Ascension Of The Villain

Maria batted her lashes innocently, her lips forming the beginnings of a dangerous word. "That b—"

Vyan's finger was on her lips in an instant as he cut her off, "Don't. I won't hear such a word against her."

The unexpected coldness in his voice made Maria blink, startled by the sharp edge in his gaze. "Oh, okay… I guess you two are close, then."

"Why would you—" Vyan began, but the knowledge of Maria and Iyana's history came to his mind. His expression tightened, and he gripped Maria's arm firmly. "We need to talk." As they stood at the grand entrance of the manor, he added, "But not here."

While passing by a cluster of servants, Vyan shot them a piercing glare. They immediately bowed their heads in apology, well aware of their lapse in vigilance—Maria's wandering presence around the manor, especially with Iyana so near, was a serious oversight.

Vyan led Maria to the closest discreet location he could find—Clyde's office. The room was empty. Clyde was absent, likely off to his father's house as he had mentioned earlier.

"Your Grace—" Maria began, but Vyan was quick to ask.

"Do you hate Iyana?"

Maria studied his serious but concerned face for a moment before she inhaled sharply. "Considering she is the reason my brother was gravely injured, my empire lost the war, and I was taken hostage, yes, Your Grace, I do hate her."

That meant his suspicion was right.

"I see. The hatred is understandable then," Vyan said, a little thoughtlessly.

"Hatred?" Maria's voice trembled with venom, her once bright and carefree face now twisted in a dark, seething fury. "Hate doesn't even begin to describe what I feel for her." Her eyes, normally sparkling with vivid life, now burned with an all-consuming spite. "She is the one person in this entire world I truly abhor, detest, and loathe with every fiber of my being.

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If I could erase her from existence, I would."

The intensity of her hatred made a chill crawl down Vyan's spine, momentarily stunned by the sheer malice in Maria's voice. He couldn't believe it was the same ditzy, airheaded, and optimistic princess.

It was as if a dam had broken, unleashing her suppressed negative emotions that she normally did a good job covering up.

But then, just as quickly as it came, the storm within her seemed to subside, and Maria's face smoothed back into her usual innocent expression.

"And what about you, Your Grace?" Maria asked, her voice deceptively sweet, but the venom still lingered, just a whisper away. "What sort of relationship do you have with her?"

Vyan hesitated, searching for the right words. "Ah… she, um… she used to be my master," he began cautiously, "I served as her personal knight a few years ago, before I discovered my true identity as an Ashstone. So, I suppose that's how we became close."

"Was that devi—" Maria caught herself and put on a strained smile, barely holding back the venom for Vyan's sake. "Right, you don't want to hear anything against her. So, was that woman kind to you?"

"Yes," the answer slipped out involuntarily before he could think, "Yes, she was very kind to me."

Maria's scoff was barely audible, but the bitterness in it was sharp enough to cut. "Good to know she is at least humane enough to care about the people around her."

"Your Imperial Highness…" Vyan started, his voice gentle, unsure of what to say in order to comfort her. "It was a war, and Iyana… she did what she thought she had to—"

"Don't you dare justify her actions to me!" Maria's voice trembled with barely contained rage. "You have no idea, Your Grace, no idea just how cruel that woman is." Her hands clenched into fists, her knuckles white as the rage and sorrow that she had tried so hard to suppress surged forward. "She… she destroyed everything. My brother, my empire, my very freedom… that monster took it all!"

"Your Imperial Highness, she is not a monster—" Vyan's voice faltered as Maria wasn't done.

"She is a monster!" Maria choked out, the tears finally spilled over. "She ripped my world apart without a second thought. I saw her eyes, Your Grace. They were hollow—so dead. Like she wanted to annihilate everything around her, everyone who stood in her way. There was no compassion, no humanity left in her.

Just a cold, ruthless desire to destroy."

