TVOWW 80

Chapter 80

You Don’t Even Love Me Anyway

Johan was an incredibly remarkable man.

To be honest, I had known it from the moment he was born. He accomplished things that others struggled with as if they were nothing.

Even when his family fell, Johan executed perfect revenge.

But Estelle…

Whenever he faced her, all of Johan’s pride and achievements felt meaningless.

“Was the mastermind Libertan? Did they actually spread those malicious rumors about the adopted daughter they supposedly cherished?”

“Yes. Someone witnessed Baroness Morselli and reporter Risello receiving the source from Libertan. They’ve now begun to testify, as if they suddenly remembered.”

“Can it suddenly turn out like this? How incompetent must the prior handling have been to end up like this?”

“I apologize, my lord.”

All the meticulous investigations had fallen apart. Johan’s flawless results were now stained with failure and arrogance.

So he set out to uncover the mastermind anew.

I thought the temple would be behind this.

And yet, the Libertan household appeared again. From the beginning, they had never truly cherished Estelle like their own daughter.

This is more like what I’d expect from the Libertans.

A cruel family like them would never devote themselves to an adopted child with no blood relation. Johan had suspected it at first.

But all the evidence had been perfect, and then, in an instant, as if everyone had snapped out of hypnosis, all the evidence flipped.

I thought Libertan would at least care for her as a substitute for their real daughter.

But they hadn’t even treated her as a substitute. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone out of their way to spread rumors of her being a villain.

Does Estelle know this?

It was strange, but Estelle still seemed to regard the Libertan couple as her parents.

Johan had exposed the truth that the Libertans were behind it to shatter even that faint hope she might have.

So that, like Johan had, Estelle would also grow to hate the Libertan household.

So their bond could grow even stronger.

But Estelle’s reaction was entirely different. At least, Johan had expected her to tear up the newspapers in anger. He thought she would beg him for revenge, lean on him.

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

Estelle was calm.

“I really didn’t see this coming.”

It was obvious that she no longer had any expectations for the Libertan couple. Unlike before, when she seemed to still regard them as her parents.

Is this the real her?

Seeing Estelle utterly unbothered, Johan was puzzled.

Did she already know, or had she just sensed it subconsciously?

“My body’s weak, so I stay in the mansion all the time… I’m not really up-to-date with news.”

“Then why does your expression look like that?”

“Hmm?”

Johan felt an overwhelming desire to uncover Estelle’s hidden feelings. His indigo eyes trembled like waves.

What are you hiding?

Estelle had turned pale without even a chance to hide her shock. Seeing her like that, Johan began to piece together the puzzle he had been assembling.

“Right now, you’re showing a face that isn’t sad at all. Like you expected this.”

Usually, even if someone is falsely accused of being a villain, they’d feel wronged. But she seemed indifferent to being labeled a villain.

Just like with the process of taking revenge on Miryu Juti.

Estelle didn’t defend herself actively. She didn’t try to completely erase the villain rumors. Some of the rumors had been shaken, but she didn’t seem intent on making them disappear entirely.

If she had, she would have explained her situation to people like Princess Diana, who seemed to be close to her.

Why would she accept punishment only for Miryu’s crimes yet continue to bear the villain label?

Her refusal to take revenge on the reporters who slandered her deepened Johan’s confusion.

It makes me angry just recalling what you went through.

He didn’t know exactly what this feeling was, but he wanted to grant Estelle anything she desired and protect her from pain. He wanted to repay her for the unjust suffering she endured in the past.

Even if she seemed unaffected, this was no small matter. Everyone had tried to maliciously ruin her reputation.

Madam knows she has limited time left. But she doesn’t want to worry anyone, so she doesn’t want to reveal it.

She was troubled enough even when it became known that she had only a year left.

Could it be…

Was it to run away?

If Estelle disappeared suddenly, even as a terminal patient, rumors could tarnish Johan’s name.

If Estelle dies still considered a villain…

Johan’s honor would remain untarnished.

“Really… nothing to say?”

He didn’t know what Estelle might say, but he assumed it would fall within a range he expected.

“I… I mean, I…”

But seeing her tears, his heart sank.

“I… I didn’t mean to deceive you.”

To extract the truth from Estelle, who kept her feelings tightly hidden, he had to surprise her.

This isn’t right.

Had he known it would be this hard, he would have done it differently.

“So I… didn’t want to disappoint you.”

Perhaps Estelle had always suffered from the guilt of not being fully honest. She seemed to fear that Johan would be disappointed and abandon her.

“I’m afraid this moment will end.”

Her voice trembled desperately.

“I was wrong. Ask me anything, I’ll answer. I’m sorry for deceiving you all this time.”

Johan felt despair and anger at himself.

Stupid fool.

