“I’m in a bit of a hurry. Where’s the Princess?”  

 

“What are you—?”  

 

“Not planning to tell me? Then move aside.”  

 

The stranger’s hand shot out again.  

 

“Ugh—what are you— Ah!”  

 

The wrinkled hand then clamped over her face.  

 

Shannon instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.  

 

A chair clattered to the floor as her foot, flailing in fear, knocked into it.

 

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Left alone, Merria sat curled up on the bed, lost in thought.  

 

How much time had passed since I disappeared?  

 

‘I must have been unconscious for quite a while.’

 

Without a clock, it was hard to gauge the passage of time. She had only seen two rooms so far, but their atmospheres were completely different.  

 

The room where Merria had woken up was dark and gloomy like a prison, while Shannon’s room was bright as midday.  

 

It felt like another world, detached from the laws of nature—where turning on a light marked the start of day, and turning it off brought nightfall.  

 

Her family and Reukis, who must be worrying about her, lingered in her thoughts.  

 

The more she dwelled on it, the more she wanted to escape this place as soon as possible.  

 

Waiting for someone to come and rescue her wouldn’t be so bad, either. But realistically speaking, if she didn’t try to run away herself, it seemed unlikely she’d break free anytime soon.  

 

Perhaps because of her bitter mood, the palm Shannon had treated with medicine stung more sharply than before.  

 

Her family would surely start searching for her the moment they realized she was missing.  

 

And before long, they would find out—That Lexie’s testimony was the last known trace of her.  

 

That was where things would start to go wrong.  

 

‘I shouldn’t have let Lexie go…’  

 

If she hadn’t, at least they would’ve known Merria’s last steps led into the forest.  

 

Though she hadn’t encountered anyone on her way there, should she still hope that someone—even from afar—might have seen her?  

 

Merria shook her head slightly.  

 

Even if they realized she had vanished into the forest, Demeter was too far away.  

 

They would focus their investigation around the capital’s central quarantine and major transit points.  

 

“That’s the logical approach.”

  

But if so, it would take far too long for them to reach Demeter.  

 

Perhaps they might not even realize for a long while. No one outside would ever dream that Merria could be in a place like this slum.  

 

Even if the ducal house and the Grand Duke himself took action, there was nothing they could do about it.

 

While searching the Etowas Forest, they would eventually trace Shannon’s whereabouts based on Lexie’s lead.  

 

Most who heard this news would assume Merria had been kidnapped alongside Shannon.  

 

After all, the idea of two noble young women being abducted by some unknown assailant was far more plausible than Shannon—who had no prior connection to Merria—kidnapping the duke’s daughter on her own.  

 

It wasn’t due to any lack of investigative skill on their part.  

 

Even Merria herself, upon waking here, had worried about Shannon.  

 

That being the case, she had to figure it out:  

 

“How do I escape this bizarre cage?”  

 

The longer the search dragged on, the more exhausted they would become.  

 

Worry for Merria would compound their fatigue, layering anxiety over exhaustion until their morale withered.  

 

Because of that, Merria had to return before that happened.  

 

The fortunate thing was that Ariene didn’t seem intent on harming her—at least not immediately.  

 

According to Shannon, she was the only one who normally resided in Demeter. This place likely served as a hideout of sorts for Ariene and Shannon.  

 

The fact that they had brought Merria here, unconscious, meant she was at least safe for now.  

 

Of course, calling her current situation—being kidnapped—safe was a contradiction in itself, but it did mean she wasn’t in immediate danger of death.  

 

And if she dared to guess, Ariene was someone who wanted to be a good person in Shannon’s eyes.  

 

The fact that she had trapped Shannon inside that product, taking advantage of her naivety and ignorance, was proof enough.  

 

There was no way Ariene would resort to violence against Merria in front of Shannon.  

 

At the very least, as long as Shannon was present, Ariene wouldn’t directly harm her.  

 

‘If she had intended to kill me right away, she would’ve chosen some remote shack in the woods instead of this place.’  

 

A young noblewoman, slumped in deep sleep—what an easy and defenseless target.  

 

Clearly, Ariene hadn’t brought Merria to Demeter with benevolent intentions.  

 

And yet, despite having ample opportunity and time, she hadn’t killed her. That statement meant buying time to devise a plan in the meantime.  

 

At first, the easiest method came to mind.  

 

It was to persuade Shannon while Arienne was absent.  

 

Perhaps due to her inherently kind and affectionate nature, Shannon had been acting friendly toward Merria.  

 

So, Merria believed Shannon wouldn’t outright ignore her if she asked for help.  

 

However, that expectation was quickly shattered.  

 

And she came to a conclusion.  

 

‘Shannon doesn’t distrust that person.’  

 

The real Shannon, residing in Demeter, had her eyes and ears blocked by Arienne.  

 

Because of this, Arienne could freely roam the capital wearing Shannon’s stolen face. Meanwhile, the real Shannon didn’t even know Arienne had taken her appearance.  

 

The problem arose here.  

 

The presence of Arienne within Shannon was too vast and unshakable.  

 

Even if Merria told Shannon everything—that Arienne was not just a friendly figure but someone she considered a savior—she doubted she’d get the reaction she wanted.  

 

Merria didn’t believe in absolute evil or absolute good in this world. She always lived with the awareness that she, too, could be someone else’s villain.  

 

From that perspective, Arienne was a benefactor to Shannon.  

 

The one who rescued her from the abyss and brought her peace.  

 

Even if Arienne had kidnapped Merria and attacked Reukis, would Shannon easily believe that?  

 

“Definitely not.”  

 

Merria convinced herself.  

 

Shannon, who never spoke harshly to others, wouldn’t rebuke Merria for voicing such things.

 

But she also wouldn’t treat her as innocently as before.  

 

Even if this situation seemed bizarre and wrong to Merria, if it felt as comfortable as a bed to Shannon—She had no right to disrupt and steal another’s peace.  

 

She would simply move forward, searching for her own peace.