Ascension Of The Villain

"You mean to say that you married the emperor to take revge on him?" Vyan asked, his eyebrows shooting up in guine surprise.

"Yes, I thought I was going to d it all on our first night," Celeste said, staring at her wrinkled hands that were kept on the table.

Vyan also couldn't help but take notice of the condition of her hands. She was supposed to be in her-thirties, yet she looked like in her late forties with her sunk eyes and her ghastly skin that looked like dying.

She continued, "I was so blinded by revge that I overlooked the most important person I should have be keeping an eye on."

It didn't take Vyan ev a second to put two and two together as he asked, "Empress Jade?"

Celeste's lip trembled as she nodded. "I neglected the fact Jade was furious over our marriage and she would try to do anything to sabotage me."

"So she was the one who single-handedly wrecked your grand master plan?"

She nodded. "On our first night, I was going to poison Edgar and th kill myself, but… th Jade barged in with the imperial guards and accused me of wanting to assassinate Edgar."

"Wow, must be psychic, that one," he remarked.

Celeste shook her head solemnly. "She wasn't psychic, Vee. She was vicious. She actually had no idea I was actually going to do it; she framed me out of spite."

Vyan blinked in surprise. "So Empress Jade is not to be underestimated, got it."

"After that incidt, I was never left alone with Edgar. Ev if I were, I was always checked thoroughly. Edgar also lost his trust in me."

"Saw that coming a mile away," he snickered.

"But he continued to love me," she murmured, her voice softing, and Vyan made a face like he'd just bitt into a lemon.

"Don't tell me you actually love that old geezer now."

"Absolutely not. He might be the father of my childr, but I can never forget the fact that he also murdered the childr who first made me feel like a mother."

"Th?"

"Since he continued to love, Jade continued to get jealous and always plot vicious conspiracies against me—"

"Why did you stay quiet?" Vyan questioned, arching an eyebrow.

"I had no choice." Her face lost all color, as if she was recalling her terrible past. "I was forced to conceive Ronan."

"What do you mean, forced to—" Vyan paused, the gears in his brain grinding to a halt as he processed her words. Rage coursed through his veins, and he clched his fists. "And you say that man claims to love you?"

She smiled, but it was the kind of smile you give wh you realize your favorite person in the world died. No hint of life in her eyes.

"What could I do, Vee? I had to delude myself in one way or another. Ev if I wanted to die, I couldn't do it. Because I had Ronan. I got tied down. Th came Kate.

I was shackled here, and Jade took advantage of it."

"She threated you with them?" Vyan's tone was a mix of disbelief and outrage.

She nodded.

As Vyan looked at her lifeless face, he realized just how wrong he had be to think he could never feel pity or sympathy for her. This was worse than finding out his aunt betrayed his family to marry the emperor out of love.

His heart was breaking for her.

And her face—the one that matched his mother's so much—didn't help, either. It was like looking at a sad, nostalgic mirror.

Vyan, who had be standing until now, kneeled in front of her and gtly took her hands in his. "I am so sorry, Tia. I had no idea."

Her eyes brimmed with tears, but this time, they seemed to sparkle with happiness. She squeezed his hands tightly, finally allowing herself to cry oply. "It feels so good to talk to someone about it."

Vyan stood up, rubbing her back in gtle circles as she released the pt-up emotions she had be suppressing for so long. He knew she had no one to confide in until now.

The imperial family was a nest of emies, and her childr were too young to grasp the depths of her pain.

Only Vyan could truly understand what she was going through and why she had tak such drastic measures. It might seem foolish to some for her to vture into this perilous place alone, but he knew the blinding fury of revge all too well.

If Bedict hadn't found Vyan that day, he might have done something just as desperate to avge Iyana.

So he felt a pang of sorrow for his aunt, trapped in this gilded cage, burded by the need to protect her childr.

"Just a little longer, Tia. You won't have to suffer much longer."

"I have giv up hope for myself, Vee," she whispered through her quieting sobs. "But please, promise me you will protect Ronan and Katelyn."

"Of course, I will. Don't worry," he reassured her softly.

Celeste managed a smile, a spark of life returning to her eyes. Vyan couldn't help but mirror her smile.

"Oh, Vee," Celeste suddly remembered, her expression shifting, "there's something I forgot to tell you."

———

"...so I had to work all day, trying to examine the hunting locations. Imagine the chaos that would sue if any wild animal was found there, like a bear or something," Clyde chuckled, narrating his stories with the thusiasm of a kid showing off his latest toy.

Althea, the que of feigned disinterest, was giving an award-worthy performance. She had the art of looking bored down to a scice. Yet, despite her best efforts to look uninterested, she was definitely listing.