It seemed Estelle had suffered more abuse in Libertan than he imagined. Her trembling looked like a child about to be punished.

The sight shocked him. Johan’s mind went blank. As he stared at her, she did something shocking.

“So please… save me.”

Estelle, staggering as if she would collapse, fell to her knees before him. Her fair face had gone pale.

Trembling pitifully, she clasped her hands together and began to plead with Johan, tears streaming down her face.

“Please… save me.”

Amid the chaos in her mind, she remembered Johan’s past words:

Then say you want to live. Ask me like that. Say you don’t want to die.

That was the only way she could survive.

Yes, plead. Say you want to live. Say you want to survive no matter what.

Because Johan had promised that if she begged, he would save her.

“Please… save me.”

She fell to her knees and looked up at Johan. His face was hidden in the backlight.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I wasn’t the daughter who had been loved from the start. If I said that, nothing would remain for me. Everything would be over.”

She wanted to live.

“I know it’s meaningless to say this now, but…”

So, as Johan had told her, she began to plead while crying.

So miserable.

She felt as if her insides were burning to black.

“Please forgive me just once. Before, you… you said you couldn’t do without me. If I plead like this, you said you’d save me.”

She pressed her tears against her eyes and begged Johan. She was already crawling along the floor, her inner self falling even further.

“Just this once…”

“Alright.”

Johan knelt and wrapped her in his arms.

Just holding her was enough, yet suddenly it felt like her throat was blocked and she couldn’t breathe.

“Alright.”

His strong hands enveloped her head, another arm supported her waist. She felt submerged in water, entirely encased by him.

“Then stop it.”

Johan growled like an enraged beast. She felt the strength of his arms trembling as he held her.

Catching her breath, she asked while still in his arms:

“…Stop what?”

Why am I like this all of a sudden?

Seeing her miserable state, Johan didn’t laugh, didn’t get angry. She suddenly felt no shame.

“Wasn’t this what you wanted, Johan?”

Now was the time for him to be angry at her. The moment she stripped away the mask of a supposedly beloved daughter.

Even not pressuring me is already kind of him.

“So you brought me here as a ‘gift.’ You wanted to ask me if I was loved after hearing about Libertan’s plots against me.”

Yet she felt even more sorrow.

Johan’s solid embrace seemed to protect her. His familiar warmth felt like his heart itself—and that angered her, making her tears fall.

“If this isn’t it, what am I supposed to do? You said if I wanted to live, I should kneel and cry to you. And you said you’d grant anything.”

“……”

“What do I need to stop doing? What would satisfy what you want?”

Johan held her tighter. His breathing grew rougher.

“…Estelle.”

At that moment, the trees seemed to worry about her.

-Child, are you okay? Something seems off with your condition.

-Yes. A few of the Eden Roses that were fine just now have wilted. Some shine suddenly while your energy wildly fluctuates.

-Are you in danger? If so, tell us briefly. With your restored power, you can call for help from nearby trees.

But she had no mind to answer. The trees seemed increasingly concerned.

-Contact the other trees quickly! Why can’t we locate our child in such a difficult state?

-It’s not like the connection is cut. Why can’t the other trees see the situation?

-If there’s a place without trees, it’s even worse. We can’t wait any longer.

Johan, breathing heavily, grabbed her shoulders and lifted her head.

“Estelle, look at me.”

Strange.

Johan, always composed and perfect, looked different. Until a moment ago, he had been elegant and calm.

This isn’t the face I expected.

His eyes were contorted in pain. The red flames of anger in his eyes wavered slightly when they met hers.

He spoke each syllable with strength in his hands on her shoulders:

“This isn’t what I wanted.”

“Then what did you want?”

She couldn’t understand him.

“You wanted me to uncover what I was hiding and apologize on my own, didn’t you? So you already know what I want to say, right?”

Johan, the mastermind, specialized in cornering others to extract answers and create favorable situations.

He probably prepared this while watching me take revenge on Miryu.

“If this isn’t what you wanted, does that mean I’m misunderstanding? What else am I doing wrong?”

She couldn’t trust Johan. A man who seemed capable of anything, so smart and extraordinary, seemed suspicious when denying he had set a trap.

This was obviously a trap to corner her.

“That’s impossible, I know.”

His hands trembled as they held her shoulders. His tightly closed lips quivered. The Johan before her seemed genuinely not to have wanted this.

Because I wanted to see him this way.

People see what they want to believe.

“Enough. Stop beating around the bush. You can speak honestly now. Anyway…”

She reached out and pushed against his chest to create distance.

“Anyway… you don’t even love me.”

“Me?”

Johan’s red eyes flashed with sparks. Even as she moved her arms to create distance, his face approached.

“You say I don’t love you?”

Her whole body went cold and hot at once.

Why…

Normally, it would feel like boiling from within. But this time, it was different.