Chapter 19
‘Right. Gabriel may be pretty, but he’s still a man. Well, one of the male leads, after all….’
I shook my head slightly as I looked at Gabriel.
He was indeed unusually pretty for a man, but still—he was a man.
He was tall, slender but well-built. His face was beautiful, yes, but not to the extent one would mistake him for a woman.
So those guys must’ve been completely drunk out of their minds to lose all sense of judgment in broad daylight. When you’re dead drunk, even a lamppost can look like a person.
Of course, that still didn’t excuse them for acting like total degenerates.
“…Hiccup. But look at how pretty you are. You’re saying you’re a guy?”
“What’s this, missy? Are you lying because you’re scared? Heh, heh, heh. Don’t worry, we’re not scary people.”
The men laughed as if they’d just heard a funny joke. Clearly, they had no sense of reason left.
“C’mon now! Don’t be like that—just come with us!”
Finally, one of the men, the one with a tattoo on his arm, forcefully grabbed Gabriel’s arm and started dragging him, as if to pull him outside the temple.
I closed my eyes and activated every neuron in my brain.
‘What would an obsessive male lead do in a situation like this?’
The answer came instantly.
Obsessive male leads always reacted the same way in these moments.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
I lowered my voice as much as I could, letting the words drip like venom.
The goal was simple: my voice alone needed to radiate authority.
A proper obsessive male lead had to have a voice that could dominate the extras into silence.
‘The truly seasoned ones even growl like wild beasts.’
I wasn’t quite at that level yet—but my tone was enough.
The men who had been harassing Gabriel turned to look at me all at once.
“…Who the hell are you?”
One, two, three, four.
Four large men glared at me with hostile expressions.
They were all tall and heavily built. Judging by their rough mannerisms, they weren’t nobles—most likely underground thugs.
“What’s your problem? Why’re you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?”
“I’m warning you, hiccup, back off while I’m being nice!”
Their irritation was obvious.
One of them spat on the ground and stepped closer, his face twisted in annoyance.
Ugh, the smell…
As he approached, the stench of alcohol and something fouler hit me.
So it wasn’t just alcohol—he’d probably taken something stronger. My guess about the underworld connection was right on target.
Well, it’s not like I need to show mercy to human trash.
I brushed past the man standing in my way without hesitation.
He wasn’t the problem right now.
The real issue was the tattooed man gripping Gabriel’s arm.
“Let go.”
I stopped in front of the man with a dragon tattoo on his arm.
Hah, even in this world, thugs love tattooing intimidating animals on themselves.
Where I came from, it was usually tigers or dragons, but here it seemed to be dragons and werewolves.
What, do you think that’s supposed to scare me?
A smirk formed on my lips.
Gabriel’s eyes widened the moment he saw me.
“L–Lady…”
But now wasn’t the time for greetings.
Keeping my eyes fixed on his wrist, I repeated my command.
“Didn’t you hear me? I said, let go.”
“Ha. You’ve got some nerve, ordering me around like that. Do you even know who I am?”
The man laughed mockingly.
“Hey, do you even realize who you’re talking to? I’m the right-hand man of the right-hand man of the great Black Dragon boss—”
“You sure talk a lot for someone I told to let go.”
Shrrk—
Golden tendrils shot out from the ground at that moment.
In an instant, the four men were bound and lifted into the air.
“W-what the hell? Aaaargh!”
“H-help! Aaaahhh!”
Their screams filled the air.
It wasn’t like I’d hurt them—just suspended them midair—and yet they shrieked like they were dying. Maybe they were just cowards.
To help them “cool off,” I graciously summoned a water cannon.
Whoooosh—splashhh—whoooosh!
A massive jet of water drenched the four men as they flailed helplessly in the air.
“Gabriel, come here.”
“L–Lady…”
Of course, I had set a barrier so that not a single drop reached Gabriel or me.
Gurgle. Hack. Cough. Cough.