Because, let's be honest, Clyde's stories, while bordering on excessive, were actually pretty fun. And his expressions? Kinda cute.

What are you doing, Thea? Snap out of it! She mtally slapped herself.

"Did Vyan get lost? Why isn't he coming yet?" she asked, mainly to divert her thoughts from Clyde and his unexpectedly charming monologues.

"Maybe he got lost," Clyde muttered, looking a suspiciously.

Vyan had graciously vanished to give them some alone time, but his absce was stretching into an hour. Clyde felt the pressure to keep the conversation alive, fearing the silce might strangle him.

She must think I am the most annoying human being on the planet! Why didn't I shut up fifty minutes ago? he siltly berated himself.

"Um, maybe I will go look for him," Clyde offered, standing up, more to escape his own embarrassmt than out of guine concern for Vyan.

Althea chuckled, a sound that st a strange thrill through him. "So this time you are actually going to look for him?"

"Pardon?" Clyde blinked, clueless.

"The last time Vyan got lost at the Itroy market, you were so nonchalant," she pointed out with a smirk.

"Oh." Clyde felt his neck heat up, a lovely shade of crimson creeping in. He didn't think she would remember that little detail. "I am just more worried this time."

"It's natural to be. We may be on imperial gs, but there is no place in Haynes more dangerous than here," she said, her voice taking on a somber tone.

For a momt, Clyde wondered what it was like growing up here for her, in a place that held as much danger as beauty.

As he oped his mouth to ask, Vyan stepped into the room, his steps heavy and dragging.

"Oh, Vyan, you are finally here. Where did you get lost?" Althea asked, standing up, her voice filled with concern.

"A lot happed. I just bumped into Katelyn, and th, she was taking me to meet Ronan, but I ded up meeting my aunt," he said, his tone burded with fatigue.

"You finally saw Empress Celeste?" Althea inquired, her eyes widing in surprise and a hint of worry.

"Yes," Vyan slumped onto the couch, letting out a weary sigh. "I should have visited her sooner."

Althea smiled gtly and sat beside him, her warmth radiating like a beacon. "She is nice, isn't she?"

"Yes," he replied with a wry smile, a shadow of regret passing over his face. "I feel like such trash for not visiting her sooner. Her condition was…"

Althea patted his shoulder, her touch tder and reassuring. "It's okay. You can see her from now on. She will be really happy." Her smile wided, a spark of hope in her eyes. "She has always be so kind to me, treating me like a daughter."

"I can imagine," Vyan whispered, his eyes glisting with unshed tears.

"I am sorry, Vyan, that I could never do anything to help her," Althea apologized.

"It's alright," Vyan replied softly, looking down. "You were no match for Empress Jade." His voice was barely audible, but the pain was evidt.

Althea nodded in silt agreemt.

"Oh, by the way, what did you want to talk about today?" she asked, attempting to shift the mood.

"That… isn't important anymore. Don't worry about it," he brushed it off, a forced smile on his lips. He knew deep down that healing magic couldn't md Iyana's brok memories. He just wanted to tease Clyde and give him a chance to talk to Althea.

"I will get going for today," Vyan said, rising from the couch, his movemts slow and heavy. "Sorry, Thea, but I will see you some other time. Let's talk more next time."

"Sure," she replied, offering him a kind smile–one that tried to mask her own sadness.

Clyde watched this exchange, feeling a pang of jealousy twist in his chest.

Wow, what a kind smile for Vyan. And for me? She didn't ev spare me a proper glance the tire time, he thought, pouting internally. No, no, what am I thinking? My frid is sad over here.

"Let's go, Vyan," Clyde suggested, his voice softer than usual, trying to be supportive despite his own conflicting emotions.

As the three of them exited the office together, they came face to face with the real devil.

"Your Imperial Majesty, good afternoon," they chorused in uneasy unison.

"What a surprise," Vyan said, an amicable smile masking the storm brewing within him as he faced the Empress-consort of Haynes, Jade.

"I heard you were visiting Princess Althea, so I thought of paying you a visit. It's be a while since we have se each other, right, Your Grace?" Jade's voice was a silk whisper, her tight-lipped smile a deceptive mask of cordiality.

"It has, indeed." Vyan's words were civil, but beath the surface, his thoughts were a churning sea of restmt.

He recalled the chilling words Celeste had left him with.

"There is something I forgot to tell you."

"What is it, Tia?"

"Vee, you see, the person who first suggested destroying the Ashstone family was… Jade. Edgar was never the real orchestrator behind it all; it was Jade all along."

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