This Villain Is Mine Now - Chapter 121

In the middle of the night, the butler rushed urgently to Lyle’s study. In the pale hands of the elderly man was a single letter. Instinctively, Lyle knew it was from the same person who had sent the divorce papers before.

Lyle’s hand trembled as he received the letter. When he opened the envelope, instead of a letter, a bundle of pink severed hair spilled out.

“Master!”

Recognizing the owner of the hair, the butler’s face turned from white to ashen blue. The butler, shocked to the point of nearly fainting, collapsed into a chair.

Lyle bit the inside of his cheek. It was a threat. A clear message that if he didn’t submit the divorce immediately, Elaina would be harmed.

“Get ahold of yourself. The fact that they sent hair means they haven’t laid a hand on Elaina yet.”

Lyle’s voice sharply rebuked the butler. The butler barely regained his composure, but his eyes still wandered aimlessly in shock.

“…Has the knight order not arrived yet?”

It wasn’t as though Lyle had been sitting idly all this time. But if the Marquis sensed danger, there was no telling what he might do to Elaina, so they had to approach as cautiously as possible.

Although they had long since identified the tower where Elaina was being held, much time and resources were wasted searching unrelated areas, slowing progress.

“They say they will reach the tower in a day or two.”

As much as he hated to admit it, the Marquis was a cunning man. Though they had thought they could follow the carriage tracks straight through the abandoned forest, the dirt paths had been deliberately confused, filled with wheel marks from dozens of carriages.

Finding the right tracks among them was no easy task. It was the kind of place where a moment’s carelessness would leave one lost, circling the same area over and over. Still, Leo, Colin, and the elite knights were searching through the forest.

One day. Or two.

Lyle’s lips were dry and cracked.

It had already been more than two weeks since Elaina’s first letter arrived. In that time, the Marquis could have easily moved her elsewhere.

Given the cautious nature of the Marquis, it was unlikely he would risk moving Elaina and exposing her location—but if even that was part of his scheme…

Lyle’s expression twisted as he stared at the hair scattered near the envelope.

Was it really the right decision to keep pushing forward based on such uncertain possibilities?

The Marquis claimed he had the power to make others dream the dreams he wanted.

If the Marquis was forcing Lyle to live out the worst nightmare of his life, then he had succeeded.

Every night, in his dreams, Lyle held Elaina’s cold, lifeless body and wept, having failed to save her in time.

“…Get out.”

Lyle murmured lowly. His voice sounded like a funeral dirge echoing from the depths of hell. Clutching Elaina’s hair in his hand, he closed his eyes, and the darkness around him deepened.

***

The next day, a great disturbance swept through the capital.

When people first saw Lyle Grant visiting the temple, they thought he had stopped by briefly to pray for Elaina’s health. It didn’t take long for them to realize how wrong their assumption was.

By afternoon, the entire capital had heard news of the divorce between the Grant Archducal couple.

Nobles who had been hesitating between the Archduke and the Marquis quickly chose their sides. Those who rushed to the Marquisate in a cloud of dust made a commotion, speculating that Elaina’s absence from court was not due to illness, but rather a marital rift.

“Hmm.”

“What are your thoughts, Marquis?”

“What does my opinion matter?”

With a hearty laugh, the Marquis stroked his mustache. He kept them hanging, but his demeanor continually hinted that he knew something.

“It does matter! Oh, what could be more important than the Marquis’s opinion!”

One man, burning with curiosity, tried his best to coax information out of the Marquis. Pleased by the reaction, the Marquis’s smile deepened.

“I don’t know the details either, but given the circumstances, I couldn’t help paying close attention to the affairs of House Grant.”

“Hmm,” the Marquis dragged out his words again. Then, as if changing his mind, he shook his head and raised his eyebrows.

“Well, I suppose you all ought to know. But don’t be too shocked.”

“W-what is it?”

“There are rumors that the Archduchess has gone missing.”

“…What, what did you say? No! That can’t be true.”

“Has anyone seen the Archduchess in person lately? Don’t you find it strange that she hasn’t left the residence? Everyone remembers what happened last time.”

The Marquis continued nonchalantly as he trimmed his nails.

“The Archduchess is a very prideful woman. Would she really stay at the Archducal estate after the divorce has been finalized?”

“W-well…”

The listener was left speechless upon hearing the Marquis’s words. It wasn’t the first time divorce had come up between Lyle and Elaina. But this time, the situation was clearly different. The Archduchess, who had previously stormed out before the divorce papers were even filed, was now quiet. Why?

Noticing the suspicion blooming on the listener’s face, the Marquis leisurely resumed speaking.

“Archduke Grant is currently deploying people to find something. I believe that something is the Archduchess.”

“But why would the Archduchess run away from His Grace the Archduke?”

The word “run away” came from the listener. All the Marquis had said was that she was “missing,” and yet the listener had already assumed that Lyle had done something to harm Elaina.

At that moment, a brilliant idea flashed through the Marquis’s mind. He had kept Elaina Grant—no, Elaina Winchester—alive so far in hopes of her usefulness, and now he had found the most effective way to use her.

“…Well. I don’t know about that.”

The Marquis shrugged and smiled.

“In any case, this incident will bring the truth about my wife’s unfortunate death to light. Since the Archduchess has disappeared and even given up defending her husband, and the two are now divorced, the court will finally be able to pass a wise verdict.”

“Of course it will! Just between us, the judges are quite displeased about the Archduchess’s failure to appear.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. No matter her status as Archduchess, isn’t her conduct far too arrogant in the face of the law?”

Nodding, he didn’t forget to flatter the Marquis.

“The truth always comes to light. Seeing your circumstances, that phrase feels especially meaningful today.”

The Marquis responded with a humble expression.

“Hearing that, I feel all the resentment of the past melting away.”

After the guest left, the Marquis waited until sunset.

When deep night arrived, he dressed to go out and ordered a servant to prepare his horse.

His destination was the tower in the forest where Elaina was imprisoned.

Until now, he had left the task to his son. But now that the end was near, he wanted to personally witness Elaina’s suffering.

In the end, it had all begun with that woman.

Had he managed to marry Diane to Lyle Grant as originally planned, none of this humiliation would have happened. Not only did she steal that position, but she also interfered with him at every turn.

It was Elaina who had crushed the wish he had nurtured for ten years. The ring that had barely regained its light was now a dull stone once more. Even the mighty former Archduke had met a miserable end, unable to distinguish between dream and reality—yet the Archduchess was still alive and breathing.

Gritting his teeth, the Marquis recalled Elaina. That arrogant woman who deceived him and stole the villa in Deftia.

Every misfortune he had suffered was entirely Elaina’s doing, from beginning to end.

“Just dying won’t be enough.”

He would make her writhe in agony until her last breath. If Elaina herself drove Lyle Grant to ruin, there could be no greater revenge.

Humming to himself in the cold air, the Marquis rode on. Though it was late and his body weary, his mind remained sharp.

Ten years had been a waste. But the next ten would pass much more quickly. In a world without the Archduchess or Archduke, he would be able to more easily await the day the ring regained its light.

It was a night with a brilliant full moon. Under the bright moonlight, the Marquis rode cheerfully. He knew someone was following him, but he didn’t care. Once in the forest, they would lose their way.

“In fact, it’s better that they’re following.”

The final act of this wretched entanglement. The Marquis actually hoped that the one tailing him was Lyle.

A wife, driving her husband to ruin in despair.

A husband, embracing his dead wife and screaming in grief.

Truly, it was the perfect ending to the grand stage he had so painstakingly directed.