I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand Chapter 149 - The Villain’s Ending

Helena’s pupils trembled violently. She was unaware that the ledger had fallen into Reukis’ hands.

Because of this, she couldn’t even guess why Cesar had made such a choice.

Nothing is more dangerous than failing to objectively recognize one’s situation.

 

Forcing her trembling lips into a stiff smile, Helena spoke.

“O-oh my… That man has framed me. Your Grace, it wasn’t me.”

She assumed Reukis had done this after learning the truth about his parents’ death. She didn’t know how much Cesar had confessed, but if she could just kill him after escaping this place, it would all be over.

 

Her eyes darted around, searching for someone.

But there was no way the person she wanted would appear in her line of sight.

That man, who had lived in the shadows under Helena’s orders, would never show himself in such a crowded place.

 

Keeping her smile intact, she continued, “The baron said that because I introduced him to the mage I took in. Shuel—Shuel was the one who killed your parents!”

Helena hastily added whatever came to mind to escape the immediate danger.

“That child will do anything I say. She’s highly skilled, so you can use her however you wish. I can hand her over to you right now if we go to the palace.”

 

Among those watching Helena, one pair of eyes burned with particularly intense emotion—Arienne’s.

‘So this was it.’

A hollow laugh escaped Arienne’s lips. She had only come here today because of Merria’s condition.

To accompany Shannon at the trial.

Hadn’t she been told she didn’t have to do anything else?

 

It didn’t take long for Ariene to figure out where this unpleasant proposal had originated.

Reukis pointing his sword while mentioning the deaths of the Grand Duke and his wife, and Helena using someone else as a shield—

It was eerily similar to the story told by that old woman who claimed to be her true self.

 

Originally, Arienne would have been the one thrown to the wolves instead of that person named Shuel.

The old woman had personally placed her in this situation.

Not as a participant, but as an observer.

As if to make her see clearly just how easily Helena would betray her loyalty.

 

A heavy tear fell from Arienen’s eye.

It was a lingering regret soaked in emptiness. 

 

Misplaced faith and loyalty only bred tragedy.

The feeling of something she had once believed in so absolutely unraveling was strangely surreal.

It was sad, then infuriating, sometimes laughable, and at times, it didn’t feel real at all.

 

“Arienne…?”

Shannon, who had been watching her from the side, carefully took Ariene’s hand.

‘Ah—’ Arienne let out a small gasp.

‘I’m no different from you.’

 

There had been a time when she had scoffed at Shannon for blindly believing whatever she was told. She had called her foolish, typical Shannon.

But in the end, that mockery had been directed at herself. Her severed memories did not return.

But in their absence, new things had taken their place.

Arienne smiled faintly at the person who looked so much like her.

 

Meanwhile, Helena continued to spill words Reukis did not want to hear.

Reukis slowly lowered his hand, his expression calm. With this, Helena had squandered the last chance she had been given.

Before presenting the ledger, Reukis had offered her one final opportunity.

 

The night before, when he had asked Merria why she freed Shannon and Arienne, she had replied.

She had been saved by Shannon’s mercy, so she owed her this in return.

No one is purely good or purely evil—if you understand their circumstances, you should try to see things from their perspective.

 

Though Merria had framed it as something she’d read about the supposedly scheming Grand Duke, Reukis took her words to heart.

He pondered them deeply, turning them over in his mind.

This was the choice he had arrived at after much deliberation.

 

Helena, who had caused the deaths of his parents, was hateful and despicable.

But that was an event from ten years in the past. To Reukis, it felt as vivid as if it had happened yesterday, but to others, it was nothing more than an old newspaper article buried under layers of dust.

So, if Helena were to confess all her crimes truthfully and show remorse even now—He had planned to settle for a life sentence of exile to the spire, in accordance with imperial law.

 

But Helena did not seize the opportunity Reukis gave her.

Ten years.

In all that long time, Helena had neither sought forgiveness nor shown any remorse.

At that moment, Reukis’ mercy came to an end.

 

“Do you admit to driving Empress Christine to her mental breaking point and ultimately providing the lethal poison to Cesar Verusella?”

“…?”

“Do you also admit to sending assassins and poison to murder the Crown Prince, blocking the Emperor’s ears to exploit the empire’s resources, and violating the abolished slavery system by colluding with slave traders to create slush funds?”

 

The impact of Reukis’ words was beyond imagination.

Everyone in the chamber was so shocked that they had to cover their mouths.

Muffled murmurs filled the room, buzzing like a swarm of bees.

 

Helena furrowed her brows and shook her head violently.

