Chapter 14
“Tesha could not refuse that burning touch, as if it held the sun itself. He was always like that. By the time she regained her senses, he had already swallowed her whole like a black swamp. He was like a devil who devoured every gaze.
‘Tesha von Akta.’
‘Why are you doing this to me?’
‘You can’t go anywhere. If you want to go to that bastard, kill me first.’
‘How could I possibly kill you?’
His blazing eyes seized her heart. A sorrowful sigh escaped her lips.
The King of Shadows, the one whom all revered. To see such a man boil with desperate longing for her alone made her chest ache.
‘Then don’t kill me. Stay here. I don’t care about that bastard’s situation. You forget him too.’
‘Vasilisa….’
‘For you, I could bring a thousand hearts as tribute.’
As Tesha’s eyes trembled like a candle in the wind, the man’s grip around her wrist tightened. His gaze drew closer and closer, until suddenly he stood right before her.
‘So, Tesha, you must repay me as well.’
‘I—I….’
‘Your soul belongs to me. And the place where you will sleep is right beside me. Don’t forget that.’
His hot breath brushed against her ear, and Tesha shrank her shoulders. She felt like a beast caught in a snare, yet for some reason she could not truly hate him from the depths of her heart.
‘You are mine, Tesha.’
Because the cruel Vasilisa was truly a captivating man.”
That was the kind of man he was—obsessive like a starving wolf.
He was portrayed as unbearably sexy and decadently alluring. Readers used to say that if there was ever a 19+ side story, of course it would be about a romance with Vasilisa.
Because of that, fans who supported the sweet, honey-like male lead Adrian fought fiercely with the Vasilisa supporters. It became such a heated battle that the author even complained of gastritis from all the dazzling comment wars and temporarily shut down their social media account.
Of course, I also hammered away at my keyboard in frustration.
No! Absolutely not! Adrian is the best! Author, are you watching? Please push Adrian’s stock! Push it, I’m begging you! Not that jerk—give happiness to my favorite!
“Noona, a bug’s going to fly into your mouth. Why are you staring like an idiot?”
“…Ahem. My mouth wasn’t open.”
Would this child also become like the man from that novel in a few years?
When his hand suddenly reached toward me, I flinched and stepped back. The beautiful boy immediately frowned deeply. What kind of attendant would show such a blunt expression to the young lady he served?
“Why are you recoiling like that? Can’t you see I’m dedicating myself wholeheartedly?”
“One thousand gold.”
“Don’t reduce everything to money. That’s disgusting.”
“If you’re going to speak casually, then do it. If you’re going to use honorifics, then stick to them. What is that?”
The problem was one thing: when the boy smiled, soft and sweet like melting sugar, he looked rather friendly toward me—and that kept making my guard slip.
It’s all an act. I know that. The problem is, at this rate, I might start smiling and chatting with him naturally.
He was blending into my daily life far too quickly.
“Do you want carrot cake again? You’re not a rabbit. Why do you like carrots so much?”
“R-Rabbits don’t eat carrot cake.”
I snapped back, and the younger, slender boy curved his eyes as if looking at a childish little sister. Then he even tried to lecture me. The audacity.
“It just tastes like a sticky lump of sugar to me. If you eat recklessly, you’ll gain weight. You’re already short. If you gain weight too, you might start rolling around.”
“How ridiculous. If you eat happily, you don’t gain weight. And I’ll grow taller.”
“That’s a theory I’ve never heard anywhere before.”
In truth, I knew that the end of this so-called repayment of kindness might come as soon as tomorrow. When that moment arrived, he would leave without hesitation. And I wouldn’t be able to stop him.
Characters from a novel were more frightening than I had thought. No matter how much effort I made, their future did not include me. What was even scarier was that I knew my own personality well.
Once I grow attached, I think and worry endlessly. I might even try to prevent the events that are supposed to happen—without knowing my place.
I might stop thinking of him as just a character from a favorite novel and start thinking of him as someone in my life.
That was what scared me.
Right. Don’t get attached. He’s just someone passing by.
I clenched my teeth and repeated that to myself again today.
The boy moved silently. Neither darkness nor stillness could hinder him. No sharp or solid thing could wound him, and no darkness or silence could frighten him.
