Chapter : 22
When we arrived at the reception room, a dessert tray that I hadn’t seen earlier was already prepared.
Sirinyu sat on the single-person sofa and pointed at the table.
“Eat.”
These people really love their desserts, I thought.
Selene found it fascinating how desserts were ready no matter where she went.
Just as some cities in South Korea are known for their bread, she wondered if the specialty of this place might be its desserts. She sat down.
Selene quickly scanned the tray. There was quite a variety.
Since it’s still before the meal, maybe I’ll start lightly with a cookie…
Carefully, Selene brought a cookie to her mouth. Sirinyu watched her intently as she ate. Feeling the weight of his gaze, Selene rolled her eyes.
For some reason, the butler standing behind him also seemed to be waiting for her reaction.
“Wow, it’s delicious.”
At her response, Sirinyu leaned back against the sofa. The butler behind him smiled faintly and let out a small sigh.
“Try something else.”
Good, she seems to eat well, Sirinyu thought, pleased that he had found something to tempt Selene with. He smiled under his teacup.
“The desserts you prepared, Noel, and the ones bought from the shop… the quality here is really good.”
Sirinyu’s hand froze when he heard her mention the crown prince.
He didn’t understand why the prince’s name had come up so suddenly.
Worse, realizing that the crown prince had probably already tried to win Selene over in the way he had imagined twisted his mood.
If the crown prince met this woman, he wouldn’t just have sent her away.
Sirinyu looked at Selene with suspicious eyes.
Suddenly, the compliments she had received—the comment about him being handsome, the remark about his cursed eyes being attractive—might have all been said under the prince’s influence to gain her favor.
And that abrupt visit to the room, the sudden embrace… I thought it was a mistake, but maybe it was deliberate?
He felt irritated.
He had gone to unwanted parties and let her into a mansion that normally admitted no one.
Sirinyu watched as Selene fumbled with some papers in front of him.
“Where’s the ancient text? Which part should I start with? But, do you like books?”
“Not really.”
“Ah… you don’t. Then do you prefer sports or something?”
“No.”
“Ah… then music? Art? Something like that?”
Selene crumpled the corner of the paper as she spoke. Sirinyu put down his teacup and said,
“Do you want to see what I like?”
“Huh? Yes.”
Sirinyu rose from the sofa and extended his hand toward Selene.
“Follow me. I’ll show you what I like.”
After following Sirinyu for a while, we arrived at a staircase that clearly led underground.
The stairway corridor was sparsely lit with candles, giving it a gloomy feel. Weapons were displayed along the walls, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
“Ah…”
I hesitated at the top of the stairs. Wearing a long skirt, I was careful with my steps. As I clutched my skirt and hesitated, Sirinyu, two steps below, looked up at me.
Only then did our eye lines match. Meeting his gaze, I felt the violet color of his eyes pierce right through me.
Feeling the intensity, I quickly looked away.
“Here.”
Sirinyu’s hand suddenly extended toward me.
Confused, I saw him lift his hand slightly higher, as if to help me descend safely. Feeling a small rush of warmth, I carefully took his fingertips.
Huh?
My heart raced as soon as I touched his hand. I inhaled deeply, feeling like I wasn’t getting enough air. Sirinyu slightly raised his eyebrows and gripped my fingers.
His hand was cold, a refreshing chill against the warmth of my nerves.
Given his height, he could probably have stepped down two or three stairs at a time, but he descended slowly, one step at a time.
When we reached the bottom, I felt the emptiness of losing his hand. My racing heart settled somewhat. Wistfully, I rubbed my fingertips and looked around the basement.
“Wow.”
The basement walls were lined with weapons, just like the corridor. It could easily be mistaken for a weapon shop or a museum.
“Are you interested in weapons?”
Sirinyu asked, gauging my reaction. I shook my head.
“No, not particularly… Are these all real, though?”
He strode to the wall and took down one of the paired swords.
“Of course. This one, in fact, I used when I was younger.”
“When you were younger?”
He lightly twirled the sword, tracing a circle in the air with the tip. I felt as though I could sense the path the sword had taken.
“Did you use it to fight monsters?”
Sirinyu looked up at me from the sword, a faint curl of his lips suggesting displeasure rather than a smile.
“Why? Were you worried I might have killed someone with it?”
“No, just…”
I had no knowledge of weapons and was merely asking, but his sharp response caught me off guard.
He tossed the heavy-looking sword lightly and caught it. It moved effortlessly in his hand as if it were a baton.
I watched, mesmerized. It was breathtakingly sexy. A handsome man handling a deadly weapon as if it were part of his body—like a scene from a movie playing before my eyes.
Watching him handle the sword was like watching a dance, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the way the buttons of his shirt stretched over his muscles with each movement.
Muscles along his arms, horizontal folds across his back—I stared, holding my breath.
I can’t film this.
If I could record it, I would watch it over and over—it was that beautiful.
“Usually, I use this to hunt monsters, but who knows, maybe I’ve killed people with it too.”
He stopped twirling and faced me.
“Ah.”
I responded absentmindedly. Sirinyu raised an eyebrow.
“If I had killed someone, what would you do?”
“Huh?”
“Scared? Run away?”
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
I wasn’t condoning killing, but… this is a fantasy world; it could happen, right?
Even thinking that surprised me, but honestly, I was already unable to evaluate Sirinyu objectively.
Even if he were a villain, I would probably think, He must have had a reason.
His face carried a story that made me want to believe that.
“Well… I guess I’d hear why first?”
I glanced at the front of his shirt as I spoke. He returned the sword to its place and stepped toward me.
“A fragile wrist like yours, a woman’s, could be killed instantly without a weapon.”
He pointed at my wrist. I touched it with my other hand. I tried to keep the thought to myself, but the words slipped out.
“I don’t think you’d do that…”
This mouth of his.
He paused his hand midair and met my eyes. My heart raced again.
“How are you so sure?”
He looked somewhat confused. I suppressed a smile.
Does he really not know?
A man so naturally accustomed to offering his hand while descending stairs calmly breaking a woman’s wrist?
Even when swinging a sword, careful not to aim toward me, I would assume only someone who deserved it could be targeted intentionally.
I finally chuckled softly. He frowned.
“You don’t seem to realize the situation you’re in.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve entered the castle of a demon who hunts monsters.”
“The demon who hunts monsters?”
“Yes.”
Sirinyu smiled coldly, lifting his shoulders slightly.
“Behind the Grand Duke’s mountain, monsters appear frequently. People say I summon them, that I raise monsters in the Duke’s basement.”
“….”
I was in that very basement, and there were no monsters. Thinking about all the rumors Sirinyu must have endured made my heart ache.
Seeing my frown, he spoke in a low voice.
“If I got rid of you here and told people you were taken by monsters, even your brother outside couldn’t do anything.”
I didn’t understand why he said that. He watched my expression closely.
I glanced at him. Despite his cold expression and tone, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t as malicious as his words suggested.
I swallowed and spoke cautiously.
