Transmigrated as the Villainess Princess - Chapter 212

Chapter 212: Why Betray Me?
The cold, suffocating darkness of the dungeon pressed upon them like an unrelenting weight.

Ricardo and Lotisia had both succumbed to exhaustion, their bodies too weakened to resist the pull of unconsciousness. But sleep did not bring them peace. It brought nightmares.

Ricardo found himself in the grand halls of the Mors estate, but something was wrong. The walls dripped with blackened blood, pooling at his feet, thick and suffocating.

The portraits of his ancestors hung crooked, their eyes gouged out, their mouths twisted in silent screams.

The chandeliers overhead flickered ominously, their flames casting eerie shadows that stretched and twisted unnaturally. Then, he heard it.

A voice, soft, haunting. “Why?”

He turned sharply, his heart pounding in his chest. The voice was familiar, painfully so. And when he faced it, he felt his blood turn to ice.

Fiorensia stood before him, her figure draped in flowing black, her red eyes glowing like embers in the dark.

But she was not the Fiorensia he once knew. This version of her was hollow, like a specter caught between worlds.

Her face was eerily serene, but there was something in her gaze, something that made his stomach churn. “Why did you betray me, Ricardo?”

His breath came short. “I… I didn’t…”

The words barely left his lips before the darkness shifted. The scene around him warped and changed, and suddenly he was not on the estate but on the battlefield.

The scent of iron and death filled his nostrils. The cries of soldiers rang in his ears. He saw himself, his past self, standing tall, armor gleaming with the blood of his enemies. And beside him… Lotisia.

She was smiling, her hands gripping his arm as they overlooked the aftermath of their conquest.

At their feet lay fallen warriors, people who had fought for him, who had sworn loyalty to him. But they were nothing more than bodies now. Then, the scene changed again.

He was inside the estate, and Fiorensia was standing in front of him, heavily pregnant, her face filled with exhaustion yet unwavering dignity.

“I heard rumors, Ricardo,” she had said back then. And he had laughed.

Back then, he had dismissed her concerns, kissed her forehead, and told her not to worry. He had held her hands, and told her she was the only woman for him.

All while another woman, pregnant with his child, waited for him in the shadows. The dream twisted into something more grotesque.

He saw Fiorensia, standing in the cold halls of the estate as Lotisia stepped past her, head held high, flaunting the child she bore.

He saw the pain flicker in Fiorensia’s eyes, the way she clenched her hands so tightly her nails dug into her skin. And he had done nothing.

He had stood there, watching, allowing the woman who had given him everything to suffer alone.

The guilt slammed into him like a tidal wave, suffocating, unrelenting. The scene shifted once more.

He was standing in the nursery, looking down at his sons, his and Fiorensia’s. They were sleeping soundly, unaware of the storm brewing outside their peaceful world.

And yet, he had already sealed their fate. He had already begun to pull away, allowing the foundation of their home to crumble.

His hands shook as he reached for them, but the moment his fingers brushed against their blankets, the nursery darkened. The cribs were empty.

The children were gone. He turned, panic rising in his throat, and found himself face-to-face with Fiorensia once more. Only this time, she was not alone.

Behind her stood their sons, no longer the innocent children he remembered. Their faces were shrouded in shadow, their expressions unreadable.

But there was one thing clear in their stance, in their presence. They no longer saw him as their father. Fiorensia took a step forward, her gaze was heavy with unspoken words.

“You chose to destroy what we built,” she whispered. “And now, Ricardo, you must live with it.”

Ricardo let out a strangled breath, his chest heaving as if he had been running for hours. The darkness consumed him once more, drowning him in the consequences of his own sins.

In another room, Lotisia thrashed against the cold stone floor, sweat soaking her skin as she, too, was trapped in the web of nightmares Fiorensia had woven for her.

She was back in the estate, in the grand halls where she had once walked with pride, basking in the attention that came with being the new Duchess.

Servants bowed as she passed, whispering praise, their eyes filled with envy. She had everything Fiorensia once had, Ricardo’s love, the estate’s power, the prestige of the Mors name. But something was wrong.

The servants’ faces began to blur, their whispers turning into harsh, mocking laughter. The grand halls darkened, the walls closing in. She turned to Ricardo for comfort, but he was gone.

She was alone. Then, she saw Fiorensia. Standing at the top of the staircase, draped in white, her expression unreadable. Lotisia felt a pang of fear.

“Why?” Fiorensia’s voice echoed through the hall. “Was it not enough to take my husband?”

Lotisia backed away. “I… I won. You lost.”

Fiorensia’s lips curled. “Did I?”

Suddenly, the hall was filled with screams.

Lotisia whipped around, and she saw them, the servants she had cast aside, the noblewomen she had humiliated, the children of the house she had ignored.

Their faces twisted in pain, their voices overlapping in accusations.

“You stole everything.”

“You caused ruin.”

“You are nothing but a thief.”

Lotisia clutched her ears, trying to block them out, but the voices only grew louder. Then, the worst came. The child.

The one she had borne, the one she had fought for. She turned to the crib, expecting comfort, expecting to see the one thing she had left. But the crib was empty.

A cold wind swept through the hall, and Fiorensia stepped forward. “You wanted power,” she whispered. “You wanted my place.”

Lotisia shook her head. “No…”

“But power has a price.”

The ground beneath her cracked. Lotisia screamed as darkness swallowed her whole. And then, silence.

Both Ricardo and Lotisia jolted awake at the same time, their gasps filling the dungeon. Sweat dripped down their faces, their hands trembling.

But when their eyes met, they saw the same thing in each other’s gaze. Fear.

Because for the first time, they understood the weight of what they had done. And for the first time, they knew.

Fiorensia was never coming back to save them.