Ascension Of The Villain

"Iyana, get out of the way," Vyan ordered, his face twisted with fury.

"Please, Your Grace, I can't watch my brother being beat like this," Iyana pleaded, her voice trembling but resolute.

"Th don't watch. Go to your room and shut your ears," Vyan responded coldly, the whip still clutched in his hand.

"I will apologize instead of him," she volunteered hastily. "I will kneel in front of Miss Freya, and if you need someone to vt your anger on, you can hit me with the whip. But please, don't hit him."

What is this girl saying? Is she dumb? Lyon thought, completely baffled by her willingness to take his punishmt.

Vyan's expression softed slightly, but his eyes remained hard. "Iyana, he is the one who insulted and hit Freya. He should be apologizing, not you."

"Okay, fine. He will do that," she assured him. "But please don't hit him anymore."

Lyon watched in disbelief. There is no way Vyan would list to you, Iyana. He hates you. Or…

More like, we made him hate you.

Lyon recalled how he lied to Vyan in the cell that Iyana didn't plead for his life wh she had be willing to do anything to save him, but Prince Izac didn't pay heed to her words at all. It was only after that Vyan escaped and got hell-bt on destroying their family.

So, there was no way Vyan would list to her request now.

But much to his and Freya's surprise, Vyan's grip on the whip loosed, th he gritted his teeth and turned away.

"Brother," Iyana called out, her voice soft yet firm, grabbing Lyon's atttion, "please, just apologize to Miss Freya and do what His Grace is asking you to do with the stable."

Lyon frowned, his brow furrowing in defiance. "Why should I?"

"Are you—" she was about to raise her voice but held herself back and took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

"List, as much as it hurts us to admit it, Father sold you off and His Grace is your owner now. You have to understand that you have no choice but to list to him. The sooner you obey, the easier it is to deal with all this," she explained, her eyes pleading with him to understand.

"So, you are telling me I should just put up with it for the rest of my life?" His voice cracked, a mix of anger and despair.

"No, no," she vehemtly died, "I won't let you suffer like this forever. I will get you out of here somehow. But… for the time being, just be patit and list to his orders," she elaborated.

Lyon stared at her, searching for the usual anger he felt towards her, but it didn't come. It was strange.

Whever he looked at her before, he was always reminded of how their mother gave up her life to give birth to this supposed witch.

He never saw Iyana like a sister because he kept blaming her for everything that was wrong in his life, but this time, he knew she wasn't at fault.

It was their father who had done this to him, not her. She had tried her best to save her. He ev overheard their conversation yesterday.

"Why would you go so far for me?" he mumbled, more to himself than to her.

"Huh?" Iyana looked at him, confused.

"I mean, what if Vya—His Grace actually hit you with the whip?"

She chuckled softly, shaking her head. "First of all, he would never hit me like that. Secondly," she looked up at his face with a gtle smile, "I may not recall our childhood together, but you must have be my protector wh we were kids. After all, that's what big brothers do, don't they?"

No, that's not what I did. I was never your protector… Lyon's heart twisted with guilt.

He had always se her as the reason for their mother's death, never stopping to consider the innocce in his sister's eyes.

"Now, it's my turn to protect you. Leave it to your little sister. I can handle His Grace," she assured him with an uplifting smile, and for the first time since her birth, Lyon felt a rush of affection for his sister. "For now, please apologize to Miss Freya."

Lyon nodded solemnly, his regrets finally settling in his heart. "Alright, Iyana. I will do it."

Iyana turned to Vyan and called out, "His Grace, my brother will do as you say."

Vyan, who had be grossed in conversation with Freya, glanced over and nodded for them to proceed. With much reluctance, Lyon obeyed and apologized to Freya.

Freya felt really awkward and ded up saying, "It's okay, just don't treat the other servants like this, either."

Lyon nodded and trudged towards the stable to begin cleaning.

Once Vyan was satisfied that Lyon would work diligtly, he summoned Jonathan. "Keep an eye on him," Vyan ordered, th turned to Freya. "Go take some rest."

As they started to leave, Vyan noticed Iyana wasn't moving. "Ar't you coming inside?"

"Oh, um, I will stay and help my brother a little," she replied, ready to rush into the stable.

"Okay, but maybe you should change out of those clothes," Vyan reminded. "The horses will not hesitate to chew those fabrics—"

"I will keep that in mind next time," she hollered and dashed inside, seeming like her mind was already made up on spoiling her gown.

Vyan sighed and turned to walk away with Freya.

As they strolled away, Freya cast a worried glance at Vyan. "What's with you? You are letting Lyon off the hook so easily?"

Vyan smirked, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "You think so?"

Freya's nerves tingled. "Again with that evil look. What's cooking in that scheming head of yours?"

"Let's just say I am reacting a sce from the past," Vyan chirped, a wide grin spreading across his face. "The only differce is, Lyon and my roles are reversed."

Ev though it had be a few years since that incidt, Vyan remembered it vividly.

It was just another regular scario where Lyon had forced Vyan into grueling labor unjustly. Wh Vyan made a small mistake, Lyon flew into a rage, grabbing a whip to strike him.

Iyana happed to be passing by and interved, shielding Vyan from further blows. He was grateful to her for saving him.

But the relief was short-lived; that night, Lyon stormed into Vyan's quarters with other knights, binding him and continuing the punishmt in private.

Now, Vyan intded to return the favor.

Let Lyon off the hook easily? Not a chance. That bastard made me suffer way too much for that.

"Mhmm, but are you sure you only did it for this reason?" Freya asked, a teasing note in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Vyan frowned.

She grinned and playfully said, "I mean, you seemed to have changed your mind only after Lady Iyana asked you."

Freya's words made Vyan's heart skip a beat at the possibility.

In a sse, it was true…

The idea of torturing Lyon later in the night only came to his mind after Iyana pleaded with him not to hit Lyon in front of her eyes.

But there was no way, right…?