I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand Chapter 143 - The Villain’s Ending

 

“…This is the truth of that day.”

 

Having heard the full story, Reukis wore an unexpectedly calm expression.

 

‘I see.’

 

The foolish greed of the imperial concubine had swept up his parents. Reukis struggled to suppress the turmoil and rage within him.

Merria never let go of his hand until she finished speaking. She observed his expression very carefully.

Sorrow, emptiness, anger—Emotions of many shades flickered across his face.

 

Merria gently embraced Reukis, who was now burdened with emotions he couldn’t release.

 

Even though he had to bend down quite a bit due to his taller height, he relaxed his tense body and rested his forehead against her shoulder.

Closing his eyes, he quietly accepted his lover’s comfort.

 

As they talked, the night passed silently.

 

Merria gazed at the dim sky faintly visible through the curtains. Perhaps because she had delivered painful news, her expression remained somber.

 

“Merria.”

 

Reukis quietly spoke as he stroked her loose hair cascading down her back.

 

“Don’t worry too much. I…”

 

He paused mid-sentence, stopping himself from reflexively saying he was fine.

 

After a brief hesitation, Reukis straightened up and looked directly into Merria’s eyes.

 

“I am no longer in pain.”

 

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t sad or angry. But at this moment, with Merria supporting him, Reukis did not feel tormented.

Because she was there—someone who told him it was okay to lean on her, someone who met his gaze and smiled—he could keep despair at bay.

 

“Reukis.”

 

Merria carefully brushed his cheek.

 

His body temperature, no longer distorted by the curse, was calm and warm, unlike what she remembered.

 

With a peaceful expression, Reukis had said he was not in pain.

 

How much frustration and regret were contained in those words?

 

Merria could only guess silently.

 

Seeing Reukis express his emotions so openly, Merria smiled softly.

 

Just as she had done before, Reukis, too, had made a different choice.

 

Reukis would bring Helena to justice, but he would not lose himself to darkness. That alone was enough to make Merria grateful.

And there was one more person she needed to thank—someone right here in this mansion.

 

Merria took his hand and helped him up.

 

“Shall we go see Shannon now?”

“Yes.”

 

Shannon needed Arienne.

 

And to bring down Helena, the two of them needed Arienne as well.

 

That was why Merria had decided to use Shannon as bait to draw Arienne out.

 

💫

 

Shannon had been staying in one of the guest rooms within the grand duke’s residence.

 

The fact that she had been imprisoned in the basement was known only to a select few in the mansion.

 

Shannon’s face was largely unknown, and since Reukis had not bothered to explain further, the servants simply assumed she was a guest with some personal connection.

 

Unconcerned with what others thought, Shannon remained quietly seated in her room,
hoping that Merria might bring news of Arienne.

 

And at last, Merria arrived—with the master of the mansion in tow.

 

“Miss—!”

Shannon’s voice faltered under Reukis’ sharp gaze, and she instinctively lowered her head. She didn’t realize that his restraint was only because Merria was present.

 

“Has… has Arienne come for me?” Shannon asked cautiously, still looking down.

 

Instead of answering, Merria spoke quietly.

 

“Shannon.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Arienne tried to tear me and Reukis apart.”

 

“That…!”

 

Shannon instinctively moved to defend Arienne but quickly fell silent.

 

She must have remembered clearly—the conversation between the old woman and Merria before they arrived at the mansion, and Arienne’s face as she fled, coughing up blood, taking advantage of Reukis’ rampage.

Shannon squeezed her eyes shut, recalling Arienne’s face—identical to her own—covered in blood. She wanted to face nothing more.

 

Even as the truth loomed before her, Shannon lacked the courage to confront it.

 

‘But if I want to see Arienne again… I’ll have to hear what they have to say.’

 

Her fragile heart soon blurred with worry for Ariene.

Merria, who had been watching the scene, lowered the corners of her eyes.

 

“Aren’t you angry? Don’t you feel betrayed at all?”

 

“…Huh?”

 

“Ariene isolated you and stole your face to approach me. Even so, you feel nothing?”

 

“…Even if Ariene did that, I’m okay.”

 

Shannon gently closed her eyes and shook her head.

 

“Shannon.”

 

“It’s the truth, my lady.”

 

When she opened her eyes again, Shannon’s gaze was no longer fragile.

 

“It’s not something to boast about, but I grew up being mistreated since childhood, so I’ve become sensitive to how people feel about me. And it’s not like no one ever offered me a hand, only to judge me by my appearance.”

 

She continued with a soft smile.

