I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand Chapter 142 - The Villain’s Ending

 

At Merria’s firm words, Reukis nodded quietly.

 

He ordered Jaina to bring the coat Merria would wear. Taking the coat, he draped it over Merria’s shoulders.

 

“It’s still chilly outside.”

 

“Thank you.”

Merria fiddled with the cuff of the coat as she replied.

 

The underground prison of the Grand Duke’s residence, which they entered following Reukis, was less grotesque than she had expected.

 

Somehow, it reminded her of the imperial palace’s dungeons, and her hands clenched involuntarily.

 

Thinking she was nervous, Reukis gripped her hand tightly. She lowered the corners of her eyes and held his hand in return.

 

“We’re here.”

 

After descending the stairs and walking a little further, a figure huddled behind iron bars came into view.

 

Shannon was trapped inside a cell with no door—a room created by Reukis’ magic to ensure she could never escape.

 

Having let her slip away once before, he had imprisoned her more meticulously this time.

 

Shannon sat curled up on the floor.

 

“Shannon.”

 

Merria hurried inside.

 

As she shook Shannon’s shoulders lightly, Shannon lifted her head from where it had been buried in her knees.

 

“My lady…?”

 

Shannon’s eyes widened as she clung to Merria.

 

“My lady, is Arienne… Is Arienne alright?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Arienne was coughing up blood and collapsed… I was too weak, I couldn’t do anything. People were chasing us, and so—”

 

Perhaps it was the relief of seeing a familiar face.

 

Words spilled uncontrollably from Shannon’s lips, which had remained sealed until now.

 

Piecing together Shannon’s rambling, the story went like this:

 

Before Reukis lost control, Arienne had escaped the Grand Duke’s residence and encountered Shannon and an old woman who were also there.

 

At first, Shannon was startled by Arienne’s face—identical to her own—but she trusted her, believing there must be a reason for it.

 

However, before Arienne could explain, they were caught by the Grand Duke’s knights.

 

The old woman, seeing no good would come from staying entangled, told Shannon to flee. But Ariene suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed.

 

Seeing the amount of blood and Ariene’s pale, bluish face, Shannon pleaded with the old woman.

 

She would stay behind—so the old woman should take Ariene and escape.

 

The old woman hesitated briefly but, moved by Shannon’s desperate plea, left the grand ducal residence with Arienne.

 

And when the knights who came after them found Shannon, who shared the same face as the escapee, they captured her and presented her to Reukis.

Reukis, assuming she was the same person, had her imprisoned.

Had he looked closer, he might have noticed differences—her clothes, the fact she wasn’t coughing up blood—and realized she was someone else.

But at the time, Reukis was too preoccupied with Merria to spare the attention.

In the end, Shannon remained locked up for a week, left to worry about whether Ariene was alive or dead.

 

“You really…”

 

Merria, having heard the story, tightened her grip on Shannon’s shoulders.

 

How could someone be so blindly self-sacrificing?

 

Merria took her hand and pulled her up.

 

“Let’s get out of here first.”

 

“Huh…?”

 

Perhaps because she hadn’t moved in so long, Shannon kept stumbling as she walked.

 

Reukis called over a nearby knight to assist her. Then, putting some distance between himself and Shannon, he walked alongside Merria.

 

“What do you intend to do with her?”

 

Reukis still seemed displeased with Shannon.

 

It made sense—every “Shannon” he had met before was actually Ariene.

 

Having always found Ariene grating, it was no surprise he couldn’t muster positive feelings even for the real Shannon.

 

Or perhaps he simply couldn’t shake his lingering suspicions.

“I plan to use Shannon to lure Arienne out,” Merria said.

 

“Arienne?”

 

“The name of that witch who stole another’s face.”

 

“A witch…?”

 

Reukis couldn’t immediately accept Merria’s words.

 

That was understandable—unlike mages, witches had long since faded into obscurity, becoming little more than forgotten legends.

 

A term he’d only heard in childhood, it felt awkward and unfamiliar on his tongue.

 

Reukis furrowed his brow in thought, then suddenly asked as if remembering something.

 

“But Merria, how did you know that woman was a witch?”

 

The topic she had deliberately avoided abruptly resurfaced. She had intended to keep quiet about the fact that she had been kidnapped, fearing it would only heighten Reukis’ anxiety.

 

Merria lowered the corners of her eyes with a slightly troubled expression.

 

“There’s something you need to hear.”

 

Her voice was already subdued.

 

💫

 

In Reukis’ bedroom—the most heavily guarded place in the impregnable Grand Duke’s residence—every door and window was locked, and an additional barrier of dark energy was erected. 

 

Reukis gave a solemn nod.

 

“You may speak now.”

 

Merria hesitated, as if struggling to find the right words, and remained silent for a long time.

 

She clenched and unclenched her fists several times before finally looking at him with a resolute expression.

 

“First, there’s something I want to say before that.”

 

“Go on.”

