TVIOWHFW 9

“Go, Duke?”

“We were waiting because we had something to talk about.”

My eyes unintentionally looked at his firm body visible between the gown. Starting from the prominent Adam’s apple, the outline of his muscles was rough yet graceful. It wasn’t just a body with lots of muscles, but one that was solidly balanced and beautifully shaped. Especially, the parts covered by the gown even stimulated my imagination, making my face blush.

“Then, why did you suddenly come in such attire?”

“I wanted to talk to the lady as quickly as possible.”

John tilted his head slightly, as if he didn’t understand anything, with a slight smirk.

“Are you upset that you don’t like my outfit?”

Every tiny movement made the hem of the gown shift with a rustling sound. If I made a wrong move, the tied strings might come loose, revealing everything. Looking at John, I felt a secret impulse I hadn’t known before being stirred up. I swallowed nervously and shook my head.

“No, it’s not about liking or not liking…”

“Why are you so far away and feeling disappointed?”

John extended his hand seductively, whispering as if he was tempting.

“Come closer.”

Refusing here would be strange. But if I went along, I felt like I would be completely consumed. Cautiously, I took his hand and slowly approached him.

“You’re tense, missus.”

He suddenly pulled me into his arms. We were pressed very close, not separated at all. His solid body felt intensely. Unlike appearances, he wasn’t nude underneath the gown. But clearly, it was different from when he dressed in his usual suit. His body, trained like a predator, pressed more vividly against my skin. His scent was strong, and my whole body warmed up. John brought his handsome face close. His cold eyes seemed to melt sweetly, curling in a tempting smile.

“But isn’t it dangerous to do this in front of me?”

“Why, why?”

I was so flustered I didn’t know what to say.

“When you do that, I get more stimulated.”

John lightly brushed my earlobe with his firm fingertips.

“Wanting to eat me up.”

I swallowed nervously.

‘Eat me up?’

The phrase ‘eat me up’ has many meanings. And John’s words… flashed through my mind, making my already flushed face feel even hotter. John chuckled lightly again. That soft, sweet laugh sounded almost like a growl of a predator. It was both chilling and strangely exciting.

“Don’t worry too much.”

With each small movement John made, his muscular body felt even more vividly against me. He gently brushed my tousled, light pink platinum hair with his long fingers. Maybe because my ears felt hot, it felt even more provocative.

“We haven’t had our first night together yet.”

John’s words were clearly meant to reassure me. But I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

‘This is a line I saw in the original story.’

John, who refused Estelle after waiting for a long time. Estelle, crying, confessed to John. Then John, with a cold face, released Estelle’s hand and smiled.

‘There will be no first night between us. You know why, right?’

‘What exactly is the reason?’

‘You’ll understand without me telling you.’

And from that day, everything about Estelle began to fall apart. My face turned pale as I recalled the memory. Now, the situation, dialogue, and everything are different from the original story. But strangely, I felt extremely uneasy. John gently rubbed his jaw against my shoulder with a puzzled expression and asked.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

He truly seemed worried, placing the back of his hand on my forehead. His face was shining brightly.

‘Is he too handsome?’

I think I now understand why I couldn’t get out of the original story. Not only is John handsome, but his body is great, and he’s skilled at physical affection. Especially, when I see a cold-looking handsome man whispering sweetly, I feel myself being enchanted without realizing it.

“I’m not hurt. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“Because you suddenly did this, I got nervous.”

John smiled, lowering his lips to my hair again, as if he’d been waiting, with a slight smirk.

“Body tension isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

“Then?”

“Actually, it’s a good thing.”

He was definitely trying to seduce me. But he was also flirting with a boundary that was exciting yet not burdensome to refuse. Or maybe his face just made me feel fluttery.

“When people get nervous, they become more sensitive.”

John slightly lowered his long eyelashes, casting an even darker shadow on his eyes. The shadow on his transparent skin was strangely alluring and chilling.

“Perhaps, more than you think, my lady.”

His voice deepened softly.

“Do you want to know more?”

John gently pressed his lips to my pale neck a few times, making a soft sound. Every time his moist lips touched me, my body involuntarily trembled.

“I… think it’s better if I don’t know for now!”

“You’re saying you might want to know someday?”

Why is my speech turning out like that? My face was blushing so intensely that I could tell I was probably flushed even without looking. John raised my chin with his index finger to meet my gaze.

“When would that be?”

A deep, crimson, somehow cold yet hot gaze looked at me—possessive and wild enough to seem to devour everything.

‘Why does he look at me like that?’

Anyway, you probably have no interest in me at all. If I’m just a target for revenge in Libertan, anyone else would do just as well. Without realizing it, I tried to avoid his gaze and slip out of his embrace. But his arm tensed, holding me even tighter. When I looked up at John with a start, he smiled brightly and whispered.

“Missus. Just say the word when you’re ready.”

His large hand rested gently on my forehead. It felt as warm as feathers wrapping around my entire body. As if by a miracle, I immediately fell asleep.

~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~

I woke up to the warm sunlight shining on me.

‘John isn’t in the bedroom.’

There were no signs of what had happened last night; it all seemed like a hallucination.

‘I wasn’t mistaken.’

John, whispering seductively. His masculine, firm body visible through the gown, and the sensation of it—there’s no way I could have imagined all that.

‘If it’s imagination, then…’

I slapped my cheek sharply to snap out of it. I had received the key from Betty last night and packed it.

‘If I go early, Erich, who might disturb me, won’t be there.’

Of course, since it’s John’s study, not only Erich but also John himself could be there. Honestly, thinking about meeting John again after last night’s incident made my cheeks flush. Now I had even more reason to go when others wouldn’t be around. I washed lightly with the prepared cleansing water and headed to John’s study. Unfortunately, the door wasn’t locked today. And inside, waiting was Erich, whom I wanted to avoid. Seeing him early in the morning, his sensitive face looked even sharper. If only he weren’t so prickly, I’d be glad.

