I’m the Main Villain but the Heroines Are Obsessed With Me chapter 50

50 – 24. Unworthy Person (1)

“…That’s enough.”

Letitia sighed deeply as she looked at the simmering soup.

There were kitchen staff in the aristocratic family who lived there. But she had always wanted to make at least one meal for her children to eat.

Letitia had never thought it was hard while cooking. But today, she felt overwhelmed.

“What have I done…”

Lost in her thoughts while stirring the soup absentmindedly.

Her close friend Jane had been murdered long ago and the demon had taken her place.

It was so shameful and embarrassing that she hadn’t realized it.

Wasn’t she the lady of the house? The person who supports and relies on the Viscount by his side.

Instead of supporting the Kilayan, she ended up contributing to the ruin of the family, unable to help them.

“Even this time, I received help from Ian.”

Furthermore, wasn’t Ian their savior?

That child who grew up only with scars in the family. She felt so sorry and grateful that he fought for the sake of the family.

In her heart, she wanted to say thank you. She wanted to apologize for all the past mistakes.

But did she have the right to do so?

Letitia knew her place. At least until Ian extended his hand first, she couldn’t do such a thing.

In the end, all Leticia could do was look at photographs. After finishing her meal, she found herself wandering aimlessly through the mansion and ended up in the middle of a corridor. She turned her head to the side and saw a painting depicting Alex Volkanov marching.

“When I married Kilian and came here… I said the corridor felt empty, so I hung a painting,” she recalled. She had hung the picture in the family’s hall of honor and placed family photos and pictures of their future children beneath it. It was a hope that, just as their great ancestors had protected the empire, their own children would also be protected.

Initially, there were only their wedding photos under the frame, but gradually, numerous pictures had accumulated beneath it.

However, “Is there no picture of Ian?”

There were plenty of pictures of Ariel, but no picture of Ian existed anywhere. Even in the family photos where everyone was smiling, Ian was absent.

In the end, Leticia moved her feet and headed to Ian’s room. She wanted to confirm at least that it was the room where he had lived, even if she couldn’t see any pictures.

Luckily, Ian had left his room to have a conversation with the Edenrians who had come, so there was some space.

She entered Ian’s room cautiously, and there it was, what she could see.

“Desolate…”

His room was utterly pitiful. It was to the point that the thought, “You’ve been living in a place like this all this time?” came to her naturally.

Compared to Ariel’s room, which was filled with warm carpets and charming decorations, Ian’s room had nothing. The old desk was so cluttered that it was almost impossible to get hurt, and the legs of the chair were misaligned, causing it to creak.

“The air is so stuffy, and it’s this cold.”

The bigger problem was that there was no renovation at all, so the wind was seeping in through the window frame. Since the room was originally used as storage, it was obvious that there were no facilities like a fireplace.

In other words, poor Ian had lived his whole life in this cold, neglected place.

All because of resentment. They left their innocent son in this room.

Should she apologize when he came back? No, did she even have the right to apologize in the first place?

As she was organizing the thoughts swirling in her mind, she noticed something in the room.

“What’s that?”

Upon closer inspection, there was a small piece of paper on the chair.

The crumpled and ink-stained paper.

Could it be that she couldn’t throw away the trash?

Thinking this, Leticia held the paper. She could see it.

“Huh?”

The scribbled words filling the paper, although crooked.

But only one sentence caught her eye.

– Maybe I shouldn’t have been born. –

“Oh… What have I done….”

Her heart trembled. She wanted to deny it, but it was clearly written on the paper.

That she shouldn’t have been born. Was Ian thinking of herself that way?

It was all her fault. Is the victim, that child, blaming himself?

“He acted so cruelly.”

Was Ian sacrificing himself for the family?

Overwhelmed by the feeling of disgust, Leticia covered her mouth with her hand.

She seemed unable to tolerate herself out of self-hatred. If only she could go back to the past. She wanted to beat herself up for abandoning her son.

“What have I done….”

Ian didn’t want much.

Not immense love, praise, or expensive gifts.

Just.

“A warm word, that’s all it was.”

She couldn’t even do that. And she made her son like this.

Tears flowed uncontrollably from the sadness.

As if she would collapse from the stabbing pain in her heart.

But Leticia couldn’t do that.

Clank!

“I… Ian…”

“Why, Mother….”

Ian, who had suddenly returned to the room, looked at her with a bewildered expression.

“This is.”

When the paper that she had been holding slipped down in front of Ian’s feet.

Thud!

Letitia passed by Ian and left the room.

She couldn’t bear to look at the child.

***

The atmosphere turned as cold as an ice rink because of Letitia, who hurriedly left her seat.

Nathalian watched Ian in dismay, tears streaming down.

“Ugh… Is it because I made a mistake… and left the paper behind? I’m sorry, Ian.”

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But…”

What could Nathalian have done wrong? He had just practiced to be helpful, after all. Of course, he had left the paper behind, but no one could have predicted that Letitia would come to check it.

“Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Ian stroked Nathalian’s head as he reflected on what had just happened.

