CH 114

Who is it? This gentle yet warm touch.

At first, it was fleeting as if it was opening up the thin piece of clothing near the heart.

The next moment, fingertips touched the delicate skin around the collarbone.

It was a hot touch, like engraving fingerprints.

Suddenly, a large hand slowly wrapped around my body. There was just a little bit of pressure.

“Ah…”

The moment I opened my eyes with a gasp.

‘I’m not lying in bed?’

I was sitting on someone’s knees. I wasn’t even sitting properly, one leg was clumsily folded.

‘I’ll raise my head…’

A man was looking at me. It was a man of enormous size that was overbearing.

There was an aura of a predator that was conducive to subjugating his opponents, making them kneel, and devouring them.

“Sisl?”

I instinctively knew.

That the arm that was wrapped around me was his firm one.

“Annette.”

“…….”

“You…”

He stroked my smooth chin and raised the corners of his lips languidly.

Then, he dragged the tail of his words, and wrapped his large hand around my cheek.

“You’re cute. Cheeky.”

“…….”

“Annette.”

His hard, broad shoulders were slowly lowered, making eye contact with me.

Soon, the height of his gaze was perfectly aligned with mine.

“You ask for time, and you’re thinking of running away after solving your mother’s business, right?”

“No…”

‘Anyway, our hearts are connected.’

‘I’m not strong enough to kill you.’

The sharp red eyes narrowed as if they could cut, like a knife. As if he saw something very interesting.

“If not, why don’t you give me an answer?”

Slowly, the handsome face drew closer.

“You are attracted to me too.”

“…….”

It was an undeniable fact.

However.

I felt like my life would be shattered if I succumbed to your mad obsession.

―If I was held in those arms, I felt like I would melt and become entangled with him, and I would lose all of myself. As if eaten by him.

It felt like poisoned liquor. It made me feel drunk and thrilled when I drank it, but at the same time I was paralyzed and seemed to die slowly.

“Don’t be afraid.”

He whispered as if piercing me.

It felt like his red and dusky eyes would turn me over and rip me through.

So I shut my eyes tight.

The next moment.

I was sitting on top of a Sislin lying on the bed.

“……!”

Wide shoulders and chest, perfectly carved like a finely made sculpture.

He looked up at me relaxedly, dressed in what was clearly torn by his hand. The red-tinged blatant gaze was filled with unfamiliarity.

Soon, the forearms with wild veins snaked around my waist.

And.

My heart ached at the hot breath that came to my ears in an instant.

It dropped—

“Let’s fall into the abyss together.”

It was low.

This voice, full of obsession.

Dazed, I closed my eyes.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

“Owner, are you okay?”

I felt someone shaking and waking me up, and so I opened my eyes.

The friendly eyes were filled with concern. Dark green eyes, light brown hair, and a soft voice.

—It was Kyle.

“I woke you up because I thought you were having a nightmare.”

“Ah…”

What happened?

Why am I in bed?

“You collapsed in the banquet hall.”

It was then that the memories before I fainted vividly flashed in my mind.

How I pushed Gerard as planned, and what eventually made the high priest step in. In addition… Someone attacked me, and during that, Sislin wrapped himself around me and took the sword instead.

‘Is Sislin hurt?’

“……!”

“His Highness the Crown Prince is safe. He is very fine.”

As if reading my mind for a moment, Kyle reassured me first.

It was then that a deep sigh of relief flowed.

“That’s fortunate.”

“Fortunately, yes.”

The innocent stag followed my words and smiled with his eyes bent.

“I still want to go see him. Whether Sislin is okay…”

As I tried to stand up, he hurriedly grabbed my hand and stopped me.

“Get some rest.”

Then he gently placed a hand on my cheek.

“I’m worried.”

“…….”

“Owner, it seems that you have accumulated a lot of fatigue and tension.”

That was probably right.

As soon as I thought I had found my mother, she died, and as a result, I could not say even a word to her, let alone have a long-awaited reunion.

In addition, I had been tense for several days because of Gerard.

‘In the end, things went as planned.’

It seemed that my physical condition was so bad that I blacked out when I was suddenly attacked.

‘But I don’t have time to rest like this.’

There were things to be done.

“Kyle, please take this.”

First of all, the right settlement was necessary. I called Victoria and handed the papers I had prepared beforehand to Kyle.

Wonder appeared in his gentle eyes.

“This…”

“I put together the wealth I had accumulated in Bayonaire. You looked into the locket. That was the job.”

It wasn’t a small sum.

I was very good at business, so it was a lot of money to say that a mere commoner had collected it. On top of that, I had also processed some of the dwarves’ treasures.

(TL/N: the treasures she found by digging the field in the Forest; ah, I should really dig the one in my school, wonder what I’ll find? x)

“I can’t accept it.”

Kyle shook his head. 

However, I wasn’t giving money to Kyle.

It was the payment to the ‘head of Larva’ in return for a legitimate request.

“I made a request and promised to pay the price. To Larva.”

“Annette.”

For the first time he called my name. Without honorifics; intimate and friendly. The deep voice was imbued with affection.

