Since When Were You The Villain?

Chapter 108.

 

“Ian, you truly have a gentle heart.”

 

“….”

 

Ian was puzzled about whether his father’s praise was sincere or sarcastic. 

 

It was because he had never heard such words about having a gentle heart in his entire life. 

 

Moreover, considering what Ian had done to Sophia until now, even if the count favoured Ian, he wouldn’t say such a thing.

 

At that time, a sneer appeared on the count’s lips and a drunken voice came out.

 

“As for family… what about a wench with no drop of noble blood?”

 

The count grumbled and gulped down the wine.

 

Not a drop of noble blood?

 

“What… What are you talking about?”

 

No matter how different his mother was, Ian and Sophia were step-siblings born to the same father.

 

But…

 

“Ha, that wench should have been driven away early. Is it fortunate that she’s useful now?”

 

The count said this, shaking his head.

 

“You are my son and the future head of the Fraus. So, I’m telling you.”

 

The count, who had been wobbling his hand, rested it on Ian’s shoulder.

 

“That wench is not from Fraus.”

 

Not from Fraus?

 

Ian’s pupils trembled.

 

Was the count making up groundless words due to the effects of alcohol?

 

“I was deceived too; that’s what I’m saying.”

 

The count confessed, revealing a secret that had been buried for a long time.

 

* * *

 

Before Rubisella entered, Catherine, the former Countess Fraus, was frail from the time of her marriage.

 

Because of her weak health, she experienced two miscarriages.

 

Two miscarriages in a strategic marriage.

 

It meant a lot.

 

“Unable to carry on the family line…!”

 

As the main reason for the marriage crumbled, the Fraus family began to scorn her.

 

Count Fraus also did not have affection for Catherine, who was often sickly and frail.

 

However, having already entered into the marriage, he had to have a child with Catherine to continue the family line.

 

So, Catherine became pregnant for the third time.

 

“People say that a woman who had a miscarriage is prone to having another one…”

 

“With such a weak body, how can she bear a child?”

 

As soon as people learned about her pregnancy, they confidently asserted that the third child would not be born.

 

‘I must protect this child…’

 

Catherine sensed that this child would be her final blessing.

 

Meanwhile, Count Fraus, who had lost interest in Catherine, was secretly meeting another woman outside.

 

“I want to go to a place for recuperation.”

 

Catherine expressed her desire to undergo a period of rest at the villa to ensure maximum stability.

 

And the count, who was already in love with Rubisella, did not miss the opportunity and sent her to be treated.

 

Thus, Catherine, at the villa, became pregnant and gave birth to the child.

 

Thanks to the tranquilly she achieved, the child was born safely.

 

So, the Count Fraus thought that the first child of the Fraus had been born… But in reality, it wasn’t so.

 

Catherine, whose body was severely damaged by two previous miscarriages, had to send her third child to the heavens before it could be born.

 

Catherine, physically and mentally broken, spent sleepless nights in tears.

 

It was during those desperate times that a new idea crossed Catherine’s mind, driven by her longing for a child.

 

“I must give birth to a child…”

 

She searched for a child born around the time of her expected delivery date.

 

Then, I met a child through the introduction of a nobleman.

(T/L: Man, this is interesting.)

Green eyes resembling those of Count Fraus. And brown hair similar to her own.

 

Catherine believed that the child who came to her was a destiny bestowed upon her by heaven.

 

She didn’t care about the child’s background.

 

In her heart, which had lost three children, that child had already become her own.

 

“You’re beautiful, our baby!”

 

She named the child Sophia and spent several months raising her together at the villa.

 

Even when she returned to the main Fraus estate, she proudly introduced Sophia as her biological daughter.

 

Catherine raised Sophia as her own biological child until her death. Therefore, the count also believed that Sophia was his daughter.

 

So, until then, he took care of Sophia as if she were truly his daughter, ensuring she grew up with distinction.

 

Although he didn’t love Catherine, she was his daughter. She was from Fraus.

 

However, the fragile Catherine passed away when Sophia turned seven.

 

And that was when the hidden secret was revealed.

 

“Master, the truth is…”

 

The maid, who had been silent, confessed the truth about Catherine’s health and situation.

 

“I thought you should at least know, sir.”

 

At the maid’s revelation about Catherine, the count’s eyes widened.

 

The girl he thought was his daughter, Sophia, turned out to be someone else’s child! And she was a girl of unknown origin!

 

The shock and sense of betrayal were indescribable.

