CH 20.2

20. I’m going to kill him myself. (2)

His brows were drawn together as his glowing red eyes continued to scare her.

The door slammed shut, and she could hear it being locked from the outside.

“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.”

Left alone in her bedroom, So-hee continued to sigh.

Joshua was gentle as usual, but he didn’t stay with her anymore.

He tucked her in bed, covered her with a blanket, and left her without a word.

“He’s furious right now. What should I do?”

Joshua’s angry accusations kept ringing in her ears.

“What other methods is he going to use to kill Deon?”

When she burned that document and glanced at the wall clock, it was clear that she still had fifty minutes left before the emperor’s meeting ended.

Joshua’s unexpected appearance and the unorganized table were why she failed her mission miserably.

No.

It was pride that ruined her plan.

She shouldn’t have assumed she knew everything and thought this would be easy.

“Why did I make such a smart male lead?”

Despite being this web novel’s author, it was hard to admit that she didn’t have the upper hand here.

However, there was no way she could continue writing this from an outsider’s perspective.

She was Ariad now, wasn’t she?

She turned her head to the barred window.

If she jumped and returned to reality, she could see all of Joshua’s intentions immediately.

So-hee examined Ariad’s body again.

“If I do that, what would happen next?”

Even if she did find out about Joshua’s plans in real life, there was no way she could come back and stop it with Ariad’s half-dead body.

Now, she regretted trying to kill herself from the start so that she could return to reality.

“Yes. Karma’s a bitch.”

The only thing she could hope for right now was Joshua’s affection.

She knew that his love for Ariad was sincere.

Perhaps, everything will work out fine once she asks him for forgiveness.

Then Joshua’s determined voice suddenly crossed her mind.

“Ariad. You’re a terrible liar, you know? Even if you try to fool me, I can see it all on your face.”

So-hee recalled telling him silly things such as ‘I like you.’.

She lied to him to get rid of her bad reputation and thought he had fallen for it.

She thought everything was going her way, but she was just one of Joshua’s puppets.

Despondency poured in on her like a massive tidal wave.

“Stupid Sohee. Try to think straight. This is your novel.”

She banged her forehead.

She couldn’t think of a better way to get out of here than that.

* * *

In just a day, Bandelli looked more haggard.

His wet, dark brown hair curled like seaweed as he ran towards him.

Today’s scene was similar to yesterday’s.

One was on his knees while the other person sat leisurely in his chair with his legs crossed.

The soothing sound of someone sipping tea and the falling raindrops outside the window were the only things alleviating this suffocating silence.

But, even those things were too much for Bandelli.

“Your Highness. The reason why you called me——”

Bandelli’s voice faltered nervously.

Because of what happened yesterday,  it seemed like he had lost his ability to speak.

Still, he held that little string of hope inside him when Joshua called him back.

Joshua put down the teacup and began,  “Listen to me, Bandelli.”

He nodded vigorously, and the droplets clinging to his hair strands were scattered here and there.

“If you do as you are told, I will spare you.”

Bandelli felt as if the lights on the ceiling were getting brighter with each word he uttered.

When he slightly lifted his head from the ground, he noticed that Joshua had worn white shoes this time instead of the black shoes brushing against his fingertips yesterday.

The tips of his snow-white shoes sparkled under the light as he shook them lightly.

Joshua seemed contemplative, and Bandelli patiently waited for him in the silence.

“It’s easy.”

He placed a piece of paper on the glass table and tapped it with his finger.

Shocked, Bandelli’s brows almost reached up to his hairline.

“Deliver this letter to the presiding judge.”

Bandelli, kneeling with his palms plastered on the floor, reached out to look at it.

His pupils wavered as he read the content.

Then, he took his gaze off the letter and looked at the crown prince.

His eyes turned into down-turned crescents as he smiled.

Bandelli had finally figured out his real intentions.

“Go and tell Deon Filtmore.”

“What… shall I tell him…Your Highness?”

Joshua’s blood-colored eyes twinkled in delight.

“Tell him that Joshua McKinley is planning to kill him. And, tell him that I threatened you to do my bidding.” He whispered. “That’s all you need to say, Bandelli. It’s easy, right?”

He kept nodding, thinking he would do anything just to live.

However, the hand holding the letter tensed.

After reading its content, Bandelli felt like he had the lifespan of a fruit fly.

It was best for him to become this man’s ally.

“I will be the one to decide what you need to say on the day of the trial. Memorize it as it is.”

Macon entered the room when Joshua waved the bell at the table’s edge.

“Macon, give this information to the Marquis.” He said.

Then, Joshua rose from his seat, his long legs easing out of the drawing room.

Feeling as if he had barely survived in front of a beast, Bandelli straightened his spine and exhaled a breath.

On the chair where the crown prince had left, Macon instructed him on what he had to say in court.

Macon held Bandelli by the neck, and he shivered from the threatening atmosphere.

“This is all you have to do.” He drawled.

Macon’s killer smile was no different from his master’s.

Joshua had woven a tight web to kill Deon Filtmore, but he didn’t think he would be caught in the same web.

Damn it.

Should Bandelli start living on this web?