Chapter 90 …
The Villain’s Future Looks Bleak,
“Have you already returned? I had forgotten about you all this time.”
Every time Shiraz took a step forward, Songchung instinctively took a step back.
“Haha… yes. I had some business in the capital and arrived yesterday.”
The way he smiled and bowed with exaggerated servility was revolting.
“You must have endured a lot lately.”
“Endured, sir? I’m merely doing what is naturally expected for Your Excellency. Haha.”
There was no more room to retreat; the balcony railing pressed against his waist.
Looking at the Grand Duke’s face, cold as ice, he instinctively sensed that his life was in danger.
Wondering whether he should jump, he continued to peer down below the balcony.
The ceiling of the endless royal palace was roughly twice as high as a three-story building.
His eyes, clouded with fear, trembled as though foreseeing death.
Shiraz’s lips curled slightly into a frostbitten smile.
“Is that so? Good. Then, could you disappear from my sight this time?”
“Y-Your Excellency! Please spare my… Excellency!”
The scream that followed sounded as if it came from the void.
The man on the balcony vanished in an instant,
and soon a deafening thud shook the ground.
With that thud, my own heart skipped a beat.
The person who had been right before my eyes just disappeared like that.
The short exclamations of those who had been watching in silence were audible.
Under the lavish chandelier, the hall, which had seemed frozen in time, still glittered as if nothing had happened.
Shiraz glanced down once, then turned his body with a calm expression.
“Are you alright, madam?”
I gripped the curtain to steady my legs, which had gone weak.
His large hand gently brushed my back, reassuring me, then wrapped around my waist.
The deadly intensity in his eyes from moments ago was now entirely focused on my safety.
“I-I’m fine.”
He supported me as we walked toward the exit of the hall, not the sofa.
No one stopped him, even as he left from the spot where the Emperor and Princess still remained.
Judging from the expressions around us, one thing was clear:
the capital, which had been noisy with rumors about the marriage of the Grand Duke and the maid, would now fall utterly silent.
Any slanders or harsh judgments about me would end today.
Unless one had two lives, Shiraz had just shown everyone what happens when someone dares touch the Grand Duchess.
The eyes that had subtly looked down on me now held fear.
Only Princess Jasmine’s and Britannia’s eyes burned brighter, smoldering with intensity.
At dawn, I woke to find the room calm.
The faint crackling of burning wood drifted lazily in my ears.
‘I must have dozed off.’
Perhaps exhausted from last night’s party, I had fallen asleep the moment I lay down.
‘Shiraz…?’
The memory of him had not yet returned from his office, yet I could feel his warmth.
His large hand had been holding my waist from behind.
Carefully, so as not to wake him, I turned slightly and saw him lying on his side, face relaxed in sleep.
Thinking of how quietly he must have entered the bed, I felt my heart warm with tenderness.
Unconsciously, I reached out to gently touch his smooth jawline and straight nose.
Even the faintest brush of my fingers caused his long eyelashes to flutter.
His turquoise eyes, still drowsy, quietly gazed at me.
I stared back in silence, as though witnessing something mystical.
Lying side by side, quietly staring at each other, this moment felt peaceful and cozy.
The Shiraz Rudkhaev looking at me with such tenderness was not the person I had known.
The ruthless murderer, the villain who killed even his own family with no remorse, was nowhere to be found.
Stranger still, the fact that lying together like this felt so comfortable. I felt as if I wished morning would never come.
I had never felt this way, even in reality.
It felt as if I were being protected by the strongest person in the world.
“Did you sleep well?”
He spoke first.
His voice, tinged slightly with coolness, fell gently on my ears.
His gaze, straight and unfeigned, inspired trust rather than deceit.
“You’re staring so intently, your face might wear out.”
He smiled, curling his lips slightly. The moonlight made the smile mesmerizing.
“You’re not afraid of me anymore, right?”
His fingers traced my forehead, eyebrows, nose, and cheek, then tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
Even that touch made me shiver with delight, eyes closing involuntarily.
“No… not at all.”
My lips moved as if on their own.
Before I finished mumbling, his lips captured mine gently.
It felt like stepping out of a hot spring into the cool, moist night air.
“Mm…”
Missing the contact, I hugged his neck and kissed him again.
I wanted more touch.
I wanted more embrace.
It was the first time I had ever felt such attachment to someone, and that someone was Shiraz.
It made no sense in my mind.
His tongue pressed softly into my mouth, then hardened with desire.
His large body slowly settled over me, pressing deeply.
Though dawn crept over the window, Shiraz and I sank deeper into the bed.
Dizzyingly sweet. Heart-pounding happiness, like walking on a precarious cloud.
How much time passed, I do not know.
Listening to Shiraz’s steady breathing, I realized he was in deep sleep.
I gazed at him, murmuring without realizing it:
“What do I do? I think I’ve completely fallen for the villain.”
The moment the words left my mouth, a cold, uneasy feeling swept over me.
I turned my head away from him in despair and stared at the ceiling.
Angela was colder and harsher than the capital.
Among the towering cliffs and grasslands, Marcus’s forces were the only ones capable of opposing Shiraz.
Once a frontier count, he united nearby powers after Shiraz killed the Emperor, forming a formidable force to resist him.
Many regional lords joined from afar, giving the army far stronger footing than expected.
“Do you really think it’s possible?”
Marcus put down his fork and knife, looking seriously at Aaron.
Marcus’s warm brown eyes had a faint opportunistic glint, and his thick lips seemed more greedy than trustworthy.
Still, compared to Shiraz, he seemed more human and merciful.
Aaron noticed this in the brief moment they faced each other.
“Yes.”
Aaron’s calm voice inspired confidence.
A satisfied smile spread across Marcus’s face.
Inviting Aaron to lunch was likely his way of gauging confidence in the answer.
When Aaron first arrived at Marcus’s forces, they mistook him firmly for Shiraz’s spy and even considered killing him.
Even when he offered vast riches from Count Carlyle, they did not trust him.
But after learning from Marcus’s capital spies about Carlyle’s death and Aaron’s midnight escape, Marcus’s attitude changed.
Aaron’s explanation—that he feared Shiraz would treat him like Carlyle—sounded plausible.
“I think I’ll believe what you say.”
Even though Aaron had surrendered only recently, Marcus appeared to rely on him more than his other subordinates.
Marcus’s men, surprised by Aaron’s sudden arrival, were initially skeptical.
Yet they could not fully dismiss him.
The fact remained: Aaron had been Shiraz’s closest aide.
Any information from him could be far more valuable than they could produce themselves.
“Trust me. Princess Jasmine is also in a precarious position and will have no choice but to side with the general.”
“Precarious position?”
Marcus looked at Aaron, puzzled.
“She proposed to Shiraz but was flatly rejected.”
“…”
“Not only that, but Shiraz is trying to send her far away… she probably cannot sleep peacefully.”
Marcus nodded slowly, understanding despite the brief explanation.
“Then we should attempt contact with her immediately.”
Marcus, now confident in Aaron’s suggestion, agreed.
“If we rush, Shiraz may catch her. We must be discreet and cautious.”
“I’ll trust only you.”
Aaron nodded calmly.
“However, if this works, you must fulfill my request.”
“I’ll keep my promise, even at the cost of my life. But is that all you want? Just one person?”
