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CHAPTER 79…………………….
“W-who are you?”
In response to the question, the man slightly lifted his black umbrella.
Beneath wet strands of black hair, piercing red eyes glimmered clearly.
Flawless, smooth skin, sharp nose, tightly pressed lips.
A handsome man so beautiful that he sent shivers down one’s spine, enough to make you forget the cold instantly.
Those who met his gaze felt their hair stand on end all at once.
“D-Duke Calypso!”
“Duke Calypso?”
“W-wasn’t he supposed to be in prison?”
Dietrich, who should have been behind bars, stood there in sleek black armor, perfectly groomed.
People still called him duke, as if they had forgotten he had lost the title.
“You look like a ghost,”
Dietrich’s gaze fell on Gabriel and Hariel, whose faces had gone pale.
“Did you call my lover a witch?”
Plash, plash.
As Dietrich took a step forward, people automatically cleared a path.
He looked at Gabriel and Hariel as though they were wriggling insects.
“Your Grace, you’re being deceived. That child is a wicked witch. Even my daughter and I were fooled for years,” Hariel blurted out, oblivious to the tension.
Dietrich slowly blinked at the words.
“A real witch… isn’t it you two?”
The voice of Dietrich as he spoke felt several times colder than the pouring rain.
“To sell my lover to filthy men as if at an auction, filling your pockets, and now go on a witch hunt…”
Dietrich’s hand rested on the hilt of his sword.
The movement suggested he could draw it at any moment, and people dared not even swallow.
At that moment, Gabriel spoke up.
“Duke Calypso, believe it or not, my mother is right. And it was Celia who wanted the public proposal; we didn’t do it on our own.”
Gabriel bit his lower lip, deliberately wearing a pitiful expression.
But Dietrich’s eyes showed no trace of sympathy.
“Duke Calypso, don’t be fooled by her. If you don’t want to taste betrayal like I did… it’s not too late even now.”
Gabriel looked up at Dietrich with a desperate expression.
Just looking at him made her heart race.
Strong, broad shoulders, a solid, thick build, a wide, flat back.
And those indifferent red eyes.
Eyes that shone tenderly only to Celia.
Gabriel’s feelings twisted.
More than being expelled from the royal palace, it hurt her far more to see the way Dietrich looked at Celia.
“If I cannot have it, neither can you.”
With that thought, Gabriel spoke softly.
“…Actually, before joining our family, Celia survived by rummaging through trash in the back alleys.”
Lowering her eyelids as if embarrassed to speak, Gabriel continued when Dietrich gave no response.
“Had she not been fortunate enough to join our family, she might still be living like that. My father took pity and took her in, but… to think she was actually a wicked witch who seduced men to devour them…”
Gabriel trembled and sobbed.
“You talk too much.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Have you forgotten that those who spread false rumors to disrupt the country are imprisoned without exception?”
Dietrich gestured to the knights running toward him.
The knights bowed deeply.
Dietrich issued his command.
“Interrogate everyone here, and imprison those who are guilty.”
While Celia slept in her bed, something seeped in through the door crack.
Shhh-shhh-shhh-
Through a crack barely wide enough for an ant, grains of sand pushed their way inside.
Shhh-shhh-shhh-
Those grains of sand were Arthur.
Arthur had temporarily transformed himself into sand using shape-shifting magic.
A person turning into grains of sand—something only Arthur could pull off.
Who could have imagined it?
That someone would sneak through as sand through a door crack.
Probably no one expected it.
“……”
Celia was deeply asleep, unaware of the world, her soft breaths audible.
After a while, a black shadow shimmered beside her, long eyelashes brushing over her face.
When the shadow completely covered her, Arthur bared his teeth in a grin.
He perched on the bed like a precious jewel, looking down at Celia.
“Ah… even sleeping, you’re beautiful.”
“?”
Startled by the unsettling voice, Celia opened her eyes wide.
“!”
She saw something she didn’t want to see.
Platinum hair, golden eyes.
Arthur, wearing an emerald necklace, moved his lips.
They glistened as if coated in oil.
“Sparkling like a jewel! How can a person look like this?”
“!”
Arthur grabbed both of Celia’s wrists tightly, grinning wickedly.
“Ah… I love it so much…”
Celia struggled, screaming as she tried to pull away.
“Let go, you madman! Let go right now!”
“Even your struggling… is an art.”
Veins bulging, Arthur forced Celia’s thin wrists above her head with one hand, while covering her mouth with the other.
“Uuuugh!”
With her mouth blocked, she could barely make a sound.
Celia desperately considered whether to use her abilities.
If the Arthur before her was a clone like before, her powers would be revealed.
Since she didn’t have the dagger Dietrich gave her, she couldn’t tell if this Arthur was real or a clone.
Seeing her gaze, Arthur shivered slightly.
“Ugh… do you know how much I… wanted you?”
Arthur looked down at her with eyes full of possessiveness.
“Even if you fall apart in my arms… you’ll still be beautiful…”
Crunch!
“?”
Celia bit Arthur’s hand.
“Oh… aaah… you’re provoking me.”
Blood flowed from Arthur’s hand, swollen from her bite.
Yet Arthur didn’t flinch, simply watching her with a lazy expression.
“What will you do about the aftermath?”
Arthur twisted his lips and winked one eye.
“The aftermath… can you handle it…?”
He leaned close, bringing his lips to hers.
Blood ran from her bite onto his face; he licked it off with his tongue.
“Ah… delicious… maybe because you bit me, my blood tastes so sweet, even though it shouldn’t.”
Like savoring sweet red wine, Arthur shivered in pleasure.
The touch of his body against hers sent a jolt through Celia.
Arthur’s eyes darted rapidly, more excited than before.
“Alright, let’s see… how should I make you mine? Sleeping? Looking at me with innocent eyes? Or attacking like a fierce beast? Or maybe… I could make you my woman right here…”
Celia glared at him, eyes wide.
Arthur observed each eyelash, each brow, licking his lips.
“Rebellious as you are… it’s maddeningly beautiful. But I also want to see you drink this.”
Arthur rummaged through his clothes with his free hand and pulled out a small vial.
“Do you know what this is?”
The red liquid sloshed in his hand.
Celia knew exactly what it was.
It was the same color as the potion Ileon had tried to give her earlier.
“I originally didn’t intend to use this on you… but on myself…”
Arthur, his eyes glazed, opened the vial.
“You ruined everything. You mingled with another man while I protected you… you have no idea… ahh… Reina… when I threw that wretch to the beasts, I was so excited! Ahh, ahh!”
Arthur groaned, his face flushed.
Celia looked at him with a cold, piercing gaze.
“I’ll make you feel good… I’ll see the fire in your eyes with my own eyes…”
Arthur bit his lower lip and released the hand covering her mouth.
“In the most… beautiful way, I’ll stuff you alive into my cage with your parrot.”
In a feverish voice, he brought the vial to her lips.
Click.
The sound of a door opening echoed.
