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Chapter 03
The Mad Dog and the Blue Gem
“Miss Frensha, frowning gives you wrinkles faster. If this old man could return to his younger days, I think I’d smile a lot more.”
Adeline didn’t want to be this prickly either. If they hadn’t ruined her precious atelier, she would’ve smiled politely.
“Winston Blackwood. At present—no, in the entire continent—he’s the most popular man. You know him too, don’t you, miss?”
A memory surfaced—something Ian had once said.
Winston Blackwood. Anyone from the Odsensian Empire, man or woman, would know his name.
He was wealthy, high-born, and had been a celebrated prodigy at the Academy. Now he was even a war hero. There were endless rumors surrounding him: that he was extraordinarily handsome, terrifyingly ruthless, or a womanizer gifted at charming people.
And now that man had intentionally destroyed her shop.
Adeline let out an exaggerated sigh.
“I’m truly sorry to you, butler. However, could you ask the owner of this house to come out quickly? I need to get back to my shop—the one your family’s knights ruined.”
“The world really does seem small.”
“It does. Very small. Which is exactly why I’d appreciate being allowed to return to my shop—the one your family’s knights wrecked.”
“To think the shop our family’s knights visited belonged to Miss Frensha… I had no idea.”
Did he really not know?
Ha. Feels like he knew everything and was tormenting me on purpose.
Adeline turned toward the door. Her eyes met those of the gray-haired knight who had caused chaos in her shop earlier.
You’re a culprit. You weren’t invited here as a guest.
His gaze seemed to say exactly that.
Adeline exhaled deeply, as if the ground beneath her had collapsed. Her right hand twitched.
The knight flinched and looked at her as if warning: Don’t do anything insane.
Ha. Is this how I die in this lifetime?
Using magic without permission inside a family carrying imperial blood was illegal. She could argue self-defense, claiming she felt her life was threatened…
But considering who her opponent was, even winning in court would cost her dearly.
“Miss Frensha.”
Joseph called her several times before she finally looked back.
“Yes, butler?”
“Hasn’t it been a long time since we spoke like this directly?”
“I don’t particularly remember ever speaking with you.”
“Then isn’t that all the more reason to be pleased?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
Adeline kept her cold attitude. Joseph nodded with a faintly disappointed expression.
“Well… my master disliked even the idea of me speaking to you. There was nothing I could do. Back then, my mas—”
Bang!
Before Joseph could finish, the door flew open without warning, and the knights beside it stumbled away.
A man in a black robe strode in.
Adeline forced herself not to turn automatically.
Joseph rose and bowed deeply. Even then, Adeline stayed exactly where she was.
“Get out. Now.”
“Understood, Master.”
“And stop making noise.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Once the short exchange ended, everyone left the room, leaving only him and her behind.
The empty space was filled solely with the heavy tension radiating from the man.
Adeline knew the owner of this voice all too well.
She’d thought she’d forgotten it forever after years without hearing it.
Apparently not.
A large shadow fell over her.
Drip. Drip.
Water droplets landed on her dress.
Tap, tap.
Brushing her dress off with one hand, Adeline looked up.
Blue eyes—sharp as a winter wind.
His red lips glistened, and his flawless features remained as striking as ever.
A man like a fragment of divinity mistakenly left behind on earth.
“You dared run away from me?”
The Grand Duke brushed back his wet black hair and bent down.
His strong arms braced against the back of the sofa, caging Adeline in like a bird trapped inside a cage.
Because the tie around the center of his robe was loosely fastened, his straight collarbones, broad shoulders, and chest were plainly visible.
The increasingly thick scent around him only heightened the tension.
Adeline felt crushed beneath a pressure intense enough to paralyze her entire body.
An ordinary woman might have lost herself in the dangerous allure before her.
But Adeline reminded herself she was a rational, intelligent person.
Suddenly, she remembered her atelier—ruined by someone else’s whims.
Her irritation began rising again.
One person keeps someone waiting forever, while another leisurely takes care of whatever he wanted before showing up?
Very fitting behavior for such an illustrious Grand Duke.
Then she noticed the red marks scattered across him.
Winston wasn’t the type of man who’d get beaten by anyone.
Which meant those red traces were almost certainly signs of intimate encounters too embarrassing to mention.
Was he living wildly as a playboy before meeting his destined woman?
Adeline frowned.
“You’re making me uncomfortable. Step back.”
His shoulders, broader and firmer than years ago, didn’t budge easily.
Like a growling beast, he spoke harshly.
“You. Answer my question first.”
“That’s quite a dramatic greeting.”
“Where were you after graduation all this time?”
“Move. You’re making me uncomfortable.”
“Where exactly were you?”
“Didn’t you hear me say you’re making me uncomfortable?”
Winston frowned slightly.
He was the kind of man who would never hear rejection or displeasure directed at him elsewhere.
Perhaps it was natural for him to dislike this situation.
“You’re right. My presence must be making my junior uncomfortable. I’ll move.”
As Adeline ducked beneath his arm, he withdrew it and instead guided her shoulder back against the sofa.
“Just stay there.”
Winston sat opposite her and crossed his legs crookedly.
His strange pride over odd things hadn’t changed.
Looks like he still hates being called junior.
Physically, the Grand Duke was older.
But Adeline had entered the Central Academy earlier.
Her fifth life after regression.
After dying pointless deaths several times, Adeline had lived more diligently than anyone.
Enough that Academy studies weren’t difficult at all anymore.
Arms crossed, Winston sat with obvious displeasure.
His rough temperament hadn’t changed in the slightest.
Winston—the Imperial family’s mad dog.
He was the protagonist of the novel, but also an aggressive, ferocious man.
The recent war itself had nearly ended in defeat before he turned it into victory.
Maybe that terrible personality improves once the original story begins.
Winston looked her over with the eyes of a predator sizing up prey.
“You haven’t changed.”
“You haven’t either, junior.”
“I told you to stop calling me that.”
“Did you?”
“I did.”
“I don’t remember things unless they’re important to me.”
“Then remember it now.”
“I should decide first whether what I just heard is important to me.”
Adeline answered calmly.
Winston let out a deep sigh and raked a hand through his wet hair.
“It should be important.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m important to you.”
“Why would—”
Is he… not completely unimportant?
She stopped herself.
In the novel The Black Knight’s Oath, Adeline was only an extra.
Meanwhile, Winston was the male lead.
Why on earth is he bullying some insignificant extra? Is being the protagonist enough reason?
His thick brows looked noble.
Below them were sharp eyes and an elegant nose.
Lips capable of making hearts tremble.
A beauty beyond what human language could fully describe lingered throughout Winston’s face and body.
As though openly advertising:
I’m the protagonist.
A man attractive enough to take someone’s breath away—
But those words only applied to ordinary ladies.
The annoyance in Adeline’s eyes steadily deepened.
Winston wiped the water running down his cheek with his robe.
…Sigh. Endure it. I didn’t come here for pointless bickering.
Adeline urged him toward the real issue.
“Your Grace.”
“…?”
“There must be some reason for destroying someone else’s shop, right?”
“Is that really what matters right now?”
Then it doesn’t matter?
Snap.
She heard it.
The sound of the thread holding her patience together breaking.