Putting his forehead on the back of my hand, he said,

“If it is your request, I can even jump into fire. I didn’t do it for this.”

“…If you do, I won’t be able to ask you anything in the future.”

I wanted the calculations to be clear. He was a fairly competent informant and had been doing business with me for over 10 years.

I wanted to keep that trust.

“Still, this is too much. Even if you entrust a formal request, it is only one tenth of this.”

“All this while, there is a price that you have reduced excessively. I’m a terribly cheap bread lover.”

I lowered my gaze and smiled.

I should reward the ‘half-price phantom thief boy’.

He truly cared for me, that’s why he worked more diligently than anyone else.

“Thank you so much for stopping the chase.”

“…In the end, I failed.”

As Kyle said that, there was a mixture of resentment and regret on his face.

“It’s not Kyle’s fault. Someone must have given my location.”

I had already heard from Kyle.

The fact that Gerard was able to find me with such precision was thanks to someone who announced the location.

He finally put the documents in his pocket. Kyle, no, the head of Larva said,

“I am looking for him. The one who revealed Miss Annette’s position. After which, the job will be ‘finished’.”

“All right.”

―Perhaps this would be the completion of the deal.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

I tried to go to Sislin, but Victoria stopped me.

All of the duke’s servants were so worried when they heard the news that I had fallen, so they all gathered, forcing me back to the bed. 

The last thing I remember was drinking a sedative and falling asleep again.

By the way…

“…….”

‘What is it, this hard breath?’

‘It’s my bed, but I can feel someone’s breath… Isn’t that strange?’

I lifted my heavy eyelids a little.

Right in front of me was a white, beautiful, handsome face.

“……!”

‘Heinri?’

He looked like a boy who fell on my bed after running around outside, sleeping peacefully and harmlessly.

Long eyelashes twitched.

‘How did you get here?’

But… It might be ridiculous to ask such a question to a wizard who could change the weather to winter.

A white stick was stuck in between Heinrich’s rosy red lips. It looked like he fell asleep eating a lollipop.

‘Cute.’

I was automatically relieved and I laughed out loud.

“Your teeth are all going to rot, you idiot.”

I slowly pulled out the stick, whispering so that Heinrich wouldn’t wake up.

Plop, the half-worn round candy fell out of his gaping lips.

Heinrich’s body moved slightly, to the left and right. Slowly, the shirt that was bigger than my body was messed up.

It seemed soft, but the hard body, as if forged, moved seductively with the thin fabric as he breathed.

‘Crazy.’

I opened my eyes right away.

‘It’s just a man’s chest.’

‘But why do I feel like I’m doing something bad just by looking at it?’

In a quick blink, I instinctively closed the collar of his shirt tightly.

“…….”

Long eyelashes slowly lifted up, and beautiful purple eyes stared at me.

His face was motionless, as if he had never fallen asleep from the beginning.

He licked his lips and looked at me and the candy.

“Sister.”

“…Yes?”

“My tongue is empty.”

He got a little bit closer. Face to face with me, lying on the side of my bed, he narrowed the gap between us and got as close as the lollipop stick.

With innocent and harmless eyes, Heinrich whispered while looking at my lips.

“I want to eat something sweet.”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

In the residence of the Marquisate of Winston.

“I found it!”

Number 19 rushed inside and shouted,

“I found two people who said they saw Gerard having a secret meeting!”

Kyle’s eyes became thin. It was an investigation conducted from the time the tracking team arrived on Bayonaire Island. It wasn’t unreasonable to find witnesses by now.

After a while, two men entered the drawing room.

Surprisingly, both were Gerard’s henchmen. Those who worked in the tracking team.

Sitting opposite them, Kyle asked with suspicious eyes.

“You are Gerard’s dogs, how can I believe anything you say?”

“The chase is over! I’ve heard they’re going to ‘dispose’ of us. If you give me something, I will hand over the information and leave El Dorado.”

The other tracker next to the one who had spoken leaned over.

“S-Same here for me.”

“Did you two come together?”

At Kyle’s question, One-eye, who brought the two of them, politely answered.

“No, Marquis. They are seeing each other now since both of them have said they’ll give us information.”

The red-haired man, who had entered the drawing room first, hit himself on the chest and declared,

“My information is correct.”

“What are you talking about? I saw who he met with these two eyes. It was someone who knew the location of ‘that woman’! The two met in the deep forest.”

Hiss, the pink-haired guy next to him spoke softly.

The red-haired argued; since he had already come here, if he left El Dorado without receiving any money, it was only him that would lose out.

“It’s the ‘assistant’ of a high-ranking nobleman!”

…An aide?

Kyle, who had buried himself deep in the chair, straightened his body and clenched his chin.

Then he asked with cold eyes.

“Tell him his name.”

Who is it? The aide who serves the person who put Annette in trouble and even brought her life into danger.

The two men answered at the same time.

“It’s Duncan.”

“It’s Owin.”

Dun. Kyle’s face darkened.

Grand Duke Hyacinth or the Crown Prince?

―Of the two different answers, either of them was unexpected.