Chapter 91
The moment Sian heard that voice, he dropped whatever he was holding before he even realized it.
He stumbled backward, accidentally stepping on something else and shattering it—
Crash! Clatter!
The noise made April turn around.
Her red lips, completely void of their usual smile, looked unfamiliar.
Her cold, intelligent eyes made her seem like an entirely different person.
“Lady… April.”
Sian’s lips trembled as he spoke.
Lady April tilted her head slightly, her voice as gentle as ever, the same innocent tone he knew so well.
“Yes, Sir Sian?”
The blood drained from his face.
It was as if she were pretending that nothing had happened just moments ago.
Even though she knew he had heard her chilling words, she remained utterly composed—
the performance was flawless.
Since when…?
Since when had Lady April been acting like the simpleminded young lady everyone thought she was?
All of high society believed she was nothing but a foolish noblewoman—
a beautiful, clueless girl, unable to understand even when people whispered about her right in front of her.
Sian had believed that too.
He had treated her like the others did—
as a harmless, childlike fool.
But if she had heard all the gossip and still stayed silent, then April was no fool.
She was a born actress.
“All of it…”
He forced the words out through stiff lips.
That innocent face now looked like a solid mask.
His mind replayed every moment they had spent together.
She wasn’t a fool.
“…It was all an act?”
April tilted her head in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“I saw everything. Your words, your actions.”
When had she started deceiving them?
“I don’t understand, Sir Sian. What are you talking about?”
He felt like he was facing a stranger—someone dangerous, someone he couldn’t predict.
There are times when instinct is sharper than any logic or theory.
And Sian knew, without a doubt—
Everything she did had been intentional.
From the moment the seven towers appeared and April ran toward them,
to the times she smiled at him sweetly, making his heart flutter—
it was all to divert his attention.
Whenever she was near, he had stopped thinking about the towers or the relics tied to them.
He had fallen for her flawless act.
Because he liked her. Because he found her lovely.
Because he had been a fool.
“Since when have you been deceiving us?”
It was deliberate—
to distract them, to take the relics that appeared as the “equivalent exchange” for their curse.
He hadn’t even realized it.
But for what purpose had she done it?
For the rival group—Lady Devnoir and her allies?
But no, they must have had their own equivalent gifts as well. It didn’t make sense.
“I don’t understand what you mean,” she said softly.
“Don’t play dumb. People could have died! Everyone was in danger!”
“Are you saying I did that?”
“The Crown Prince was suffering from the curse, and the others were in pain as well! Yet you stole the artifact that could lift it! Since when—!”
His voice rose with anger and disbelief.
It wasn’t just that she had stolen something.
Lady April had let people suffer—had hidden the item that could save them.
Cracks spread through his composure.
“If you keep pretending not to know, I’ll tell everyone the truth. That you’re not a fool, and that you intentionally stole the relic meant to lift the curse.”
“Will you?”
Her calm, almost innocent tone made him bite his lip.
“Yes. I will. Once everyone knows, and we act togeth—”
“And then what?”
April tilted her head again, smiling faintly.
“Then of course—”
“Then who do you think they’ll remove this time?”
Her gentle, almost childlike question froze him in place.
What… what did she just say?
His body stiffened.
There was one sin he had sworn would never be discovered—
one decision he had made in quiet guilt,
believing no one would ever find out.
And now… she had spoken as if she knew everything.
The foundation of everything he believed shattered, and a chill swept through him.
He couldn’t speak.
April continued in her soft, angelic tone:
“Then I suppose this time, they’ll have to choose between April… and Sir Sian.”
She had not only discovered his sin—she had known it all along.
“What… did you just say?”
Sian had never been a real threat.
If he had merely discovered her secret—that her innocence was an act—
it wouldn’t have mattered much.
She might have even let it slide.
When she feigned the fool’s demeanor again, just to test him,
Sian, as expected, latched onto that point and accused her.
Strategist Sian is confused! (Suspicion level rising…)
He froze, holding his breath.
Why? Because he knew what she meant? Because he realized what she’d seen?
The shock was so strong that all color drained from his face.
‘Didn’t expect it to go this smoothly,’ April thought.
It had been pure coincidence that he’d overheard her.
Still, at this particular moment, she had one perfect card to play.
She spoke softly, almost kindly:
“You know, Sir Sian. In that dungeon where a demon might appear,
you threw away the most useless piece, remember?
So tell me—who’s the most useless one now?”
Sian froze, his face turning pale.
“April, who can kill demons? Or you, Sir Sian—who’s lost all his worth?”
She whispered sweetly.
He wouldn’t know that once this defense phase ended, his “trait” would return.
So for now, the threat was real.
His world must have gone dark in that instant.
Losing his trait—his source of strength—meant losing his place among them.
These so-called “allies” never truly trusted each other.
Ironically, that distrust came from the memory of abandoning her once before.
To them, usefulness was survival.
And Sian, who had always been capable and confident,
must now be drowning in fear that he’d be next to be discarded.
“If you tell Lady Yeniel or the others about me,” April said sweetly,
“what do you think will happen?”
Now was the perfect time.
She had already decided.
She’d been thinking about leaving the Crown Prince’s faction anyway—
too risky to stay when both Yeniel and Sian were the brains of the group.
Eventually, one of them might notice something off.
If Sian ever analyzed her movements in the defense tower and grew suspicious,
he’d share that with Yeniel—and then both Yeniel and the Crown Prince would turn against her.
That would be troublesome.
“So, tell me, Sir Sian,” she continued with a smile,
“will they throw away the man who angered April?
Or will they throw away April herself—who’s strong,
and who they’ve already abandoned once,
and don’t dare offend again?”
He said nothing. His lips trembled, his face utterly drained of color.
April chuckled softly.
“If I were you, I’d be smarter about it. You are clever, Sir Sian.
Clever enough to calculate who to feed to the demon, aren’t you?”
He flinched.
“If you want to avoid being useless again,” she added lightly,
“you’ll have to keep quiet about losing that relic to me.
If I were Sir Sian, I’d stay quiet and make sure Lady April leaves very safely.”
She laughed brightly.
“Otherwise, you might be the next one they ‘remove.’”
Sian’s expression was one of pure horror.
And April knew—he would obey.
Even if his trait returned later,
he wouldn’t dare speak a word about her.
Because admitting the truth would expose his own betrayal—
and he feared losing his position far more than her.