At Reukis’ signal, Kalix retrieved a ledger from his coat and handed it to Noah.

Noah, opening the ledger, began reading it with a slightly startled expression. Finally, after fully grasping the truth, he spoke with a heavy voice.

 

“Case Number 6-0823-1, Plaintiff Reukis Frederick vs. Defendant Helena Lian Tristan.”

“Your Honor—!”

 

Helena, her face drained of color, screamed at him. She frantically looked around, but no one stepped forward.

Cesar was not here, and even the influential families shook their heads.

This was a matter involving a Grand Duke and an Imperial Consort—And the Grand Duke held undeniable superiority, with irrefutable evidence.

Some even chose to walk out of the courtroom altogether.

 

Perhaps it was in case her name was written in Helena’s ledger. The remaining attendees were either insignificant figures or the Grand Duke’s people.

As the tension in the chamber refused to settle, Noah struck the gavel once more.

Then, in a solemn tone, he declared, “The verdict is as follows.”

Merria, Reukis, and Arienne—All swallowed dryly from the tension.

 

“For the crime of attempting to assassinate a member of the imperial family, for unlawfully misappropriating imperial funds through illegitimate means, and for corrupting the impartial personnel authority of the imperial palace—along with all other crimes—the law of the Tristan Empire shall be upheld. Therefore, Helena Lian Tristan is hereby stripped of her title as Imperial Consort and sentenced to execution.”

 

Bam. Bam. Bam—

Three strikes of the gavel echoed through the courtroom.

 

“This is a frame-up! A scheme by the Crown Prince to undermine imperial authority while His Majesty was incapacitated!”

Her screams, laced with desperation, were drowned out by the murmurs of the crowd.

 

💫

 

As promised, Shannon was acquitted and released.

No longer a defendant but simply Shannon again, she immediately called out to Merria upon leaving the courtroom.

 

“Miss.”

A short distance behind Shannon stood Arienne as well.

Merria, looking at the two, gave a small nod—she already knew what they wanted to say.

 

“Have you decided where to go?”

Merria deliberately changed the subject.

Shannon smiled faintly and replied, “There’s a small village about two days away by carriage. I think we’ll go there.”

Gerize was the village where Shannon’s mother had raised her alone.

Since she still knew people from her childhood, settling down wouldn’t be difficult. She wanted to spend the rest of her days there with Arienne, brewing herbal remedies.

The choice of a quiet place with clean air was also due to Arienne’s poor health.

 

“I… Young Master—no, Miss.”

 

Ariene, who had been listening to their conversation, cautiously spoke up.

As the three turned their heads and focused their gazes on her, she lowered her eyes and continued.

“There’s something I’d like to ask.”

“Hmm?”

“The memories… Do they really have to be erased? Or, could they… not be?”

 

Merria raised an eyebrow at Ariene’s sudden formality. She, too, had witnessed everything that happened in the courtroom.

That meant she had also seen the moment Ariene looked at Helena with tears falling.

“…”

 

Perhaps sensing Merria’s silence as disapproval, Ariene quickly added,

“It’s not that it holds any special meaning! Or, if it’s possible, at least spare the memories about Shannon…”

 

“Fine.”

“Huh?”

Arienne looked up in surprise.

Merria’s expression showed no trace of reluctance.

 

“Now that I think about it, erasing your memories would only be a decision that makes things easier for you.”

Ariene’s eyes now resembled those she had when she unconsciously met Emily.

Memories naturally fade and wither over time.

For an Ariene whose malice had completely vanished, there was no need to forcibly cut away those memories.

 

“Remember everything. Your past life, and your present one.”

She handed Arienne a small pouch filled with gold coins and turned away.

Arienne, now unexpectedly holding the settlement money, blinked slowly.

 

“I’ll always wish for your happiness.”

Merria whispered softly as she passed by Shannon.

It was a sincere wish she had held all along. Shannon smiled warmly, like a woman standing in a flower field at noon.

 

“I wish you happiness too, my lady!”

Shannon cheered just as brightly as her smile and immediately ran to Arienne’s side.

Arienne gladly accepted Shannon as she looped an arm around hers and watched the others walk ahead.

 

There, Reukis and Merria were walking side by side, exchanging words.

A noblewoman who should have been executed on the scaffold, and a grand duke who should have ended his own life.

Yet now, the two seemed far removed from such fates.

 

Some things remained unchanged, while other futures had transformed entirely.

Arienne kept her gaze fixed on the carriage carrying the two until it disappeared, only moving again when Shannon called out to her.