Chapter 30

Calix observed her.

He could see the blue veins on her hands as she clutched her pure white dress. He also noticed her hands trembling.

Ever since he first saw Asella Chartus, he could sense the feelings she had for him.

Fear and terror.

He hadn’t done anything yet, and she was already scared.

That wasn’t a bad thing, though. From the beginning, he had intended to seat her in the position of the Grand Duchess.

As a doll who was afraid of Calix, she was docile, quiet and a person of a few words.

Calix opened his mouth, concealing his poisonous self behind a perfect smile.

“Let’s keep this brief.”

He leaned forward, putting pressure on the hand that held her chin. However, words he had never imagined came to his ears.

“…No.”

“What?”

Calix looked down, unsure of where it was coming from. His red eyes met the frail body that still trembled. Her small lips parted again.

“I don’t want to do this.”

“…Huh?!”

Her reaction was as if he was playing a joke on her. She quickly followed with her thoughts.

“You don’t like it… either, do you, Your Excellency?”

Since when did she know him? In this ridiculous situation, Calix stepped back and tilted his head; this was extremely uncomfortable.

He began to doubt that the woman who stood before him was aware of her own position. From all the information he had gathered, her response was unexpected.

Momentarily, his mind became distorted.

“I didn’t think we’d hit it off so well.”

As the cold words struck her, her surroundings froze in an instant. The man’s brutality made Asella tremble like a bird struck by an arrow.

Watching what was happening in front of him, the complexion of the High Priest turned pale.

Looking at the new couple, he had been feeling uneasy for a while now, and now a problem had occurred. The Grand Duke’s face had hardened entirely to the point it almost looked numb.

It was then that the High Priest was wondering how to overcome this difficulty.

Asella’s lips parted slightly, and she spoke in a small voice.

“I’m sorry…”

This was so absurd that Calix was about to burst out laughing.

When was the last time someone spoke to him mindlessly?

There were probably as many enemies of his as there were grains of sand on the beach, but no one had ever dared to say ‘No’ frankly to his face.

Perhaps not even the Emperor.

“I misspoke.”

Asella kept her gaze lowered and continued speaking. His eyes narrowed at the submissive appearance without a trace of her earlier attitude.

He didn’t know what on Earth she had in mind.

Now, she was regretting her mistake while Calix was trying to figure out the truth behind her words.

‘I made a mistake…’

Calix Benvito was the man who held her own fate in his hands. If she wanted to survive as long as possible, she had to ensure she didn’t go against his feelings.

‘I should have stayed still…’

But a kiss?

To kiss on the lips with a man who wanted to kill her and therefore bought her.

An instinctive sense of rejection arose, and before she could thoroughly think about it, it escaped her lips first.

Even if she regretted it now, there was nothing she could do to change it.

On the other hand, Calix remembered the words he had heard just a moment ago.

Compared to the unmarried young ladies of the typical aristocracy, Asella Chartus had almost no social activities at all.

She had never been in a romantic relationship, let alone an ordinary one; she didn’t socialize with aristocrats, and not surprisingly, she didn’t have anyone to interact with.

The data he had received so far confirmed this fact.

‘Perhaps because it’s her first time.’

Calix’s sharp gaze struck Asella.

Unable to turn her head, she averted her eyes to the side, clueless as to what to do. Her pale, white face showed signs of regret for what she had just said.

She was an unpredictable woman in many ways.

In fact, the reports of Asella Chartus were surprisingly little compared to those of other famous people.

If she had at least awakened her abilities, there would have been something there. Still, there was no sign of that, and if there were people she interacted with, something would have come out of it, but she had absolutely nothing.

Since she spent most of her day at the Marquis’ residence, and even then, she stayed in her room, there was no way there would be any incidents or information to keep an eye on.

The only thing that was reported from the source that he had planted in the Chartus residence was that she was being abused by her stepfather, Phillip, and that she was subjected to regular verbal abuse and violence.

Other than that, there was nothing special about her.

She was a woman who was the rightful heir but lost her entire family to a stranger who did not even share a drop of blood with Chartus. Calix just thought she was timid and petty.

“What the…?”

He thought he could freely control her as he wanted, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

She was not so stupid nor thoughtful as he had assumed. Although she appeared to be soft and weak, she also had a surprising determination.

‘I can now understand why Ryzen reacted the way he did.’

Calix’s lips tightened.

The woman who had tried to appear as a puppet said, ‘I’m not a puppet.’ Well, it wouldn’t be fun if he didn’t see her struggle.

It was the moment when the incredibly boring theatrical performance instantly became interesting.

Now that he had planned and directed it himself and even stood as an actor on stage, Calix could do anything.