I Plotted The World Destruction With The Male Lead - Chapter 34

After parting ways with Ludwig and returning, Van received a report from Suha about Carlyle and the Blue Ravens. Carlyle was still in the capital, while the Blue Ravens were said to be moving in the north.

‘Charlotte.’

Recalling his former fiancée, who had looked at him with contempt in their final moments, Van ran a hand through his hair. He no longer had any obligation to protect her.

He had returned to a time before he had sworn to protect her, and even before his regression, Charlotte had betrayed him and sided with Carlyle.

Carlyle would surely try to claim Charlotte.

That was expected. Aside from the Empress, only two people in the empire had been revealed as Guides. At least, that had been the case for the past six years.

Since obtaining Eleanor had become difficult, Carlyle would need Charlotte. Now, he would have to deal with Van, who had received Guiding.

Van had no intention of informing the North about Carlyle. Charlotte’s father, Marquis Enrick, would be wary of Carlyle and any informants as well.

Even if Van hid his identity, it would be useless. Marquis Enrick was persistent, and the mere act of hiding something would only fuel his suspicions.

If he found out, he would try to eliminate Van before feeling any gratitude toward him.

Van had already experienced this over the course of six years before his regression—the betrayal of the north and Charlotte’s contempt. He had no intention of reliving it.

There was no guarantee that Marquis Enrick’s ruthless blade would not be aimed at Eleanor, whom Van was protecting.

The marquis, under the guise of protecting his daughter, would throw Eleanor to Carlyle.

Van hadn’t known it then, but now he understood.

A pure heart alone was not enough to accept everyone.

From the very beginning, Marquis Enrick and the North had never sought help.

So this time, they would have to protect Charlotte with the strength of the North alone, just as they wished.

Rather than dwelling on memories of Charlotte, Van thought about the last battle.

The battle he had participated in without Guiding, which had ended in a great defeat. It had not only been a humiliation of being captured alive by Carlyle.

Countless knights and soldiers had lost their lives. Many eastern nobles who had sought to place Van on the throne had perished, and most of his vassals had died in that battle.

‘If only I had power…’

Even if the compatibility rate was low, he would have still received the supplementary Guiding. That was how crucial and desperate the battle had been.

A faint breeze blew past, wrapping around his body. Van felt how incomparably lighter his body had become compared to before.

Even the gently blowing wind felt as if it were right beside him. He could now use the wind to hear distant sounds and even retrieve objects.

Perhaps he would be able to do even more. The more he received Eleanor’s Guiding, the stronger that certainty became.

‘I still have to complete the rest of the Guiding… Come back as soon as you’re done.’

If he received Guiding today, the impurities within his body would likely be completely purified. But it would only be temporary—once he used his powers again, he would have to receive Guiding once more.

‘I miss you.’

The way Eleanor looked at him… that gaze had become an unbearable longing.

*

Charlotte had always wanted to escape the North. She was tired of the snow, tired of the people of the North.

The duties of a borderland duchess and the responsibilities of an heir were nothing but a burden to her. Since she had chosen not to formally train with the sword, she was instead given the duty of marrying a suitable man who would protect the North.

Because of this, her father, Marquis Enrick, had constantly brought strong knights from all over in an attempt to pair them with Charlotte. She despised it.

“I’m a Guide!”

Guides had always been bound to the royal family. There might have been a time long ago when Guides were treated like slaves, but that was ancient history.

Wasn’t it obvious just by looking at the current Empress, Luria? She was the Emperor’s sole wife and had even elevated her family to a ducal house.

Charlotte believed she could do the same. In the current era, aside from Empress Luria, she was the only known Guide. And not just any Guide—she was an A-rank Guide. But then…

“The Grand Duke of Granmire found a Guide? And he ignored me?!”

Charlotte had always assumed that either Van or Carlyle would become her royal partner. In truth, she had wanted both of them.

As an A-rank Guide, she believed she had the power to make that happen. But whenever she spoke of it, her father, Marquis Enrick, merely scoffed.

“Guides lead miserable lives! Do you think the Empress’s life looks happy to you? For a daughter of the North, the position of Empress will bring nothing but misfortune!”

Marquis Enrick had repeatedly told Charlotte that she would never be able to adapt to life as Empress. As a northern noblewoman, she had learned basic swordsmanship and how to ride a horse.

Those who lived in the North, accustomed to the invasion of monsters, had to know how to protect themselves or how to flee.

“An Empress must live her entire life confined within the palace! Could you bear such a stifling existence? Moreover, the royal family is obsessed with their Guides…”

No matter how many times her father tried to persuade her, Charlotte never understood. She wanted to wear lavish dresses, attend extravagant parties—she believed she deserved it.

