CH 133

Tuk, as he stepped down from the window, he did not take his eyes off Annette, who was crying.

The strongly drawn eyebrows above his sharp eyes were slightly raised. As if it was he was in a bad mood.

That figure crying with a pale face was very strangely… stimulating him.

“Get up.”

‘Don’t cry alone, prettily but sadly.’

‘My Annette.’

“Sisl.”

He got Annette up and pulled her into his arms.

She shook her head helplessly. Sislin looked at the small body in his arms as if to eat it, and raised his large hand.

Then he wiped away the tears with his thumb.

“You can’t cry, it’s a waste.”

“…….”

“Some bastard made you cry.”

‘Making you hide and cry alone.’

Annette’s small, red lips were firmly shut.

Sislin thought about those lips all day.

After tasting it once and swallowing it twice, he coveted those lips like an addicted patient.

He felt impatient enough to pour kisses on her crying face, but then she would despise him.

There was already enough contempt.

“You’re not answering.”

“…Just.”

“He dared to bring tears to your eyes, so I must find him and kill him immediately.”

“……!!!”

Annette shook her head vigorously.

“No, I am fine! Sisl.”

Seeing that reaction, Sislin twisted his lips into a smirk.

“It’s Heinrich.”

“……!”

‘How did you know?!’ was written on Annette’s face.

But it was too simple a quiz.

A person who she had enough affection for to cry out of frustration yet wants to protect the other person.

Among all the humans, the only person who could do something that would make Annette cry uncontrollably…

It could only be Heinrich.

“I am really jealous. To the point where I want to make you cry all night.”

“…I think you’ve gone crazy. You usually say you don’t want me to cry.”

Annette quickly tried to step back, but failed.

It was cute that she tried to run away while crying, so he let out a low laugh and hugged her slender waist tightly, not letting go.

Annette struggled and stretched helplessly.

His red eyes curled up as he watched his adorable prey.

“Because it’s prettier than I thought.”

The crying face.

A terribly low voice whispered softly. It didn’t match his words.

Annette looked up at him and said firmly.

“It’s a matter between Heinrich and I, so don’t worry.”

“…….”

“Don’t intervene this time… Heinrich is having a hard enough time right now.”

A subtle, tenacious, yet twisted feeling permeated Sislin’s eyes.

Krrr—

He reached out and pulled over a chair. He sat down on the chair first, then pulled Annette.

“……!”

Putting that light body on his lap, Sislin looked at her, who was still with him.

Her eyes were fascinating. It’s like trying to twist a lover into a fun game in the middle of the night.

“Then let’s talk about ‘our problem’.”

A slight sense of doubt crossed Annette’s face.

“…Our problem?!”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

“What method should I use… To make her go to sleep?”

His enemies.

Gerard thought, twisting the corners of his lips.

How could he make that girl lie down and just breathe like her mother.

How to make her just barely maintain her life and dedicate the power of Exordium to him.

[I can feel the power of Exordium getting stronger. The child will soon go through ‘flowering’.]

There wasn’t much time left for Gerard. He was using the power of Venénum, completely unlocking its power in exchange for his life force.

The fiercer the fire, the faster the firewood would be consumed.

Gerard clenched and stretched his black gloved hand slowly, looking for a good way.

Then, Avilus said,

“How about using magic?!”

“Stupid fool!”

Gerard reacted sensitively.

“Now is the time to conserve energy. It’s too risky to use my powers to defeat that weak girl.”

The power of sorcery was too costly when it failed. He stroked his mask painfully. Inside, were traces of the ugly distorted ‘failure’.

It was good to save energy until ‘that day’ as much as possible.

That day, the day where he would turn back time and cut off the neck of Sislin, who was the main culprit.

Until then, he has no choice but to conserve the power as much as possible and use it only where he really needs it.

Then Avilus said,

“…There is a good way. How about paralysis poison?”

“…Paralysis poison?”

Gerard clicked his tongue.

“It’s too risky to use a poison that leaves traces.”

Wasn’t he currently being investigated by the Great Temple?

If he couldn’t covertly deal with the girl and end up leaving a trace, his immeasurable reputation would be irreparable.

For Gerard, who had to be concerned about his position in El Dorado while dreaming of a future emperor, poison was burdensome in that sense.

Avilus’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“I recommend the only ‘no-trace’ poison.”

“…….”

The red eyes inside the white mask shone with a temper.

“Does the poison really leave no traces?”

Then it was the best.

Especially if it’s a paralyzing poison. She would collapse, literally intact, her life unharmed.

Just like her mother, whom he worked hard on.

“Yes, Prince. I heard that it was a poison created by the archmages of the tower during their quarrels over their rights.”

“…….”

“Shall I arrange a meeting?”

The archmages of the Magic Tower enjoy a high position and power, but once they were subjected to a filthy scandal or exposed to evil deeds, they were permanently disqualified.

So there was credibility in the words that they had created such a secret poison.

“Arrange it for tonight.”

“Yes.”

That night.

There was a person who secretly visited Gerard’s private palace. The guest was secretly covered in a robe to hide his identity.

But Gerard already knew the name of his visitor. He smiled and opened his mouth.

“You’re here, Grand Duke Valentino.”

The guest pulled back the part of the robe that had covered his face and revealed himself.

Seuk, flowing silver hair.

The purple eyes beneath it were curved with an evil light.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Our problem.

What’s the matter between the two of us?

―Well, when I think about it, a lot of things happened with Sislin. First of all, that weird kiss.

But it’s a bit too much to say… that’s the problem.

The ‘our problem’ that Sislin pointed out was beyond my expectations.

“How long will you tease me?”

“……?!”

Was there such a problem between us?

Sislin narrowed his eyes as he looked at Annette who was making an expression of ‘what the heck are you talking about’.

“Don’t tell me you’re still maintaining the attitude of ‘rejection of the marriage proposal’.”

“What?”

“You stole my lips.”

Yes? Who stole what?

My face flushed red. The man, delighted with the reaction, spit out.

“You did it first. Kiss.”

“……!”

I responded instantly, jumping as if on fire.

“I didn’t do that on purpose. That… Sisl, it’s because you’re sick… like artificial respiration or therapy.”

Sislin gently shook his head and brought his hot lips to hers.

Slowly, his rib cage moved. Barely breathing, and not kissing deeply.

It was a strange kiss where only the lips touched.

“Isn’t this a kiss?”

“This…”

My eyelids fell. The man’s red, sharp gaze reached the slender, white neck that breathed out in surprise.

The sound of her pounding heart and neckline thickening as she exhaled shakily made him thirsty.

He pierced through the soft, pulsating skin.

He whispered seductively, engraving a warm touch.

“How about this.”

“……!!!”

I replied, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Sislin, that’s right. It’s a kiss.”

“Then it’s simple.”

The man who robbed the woman of surrender raised his head and leaned leisurely on the back of the chair.

“You took my heart, and not just my heart… you took my body too.”

“……?!”

“You have to take responsibility.”

I… Did I steal that much without knowing it?

I blinked.

“How can I take responsibility for just one kiss!”

Without even blinking an eye, Sislin spoke as he touched his chest with a brazen face.

“How can you hurt an innocent man like this? It was my first kiss.”

‘It was too good to believe it was your first kiss, Sisl.’

‘Besides, innocent? Even now, you’re acting so sly.’

It was a moment that really made me want to protest.

I asked sternly.

“And when did I take your body?”

“Why, was that not enough?”

He placed his elbow on the armrest and gently propped his chin up, looking at me.

Then he said with a smile on his face.

“Shall I sleep here tonight?”