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Chapter 4
Caesar cupped her frozen cheek in his hand. His large palm reached all the way to the back of her head.
Just that alone made it feel as if he had seized her entire body—an overwhelming, inescapable force.
With a low, velvety voice, Caesar slowly curled the corner of his lips upward.
“It’s been a while.”
“P-pardon? Do you know me?”
“Do you not know me?”
“Ah—I do! I do. You’re the Empire’s hero… the living statue. It’s an honor to meet you like this.”
Pfft.
Caesar burst out laughing brightly.
“You’ve turned into a flatterer.”
Seeing his dazzling smile made Odette’s stomach tighten.
‘How can a smile be so sexy… and yet so sinister?’
Caesar could absorb surrounding energy and convert it into his own power.
Because that power was too vast to use all at once, he released it periodically—sometimes as aura, sometimes as a seductive, bewitching force.
Noble ladies struck by that charm often fell helplessly in love, unable to think straight.
So it was almost inevitable that Amelia, the original heroine who had shared his bedroom in the novel, had been completely enthralled by him.
‘And now it’s going to be me.’
She clenched her teeth, trying to resist his charm—but it was useless.
The moment Caesar’s hand slid from her cheek to the back of her neck, tracing lightly, her head swam.
The scarf around her neck slipped down.
Bruises left from Count Anderson’s strangling were exposed, and Caesar’s gaze cooled instantly.
“Was this the count’s doing?”
“Yes! Go and kill him immediately. You must take care of Count Anderson and the butler Jovern together.”
“Not tonight.”
Caesar pulled her up and drew her into his arms by the waist.
Her heart felt like it would burst through her throat.
Her body burned, her head spun.
As she turned pale, Caesar held her even tighter and buried his face in her neck.
“You said it was an honor just to meet me? Then sleeping with me would be the honor of your lifetime.”
“Such an honor is too much—I refuse…”
“Refuse?”
“Decline—no, I mean… refund! No, no. My brain seems to have stopped working. My stomach is turning and I feel like I’m going to vomit…”
It felt as if she had swallowed fire. Her head went dizzy, her breathing tightened.
Odette parted her lips to breathe.
And in that moment, it looked as if she were longing for his kiss.
Caesar stared at her mouth, his gaze heavy and lingering.
A strange sensation swept through her entire body in an instant.
What was this unfamiliar feeling? Pain? Paralysis? Or death?
Caesar’s large hand gripped her shoulder roughly.
Cold sweat poured down her body and her legs wobbled.
Through her fading vision, she saw Caesar’s expression tighten.
The next instant, her neck snapped backward as her strength completely gave out.
“Call the physician immediately… an antidote… damn it!”
Caesar’s voice came in fragments, as if breaking apart.
“…Odette Balen… without my permission… you are not allowed to die…”
Had he ever even told her his name? That thought flickered—
Then darkness swept in.
Her consciousness was swallowed by a sleep like death.
“…Mother?”
It was a mountain cabin.
In front of the fireplace sat the woman who had given birth to her in this life, sewing.
Whenever fabric was brought from the tailor shop, her mother would turn it into clothing.
‘She didn’t look like someone who would survive on sewing work…’
Her beautiful mother—blonde hair, blue eyes—radiated elegance.
She could read and write.
She taught young Odette history and even mathematics.
Her speech and manners were so refined she could easily have been mistaken for a noblewoman’s daughter.
As a child, Odette had instinctively sensed danger even when adults said nothing.
When her mother began speaking about imperial banquets and capital nobility, a fear that her peaceful life would collapse would creep in.
Someone would come to take her mother away.
Her mother would return to her rightful place.
And then what would happen to her?
But her mother had been preparing to leave for somewhere else.
She was dying.
“Mom!”
“My Odette… my precious treasure.”
Her mother gently stroked her hair, her face pale and frail.
“I’ll find medicine to save you. Please don’t die.”
“I’ve already sent a letter to an acquaintance. He will bring your father to me. Don’t you want to see your father, Odette?”
But that man never appeared.
“Who is my father?”
“…I can’t tell you yet.”
“Tell me! I’ll go and take revenge on the man who made you suffer!”
“Why are you defending that bastard? He deserves to die!”
The physician tending her treatment flinched at Odette’s sudden outburst and looked toward Caesar standing behind her.
‘Who is the countess talking about?’
Shortly after returning from the war, Caesar and his wife had nearly died from poison.
Poison had been found in their tea.
Caesar had avoided it by not drinking, but the countess had been in critical condition.
Thanks to a timely antidote, her life had been saved—but they still could not relax.
Poison affecting the nervous system often left aftereffects.
“…It seems her consciousness is returning.”
Caesar said coldly.
“She is struggling in a half-dream state, but her will to live is strong. However, because it was a deadly poison, full recovery will take time.”
A “half-dream state” meant she would experience various dreams during detoxification.
In other words, she was hovering at death’s door.
The physician tried to reassure Caesar.
“If there are aftereffects, we can prescribe medication. I will monitor her carefully.”
“…You plan to stay beside my wife all night? Do you think I would allow that?”
Caesar’s gaze turned sharp and murderous.
The physician nearly jumped out of his skin and waved his hands frantically.
“I would never do anything suspicious to the countess!”
“The more I hear you, the more disgusting it sounds. Get out.”
“T-thank you…”
Barely surviving, the physician fled the room.
Caesar approached the bed and sighed deeply.
She kept muttering curses.
“What grievances do you even have…”
“Son of a bitch.”
“Who?”
“Her father, that bastard.”
What—she’s answering while half-conscious?
Caesar sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down.
“Odette, what was your first impression of Caesar?”
“Beautiful.”
“Really?”
A faint smile curved his lips.
“And?”
“Sexy.”
“And?”
“Strong… scary. Ugh, I want a gentle man…”
“What’s a gentle man?”
Caesar suddenly straightened, his expression turning cold.
Even if he didn’t understand the term, he was certain it wasn’t referring to him.
“You’re thinking of another man in my bedroom? You need to be punished.”
He glared at her, then sighed.
“…Don’t go.”
But Odette’s pleading voice continued.
“Mother…”
“……!”
“Don’t leave me alone.”
Caesar stopped.
A sigh escaped him.
“You really are testing me.”
“Ugh…”
As she forced her heavy eyelids open, her vision slowly cleared.
She still couldn’t focus properly, meaning she wasn’t fully recovered.
‘What exactly happened…?’
Odette replayed the previous night.
When Caesar had held her tightly and kissed her neck, something strange had happened to her body.
Her head had spun, her heart had pounded like it would explode, and she had nearly fainted.
‘Was it… death by passion?’
A heart attack caused by extreme arousal.
Had she been so affected by Caesar that she almost crossed the line between life and death?
“Then… nothing happened?”
She threw off the blanket and checked her clothes.
She was still in sleepwear. That was good—but why did her cheek feel so sensitive?
When she turned her head—
She froze in shock.
Caesar was lying beside her, head propped up, staring at her.
“Nothing happened. What, are you disappointed?”
Caesar reached out toward her.
“Want to hug me now?”
