Episode 9
“Se… Cecil! I’ll contact you later!”
Chester’s hand was gripping mine so tightly that I had no choice but to let him pull me away from Cecil.
Only when we reached the third floor did he finally release my wrist.
“Yulia. Today was supposed to be our date, wasn’t it?”
“…That’s true.”
“Then why aren’t you focusing on me? Why are you distracted?”
“Cecil is my friend… And I think she’s the person you’ve been looking for.”
“Whether she’s the one I’ve been looking for or not—that’s for me to decide.”
I glanced around. There wasn’t a single person on the third floor. Normally, this place should’ve been crowded with customers. The emptiness made me uneasy.
Then, he reached out and stroked my cheek.
“I rented out the entire floor,” he said softly. “Because I don’t want anyone interrupting my time with you.”
“…I’d rather there were people here.”
Who knows what might happen if we’re alone together like this?
“I’ll be more careful next time.”
“…”
Alone with the villain—how terrifying.
“…Chester.”
“Yes.”
“Cecil… she’s not the person you’re looking for, is she?”
But there’s no way she isn’t.
I’d read in the original story that the reason he became obsessed with the heroine, Cecil, was because she was the woman he’d been searching for all along.
“Yulia. Even if she is the one I’ve been looking for, I’ll still marry you. So you don’t need to worry.”
“…”
“Didn’t I tell you before? I’m a very responsible man.”
“…That’s good, because I’m not.”
Any sense of responsibility I once had—I needed to erase it. If abandoning it meant escaping this marriage, I would.
Judging from how even Father couldn’t oppose him strongly, his influence was clearly enormous.
So maybe I should refuse him a little more gently.
“I know,” he said flatly. “I know that you’re a completely irresponsible person.”
“…”
That stung more than I expected. Sure, I’d said it first—but hearing it like that somehow felt insulting.
“Chester. Don’t come to the imperial palace.”
“Am I not allowed to visit?”
“…Officially, it’s fine. But! Please stop sneaking into my room.”
Was palace security really that lax? Or was he slipping in undetected simply because he was the villain?
Either way, I had to prevent it before it happened again.
“Alright,” he said easily.
That was unexpected. I thought he’d just smile and brush it off—but apparently not.
“After all,” he added, “once we’re married, I’ll have no need to visit your room anymore.”
“…”
There it is.
“Yulia.”
“…What.”
“Didn’t we meet when we were children?”
That’s a line you’re supposed to say to the heroine—why are you saying it to me?
No, seriously, when would I ever have met you?
If I hadn’t run into you at Cecil’s birthday party, we never would have crossed paths.
The biggest mistake of my life was… what happened between us that night.
“No,” I said stiffly. “I’ve never seen you before.”
“…Is that so.”
Why are you looking at me like that? You’re making me uncomfortable.
And seriously—how dare a villain look that handsome? Then again, villains are supposed to be good-looking by rule of fiction.
“Chester. Stop staring.”
“At what?”
“At me. You keep staring—it’s uncomfortable.”
“How can I not look at you when you’re right in front of me?”
I opened and closed my mouth, speechless, just as our drinks arrived.
Wait—when did we even order anything?
And as always, what I had to be most suspicious of here was the drink placed in front of me.
Since I disliked bitter coffee, I always ordered fresh fruit juice—and that’s exactly what had appeared.
Was it because I was a regular? Or because the villain had looked into my preferences? How was I supposed to take this?
“Chester. Is there really some reason you have to marry me?”
“Do I need a reason?”
“…I’ve said it before. I want to marry someone I love.”
“…”
“Do you love me? You don’t.”
When I asked, he didn’t say a word. That silence was answer enough.
He didn’t love me—and maybe that silence was the last shred of decency he had left.
I wanted to spend my life with someone I loved—not in some twisted, physical relationship built on obligation.
To me, this was just torment.
“You can’t even answer! Because you don’t love me.”
“…”
His blood-red eyes—usually so calm—trembled.