“I think I told you clearly,”

Erich, with his neatly tied long silver hair, frowned. His pale blue gaze seemed slightly different from last time.

“What’s the reason for coming to this study so early?”

“I just wanted to read a book for a moment.”

Skeptical, I brought up what I had heard last time.

“By the way, I have permission. See the key here?”

Erich sighed and nodded.

“Then there’s no choice. Do as you wish.”

Much more compliant than yesterday.

‘Is it because I apologized?’

Even though he’s someone I hated so much, my heart softened a bit just from an apology. It seemed his true nature was kind.

‘And I caused some strange trouble yesterday too.’

Having been granted passage, I finally got a proper look around the study. It wasn’t really a study, more like a library. Very old-fashioned, it sparkled with the morning sunlight, probably thanks to the large window in the center.

‘Ah, the sunlight is nice.’

Erich, oblivious to my presence, was organizing documents behind his thin glasses. Wearing glasses seemed to add an intellectual vibe.

‘Let’s look for a book.’

Because there were so many books, finding the shelf labeled “Magic” took quite a while.

‘Dark magic, dark magic, dark magic…’

Especially, the books on magic were all in ancient languages, making it a bit difficult.

‘Fortunately, I learned ancient language from the Duke of Libertan.’

The Duke of Libertan, at least, was good at one thing—education. Probably to prevent me from hearing that he abused me outside, he made me learn manners and even strange ancient languages that high nobles didn’t normally know. Still, it’s fortunate I have a reason to use it now. Sadly, there were no books on dark magic. Instead, I pulled out a book about magic and opened it.

‘A spell that delivers painless death?’

Reading the contents, it said that magicians often change the laws of nature, leading to outbursts, and in such cases, they need an easy way to die.

“What are you doing on this shelf? You shouldn’t even be near here, let alone steal—”

Just as I was about to put the book back, Erich, who had appeared quietly, snatched the book from my hands. His pale blue eyes studying the book narrowed.

“Are you capable of reading ancient language and holding this now?”

I shrugged.

“You can’t read it, so why do you have it?”

His eyes showed even greater suspicion.

“Are you saying you can read it?”

“Of course. Want to see?”

I took the book back and flipped to a random page.

“[I want to die. When there’s no way out, it seems like the only option—]”

“Stop.”

Erich, who had taken the book from me, looked more intense.

“How do you know ancient language? And why do you have such a book?”

“I just happened to find out about it. If I knew I shouldn’t read it, I wouldn’t have.”

I thought about coming back to read it when Erich was away later. Since there’s no one watching except him, I can wait for a good opportunity. I reached for any book from the shelf filled with magical texts.

“You…”

Erich, still clutching that book tightly, slowly opened his mouth.

“Do you know what kind of family the Duke of Libertan belongs to?”

His eyes were full of hostility and confusion. I swallowed nervously.

‘Maybe this is my chance?’

Even if I run away later, it’s better if there’s someone who doesn’t hate me completely. Of course, my few words probably wouldn’t resolve the revengeful feelings of the others entirely. But hearing an apology versus not hearing one makes a huge difference.

“I… do.”

“But why didn’t you do anything?”

Erich raised his voice, annoyance and anger mixed in. Trying to explain that I had no choice would only make him angrier. So, all I could do was…

“I’m sorry.”

“Again, I’m sorry. Is that enough?”

Erich suddenly strode over and roughly grabbed my shoulders.

“That’s hypocrisy. An apology to escape the situation is hollow.”

“I know. But right now, that’s all I can do.”

For some reason, Erich became more hostile. Should I have not apologized at all? Should I have fallen to my knees and shed tears of remorse?

‘I don’t really want to go that far even if I was told to.’

“What do you want me to do, Lord?”

Then, Erich, with a distant look, glared at me and turned his head away.

“Why are you asking me that? You should think about your atonement yourself.”

He left the library. I, pretending to listen casually, clenched my fists in joy.

‘Ah. The opportunity has come.’

While Erich was away, I took a book from the magic shelf.

‘He probably won’t come back soon.’

Facing the enemy’s piercing gaze from the morning had made me feel suffocated. Before I started reading, I opened the large window in the library to get some fresh air. The wind howled fiercely, whipping my long hair wildly. It felt good to breathe the wind after a long time. I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked down. Below, I saw a maze garden that looked eerie and strange. It’s not a space usually found in noble or duke estates.

—Estelle.

A clearer voice rang out.

‘It wasn’t a hallucination.’

Wanting to listen more closely, I climbed onto the windowsill. Fortunately, it was made of stone and large enough that it wasn’t dangerous.

—Based on the direction of the voice.

It definitely came from that forest. It was the same as last time.

‘Is there something in the forest?’

Just as I was about to go down, dust mixed with the wind seemed to get into my eyes. It stung, causing me to blink rapidly. Rubbing them only made it worse. But I couldn’t tell what big thing had entered, and the situation didn’t calm down easily. Tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t blame the wind innocently either. Maybe it’s my fault. Finally, I rubbed my eyes.

“This is how it ends.”

Last time, I rubbed my eyes so hard, they became severely bloodshot, and I didn’t want to do that again.

—”You.”

When I turned my head, Erich, who had closed the door without a word, had quietly entered. His face was pale as a sheet, staring at me.

“Did you think that was a method?”

What method? I tilted my head. Then, my hand holding the window frame slipped slightly.

“Wait!”

Erich’s face paled even more.

~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~

Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉

Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

~~~Next Chapter~~~

Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.

See you then!!