Standing in the shadows, his pitch-black hair—dark enough to disappear completely—briefly shimmered in the moonlight. His steady footsteps halted somewhere.
“Tsk.”
With a short click of his tongue, he opened the lavish golden door. It parted smoothly without a sound. Without even the noise of footsteps, the boy slipped through the gap like flowing water and looked at the girl lying on the large, soft bed.
Her hair, scattered over a white pillow larger than her own small body, shone a clear silver. The boy—no, Vasilisa—quietly gazed down at that strange being.
Soft, delicate breaths—like those of a baby—brushed his ears.
“Azalea.”
For several days now, he had been observing this mysterious girl.
If he were to state his conclusion first, she was a very strange girl. She acted clever, yet she was clumsy and soft-hearted. Even though it was obvious she was wary of him and trying not to grow attached, whenever she turned away, she still worried about him and checked on him. In short, she was not cruel.
‘She’ll never be able to lie her whole life.’
Whenever he deliberately smiled brightly, she would stare at him blankly. If he teased her because that reaction amused him, she would suddenly come to her senses and glare fiercely. They had repeated that countless times.
To be honest, he found those changes amusing. Someone who looked straight at him and exposed their inner thoughts—he had never seen that type before. Of course, it might be because Azalea had never even heard rumors about who he was.
Vasilisa tilted his head slightly.
But why did it feel like this girl already knew him?
“That shouldn’t be possible.”
Azalea was the first incomprehensible existence in his life. His life until now had been simple. If something irritated him, he killed it. If someone annoyed him in front of him, he killed them. If something was too troublesome to understand, he killed it. He killed them all.
That was why those who feared him did not approach, and those who opposed him were all dead. If the ones remaining became bothersome, he would kill them too.
But this girl was neither an enemy nor an ally.
Such a being was a first for Vasilisa.
‘And I don’t want to kill her.’
The girl did not revere him, nor did she truly fear him. How lacking in sense was she, to show even goodwill in her clear blue eyes while facing someone like him? It was hard to dismiss it as childish foolishness.
“It doesn’t seem like she’s relying on her mother and father, either.”
Vasilisa hummed softly and sat down on the bed.
Compared to her small, slender body, the bed was far too large, making the girl look lonely as she lay there. Not that Vasilisa was the type to indulge in such thoughts—but still.
“Azalea.”
He found himself reaching out because her face, illuminated by the moonlight, looked far too pale and bluish. Though she was calm and brave beyond her years, Azalea always appeared sickly.
“Azalea.”
The girl was weak. Extremely frail. It was hard to believe she was the daughter of those monstrous parents. She looked as if she might die with a single shove. She struggled even with the slightest movement, yet she remained composed. She never sobbed loudly in pain. When blood flowed, she simply wiped it away and smiled. She even comforted those who rushed over in worry, like a little adult.
That was why he teased her, calling her an old soul.
“Aza…lea.”
He disliked her quiet endurance. Of course, even if a chunk of flesh were cut from him, Vasilisa would not cry like a child either. But Azalea had not grown up like him.
Why did Azalea endure and endure? His old-soul young lady would bleed heavily and tremble in pain, yet she had never once said she was hurting or miserable, never once complained like a child.
And everyone in the mansion looked at her as if they were used to it—gazing at her with eyes full of affection and pity.
To him, it was only irritating.
Why do they make her endure? Why?
“Noona. What are you swallowing down so tightly? It’s irritating to watch.”
Vasilisa twisted his lips coldly.
A crude jealousy stirred within him. Those who were not even truly human were pretending to be human. They smiled happily beside the girl as if they were ordinary people. As if they were any different from him.
Vasilisa knew. When they stood beside Azalea, they laughed as though they were simple, kind people—but he could clearly smell the thick scent of blood on them.
And yet.
“When I’m beside you, I become strange. And that’s terribly bad for me.”
The girl was, in a good way, like a finely carved doll—cute. But in a bad way, she lacked the vitality of a living child. That was why his gaze kept following her. She was the very definition of a child left alone by the water’s edge.
“Change comes with danger.”
If he took his eyes off her, she would get hurt. Even when she bumped into things here and there, she treated that level of pain as nothing. She was careless. Even a small fall could be fatal to that fragile body.
