Chapter 29]
One minute passed like a second.
I couldn’t say anything until those golden eyes that had been smilingly scanning the room landed on me.
“Is the game already over?”
“Y-You like my blood, don’t you…”
As he began walking toward me in earnest, I shut my eyes tightly and blurted out whatever came to mind.
I couldn’t let the distance between us close any further.
“If I die, I’ll get cold and won’t taste good anymore. Are you still going to kill me?”
Please.
Please.
I peeked open my eyes, praying to a god I didn’t even believe in, to see how he’d react.
“Lemoni. Do people die just because they can’t eat something delicious?”
Ian snorted as if it were ridiculous and swept back his silver hair.
Beneath it, brilliant golden eyes gleamed, the sharp pupils coiled like a serpent.
He wasn’t human.
That man had no human emotion like compassion or sympathy.
“Lemoni, I’ll give you another 30 seconds.”
At the sound of the secret door rotating 360 degrees and closing, I shuddered violently.
It felt like my mind had been shredded.
I stared blankly into space for a long moment—but there was no time to waste.
When I heard him say “twenty seconds,” I hurriedly stood up.
“Deon, please come to the torture room. It’s an order.”
In this moment, Deon was my god.
Tears welled up from sheer physiological fear. I bit my lip hard and glanced around the torture room.
First, I had to admit it.
There was no way I could completely hide from Ian in 30 seconds.
If I wanted to live, I needed to think of a reason—any reason—why he shouldn’t kill me.
The second hiding spot I chose was the prisoners’ wardrobe that immobilized you when you stood inside.
Luckily, it seemed it was made for someone bigger than average, so it was spacious. But now wasn’t the time to care about that.
Okay.
Why would Ian want to kill me?
Was it because of Deon?
I bit my nails nervously.
From the first time we met, Ian had called Deon a bastard.
He’d even been hit on the back of the head by Deon while approaching me, so maybe his pride had been wounded.
In the original story, he often fought with Deon over the female lead.
Maybe this was a classic power struggle between prisoners.
Just then—
“Wow, you really picked an easy hiding spot.”
The darkness cleared, and orange torchlight reached my frightened eyes.
He opened the wardrobe without warning. His face, silhouetted in backlight, gave off an eerie air.
“Tell me your second reason.”
Was he getting bored?
With his arms stretched to both sides of the wardrobe, his fingers slowly tapped the wall.
“It’s because of Deon, isn’t it?”
My life depended on his interest.
I snapped back to my senses and answered. Ian furrowed his brows playfully, as if he didn’t understand.
“You wanted to mess with me, but couldn’t because of Deon.”
“Hm.” Ian tilted his head.
“If you’re going to kill me just because of your pride, it’s not worth it. We don’t have any feelings between us. I don’t care about Deon either. If the situation allowed, he’d either kill me or leave. If this is some kind of macho contest, just kill him instead.”
Because Deon won’t die anyway.
There was a brief silence after my rambling.
Ian stared at me with an unreadable expression. Then he suddenly burst into laughter—not a kind or gentle one, but a low laugh meant only for himself.
“Lemoni.”
“Yes?”
“I’m not interested in broken toys.”
He tilted his head with a mocking smile.
“And that includes you.”
The flickering orange light slowly faded.
This was the end.
From beyond the closed wardrobe door, I heard his dry voice.
What had I even expected?
“…You bastard.”
I muttered without thinking and laughed hollowly.
“You’re insane. A complete lunatic!”
With him out of sight, fear turned to rage.
I shouted at the wardrobe door, and my own voice echoed back inside.
Ah.
But time moved mercilessly.
Even as I shouted, time passed equally for Ian, who quietly listened.
And then—
Something suddenly brushed past my thoughts.
“This filthy sewer reminds me of my father.”
A line spoken by Ian in the original story.
“He belongs in a place like this.”
That’s right.
Ian hated the House of Ermenst.
He once showed interest in a woman, but under pressure from the family, he got rid of her—and that’s when his rebellion began.
His hatred reached its peak when he was imprisoned as a first-class criminal.
“Have you given up?”
The tall man appeared again between the open wardrobe doors.
