Chapter 440 - 440: Substitute Bride of the Demon King (44)

It was undeniable that he had hurt an innocent woman, all in the name of protecting his beloved Ellie. Yet here was Yue Ran, the kindhearted woman he had wronged, offering him forgiveness and even coming to his aid. She had let bygones be bygones and even saved him. If it were not for her…

For a moment, Andre could not identify what he felt in his heart: a complicated mix of guilt, embarrassment, and unease. They were not pleasant emotions anyway; each feeling intertwined and mingled to create an unsettling storm.

In this moment of bleak solitude, surrounded only by the woman he had mistreated, Andre felt an ache of loneliness blossom within him.

Perhaps people can only see a person's true nature when they are in the most difficult and miserable times. At this moment, there was no one around him except the woman he had hurt. Andre felt a little forsaken in his heart. But he finally broke the silence, his careful voice barely above a whisper, "I am sorry..."

The former Lord Magician apologized, a fragile attempt to atone for the hurt he had caused.

Yue Ran looked at Andre in surprise and suddenly found it a little funny in her heart. The scene unfolding before her felt oddly humorous, a twist that was entirely absent from the original plot. She could not help but wonder— what good was a belated apology? The original soul of this body was long dead.

She died unjustly, and throughout her suffering, not a single person in the world did anything to help her. Not the female protagonist, her twin sister; not the male protagonist, who hated her; not the second male protagonist, who abandoned her after receiving kindness; not the Tallis noble family, her family by blood, and the closest people to her.

She was alone from beginning to end.

Inside the dimly lit chamber of the Demon King's castle, heavy drapes subdued the pale light of the moon filtering through the cracks, casting long shadows across the room.

Silas lay down on a lavish yet imposing bed, a throbbing headache clawing at his temples. Confusion gnawed at him; it was not even the full moon yet, so why was the dark energy within him stirring and attacking so violently?

The malevolent energy surged through him like a raging tempest, and this time the pain was far more intense than before. It twisted and contorted every fiber of his being, leaving him gasping for breath.

Waves of anguish rolled through his heart, amplifying the ache in his skull to a near-breaking point. It felt as though shards of glass were embedding themselves in his mind, sharp and relentless.

This time, the physical torment was paired with a deep emotional anguish that gnawed at his heart like a festering wound. His head throbbed as if it might shatter under the pressure, the pain wrapping around him like a vice, relentless and all-consuming.

He squeezed his eyes shut. He was completely alone. No one would come to his aid during this tormenting night, leaving him to grapple with the shadows of pain. The familiar comfort of care and solace was conspicuously absent; this night would be different from the last time, yet all the same as that in the past.

There is no Leila.

No gentle hands would stay by his side.

No soothing whispers to ease his suffering.

Silas opened his eyes and took a few deep breaths to relieve the uncomfortable suffocation trapped in his chest, each breath a desperate attempt to dispel the suffocating weight that clung to his chest, a dark shroud that threatened to suffocate him from within.

He held the sky lantern he had supposedly released during the Lantern Festival, its delicate paper glimmering softly in the dim light of his chamber. He had sent it back into his room, along with the note in his hand. As these familiar objects filled his view, his emotions, which had been relatively calm, began to churn again.

They were a silent reminder of the celebration's fleeting joy.

Silas clutched a note tightly, the parchment crinkling beneath his fingers.

Things should not be like this… he should not be like this. He had obviously gotten the person he truly desired, so why… why did he always think about her? Why was it that her image continued to invade his thoughts, haunting him relentlessly?

Silas took a deep breath, the cool air filling his lungs as he forced himself to stop thinking about Leila— forcing himself to push her from his mind, to cast her memory into the depths of oblivion. Those thoughts should have been forgotten long ago, yet they clung to him like a stubborn mist.

Thinking of this, Silas exerted force on his hand. The frail piece of paper with the two names— his and Ellie's— written on it was instantly reduced to nothingness. Flames licked at the edges, consuming it voraciously until nothing remained but a wisp of smoke, vanishing into the night air without leaving behind any dust. As long as he could eliminate all things related to her, he should not feel so uncomfortable.

Even so, when Silas's gaze landed on the sky lantern, he hesitated; a flicker of uncertainty gripped him.

Looking at the expansive, opulently furnished dark-toned bedroom, the lightless sky lantern seemed to be the only thing the woman had left behind. If it were to be lost, there would be no trace of her existence anymore, vanishing completely from his world.

Thinking of this, the throbbing in his temples worsens. The remaining thoughts in his heart gnawed at him, making him reluctant to throw away the sky lantern. Instead, he struck the bedside table, sending the small vase tumbling to the floor where it shattered, scattering shards of porcelain like splintered memories.

In a trance, the vivid recollections of which Leila was by his side became clearer and clearer— especially the scene when a relentless, splitting headache seized him.