Chapter 22
The carriage came to a stop, and Adele got down first, extending his hand to me.
“Please take my hand.”
When our eyes met, Adele lowered his lashes and smiled. It was a cruel flutter that felt like it might gouge out my heart. I couldn’t tell whether I was about to be sentenced to death or receiving CPR.
Adele, what are you thinking?
I took his hand and stepped down from the carriage.
This party was being held at the grand estate owned by the House of Duke Bliss. I had thought the Marquis Cloud’s villa was quite large, but it couldn’t even compare to this place.
Guards were everywhere. Loud chatter could be heard even outside the building. It definitely didn’t seem like a particularly refined party.
I followed Adele into the hall where the party was in full swing. But the moment we entered, the entire venue fell into silence.
Everyone—regardless of gender—stared straight at me. From a table of young boys, the sound of a glass shattering as it hit the floor rang out. Yet no one paid it any attention.
“This is a bit overwhelming.”
I muttered without thinking, feeling awkward, and people began whispering.
“Did you hear what she just said?”
“Is she really human?”
“She’s moving!”
“She’s breathing, right?”
I can hear you all, you know!
I tried to keep my composure, but being the center of attention of nearly a hundred people was unbearably uncomfortable.
Sure, Illyna had put more effort than usual into dressing me up—but the person I actually wanted to look good for, Adele, looked perfectly normal! Why are you all reacting like this?!
“Anastasia, you don’t look well.”
“I think I’m just tense. It’s been a while since I’ve been somewhere so crowded.”
I replied cautiously, like walking on thin ice. Even the slightest movement I made sent over two hundred pairs of eyes swiveling at once.
Watching people react so sharply to my every action was downright frightening. On top of that, Ash Cloud and my villainess sister were staring right at me too.
I briefly glanced at the large cage behind my sister. Inside was a massive artificial beast resembling a leopard.
So that must be today’s sacrifice for Chichimeme. It looked disturbingly real.
As if sensing my unease, Adele spoke.
“Shall we move to the terrace for a bit?”
“Yeah, we should. Quickly.”
No sooner had I nodded than Adele led my frozen self toward the terrace. Only then did a few people who realized we were leaving finally speak up.
“Lord Magnus! It’s been a while!”
A man standing near the door to the terrace tried to strike up a conversation, but Adele politely declined.
“I’m sorry. I’ll greet you properly later.”
The man’s eyes widened.
Huh. Was that… for my sake?
Since the party had only just begun, the terrace was completely empty. Breathing in the outside air helped me relax a little.
Ugh… should I not have come?
I suddenly understood very deeply why the original Anastasia rarely went out.
The influence of Anastasia Sinclair’s extraordinary beauty was far beyond imagination.
Come to think of it, it was strange.
Why on earth did the author make Anastasia a peerless beauty capable of toppling nations? Shouldn’t that title belong to the female lead? Or maybe the villainess sister?
And yet Anastasia was merely a supporting character who died young.
My breathing gradually steadied. I looked around for a chair and noticed a table. On it were glasses filled with colorful drinks and plates of cookies.
“There’s a table here too.”
Feeling thirsty, I picked up a glass filled with a pink drink. Just as I was about to drink it, Adele stopped me.
“Anastasia, that’s champagne.”
“It looks really tasty.”
It smells like cherries!
“You can’t.”
Adele coolly took the champagne from my hand. I pouted.
“Even if something happens, you’ll protect me anyway.”
At the very least, you won’t let me smash my head into a wall, right?
Adele’s red eyes rested quietly on me.
“Do you trust me?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
I answered without a moment’s hesitation. Adele’s brow twitched ever so slightly.
“Even though you have every reason to resent me?”
It seemed he had finally decided to talk about it. I leaned against the railing.
Was that guilt real—or fake?
I didn’t know all of Adele’s secrets. But I did know that his kindness was the result of conditioning, and that the emotions he showed were, to some extent, fabricated.
Then what were his true feelings? What was he thinking right now, what emotions did he hold as he looked at me? What were you going to tell me?
“So you haven’t completely forgotten.”
“I remember everything.”
I gave a bitter smile.
“Really? And you still came to see me? I don’t know whether to call that considerate or—”
Lacking the confidence to face Adele without wavering, I lowered my gaze.