Maybe he noticed my thoughtful expression, because he smiled gently.
“It’d be disappointing if you gave up so easily.”
I tried to speak, but a strong hand suddenly tightened around my neck.
“Is dying really better than being with me?”
Though he sounded regretful, his grip showed no hesitation.
“…I was going to tell you. The third reason.”
“Let’s hear it.”
But Ian didn’t seem too hopeful.
His golden eyes, ready to kill, held no interest.
My mouth went dry, and I swallowed nervously. His fingers brushed my throat.
“…Doesn’t it piss you off, Ian?”
“Not a bad start.”
With effort, I forced out the words in my raspy voice.
Ian smirked and complimented me.
“You have to kill another woman because of the House of Ermenst.”
But with that next sentence, his curled lips fell.
He looked down at his own hand gripping my neck.
He looked like he’d been struck from behind.
Something had definitely changed.
Of course, that wasn’t the real reason.
It was a provocation.
In the original story, the Ermenst family had never ordered Lemoni’s execution. Even now, they were likely unaware of anything.
But if Ian needed a reason to kill me, I’d find it in his past.
The Ermenst family’s command—without that, he had no reason.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His mouth smiled again, but his eyes didn’t.
It was working.
“I know you’re trying to kill me on the Duke’s orders.”
“…Knowing that just gives me one more reason to kill you.”
“Then do it.”
I want to live.
“And maybe the obedient dog should be you, not Deon.”
Still, my mouth kept pushing him.
There was a pause.
Ian stared at his hand like he couldn’t believe the situation.
His exposed face was eerily calm.
“Such a foul mouth.”
A cracked low voice let out a soft laugh.
“You know how to curse.”
The grip on my throat loosened.
His hand gently brushed my neck, then curiously touched my lower lip.
“You even know how to kill with words.”
Suddenly, the wardrobe door shut.
Startled, I tried to step back, but his arms wrapped tightly around my waist and pulled me toward him.
“Can that mouth kill my family too?”
The soft voice, now back in control, whispered at my ear.
I couldn’t see him—but I knew.
I had won the bet against Ian.
“…I can’t kill people, Ian.”
I pushed against the solid chest like stone, but he just held me tighter and rested his forehead on my neck.
“That’s perfect. They’re not people anyway.”
He sounded like a child.
“Ian.”
“Lemoni. I can’t kill you.”
He rubbed his face against me playfully, his hair tickling my ear.
“Maybe I should just break out of here and run away.”
Even his choice of words had become childish.
Was this Ian’s true nature?
I suddenly realized—he was acting a little like Daey, the guard persona he used to play.
“Well, if you’ve changed your mind, we can break out togeth—”
But my suggestion was cut off.
A sudden, deafening crack sounded beyond the wardrobe, like an earthquake.
Startled, I trembled.
Ian bent forward and pressed his finger to his lips, telling me to stay quiet.
Was it Deon?
If it was him, I could order—
“Reporting in. Lord Ian Ermenst and Lady Lemoni are not present in the torture room.”
It wasn’t Deon.
“Understood. If we encounter them, proceed with Lady Lemoni’s execution and capture Lord Ian.”
The cold, matter-of-fact voice announced my death.
They made some noise around the room, then the door closed and silence fell.
“…Lemoni.”
They were really from the Ermenst family.
“Lemoni.”
I had been focusing on the sounds outside, but now a cold palm cupped my cheek.
Only then did I realize I was trembling.
“W-What…”
“Calm down, Lemoni. Didn’t you already know this would happen?”
Now that the noise had faded, Ian returned to his usual self, letting out a bitter laugh.
How many monsters want me dead?
Is this the price for twisting the original story?
I finally exhaled the breath I’d been holding and moved my trembling lips.
“…I didn’t think they’d try to kill me so directly. W-What on earth is going on?”
“I’ll explain everything.”
His gentle tone was surprisingly soothing.
But despite that, it was getting harder to breathe.
The fear was so intense, I felt a suffocating panic coming on.
“Then let’s talk outside.”
“Alright.”
Just as I managed to speak, Ian opened the wardrobe door—only to suddenly shove me inside again and close it shut.
