NRAL | Chapter 71

~Chapter 71~

Arlo’s Scream

Countess Annabel twirled the hair ornament between her fingers and scoffed, ignoring the sound of the door opening behind her. She knew Fabian had arrived, but she didn’t turn around or speak to him—on purpose. It was her way of showing displeasure.

Even someone as clueless as Fabian should be able to pick up on that much.

But strangely, he didn’t come running up with affection or try to rest his head on her shoulder like usual. Instead, he just stood there, silently watching her.

What’s he doing, standing there like a statue instead of acting sweet?

Just as she was about to snap in annoyance, a heavy weight suddenly crashed down on her.

“Kyaaa!”

Before she could react, she was pushed onto the bed with a thud. The surprised countess screamed aloud.

Was Fabian always this aggressive?

 No, that wasn’t like him at all. Or maybe the effects of the candle are already working?

 She stared at the reddish hair cascading in front of her eyes. Under the dim candlelight, it looked even more vividly red.

“Wait—stop! What are you doing?!”

Hot breath brushed her neck, and a large hand roamed over her clothes. Frowning, Countess Annabel pushed against him forcefully. She hadn’t lit the candle to be forced down—just to tease him a little.

But the man, who should’ve recoiled and looked up at her for guidance, didn’t move an inch. Instead, he growled low like a beast and pressed himself harder against her.

Something’s wrong.

The weight on her felt too heavy. Alarmed, she lifted her head to see the man’s face.

And she saw golden eyes.

Familiar, yet… too fierce. Too greedy.

“Kya—! AAAAACK!”

For a moment, her brain simply refused to understand what she was seeing.

 The crown prince—Arlo Ferdinand de Juvenile—was on top of her.

The man who despised her more than anyone else.

 The man she had vowed to destroy.

 And now… he was assaulting her.

“This—this can’t be happening!”

“Shut up. You’re too noisy.”

His voice was unmistakably Arlo’s.

 The crown prince of the empire. Her son’s half-brother. Her mortal enemy.

“Mmmpf! MMMMPF!!”

When she fought back, Arlo angrily removed his hand from her mouth—only to grab and pin her limbs instead.

His eyes were completely unfocused. He looked dizzy and disoriented, like he wasn’t even aware of what he was doing. All that was in his mind was the primal urge to take the woman beneath him.

He didn’t notice her blue eyes instead of Eleanor’s violet ones.

 He didn’t notice that her face wasn’t Eleanor’s.

 He didn’t see anything clearly at all.

“You psycho—! Get off me! I’ll report this to His Majes—”

“I said, shut up!!”

He hadn’t even closed the door behind him, and yet he shouted so loudly it could be heard on the lower floors.

That’s when Countess Annabel understood: he was drugged.

 Completely out of his mind.

No threats, no warnings of the Emperor, would get through to him.

She was going to be raped.

Her face went ghostly pale. Panic and disgust swirled through her.

Maybe she could use this to destroy him later—but right now?

 Her mind couldn’t even get that far.

 No strategy, no calculation—just pure terror.

Please… someone… anyone…!

Then she saw it.

The hair ornament.

It lay nearby on the bed, dropped when Arlo tackled her—long, sharp, and barely out of reach.
It must’ve fallen during the struggle. It was just barely within reach.

Chapter 71: Arlo’s Screams
(Simplified English Translation from “후회 없는 이별” / “No Regret After Losing It”)

Countess Annabel played with the hairpin in her hand, scoffing. She knew Fabian had entered the room, but didn’t turn to greet him. She wanted to show she was annoyed.

Even someone as clueless as Fabian should understand this kind of message.

But strangely, instead of coming up to her sweetly or trying to cuddle her like usual, Fabian just stood silently and stared.

“What’s he doing? He usually clings to me right away!”

She was about to complain when suddenly something heavy slammed down on her.

“Kyah!”

In an instant, she was pinned on the bed and screamed in shock.

Was Fabian always this aggressive?
No, that wasn’t like him at all.
Or maybe the effects of the candle are already working?

Dazed, she stared at the red hair near her face. It looked brighter than usual—maybe because of the flickering candlelight.

“Wait! Stop! What are you doing?!”

Hot breath brushed against her neck, and big hands began pulling at her clothes. Annabel frowned and tried to push him off. She only wanted to tease Fabian tonight—not have him on top of her.

But instead of backing off like he normally would, this man growled like an animal and pushed down even harder.

Something’s wrong.

The weight pinning her down felt different. Alarmed, she looked up to see his face…

And she saw golden eyes—familiar, yet not.

They looked just like the man she despised—the crown prince—but filled with wild greed.

“KYAA—AAHH!!”

Frozen in disbelief, she only screamed once she realized the truth: The man on top of her was Arlo, not Fabian.

The crown prince. The man she hated. Her son’s half-brother. Her enemy.
And he was on top of her. In her bed. In a hotel suite.

“Shut up. You’re too loud.”

The man covering her mouth was definitely Arlo Ferdinand de Juvenile.

“Mmph! Mmmmh!”

Annabel struggled, thrashing her limbs. Arlo let go of her mouth but pinned her arms and legs down.

His eyes were completely unfocused. He looked dizzy and disoriented, like he wasn’t even aware of what he was doing. All that was in his mind was the primal urge to claim the woman beneath him.

He didn’t notice her blue eyes instead of Eleanor’s violet ones. He didn’t even realize the face was wrong.

“You crazy… crazy bastard! Let go of me! I’ll tell His Majesty—!”

“I said shut up!”