“What I want,” I said quietly, “is genuine affection. Not a physical relationship.”
“Yulia,” he said slowly. “Then… would it be enough if I treated you like a normal lover?”
“…”
“Dinner dates, theater shows, gifts—if I do all that, will it make you happy?”
No. It wouldn’t. You’re the problem, not the gestures.
“Yulia. If I whisper ‘I love you’ to you every day… would you marry me then?”
“…No. And please don’t lie about something you don’t feel.”
He had never once said he loved me—not even as a meaningless courtesy.
Even if I let this moment pass, once I returned to the imperial palace and he to his duchy, he’d start investigating the heroine.
Even if he did marry me, he’d divorce me eventually.
And if I refused that divorce, he’d probably kill me—and my family along with me.
This was all just a temporary illusion, that’s all.
“You’ve never once told me you love me.”
“I love you,” he said suddenly.
“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
Even in this tense atmosphere… the juice was delicious. Annoyingly so.
But no matter how good it tasted, I couldn’t sit here any longer.
If I stayed, I wouldn’t be able to breathe. I couldn’t stand being near him anymore.
Maybe he was hoping I’d just disappear on my own—since I wasn’t the woman he’d been looking for all this time.
“Yulia. Stop.”
His low warning came from behind me.
But I had no intention of obeying. I turned toward the stairs—
“Yulia.”
He grabbed me from behind. Just as I was about to descend, his arms wrapped around me.
My feet left the ground. How could one person be this strong?
His growl came against my ear.
“Listen to me… before you go.”
“There’s nothing left to say. Let go.”
“Yulia. What do I have to do to change your heart?”
Thud.
My back hit the wall. His face—furious. But also… hurt.
He looked like someone who’d just been betrayed. Like I’d wounded him somehow.
“Yulia. I love you. I love you so much.”
“…That’s a lie.”
“What will it take for you to believe me?”
Those words—‘I love you’—they felt so empty.
How cheap must love be to use it just to hold someone down?
No matter what he did or said, I could never believe it. I wouldn’t.
“Be reasonable,” he said sharply. “You wouldn’t sleep with someone you didn’t have feelings for, would you?”
“Yes, you can.”
“…”
“I did.”
“You mean—you… ha!”
He let out a harsh laugh.
“So you can kiss and sleep with someone you don’t even like?”
“…Yes. I thought I couldn’t. But it turns out I can.”
His hand clamped hard around my chin.
He looked so wounded—but I couldn’t understand why.
Then his lips crashed against mine. A sudden, violent kiss.
I froze, startled—but that shock quickly melted away under the force of his mouth.
It was rough—so rough my lips burned. There was no gentleness, no affection—just raw hunger.
Like a starving beast, his tongue forced its way into my mouth, searching every corner before he finally pulled back, leaving me gasping for air.
“Haa…”
“You said you could do this without love,” he murmured. “Then why do you look like you’re about to cry?”
“…”
“Well? Answer me, Yulia.”
I was terrified. Once again, I was reminded of who he truly was—the villain.
A man who could, if he wished, bring the entire imperial family to ruin.
The so-called war hero who possessed enough power to crush the empire singlehandedly.
I’d momentarily forgotten just how dangerous he was.
“Can you really do this with someone you don’t love?”
If I said yes now, he looked like he’d fall apart completely.
He buried his face against my shoulder. I could feel his hands trembling where they held me.
“I’m asking you… please answer me, Yulia.”
“Chester…”
His voice—unsteady, breaking. So unlike the man I knew.
It was impulsive. His trembling, the desperation in his eyes—it all shook me.
I was still afraid, but at the same time, he looked so pitiful. Like I was looking at my old self.
Maybe I’d regret it later—but in that moment, I made my choice.
I cupped his face in my hands. Then I kissed him.
His nature showed even in that kiss.
Like someone who refused to let even a single breath escape, his tongue entwined with mine, his lips swallowing every trace of my breath.
It was a kiss soaked in possessiveness—so intense it burned behind my eyes.