When the water finally stopped, the men hung limp like drowned rats, dripping and gasping.
Ah. Peace and quiet at last.
Cold water therapy really did work wonders on unruly adults. I smiled in satisfaction.
“Cough—hck—w-who are you, huh? Are you… some kind of mage?”
The dragon-tattooed man finally managed to speak.
“You’ve got guts, attacking me—me! The right-hand man of the right-hand man of the Black Dragon boss—”
Then his eyes widened.
“Wait… you… you’re… the Duke of Veloa’s daughter…?”
In that instant, shock filled his face.
The other men froze mid-cough, staring at me in horror.
“Th-the Duke of Veloa’s daughter…? Y-you mean that Veloa…?”
“B-bro, didn’t our boss say we must never mess with her no matter what?”
“W-we’re screwed… I can’t believe we ran into her here…”
Recognition dawned on them, draining their faces of color. The alcohol had clearly clouded their senses earlier.
Heh. At least they know who I am—this’ll go faster.
It wasn’t bragging, but Ariadne’s reputation was… rather infamous. Jeffery had recently added to it, too.
The men exchanged frantic looks before bowing deeply.
“We—we’re sorry, my lady! We were too foolish to recognize you! P-please, forgive us!”
“Y-yes! We’ve committed a grave sin! P-please, spare us!”
Their desperate pleas were loud enough to ring in my ears.
Ugh, so noisy. I could just end this quickly and be done with it… but—
An obsessive male lead would never let things slide here.
So I furrowed my brows and murmured coldly,
“…Forgive you?”
Then, glaring at them icily, I said,
“You dare lay hands on what’s mine and ask for forgiveness?”
At that, I heard Gabriel whisper softly, “M-mine…?”
I nodded proudly.
Yes. Possessiveness was the foundation of obsession.
Cringey, sure—but a true obsessive lead had to call the heroine “mine” at least once.
“You fools touched my direct disciple. You know what happens to those who covet what belongs to Veloa, don’t you?”
The dragon-tattooed man gasped and immediately bowed again.
“I—we’ve committed an unforgivable sin! P-please, spare our lives!”
“If your sin is unforgivable, then you should die for it, shouldn’t you?”
I curled my lips into a wicked grin. They were hopeless scum anyway.
Of course, I didn’t actually intend to kill them. I just planned to “reform” them a little—for the sake of society.
“Uwaaaahhhh!”
At my gesture, the golden tendrils tightened, launching the men even higher into the air.
“Welcome to Ariadne’s Amusement Park! First up—the Soul-Shaking Drop of Doom!”
The golden tendrils holding them soared sky-high. The higher, the more thrilling—naturally.
Just as I was about to let them free-fall straight down—
Gabriel suddenly grabbed my arm.
“L-Lady! Please don’t kill them!”
…Huh?
“I-I beg you! No matter what they’ve done, murder can never be justified!”
“…What?”
What was he even talking about?
I hadn’t planned to kill them in the first place…
I looked at Gabriel in bewilderment.
He now stood in front of me, pale-faced, blocking my path.
“L-Lady… p-please, stop this… K-killing will only bring greater misfortune…”
“……”
“P-please, calm down… and listen to me… hic…”
“……”
Suddenly, crystal tears began to fall from Gabriel’s eyes.
His long white lashes were wet, making him look heartbreakingly pitiful.
What the hell…
He clearly thought I was some deranged murderer.
This is unfair. You’re the crazy one here…
I couldn’t help but recall the previous timeline’s Gabriel—how he’d been obsessed with Julieta.
Despite being part of the temple, he was a violent fanatic who attacked anyone who got close to her.
And that was the mild part—he’d gone much further than that to make Julieta his.
And this guy’s lecturing me about killing? Oh, the irony…
It was like a mud-stained dog scolding a dusty one.
I glared at Gabriel, then sighed deeply.
Still, an obsessive male lead always knows when to back down gracefully…
