Chapter 23
I knew it… he was lying to me!
I was sure Adel liked being with me, but his contradictory refusal had been suspicious. Still, since he rarely lies, I had my doubts. And yet, he deceived me with that expressionless face!
Determined to get to the bottom of it this time, I asked him directly.
“I told you I’m not special at all.”
“That was a lie.”
“But you said I’m just like everyone else.”
“I’m very good at lying, Anastasia.”
My male lead… has a twisted side… No, I realize now he was always like this.
When I couldn’t respond further, Adel gently tried to console me.
“I’m sorry. Still, based on my father’s advice, it would have been better for you to let go of your feelings for me as soon as possible.”
I had no idea whether I was talking to the Duke or Adel himself. I finally lost my temper.
“I don’t like the Duke—I like you. At least for this moment, I want to know your thoughts and your heart.”
Adel lazily opened his eyes.
“Anastasia, even after all that, I hoped you would respond this way.”
My chest tightened.
Damn it… maybe I’m destined to keep liking Adel…
Thankfully, the party hall was so noisy that there was no risk of our conversation leaking. The roar of a beast sounded frighteningly close.
I didn’t want to continue such an important conversation in this chaos, so I stepped back. I needed time to think.
In truth, my answer had already been decided.
Since my life is limited, and I’m already nearing the end, I had to…
Regardless of my feelings.
“For now, I’m going in. The party will be over soon.”
Without waiting for Adel’s response, I walked past him and opened the door.
Right then, a massive leopard, standing straight at the doorway, spotted me.
“What the—”
The beast’s neck and legs were restrained with black bands, but they didn’t activate as it charged at me.
Instinctively, I squeezed my eyes shut.
There was a loud, strange crack sound.
“Anastasia, are you alright?”
I slowly lifted my eyelids. Adel was standing in front of me.
I stared blankly at him. With one hand, he held the beast’s neck effortlessly, and before it could retaliate, he exerted full force.
The pressure was so immense that not only did its bones crack, the beast’s head was completely torn off.
It had no fangs and only a single day of life—an artificial beast—so instead of red blood, black liquid dripped down.
The way the black liquid ran down Adel’s hand looked eerily surreal.
“U-uhh…”
I answered a beat late. Adel shifted his gaze from the fallen beast to Renet, standing beside Ash.
Renet held a red “instant kill” button.
Adel spoke coldly.
“You had enough time to press the button, I suppose.”
Only then did I notice that everyone had frozen. Their expressions were filled with astonishment, awe, and a hint of fear.
Even if it was an artificially created beast, it was still a predator—and he killed it with his bare hands. Truly impressive.
If Adel hadn’t saved me… even without fangs, I probably wouldn’t have survived under that weight.
Renet spoke.
“Oh my, excuse me. I never imagined anyone would already be on the terrace at the start of the party. Ash probably didn’t do it on purpose either.”
She smiled sweetly as she spoke.
Right… she’s the one holding the button. Surely she didn’t do it intentionally…
No wonder the beast’s roar had sounded so loud earlier… was it being driven toward me all along?
Adel didn’t smile. With an expressionless face, he casually wiped the black blood off his hand and muttered,
“Interesting.”
I was startled. Did he just speak casually?
A tense, chilling atmosphere filled the air. I’d never thought Adel could be frightening, but this situation was unsettling.
His normally composed red eyes gave off a sinister aura.
His hands were covered in black blood, and the huge beast he killed without hesitation had its head violently torn off.
His always noble face had lost its usual calm and smile, radiating a merciless vibe. It was tense… dangerous. This was Adel’s true face.
Just by removing his smile, his entire aura changed.
Renet tilted her head.
“That looks like someone who could kill a person, Prince Magnus.”
Even she looked quite surprised. I approached Adel and lightly held his arm.
“Adel, you should wash your hands.”
At my words, Adel immediately turned his head. His gaze at me was no longer cold. He looked courteous and gentle, completely different from before.
“Yes, Anastasia.”
Adel returned to his usual smiling face, answering kindly. Only then did the spectators breathe a sigh of relief.