“But why did you suddenly take an interest? I wonder why she’s acting like this now, after a lifetime of indifference.”

If it were the early days of their possession when they didn’t know anything, they might have wanted to apologize. But Letitia and Kirilline Volcanov, whom they had seen while uncovering secrets, were not the type of people to apologize to.

“When I checked the second secret, it seemed like Ian’s household atmosphere wasn’t good from the beginning.”

Elysion had definitely said that when she used the stamp to make him despise himself.

“I’ll live a harsher life than I did in my previous life of indifference.”

Doesn’t that mean Ian’s life was difficult from the beginning? After repeating numerous regressions, this time he suddenly took an interest in his son, whom he had never shown interest in before? It was a situation that couldn’t be doubted.

“Am I trying to attach myself if I succeed? But that’s not the case.”

Ian was holding the lifeless Elzebeth. The fact that she was wearing the empress’s attire meant that Elzebeth would eventually succeed the empress.

Had Ian and Elzebeth looked like a couple before?

If he had wanted to attach himself from the beginning, he would have done so then.

“It’s not about attaching myself. It’s not about her loving me from the start…”

Then what could be the reason? Are you saying there was suddenly a change in the state of mind?

Why did your heart change?

It was that time when he was constantly worrying while stroking Natalion’s head.

Thunk!

“Why the hell do these potatoes grow so fast? Huh? Ian, what are you doing? Why are you sitting on the floor instead of leaving the perfectly fine chair?”

“Igor?”

It was Igor, wearing a towel on his wet head, who came in.

Judging by the soil on his pants, it seemed he had just been digging potatoes.

But Igor’s visit was not the end of it.

“Igor, what would you do if you entered a room without knocking?”

“While I’m rolling around in the cold weather, all you did was paperwork! You don’t know my pain! It feels like I’m going to die from all the hardship!”

“Hey, why are you like that… Let’s both not get angry and go eat our meal! Ian, aren’t you hungry too? Let’s go together!”

Eri and Ria also came to the room.

It seemed like they had come separately to do their own tasks while Raymond was talking.

“Yeah. It seemed like my head wasn’t working anyway.”

It would be better to eat and think.

***

The place they headed to eat with the group was the family’s dining hall.

Although there was a strong desire to visit a famous restaurant nearby.

There were not many restaurants that had made a name for themselves in the Volkov territory.

Since Trishu, the neighborhood where the mansion was located, was not a place known for its food industry, there was nowhere in particular to go.

“In the first place, there’s nothing special to eat even if we go to such a place.”

At best, there were a few taverns… Recently, dishes made with potatoes were quite popular.

But knowing what kind of potatoes they were, Ian didn’t really want to take them there.

“Just mediocre potatoes being dressed up to look good and sold as specialty products.”

The reason they decided to eat at the family mansion was also because of this.

There were talented chefs who had come from other territories and the best quality ingredients here.

Frankly speaking, even if they searched the whole Volkov territory, they wouldn’t find a place that could make food as good as here.

“It’s my first time eating at a different family’s house. I’m looking forward to it!”

“It’s better not to have any expectations. Even if it’s the northern region, nothing special comes up.”

Note: The translation has been adapted to fit the formatting style. The original translation may differ in this regard.

“Still, I heard that Lady Volkanoft herself cooks. So, wouldn’t it be a bit different?”

“Well… I don’t think there will be much of a difference.”

Although I’ve never eaten anywhere else, I didn’t feel there would be any distinguishing factor.

Of course, Letitia might have some unexpected cooking skills, and extraordinary dishes might come out.

“Still, in my diary, there was no praise for the taste. It felt like I was just eating to survive.”

Most of the food was something he couldn’t eat due to allergies. Ian didn’t even praise what he could eat.

Naturally, he didn’t have any expectations.

“Still.”

There’s no need to disappoint them.

How long had they been waiting? The food that came out of the kitchen was being brought by the maids.

Starting with a gentle soup made with shrimp, followed by a turbot cooked with seafood risotto and cinnamon sauce.

Finally, when the well-cooked lobster was placed, and the maid finished her greetings.

No one said a word.

In front of the food, no one moved. Letitia, who had come out of the kitchen, opened her mouth, looking embarrassed.

“It may be lacking as it was prepared in a hurry… Please eat a lot.”

But no one could pick up the fork and knife at her words.

“…”

Everyone froze, only glancing at Ian.

How could they enjoy seafood dishes when Ian couldn’t eat them? They were like poison to him.

His mother should know that her son can’t eat seafood. How could she serve this?

Still, they couldn’t be impolite to the Countess and ask for the food to be redone.

In the end, Eri and Leah had no choice but to stay silent until Ian spoke.

“Hmm? Is this the end?”

Of course, there were exceptions.

Igor.

Although he was a Viscount’s son, being from a fiery warrior race, he had grown up disregarding respect for superiors. He casually looked at Letitia and spoke.

“Ian can’t eat seafood, so what do we do with this? It’s not like we’re trying to kill the kid…”