 

“What I’m about to tell you… I don’t know if it will help you, but it’s not a pleasant story. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss when it comes to certain truths.”

 

Merria paused briefly, then took his hand.

 

“So, if it ever becomes too unbearable—if knowing makes things worse than not knowing—I want you to tell me.”

 

The gift the author had left her was meant for moments like this. She would rather carve out his memories than watch him writhe in agony.

 

“And not just this—even between lovers, there are things that are hard to say. If that ever happens, give me a signal first.”

“A signal…?”

 

“Hmm… How about giving me a single Armeria flower? Then I’ll understand.”

 

Her concern outweighed the burden of having to reveal the truth to Reukis. Because she already knew how his story had ended in his previous life—after he had executed Helena.

 

Reukis nodded, unaware of what she was about to say.

 

Merria took a deep breath and asked cautiously, “Have you ever considered that the rampage from your childhood might not have been an accident?”

 

When her steady gaze turned toward him, Reukis froze as if gripped by something unseen.

 

Though his body remained still, his violently trembling eyes betrayed everything inside him.

 

Even though she could see his turmoil, Merria didn’t look away until he answered. Her opinion on this matter wasn’t what truly mattered.

 

‘Because it was Reukis who lost control, Reukis who lost his parents, Reukis who suffered the aftermath.’

 

Above all, what mattered was his thoughts.

 

Meeting her worried eyes, he felt a sudden surge of emotion and let his eyelids fall weakly.

 

Unable to hide the storm in his gaze, Reukis answered in a low voice, “How… how could I dare assume such a thing?”

 

At his ragged breathing, Merria reached out and brushed her fingers along his cheek.

 

Fully sharing another’s pain was more agonizing than she had imagined.

 

The saying that ‘sorrow halved is sorrow eased’ was nothing but empty words. If it were true, her own eyes wouldn’t feel this stiff and heavy.

 

“I’m sorry for asking you this.”

 

Merria’s voice hitched slightly as she frowned, fighting back her own emotions.

 

As much as she wanted to pull him into an embrace and stuff him with cake right then, this was something they needed to address.

 

“Once, I heard about you from my father. And yet… I never told you.”

 

She slowly stroked his bowed head as she continued, “I was afraid to reopen such a deep wound. At the time, I thought it might be alright since my ring could still help you.”

 

“…”

 

“I knew that if you learned the truth, you’d suffer like this. So part of me selfishly wondered if it’d be better if only I knew.”

 

Merria confessed her innermost thoughts in a quiet, unsteady voice.

 

Was bringing it up unnecessarily going to shake Reukis, who had been living just fine?

 

Would the truth, finally revealed, push him into the abyss?

 

Even until the moment before speaking, she hesitated and agonized over it.

 

And in the end, the conclusion she reached was to tell him.

 

The author once said that everyone in this world lives their life by their own free will.

 

Shannon, Altheon, and even Merria herself.

 

That’s why Merria didn’t want to do anything that might hinder his choice.

 

Instead, if he cried and suffered, she would cry with him. If he fell into the abyss, even if she couldn’t save him, she wanted to stay by his side and hold his hand.

 

“But that’s not for me to decide, is it? I have absolutely no intention of shielding your eyes from the truth.”

 

Merria smiled softly and gently pulled his face closer.

 

Reukis, lost in the muffled space around him, clung only to the clarity of Merria’s voice.

 

Though he didn’t like the sight of his own face reflected in her crimson eyes, he couldn’t look away—it felt as though he was being embraced by her.

 

After a brief pause, Merria continued in a serious tone.

 

“So, listen to everything I have to say, and then do as you wish.”

 

“…”

 

“If you want to know the painful truth, I’ll stay by your side and help you find it. If it becomes too much, you can turn away and hide behind me.”

 

“…”

 

“Even if you choose to do nothing, no one will blame you.”

 

Reukis felt the dam he had held up for so long crumble instantly under her kind words and gaze.

 

Overwhelmed, he shut his eyes tightly, unable to contain the surge of emotions. The darkness, now complete in its frenzy, remained unchanged, neither rising nor falling.

Just like a day from his childhood, it felt as though it would surround this room and consume him whole.

 

Yet within it, Reukis steadied himself by relying solely on Merria’s warmth.

 

A long moment passed before he slowly opened his eyes.

 

“Merria.”

 

A locked voice reached her ears just as it was.

 

Reukis covered Merria’s hands resting on his face with his own.

 

Then, in a slightly trembling voice, he continued, “Admitting that something I’ve believed in for so long is different from what I know… I imagine it must be frightening and painful.”

 

“Reukis.”

 

His eyes, meeting hers directly, no longer wavered.

 

“Even so, if you hold my hand, I want to move toward the truth.”

 

He had resolved to face his parents’ deaths head-on. The small courage that had taken so long to emerge, now revealed in the light, stirred Merria’s heart just by its presence.

 

A truth Reukis could never have faced alone.

 

At last, the moment had come—he took his first step forward from the tragedy of the Grand Ducal Manor.