I handed him a handkerchief.
“Here, use my handkerchief and go wash up.”
“I will.”
Once focused on me, Adel didn’t glance at Renet.
A few seconds after Adel left the party hall, people began to speak.
“Prince Magnus is incredible.”
“Truly impressive…”
All the nobles were showering him with admiration. His meticulously maintained image could not be ignored.
The audience seemed to have already erased from their minds both his anger and the brutal killing of the beast—or perhaps they chose to believe they had imagined it.
Someone exclaimed, brimming with admiration and affection,
“Ah, I think I’ve fallen for the prince again today!”
The party hall returned to its lively atmosphere of eating, drinking, and chatting. Nearby, a young lady whispered to me.
“But wasn’t that a bit terrifying earlier?”
The other young ladies went silent. She continued,
“I was honestly shivering. I never thought the prince could make such a scary face.”
“But if the prince hadn’t intervened, she might have been hurt.”
Before I could even react, someone immediately countered, and others supported the opinion.
“Right? We were relieved the prince was there.”
The young nobles blushed when our eyes met. I smiled lightly and turned to Renet. The wicked older sister, whose thoughts I could never fathom, started complaining.
“Phew, I’m alive. I almost cried.”
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
I asked directly. The older sister glared at me with sharp eyes.
“You came to my party, didn’t greet me, and slipped into the terrace with the prince! That’s sacrilege, Anastasia. At least you could’ve winked at me!”
Her anger made sense—though it was absurdly extreme.
“Sorry. I was so nervous I felt like I might vomit.”
And every time I vomited, blood came with it. If that had happened at the party, I’d never have been able to attend another social event.
She rolled her eyes.
“Well, since you wore a black dress, I’ll let it slide. I didn’t expect the prince would actually kill the beast, though. At least your dress wasn’t stained? The prince managed to control the direction so the black blood spilled on himself instead.”
Haha… so that wicked older sister intended to send the beast to me from the start. I see now…
“Anyway, the prince seems to care a lot about Anastasia. He’s teased before, but this is the first reaction like this.”
I frowned.
“You teased Adel?”
“Yes, little pranks. Pretending to trip him into the pond, making him eat a whole sandwich full of pepper right in front of me… On last year’s Thanksgiving, he had a duel with Ash, and I deliberately gave him a sword enchanted to weigh 50kg. But the prince never got angry once.”
As I prepared to protest, Ash, who had been silently listening, spoke up.
“Wait, you gave the prince such a heavy sword?”
“Didn’t you notice anything weird, Ash?”
She laughed softly, and Ash looked as if he’d been hit.
“I lost that match, you know?”
Oh dear.
“That’s why it’s funny.”
The wicked older sister now laughed heartily, clutching her stomach. Ash’s face twisted.
“Quite the chatter. Since when were Anastasia… no, that woman, that countess’s daughter, so close to you?”
Her title wavered with her words. Is Ash’s mind torn between his admiration for a beauty and his desire for revenge against me?
Whatever the case, he’s trying.
“Then just call her by her name.”
I clicked my tongue. I wasn’t planning to use honorifics either.
At that, Renet suddenly stopped laughing. Ah, this sister is truly impossible to get used to.
“Are you interfering? You should thank me. Thanks to me, you get to see the lovely Anastasia ‘sober’ up close.”
“What…”
Of course, she had noticed why Ash hadn’t reacted to my face that day.
Renet stood behind me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and teasing Ash.
“See? Doesn’t it feel different from when you saw her at the social club that day?”
Huh? I ended up looking straight at Ash. He returned my gaze. Soon, his eyes wavered. That was not the reaction of someone angry at me.
His admiration for a beauty had won. Ah, instinct really is the best.
Unable to hold it any longer, Ash turned away, his ears already red.
“Hey, where are you going?”
Renet called in a voice barely holding back a laugh. Without turning, he said,
“Someone needs to inform the guards that the beast has died.”
“Good excuse.”
She smelled of musk. I ignored whether Ash left or not and pulled Renet’s arms down. Then, I looked her squarely in the eyes.
“Renetia Bliss.”