“A Guide and a royal match is not something so simple. If they are truly your fate, they will come here to find you. If not, I refuse to acknowledge it!”

With those words, Marquis Enrick locked Charlotte away. He hid the fact that she was a Guide and even eliminated most of those who knew about it.

Now, the only ones aware of Charlotte’s status as a Guide were Marquis Enrick, Charlotte herself, and one of the Marquis’s most loyal subordinates.

Charlotte found her father’s stubbornness exhausting and terrifying. She feared she would never be able to escape the dullness of the North. But…

“This isn’t how it was supposed to be!”

Her once-pink hair had been dyed a sickening shade of dark brown. Mud was smeared on her face, and a gag had been forced into her mouth. Shackles bound her wrists and ankles, forcing her to walk barefoot.

This was all to disguise her identity and smuggle her out of the North. Her pink hair and striking beauty were too conspicuous.

The best way to conceal her was to make her look like a prisoner.

But Charlotte, unaware of the full plan, could only shed tears of humiliation. The filthy commoner’s clothes were unbearable, and the ill-fitting shoes cut into her delicate feet, making them bleed.

“Why is this happening to me? I’m a Guide!”

She couldn’t believe this was happening. She was of noble blood, a woman whose hands had never known a single drop of hardship.

Such things… were meant for poor women or vagrants, not her.

But her tears meant nothing to the guards at the checkpoint. The soldier merely checked the documents handed over by the man escorting her and returned them without comment.

Charlotte was not the only prisoner being transported. Three or four others, also in chains, were being moved along with her.

The man leading them, a member of the Blue Ravens, passed through the gate and guided them down the road. If they wanted to reach the village before nightfall, they had to hurry.

*

Van had hurried back to the imperial palace, yet when he finally reached Eleanor, he realized he had nothing to say.

Seeing him hesitate in front of her, Eleanor reached out her hand.

“You’re back?”

“Yes. I—”

The moment he tried to say that he had missed her, guilt washed over him. Though he resented Charlotte, he couldn’t say for certain that he had completely erased her from his heart.

No matter what, he would always put Eleanor first. But there was still a lingering sense of pity for Charlotte.

And that made him feel guilty.

Because standing before him was Eleanor—a miracle of compatibility.

While he hesitated, Eleanor’s fingertips brushed against his as he reached out but stopped midway. Then, she took his warm hand and pulled him toward her.

Why do we struggle to completely let go of those who betrayed us?

Van knew that Eleanor hadn’t entirely erased her feelings for Carlyle either. He was certain there were moments when she still thought of him.

It made him jealous, but there was nothing he could do about her heart.

“You’re too tall, that’s the problem,” Eleanor remarked as she held onto his arm.

At that, Van knelt at her feet as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Looking up at her, he shuffled forward on his knees.

“Does this work?”

By now, the maids who had been in the room had already left. The last one to leave had even kindly closed the door behind her.

Eleanor cupped Van’s chin and tilted his face up slightly. Then, she pressed a soft kiss to his lips before pulling away.

“You can hold me.”

Van, who had been letting his arms hang at his sides, wrapped them around Eleanor’s waist. Even though he was kneeling, their height still matched, given that he was more than a head and a half taller than her.

Eleanor traced his lips with her thumb.

“You used your powers again.”

She could tell from their contact—the impurities within him had grown. Van looked up at her and replied,

“Because I want to hold you.”

It was a cowardly answer, but his Guide simply smiled. She told him there was no need for an excuse—because she enjoyed their nights together.

It wasn’t the most romantic response, but even those words alone made Van’s heart burn with warmth.

He wasn’t a good man. And yet, Eleanor accepted him, even when he clung to her like this.

“Please… don’t be kind to me.”

He was a man who had made foolish choices—who had let the Emperor die and caused the deaths of the Empress who had raised him and all those who had supported him.

If he had been wiser, if he had made the right choices, that future never would have come to pass. Eleanor never would have had to suffer through Carlyle—she would have been by Van’s side from the beginning.

The only reason he had been given a second chance—had been able to turn back time—was because of Eleanor.

And yet, despite that, he had still thought of Charlotte.

Every time he thought of her, it felt like being pierced by thorns.

That pain was a reminder of his sins.

Then, suddenly, he realized—Eleanor had knelt in front of him as well.

Panicking, Van hurriedly tried to lift her back up. But as he helped her rise, Eleanor wrapped her arms around his neck.

“You did nothing wrong.”

At her whisper, tears slipped from Van’s eyes.

She could say those words only because she knew the original events. She had spoken them while he was running away—she had known exactly what he was feeling. And, fortunately, she still remembered.

“You did nothing wrong. So please…”

She wished for him to be happy.

Just as she dared to wish for happiness herself.