Chapter 12

It all happened in an instant.

Adeline, with her cheeks held in Cassius's grasp, had no way to avert his gaze. His red eyes bore into hers, and before she could feel any discomfort, something brushed and then left her lips.

"What is this now…"

Adeline looked at Cassius, her eyes stained with confusion.

As their gazes steadfastly met, Cassius slightly lifted the corners of his mouth.

"You're not avoiding me now."

Adeline found herself unable to look away from the Duke.

His red eyes seemed to harbor a small flame within, growing more intense as they locked with hers, eventually seeming to blaze.

"Don't avoid me again."

His eyes, now a vivid scarlet, shimmered mischievously as he gently lifted her chin and tilted his head, drawing closer.

Adeline involuntarily closed her eyes as their faces neared. Their lips touched, and Cassius's breath invaded her space, leaving her motionless.

She felt light-headed.

Both lost in each other, the sound of the relentless rain became inconsequential.

As their kiss deepened, a flash of lightning briefly illuminated the room before vanishing. The sudden brightness jolted Adeline back to reality.

"Ah!"

Startled, Adeline pushed Cassius away with a hurried motion. He stepped back willingly.

"Um…"

Adeline, at a loss for words, didn't complete her sentence.

Cassius, gazing at her unsteadily, brushed his fingers over her reddened lips.

"Go wash up."

His eyes still held warmth, but he stepped back, allowing her space.

Embarrassed, Adeline quickly retreated to the bathroom, leaning against the door as her heart pounded uncontrollably.

Why did it all change so suddenly?

She hadn't expected a simple zipper assistance to lead to a kiss.

'What should I do now…'

She lightly touched her swollen lips, her mind overwhelmed by the memory of Cassius's kiss.

Her face burned, even as she doused it with cold water, unable to calm her racing thoughts.

Unbeknownst to her, she was no longer as fearful of looking into Cassius's eyes as before.

The sky outside had cleared, as if the storm had never happened.

After her shower, Adeline encountered Cassius in the hallway.

His crimson eyes reminded her of their earlier encounter, and she quickly averted her gaze, her face flushing.

"Mel, I'm going to town!"

"Now? Suddenly, why…"

Cassius seemed ready to join, but Adeline was not willing to wait.

"I'll be back soon. Don't follow me. Take care of the house!"

Without waiting for his response, she swiftly left the mansion.

The thought of being with Cassius was too overwhelming, her mind unable to shake off their recent intimacy.

Though she felt embarrassed about the kiss, she had urgent business in town.

The broken window needed fixing, or Cassius would surely call a repairman.

Thus, Adeline headed towards the village, stopping at a hardware store to pick up some basic tools.

Adeline noticed a boy selling newspapers in front of a store.

'Could there be any news about me?'

For some unknown reason, the empire's sole Duke, injured, was in this remote village. It had been quite some time since the Duke had disappeared from the capital.

Since his disappearance was almost equivalent to missing, Adeline assumed there would be a huge story in the capital's daily newspapers.

"Hey kid, give me one of those newspapers."

Adeline called the boy over, handed him a coin, and took a newspaper. Contrary to her expectations, there was nothing about the Duke in it. Instead, the headline prominently featured the disappearance of a Duke's daughter.

[Breaking News! The beautiful daughter of the Credeon Duke has disappeared]

[The Duke's daughter of the Credeon family, with wheat-colored hair and grey eyes…]

The first page of the newspaper detailed Adeline's appearance.

'Why are they publishing an article about me now?'

Adeline was perplexed. It had been a while since she left home. Why had the quiet Duke Credeon suddenly started looking for her?

It was clear what the detailed description of her appearance in all the media, under the control of the Duke's family, implied.

The Crown Prince must have started searching for her through Duke Credeon.

Adeline felt enveloped by the sensation that the Duke would soon find her and throw her before the Crown Prince.

'This is like a death flag.'

Adeline trembled with fear that seemed to choke her.

Just then, she heard grand footsteps in the quiet Horn region, like someone marching in hard boots on the muddy ground.

Anxious, Adeline hid herself at the corner of a small alley.

After a while, she saw several shadows on the main road from the alley.

"Have you seen anyone who looks like this?"

"If I had seen such a beauty, I would have remembered instantly! Never seen her."

At the newspaper stand where she had just been, a man in uniform was inquiring about someone. From her limited view in the alley, Adeline could see the emblem on the man's shoulder.

The emblem of the Credeon family.

The grey epaulette embroidered with two pairs of entwined snakes sent shivers down her spine.

The newspaper covering her disappearance was today's issue, but they had come all the way to Horn, a place far from the capital.

They had been searching for her all along.

Instinctively, Adeline hid deeper into the alley.

How much manpower had they deployed? Her fear only grew.

'I shouldn't come to town for a while.'

Adeline turned and started heading back to the mansion, hurrying her steps. As she reached the forest path home, she quickened her pace.

The path was eerily silent, intensifying her anxiety.

It was too late.

Though she had said she was going to town, Duke Cassius must be waiting anxiously at home.

Had she been walking for half the distance when the rain, which had subsided earlier, started falling again.

The rain intensified, becoming too heavy to pass through.

Adeline decided it was best to take shelter from the rain.

She hid under a large tree and caught her breath.

She hadn't expected them to come this far to a remote village.

Looking up at the sky, Adeline took a moment. In the distance, through the trees, she thought she saw a large, dark figure.

Blinded by the heavy downpour, she couldn't make out the situation clearly.

'Could it be someone from the Duke's household?'

Adeline thought she had successfully escaped from the village, but she suddenly felt a surge of fear.

The dark figure seemed to be moving closer to her.

"@#$%^&~."

The heavy rain drowned out all sounds, yet she heard some faint murmuring through it.

She had to run.

Adeline was certain that the voice belonged to one of the Duke's knights she had seen in town.

It wasn't time to shelter from the rain. Adeline started running away from the big tree.

She couldn't let herself be caught and dragged away.

"Ugh…"

Her breath felt like it would burst, but she couldn't slow down because the dark figure was getting closer.

She couldn't head towards the Duke's mansion.

She couldn't risk being discovered by the Duke, hiding there. She had to run as far from the mansion as possible.

As Adeline changed direction, the dark figure followed her.

It was undoubtedly chasing her.

She hadn't done any significant wrong in her previous life.

But,

'Why does this only happen to me?'

Running away in desperation, she felt pitifully sorry for herself.

Escaping through the trees, she started to get scratches on her arms.

Being caught meant being dragged to the Crown Prince and facing death. In the face of imminent death, the scratches were the least of her worries.

"@#$%^&!!"

No matter how much she ran, the dark figure kept getting closer, raising its voice and narrowing the distance to Adeline.

She sprinted with all her might. She couldn't afford to look back.

Was it because of the heavy rain from the past few days?

There were mounds of dirt and tangled trees everywhere due to landslides. Adeline hid among these mounds of dirt.

She could no longer run; her legs had given out.

Barely clinging to consciousness, Adeline was out of strength. She could only hope that her hiding spot wouldn't be discovered.

Her breath was choked, and her heart felt like it was about to burst.

But defying her hope, the dark figure appeared behind her.

A large hand grasped Adeline's shoulder.

The strong, firm grip on her shoulder brought an intense wave of terror.

It was the end.

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This novel has been translated up to chapter 35.

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