 

But he couldn’t reveal this secret to others. The reputation of the Fraus family was at stake.

 

It was like raising a chick, thinking it was your own, only to find out it was someone else’s.

 

How ridiculous and foolish it must seem.

 

He raised her for 7 years thinking she was his daughter, and now he kicks her out and says she’s not.

 

Perhaps people would pity Sophia and criticise the foolish Fraus family.

 

Therefore, he made a decision. He would slowly erase Sophia from the world, making her disappear as if she had never existed.

 

He kept her away from the public eye, confined her to the attic, and did not allow her to debut in society.

 

* * *

 

“Sophia should be thankful that I didn’t kill her.”

 

The count spoke drunkenly.

 

He had wanted to eliminate Sophia, a constant thorn in his side, many times, but he refrained.

 

And he thought to himself.

 

He had done everything he could. He was displaying remarkable compassion.

 

As a noble, he believed he was fulfilling the duty of being humane and generous.

 

“What does it matter whose blood is mixed in? Who knows if it’s the blood of a gambler or a tavern girl!”

 

The count said, pouring wine, his voice agitated.

 

Every time he imagined Sophia’s origins, his disgust deepened.

 

It was irritating to think that he was raising a girl of unknown and perhaps the dirtiest blood as a noble lady.

 

“So until now…”

 

Hearing the count’s words, Ian dropped his fork from his hand.

 

Now, it seemed like he might finally understand the reason why his father had allowed Sophia’s mistreatment.

 

Even when her mother despised Sophia, her father would roll his eyes and leave quietly. 

 

The father who never once restrained Ian, even when he made Sophia cry.

 

Even though he thought it was a little strange, he accepted it very naturally.

 

Maybe the father was the instigator of abuse rather than neglect.

 

He is the one who caused Sophia to not be treated properly in this family.

 

“Abuse? I married off that girl, whose origin is unknown to the Grand Duke’s family. Sophia should be grateful to us! Well, whether she likes it or not.” 

 

The count said this, pointing his finger in the air.

 

Ian was confused.

 

‘Sophia and I are not related by blood… … ? The woman who I believed was more of the Fraus than anyone else, she is not Fraus?’

 

It was the moment when the Count Fraus family he believed in collapsed.

* * *

 

A few days later.

 

“Your Excellency, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince…”

 

As Garfield’s voice echoed from outside, Killian’s bedroom door swung open.

 

When Killian, who was sitting on the bed, raised his head, Mikhail strode in.

 

Normally, Mikhail wouldn’t enter Killian’s room without permission.

 

Killian cleared away the documents he had been reading and made eye contact with him.

 

“Is it true that you’ve been dismissed from the position of the military police’s commander?”

 

Indeed, it was about that matter.

 

“Yeah. That’s right.”

 

Killian nodded expressionlessly.

 

After the match with Ian, a proposal for Killian’s dismissal from the position of military police was made, and today the decision was finalised.

 

The documents Killian had just been reading were related to that.

 

Mikhail raised an eyebrow at Killian’s reaction.

 

“Why…?”

 

“Why, you ask?”

 

“Why are you so indifferent about it?”

 

Mikhail asked with a somewhat angry tone.

 

“What’s there not to be indifferent about?”

 

Killian chuckled.

 

However, Mikhail looked at him with seriousness.

 

“At least from my perspective, you were sincere about your role as the military police commander. You did well.”

 

“That’s right. “I think it suited me quite well.”

 

Killian seemed lost in thought for a moment, lowering his eyelashes.

 

“But why!… His Majesty said that you also agreed to this dismissal.”

 

“Yeah, I agreed.”

 

“So why did you agree?”

 

“It’s an order from the imperial family, brother.”

 

“An imperial order…?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

As Killian nonchalantly nodded, Mikhail’s expression twisted.

 

“How long are you going to obey those orders?”

 

Mikhail questioned Killian, clearly frustrated.

 

Killian looked at Mikhail as if he found him strange and chuckled, almost like making a joke.

 

“I don’t think this is something a future emperor would say, right?”

 

“You really…!”

 

Killian’s consistent light responses seemed to frustrate Mikhail. He roughly ran his fingers through his golden hair.

 

It was quite rare for Mikhail, who was usually calm, to be this excited.

 

“Killian, I think you’re smart.”

 

“…”

 

The Killian that Mikhail remembered was incredibly intelligent, to the point where he would never make the same mistake twice. 

 

When Killian, who had been isolated in a room after the incident during his childhood, suddenly changed his attitude and began following Mikhail, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

 

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