Suddenly, Adele stepped closer.
“Please look at me.”
Those few words were more powerful than any action.
My mind is already filled with you.
I barely managed to raise my head, biting my lip. Beneath the twilight shadows, his vividly colored eyes shone brightly.
A slender face, pale skin, a straight nose, broad shoulders—it was like gazing upon a masterpiece sculpted with divine care.
“Anastasia, I am different from other people. For me to be safe, I may have to live my entire life confined, under someone’s watchful eye. Because I understood my father’s warning, I thought it would be better if you distanced yourself from me. That way, I wouldn’t put you in danger.”
“You’re not dangerous.”
I objected. Adele smiled faintly.
“In the past, I committed acts that people would find utterly horrifying. That’s why my father watches me so closely.”
I whispered more sorrowfully than ever.
“Whatever it was, it’s not who you are now.”
“Yes. But that’s not because I repented—it’s simply because I don’t want to be imprisoned.”
I stepped away from the railing and moved closer to Adele. From beyond the door came the roar of a beast. It seemed the Chichimeme had finally begun in earnest.
A frenzied party where an artificial beast strapped with explosives was released into the hall, hunted while pretending to flee, its life slowly strangled away.
“…What happened?”
“I’m sorry. I’d rather not talk about it here.”
After politely asking for my understanding, Adele fell silent for a moment before continuing.
“After you left that day, my father was furious. The only reason I was able to attend this party today is because of the promise I made with you.”
Lynette had mentioned that Adele hadn’t been leaving the ducal estate much lately. The duke truly was strictly monitoring and suppressing his own son.
“Is it really okay to tell me all this?”
“Anastasia, I want you to decide for yourself—just as I have.”
Those words sounded cruel, tempting, and sweet all at once.
“I gave you a chance a week ago as well, but it seemed you didn’t fully understand yet. You asked me for sincerity. I told you it hurt to show you kindness that wasn’t genuine. You cared about me that much—hoping I’d suffer even a little less.”
The gaze fixed on me seemed tinged with tenderness.
“Yes. I am willing to answer that wish and show you my heart. If you want, I will defy my father’s will, discard my learned kindness and pretense, and treat you sincerely. I won’t push you away anymore. It may be in a different way than before, but I will cherish and love you. Perhaps… perhaps I wanted that myself all along. That might be why I’ve been feeling so strange.”
“Adele…?”
“But if I give you my heart like that, and you end up fearing me, what would be the point? I wonder if it’s a risk worth taking. Compared to losing you, my feelings are utterly insignificant. Rationally speaking, I should be satisfied with things as they are. Anastasia, as long as I could see you, even a formal relationship would have been enough for me. And yet—you’ve driven me this far.”
I recalled the strange contradiction I had felt back then. Adele had said I was no different from anyone else, yet also that he couldn’t bear the thought of my death.
Despite those unresolved doubts, I had accepted Adele’s rejection—because if I died, he would be left alone.
And he didn’t want to go against the duke’s will. Since I couldn’t stay by Adele’s side for life, stepping back felt like the right thing to do.
They say the one who falls in love first loses. I could never hate this boy who had willingly given me his time and stayed by my side.
No—wait! But more importantly!
I blinked several times.
“Uh… just how terrifying a thing are you planning to do to give such a scary warning?”
Adele simply smiled gently.
“I will never harm you. It’s just that my father says no one will ever be able to fully accept me. And I agreed. No matter how much education I receive, I can’t change what I was born as. I might surprise—or shock—you at any moment, in any situation.”
“Then why give me the right to choose?”
“If you wish, I will tell you all of my secrets. Then you choose, you decide, and you take responsibility—whether to become closer to me than we are now, or not. If you don’t have that confidence, then please forget your feelings for me.”
“Uh…”
My lips parted.
You’ll treat me sincerely?
Cherish me… love me?
“But you know, the more I think about what you’re saying, it sounds like if I just say yes, we might end up in that kind of relationship?”
I asked, hoping Adele would clear up my suspicion.
“Why not? Anastasia, you are precious to me. I don’t want to lose you. That’s why I had no choice but to hurt you. My father truly is wary of me. And as long as the other person is you, I find myself greedy—and filled with guilt.”