He shouted so loudly that it could probably be heard downstairs. Only then did Annabel realize something was very wrong—Arlo was not in his right mind. No threats or warnings would work on someone this far gone.

If no one helped her, she’d be assaulted—right here, right now.

Her face went pale with terror.

Maybe this incident could be used to bring Arlo down… but right now, she couldn’t think about revenge. The fear was overwhelming. She couldn’t even cry.

Please… someone, help…!

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted her hairpin on the bed—a long, sharp one Eleanor had given her.

It must’ve fallen during the struggle. It was just barely within reach.

“Haah… Hah…”

Arlo was panting and focused on pulling up her dress. Annabel moved slowly, reaching for the pin without him noticing.

When she stopped resisting, Arlo relaxed.

“Good. Stay still. Unless you want to be hit again, like before.”

He remembered the time he hit Eleanor years ago. It had thrilled him—breaking a proud woman by force. Since then, he had tried to recreate that feeling with other women, even slapping or choking them.

But it was never the same. None of them had Eleanor’s beauty or elegance.

Even when they cried or passed out, it brought him no pleasure—only disgust.

Eventually, he gave up trying.

Until now.

Finally, he could satisfy his old craving.

Arlo sat up slightly, straddling her, wanting to take a good look at the woman beneath him.

“El—”

Just as he was about to say Eleanor’s name with passion—

SWIPE!

Annabel didn’t hesitate. She grabbed the hairpin and slashed it across his body.

SWIPE—SWIPE!

She stabbed and slashed over and over, not thinking about what came next. Blood splattered across the white sheets.

“AAAAAAARRRGH!!”

Arlo’s screams echoed through the luxury hotel.

***

Back in the restaurant, Eleanor calmly returned to her seat after seeing Arlo get into the elevator.

She picked up her knife and sliced her steak. Red juices oozed from the meat.

She cut the piece smaller. Smaller, and even smaller—until it was bite-sized for a child.

Then, she finally placed the piece into her mouth and chewed slowly.

“Um… pardon me. But His Highness left the restaurant just now…”

The same waiter from earlier approached, looking nervous.

Eleanor swallowed the meat and smiled.

“Is that so? He must have had something urgent to do.”

She was calm—too calm for someone whose date had just abandoned her.

Then she placed her fork and knife down and pulled a letter from her purse.

“Would you kindly give this to His Highness if he returns? I’ll leave it here.”

“Ellie Astria!”

Just as she was about to place the letter on the table, a familiar voice boomed from the entrance.

She turned her head to see the Duke of Astoria and Nora, storming toward her like angry bulls.

“Father? What brings you—”

“See? I told you! I saw Ellie lure His Highness into the hotel!”

Nora cut her off, shouting. Other diners and staff turned to stare.

Where is that Arlo idiot?

Nora looked around angrily.

Something felt off. The reservation was at 7 PM, but Eleanor’s plate looked half-eaten—and Arlo was nowhere to be seen.

“…Ellie. Answer me.”

The duke glared fiercely at her. Thankfully, he didn’t punch her—maybe because of the people around them.

“Who was sitting in front of you? And where did he go?”

He glanced at the letter in her hand.

 [To Arlo]It 
was written clearly on the envelope. His veins bulged in anger. Nora smirked smugly.

Eleanor stood slowly to face her family.

“…Yes. His Highness the Crown Prince was here, in that seat.”

She didn’t try to hide it.

“This will knock her arrogance down,” Nora thought, smiling.

“When I rejected his offer to become his mistress, he got upset and left while I was in the restroom.”

“What?”

“I don’t know what Nora thought she saw, but… Father, I only agreed to meet Arlo so I could reject him properly. He kept sending letters and even showed up at the estate, right to my door.”

Everyone listened closely—fascinated by the idea that the Crown Prince was chasing after the real noble lady, not the fake one.

“I thought if I met him once and turned him down clearly, he’d finally stop. I even wrote a letter—please, read it.”

She handed it to the Duke.

He ripped open the envelope and read the contents. Nora looked over his shoulder.

The letter was exactly as Eleanor said—polite, but firm.

She wrote that she had no intention of being involved with her sister’s fiancé, that she planned to find her own husband by the end of the year, and asked Arlo to stop contacting her.

No… this can’t be…

Nora bit her lip.

She had heard the disgusting conversation herself. It had to be true!

But now that she thought about it… during the conversation, Eleanor was always calm. It was Arlo who was desperate.

Maybe… Eleanor really had agreed to meet him just to reject him. And with that letter in hand, there was no reason to doubt her.

Still, Nora felt something was wrong.

A fancy place full of high-ranking people, the sudden time change, and Arlo’s mysterious disappearance…

She knew I was listening!

Nora had figured it out.

Before Arlo came to Eleanor’s room, Eleanor had told Hilda to move the servants quietly out of the way so that if Nora showed up, she could eavesdrop on the conversation.

Nora had figured it all out—but it was too late to change anything.

“Stop lying! It doesn’t matter why—you met the Crown Prince in secret without Father’s permission—!”

“Shh, Nora. Let’s talk at home. Father, may we leave? There are too many eyes here.”

Eleanor lowered her voice and glanced around.

“…Fine.”

The Duke turned away, annoyed. He had hoped to catch Arlo in the act and force him to back down.

But Arlo was gone. No evidence remained—only the shame of their family’s scandal being exposed.

As the Duke took a few steps outside the restaurant, still boiling with anger—

“AAAAAAAARRRGH!! AHHHH!!”

A loud scream rang through the hotel.

The voice was unmistakable.

Eleanor, Nora, and the Duke all stopped—and slowly looked upward.

It was Arlo’s voice.