Vyan remained quiet, so she continued, "You didn't see her like I did. That woman… she was beyond redemption, beyond saving. She didn't care about anyone's life, not even her own! If ordered, she could have killed all her subordinates without blinking, without feeling a thing. What else could she be if not a monster?"

No, she is not! was what Vyan wanted to scream back.

Iyana wasn't the monster Maria believed her to be. She was so much more—a woman who had endured unimaginable pain and loss. Iyana had already suffered enough—growing up in a family where she was made to feel unwanted, forced into a marriage she didn't want, hated by the man she loved, and then losing all her memories.

How terrifying must it have been for Iyana to have woken up like a blank slate in the midst of a nightmarish war. Without a doubt, it was a terrible phase that had twisted her personality into something unrecognizable.

As much as he wanted to tell all these things to Maria, it was futile. Iyana would always be the villain in her story and the forever embodiment of all the pain and destruction that had befallen her family. Nothing Vyan said could change that.

And perhaps, on some level, he understood as well. If the roles were reversed, could he forgive someone who had caused so much devastation to his own family? The answer was clear.

Even though it pained him deeply to know that someone harbored such vicious hatred for the woman he loved more than anything in the world, Maria's hatred seemed to be the only thing holding her together.

Vyan couldn't take that from her, nor did he need to. As long as Maria didn't act on her hatred, as long as she didn't try to hurt Iyana, he could live with it.

Silently, Vyan poured a glass of water and handed it to her. Maria accepted it with trembling hands, her breath hitching as she tried to calm down.

Vyan comforted Maria and spoke reassuringly until the tears finally stopped and she seemed a little more composed. Then, with a firm but gentle tone, he told her to stay in her room, away from the manor's halls where she might cross paths with Iyana or anybody else outside the staff members.

After Maria made her way to her room, Vyan released a sigh of relief as he muttered, a little amused, "I guess I am not the only one, Iyana, who is considered a monster by some."

———

"Yesterday, all our hired men were planted at the marked locations across the empire," Clyde reported at Vyan's office the next day. "But there has been a slight issue. One of the men in Ditrole fell sick this morning. We are trying to find someone else from that region to keep an eye on the selected place. We should be getting a result anytime."

"Ditrole, huh…" Vyan's eyes lifted from the document. "Which region in Ditrole?"

"It's in the vicinity of Halesbrook," Clyde answered.

A flicker of recognition crossed Vyan's features, a smile spreading across his face. "Halesbrook… that is near my old orphanage."

"Oh, right. No wonder why the name of this place sounded familiar," Clyde chirped, a smile spreading across his face. "You make a donation there every month, don't you?"

Vyan nodded and placed his chin on the heel of his palm. "We are visiting our deceased knights' families with condolences tomorrow, aren't we?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I think I should make a trip down Halesbrook as well in that case," Vyan let out. "It might be nice to see if they are putting my generous donation to good use or not."

Clyde chuckled at that and asked curiously, "Why the sudden excitement to visit your orphanage, though? You never mentioned anything good about it."

"Well, it wasn't particularly bad, either," Vyan reasoned, a contemplative smile on his face. "In fact, Father Klaus was quite nice to me…" Was he nice? "I think so, at least. My memories are a little blurry. But I do remember he was the one who got me the opportunity for apprenticeship at House Estelle."

"That's nice of him."

"Yes, but he passed away a couple of years after that," Vyan said wryly. "Anyway, we will just drop by there for a short bit and take a look around. I will even show you my favorite spot in the orphanage."

"Alright then. I will add Halesbrook to our destination for tomorrow as well," Clyde stated. "Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of," Vyan murmured. "Oh, and tell Benedict to make sure nobody, not even Iyana, is allowed to step foot in the estate while we are gone tomorrow."

"Got it."

As Vyan got back to his paperwork and Clyde left the office, an uneasiness settled into Vyan's chest. Was he making the right decision by going to Ditrole?

His gut was telling him no, that something big might happen—whether good or bad, he wasn't quite sure of it.