CH 25.1

“Wow!”

A loud roar resounded in the auditorium.

The bitter spectators rubbed their eyes when they saw Isabella’s arrow hitting the bullseye.

Even Duke Kyar was surprised by her extraordinary archery skills.

Despite the spectators’ loud reactions, Isabella placed a new arrow into her bow and maintained her composure.

A total of nine arrows were left.

Her second got stuck right next to the first arrow.

One out of her ten arrows slightly missed the bullseye while the rest had hit the center target with perfect accuracy.

Her last bolt split into two because her first arrow had blocked the bullseye.

Yet, she still managed to hit the target.

That afternoon, Isabella’s exceptional archery skills were the only thing everyone had talked about until the sword competition.

It was only natural because she was hailed as the winner of the archery competition.

Crowned with laurels on her head, Isabella smiled brightly as she stood on the podium carrying a heavy purse filled with a thousand gold coins.

Duke Kyar clenched his teeth until his lips bled when he witnessed Isabella’s beautiful smile from up close.

The sight drove his heart to the point of insanity.

‘I didn’t want to let go. I didn’t want to let go.’ His thoughts repeated until they dominated the entirety of his mind.

Archduke Kyar’s obsession was unbearable.

Isabella came down the podium in a hurry and approached him with a cheerful smile.

“Did you see how good I am with archery?”

He fisted his hands and suppressed the urge to hold her tiny face with both hands.

“Thank you for holding an exciting competition like this, Your Highness. I got  the reward for first place because of you.”

Her pitch was higher than usual.

Maybe, because the amount of money she won was up to satisfaction.

“What are you going to use the prize money for?” He asked without thinking much, and she couldn’t hide the disappointment on her face.

“Oh. I did promise to pay you back for the herbs I will use for your antidote, right?”

She was so adorable when she lowered her head and muttered about the antidote, but at the same time, it annoyed him to no end.

“Never mind. You didn’t have to pay it back.”

“Really? Thank you, Your Highness.”

Her reply was so fast that he didn’t see it coming.

Duke Kyar chuckled in amusement.

Isabella could show a myriad of expressions when ‘money’ was the subject, but she could be indifferent and detached when it came to everything else.

Duke Kyar hated being around snobbish human beings, but perhaps, the love potion had made this particular quality appear charming.

No.

Maybe, the love potion had nothing to do with this.

Duke Kyar had a strong feeling that this emotion wouldn’t vanish even after drinking the antidote.

If so, what should he do?

What if he didn’t want to let her go afterward?

“I needed this prize money for myself. After creating the antidote, I plan to go to the Capital and work hard to establish my own business. After that, my dream is to make it big and achieve the top.”

Her round eyes had sparkled prettily as she talked about her future goals, but it only made Duke Kyar’s face contort with resentment.

He didn’t exist in the future she dreamed of.

He listened to her plan of leaving him and going to a faraway land as soon as she finished with the antidote.

Suddenly, Duke Kyar felt sick from the pain and discomfort.

It felt like someone had torn his heart into pieces, and he couldn’t breathe properly.

He was overwhelmed by the sadistic urge to lock her up so that she couldn’t leave Rubella Castle and be with him for the rest of his life.

“Your Highness? Are you sick?”

Isabella asked worriedly when she noticed that his face didn’t look good.

“I take back what I said.”

Isabella’s eyes widened, wondering if she had misunderstood him.

“What are you saying? What are you taking back, Your Highness?”

“I want you to pay back the cost of every herbal medicine I have gathered for you to create the antidote. Every single penny of it. But, I’ll have to reward you for first prize beforehand.”

“Your Highness. Duke Kyar.”

Isabella glanced up at him with a face that had witnessed the sky collapse in front of her.

However, Duke Kyar’s gaze didn’t waver when he showed her his outstretched palm.

Isabella’s fingers trembled when she placed her fat purse on his open hand.

He made the mistake of looking at her face.

Isabella was about to burst into tears, and Duke Kyar turned his head coldly to the side to avoid seeing that again.

He was aware that his behavior was childish and insane but seeing her excited while she planned a future without him was too much.

Duke Kyar wanted to hurt her like how she pulled him.

He felt like going crazy because of her.

How pathetic.

**