Chapter 39
“Miss!”
Loti came running with tears streaming from her eyes and hugged me tightly.
Because Loti is about 1.5 times taller than me, I got completely squished in her arms. I wasn’t prepared, so I nearly fell backward.
Thud—
Thankfully, Winter caught me with his arm before my head hit the ground.
“Step aside.”
Winter frowned and spoke firmly to Loti, who was still clinging to me.
His cold voice was enough to snap Loti back to her senses from her crying fit.
She finally noticed Winter, eyes widening in surprise.
Winter was tall for his age, while Loti was short for an adult, so they were oddly about the same eye level.
Then, Loti pointed a finger at him, demanding, “And who are you supposed to be…”
But as her finger hovered in the air, it eventually pointed right at Winter’s face.
“Why are you so good-looking?”
She blinked dreamily, clearly mesmerized.
Ugh… she was just crying and now she’s swooning again.
Annoyed, I shouted at her.
“This is not the time to say stuff like that!”
I mean, look at your clothes, all covered in blood! Shouldn’t that be the first thing we talk about?
And that guy you’re pointing at? You really shouldn’t be treating him so casually!
I quickly stepped between her and Winter and asked,
“Loti, what’s going on? Why were you locked in that room? And what happened to your face?”
Loti looked like she was about to cry again when I mentioned how her face was hurt. She had only recently healed, and now it was bruised again.
But the answer didn’t come from Loti.
“I hit her.”
When I looked past Loti, I saw two women standing by the broken door.
One of them looked familiar—wearing the same uniform as Loti, with purple hair. I remembered her face.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Rena?”
The purple-haired Rena flicked her hair back and bowed politely.
“Good afternoon, miss. It’s an unpleasant one.”
Still glaring fiercely, Rena answered in a controlled but angry voice.
“Loti Hestward said she liked my little brother. But behind his back, she’s been dating random men! Because of her, my brother is bedridden with a high fever!”
After a moment’s thought, I asked carefully,
“…Is your brother’s name Alfred?”
“You know him?”
Oh, I know him very well.
I slowly turned to look at Loti.
She flailed her hands and shook her head like a kid caught stealing cookies.
“Miss, I’ve changed after that near-death experience! You know I broke things off with the others! I only love Alfred now!”
“Yeah, right! If you like him so much, then why do you keep avoiding him when he tries to talk to you? You’re playing games with his heart! He’s so sick but still working, hoping to see you!”
“Aaah, Miss! Please stop Rena!”
But Rena grabbed Loti by the collar and shook her violently.
“Stop! Calm down, both of you!”
I tried to interrupt, but they wouldn’t stop.
“Because of you, we got locked in that room! It’s probably because of Boris, right? You caused all this, Loti! Alfred’s probably worried sick right now!”
Rena had completely lost it, and even when I raised my voice, she didn’t back down.
“Hey, listen to me—”
But my words were lost in the chaos.
“Is it noisy?”
A calm voice cut through all the shouting like a quiet whisper in my ear.
Winter, who had been leaning against the wall with arms crossed, turned toward me and asked gently,
“Do you want them to be quiet?”
His soft white hair brushed against my cheek as he leaned closer.
His handsome face was just inches from mine, and I had only one thought:
Winter Orsheus could probably just look in a mirror and feel full.
I bet everyone thinks the same. He’s so good-looking that it makes your heart skip a beat.
Then suddenly, he stepped back a couple of steps, his expression serious.
“If I get too close, you might die.”
“…What?”
He pointed at my chest and said calmly,
“Your heart’s racing like it’s about to explode. Some people really have died like that.”
Huh? What was that?
I stared at him, confused.
Is he seriously teasing me about his looks?
In the original story, Winter Orsheus knew full well how attractive he was. Before his tragedy, he wasn’t exactly humble either.
“You’ll get used to it. Most people do.”
“…You’re so shameless.”
Though honestly… he had every right to be.
Winter gave a small smile.
“I’m joking.”
“It’s not funny!”
Actually, it was funny. But it made me mad, so I said it wasn’t.
Then his expression changed, and he spoke in a deeper tone.
“Izana, I’ve seen many people suddenly die from fear.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Isn’t it because you’re scared of me?”
“….”
I probably lost my smile just then.
He wasn’t wrong.
From the very moment I met Winter Orsheus, I’d been hiding how scared I was—forcing myself to act confident to hide my shaking hands and knees.
It wasn’t just his beauty that overwhelmed me.
It was the pressure of facing a true predator… and the fear from remembering all the deaths I’d experienced before.
My body responded even when I tried to ignore it.
Then, something cold and soft wrapped around my ears.
It was Winter’s hands.
And his voice was like an icy wind.
“Be quiet.”
I stumbled and leaned into Winter, unable to stand on my own.
It felt like I was wrapped in a heavy, wet wool coat—my whole body felt weighed down.
I recognized the feeling.
This was “Dragon’s Voice,” a kind of natural intimidation that Winter used in the original story.
“Haa… ugh…”
“What is this…?”
In front of me, the three maids were crouched down, shaking and barely able to breathe.
Rena and the other maid were holding their ears and trembling.
And Loti… poor Loti… completely collapsed, reaching out to me in a whisper.
“Miss… help…”
Her tear-streaked face looked terrified.
“Stop! That’s enough!”
I ran to Loti and grabbed her hand. She pulled me into a hug.
As soon as Winter stopped using his power, Rena shouted at him with sharp suspicion.
“Who are you, barging into a duke’s home like it’s nothing?!”
“Winter Orsheus…?”
Believe it or not, it wasn’t me who answered—it was Loti!
“Loti, how do you know…?”
I looked up in shock.
Loti stared at Winter in disbelief.
“Miss, do you know who’s been ranked #1 in the ‘Continent’s Handsome Men Book’ for five years straight?”
Wait, that exists?
“It’s His Majesty, the Emperor of the Northern Empire—Glass Orsheus.”
Then Rena seemed to remember something. She rushed back into the room.
She came out holding a thick book and opened it up.
Continent’s Handsome Men Book, Year 310 Edition.
Even Rena had one?!
While I stared in disbelief, Rena found the page she wanted and showed it to us.
“Here it is! The Emperor of the North, Glass Orsheus!”
Looking at the drawing, I completely understood Loti’s reaction.
“He looks exactly like him.”
Winter nodded like it was obvious.
So now the secret was out—Winter Orsheus, the Grand Duke, was here in the Rohiya household.
Everyone was thinking the same question:
Why is the Grand Duke of the Northern Empire here?
Now, I had to come up with a reason they could believe.
“Uh… the Duke heard about the plague and got worried about Yubel, so he rushed here…”
Winter’s smile quietly faded.
