Becoming the Villain’s Family - Chapter 252
Chapter 252
In a world entirely devoid of color, the first one to fill it with vivid hues was undoubtedly Sabina.
He wanted to embrace her and drown her in a sea of red. Even if it meant setting himself ablaze and consuming the world.
“Be my will.”
Tristan uttered this without hesitation. Just as he had warned before.
But at the same time, he was fully aware. That the raw words he was uttering now were more genuine than anything he had ever said in his entire life.
“My thoughts, my dreams, my beliefs…… Let them all become a blazing fire, burning me again and again, leaving nothing but ashes.”
“…..”
“I’ll willingly offer every strand of my hair, so you can burn in peace.”
He took Sabina’s hand.
He pressed his hot lips against her palm, he didn’t shift his gaze away from her.
“I’ll gladly accept even hypocrisy.”
She, who had been initially taken aback by the warmth of a stranger, was now gazing at him with a certain calmness.
‘He asked me to swallow him.’
In fact, he was staring at Sabina as if he was about to swallow her.
Even though he was clearly on his knees, bowing blindly and submissively, it felt like the fervent gaze could burn her flesh wherever it landed.
Sabina’s free hand trembled. And she slowly raised it.
“Grand Prince!”
It was at that moment.
The interrogator who had just emerged from the dungeon gasped for breath and called for Tristan.
Sabina was taken aback and let go of his hand. Tristan’s momentum, disrupted at a crucial moment, turned ominous.
“What is it?”
“It seems you should come and see.”
“If it’s something unbecoming, know that I can make your life equally unbecoming.”
“It’s, it’s because Count Valois confessed to something quite important.”
The interrogator hesitated and stammered, but nevertheless, he conveyed his message with determination.
‘Something important?’
Sabina turned to Tristan.
Tristan, who had never once taken his gaze off her, met her eyes directly.
“Let’s make sure the Count pays for obstructing us.”
It’s probably him, not them who was obstructed.
Sabina had intended to counter that thought, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.
‘I just tried to stroke his head..…’
Lately, he had been acting like a submissive beast seeking protection, emitting a yearning gaze.
Sabina quickly averted that gaze and headed to the dungeon.
Count Valois thought to himself ‘no way’.
Could that illegitimate child, that fragile and insignificant wretch, ruin his perfect life?
He didn’t even realize it until the heavily-armed interrogator entered the prison and retrieved his torture tools.
“It might be less painful if you scream.”
“..…!”
“It’s best to start gently at first, don’t you think?”
The interrogator spoke as if soliciting an opinion and hummed a tune.
Then, among the laid-out tools, he picked up something resembling pliers.
The Count turned pale as if all the blood had drained from his body in an instant.
Cold sweat streamed down his entire body.
‘Is this… really happening?’
Wasn’t it just a result of someone drugging his drink, subjecting him to a terrible hallucination? Was Sabina, who was utterly insignificant, just putting on airs for no reason?
‘No, this can’t be. It’s absurd. There’s no way Valentine is actively involving themselves in the private revenge of a mere illegitimate child, and His Majesty abandoning Valois…’
But the vivid agony threw him into reality faster than anyone else.
“Aaaargh!”
The Count writhed in pain, like a fish salted while still alive.
The interrogator mechanically continued his work, showing no signs of hesitation.
“Gasp, cough, kuohk…!”
It was real.
He convulsed, exhaling ragged breaths as if he were expelling blood.
Real, really? This hell? If so, continuing down this path would undoubtedly lead him to the executioner’s block like a ragdoll.
“They weren’t rebels!”
The Count, in desperation, shouted hysterically.
“What do you mean, they weren’t rebels?”
“Allen Castagne didn’t gather rebels! They were just ordinary orphans!”
***
The Kingdom of Roaz was a defeated nation.
The war had spawned countless orphans, and there was no shortage of children in dire circumstances.
The orphanages had their limits in terms of capacity.
The remaining children lived in slums, scavenging for food or becoming slaves, enduring a life devoid of human treatment.
‘Allen provided a place to live and food for those children…..’
Initially, he had no connection to rebellion.
The wages he earned as a knight were entirely used to care for the children.
‘And the donations……’
Allen received support from wealthy individuals, but it wasn’t to raise a rebel force.
It was to establish a school for orphaned children from the Kingdom of Roaz.
‘However, running a private academy without the Empire’s permission is undoubtedly illegal.’
The Empire wouldn’t grant permission to build private educational facilities for the subjects of a vassal state.
‘Because it could become the seed of rebellion.’
Naturally, it would have been conducted in secret.
Count Valois used that fact to disguise the children as rebels.
Then, the reason it took 15 years…..
“You mean to tell me that you waited for those children to grow up enough to be convincingly labeled as rebels?”
“That’s right! There were no rebels from the start, and no one conspired to rebel! I only assisted in establishing the academy. I am innocent!”
Blinded by fear, the Count, trembling and in a frenzy, continuously asserted his innocence.
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