 

“In the end, I was the one who chose to take Ariene’s hand.”

 

“…”

 

“I won’t cut her off. I know very well how you and His Highness wish to punish Ariene. But… but could you at least spare her life? Please, I beg you. In return, I’ll do anything I can.”

 

Shannon pleaded, hoping to lessen Ariene’s punishment even slightly.

 

Of course, in her memories, Merria had never acted high-handed. But the Grand Duke shrouded in darkness was another matter.

The past week had made Reukis so chillingly cold that his act of saving her in the alley felt meaningless.

 

Every time those threatening golden eyes scanned the room, her heart lurched.

 

Even the occasional tales of his victories now felt like threats. She was only a half-blooded noble, unable to speak freely even within the Count’s household.

There was no way someone like her could protect Ariene, a commoner.

 

So she could only plead with all her might, lowering herself as much as possible,
hoping to witness once more the mercy she had seen in Merria before.

 

Her desperation was so raw, so heartfelt, that Shannon’s emotions came through undiluted.

 

“You’re embracing someone like this again.”

 

Merria clenched her fists tightly.

 

Shannon was like a flower. But that wasn’t just because she was delicate and beautiful. She was the kind of person who, no matter how harsh the soil or how relentless the rain, would stubbornly bloom into something radiant.

Shannon was strong in that way.

 

“That must be why the me of a past life could forgive her.”

 

To forgive someone who had tried to tear her apart—even now, that was something Merria still struggled with.

Because Merria wasn’t Shannon. But even so, she could still repay what she had been given.

 

“So this time, I’ll let you be the sinner.”

 

“So I can return the forgiveness I once received.”

 

Gently patting Shannon’s shoulder, Merria asked, “I want to make a deal. Will you hear me out?”

“A… deal?”

 

“I plan to put you on trial.”

 

“What?”

 

Shannon’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit.

 

Merria had just blurted out what should have been Reukis’ final line.

 

To bridge the gap between them, she quickly explained, “Right now, we need the knowledge Arienne possesses. But she’s already fled.”

Shannon bit her lip as if she were the one who had committed the crime.

 

“So we’re going to publicly announce—through newspapers and the like—that you’ll stand trial for the crime of driving Reukis and me apart. That way, Arienne will come to the grand duke’s residence on her own.”

 

Merria intended to use Arienne, who had once served as Helena’s pawn, to expose the imperial concubine’s darkest secrets.

 

Their plan was to use this to force a public confession about the deaths of the Grand Duke and his wife—that was what Reukis wanted, followed by appropriate punishment.

 

But to achieve that, they first needed to meet Ariene.

 

Whether the real one or the imposter.

 

However, Merria had already spent years fruitlessly searching for the old woman.

 

If Ariene had disappeared with her, it was better to wait for them to reappear first. That was why they intended to use Shannon as bait.

 

“If I hadn’t heard Ariene’s thoughts from that woman, I wouldn’t have been able to make this choice…”

 

Merria recalled the conversation she had with the old woman in the carriage on the way to the Grand Duke’s estate.

 

The old woman had grumbled about whether they really needed to bring Shannon along.

 

After all, it was obvious she had been abandoned.

 

Wouldn’t it be better for Shannon to stay in that gilded cage?

 

But then she saw the blue ribbon tied in Shannon’s hair and changed her mind.

 

In the past, blue had been a symbolic color for Ariene.

 

It was the color that represented Helena, the woman she had devoted everything to.

 

And the way the ribbon was tied was the same knot Helena had once taught her.

 

 

It was a regional style from Helena’s homeland, slightly different from how noble ladies in the capital tied theirs.

 

Helena rarely spoke to Ariene unless giving orders, so Ariene had practiced the knot over and over until her hands memorized it.

 

She had hoped that if another occasion like this ever came, she could gift her a beautifully tied ribbon.

 

But that day never came—instead, she was cast aside by Helena.

 

To the imposter who didn’t know the truth, that blue ribbon must still be precious and symbolic. And the fact that she had used it to tie Shannon’s hair was not something to overlook.

 

“It probably means she’s opened her heart to Shannon that much.”

 

The old woman muttered under her breath, her voice barely audible. Though she pretended otherwise, Ariene had always longed for human warmth.

In her past life, Helena had been the first to show her kindness.

 

That was why Ariene had been willing to risk her life to save her.

 

Perhaps, even with her fragmented memories, the imposter had found another source of warmth.

 

The old woman whispered these bitter musings to herself. She was Ariene, and Ariene usually moved as the old woman predicted.

So Merria decided to place her hopes on the old woman’s words.