Translator and Editor: Maru and Aki

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Chapter 16

The thought that they wouldn’t be able to see each other frequently irritated him more than her becoming someone else’s wife.

He was with Ravia before coming to see Herod today. Their meeting place was in the library as usual.

Whenever they met, Tidwell always paid attention to Ravia as she sat on the windowsill stuffed with cushions to read. Most of the time, their meetings went on silently.

Of course, sometimes they had small talks.

-Do you like books?

-Yes. To me, books act as my teachers and my friends. Thus, I will always visit the library until I finish all the books on the bookshelf.

Ravia seemed very thrilled as she spoke, which was enough to make Tidwell happy.

For him, the time they spent together was the only time he could rest. But if Ravia gets married, he wouldn’t be able to experience that moving forward.

That wasn’t all. Even if it was only a contract marriage, they would have to fulfill their duties as a couple. No, even if they didn’t go that far, she’d still spend a lot of time together with her husband.

He could kiss her blonde hair, or hug her without hesitation. What’s more, there’s only one bed in a couple’s bedroom, so at night…

Bang!

“Tidwell!” As Herod shouted, Tidwell came to his senses.

He wondered why Herod suddenly shouted, but it seemed as though he did so because the gun in his hand seemed to have drilled a hole on the table.

Tidwell stared blankly at the gun in his hand, while Herod sighed and touched his forehead in dismay.

“From now on, place your gun over there. Thank you very much.”

“….I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Yes. No one intentionally makes a hole in someone else’s mahogany table. You’re not even a carpenter, are you?”

Herod was extremely upset. One might think that he was upset because Tidwell punctured his expensive table, but Herod’s anger was due to a different reason.

“What the hell has she done to you? You’ve been out of it ever since I mentioned her. Does this mean you didn’t spare her because she wasn’t dangerous, but because you can’t kill her?”

He lashed out his frustration towards his partner. Usually, Tidwell was a rational person. No, he was more of a cynical person.

He wasn’t someone who could easily be swayed by anything, so what’s wrong with him now?

Herod simply couldn’t understand.

Ravia Leontine.

Herod acknowledged her striking appearance. But is Ravia the only one with such an appearance?

Furthermore, Tidwell was a man who could get any woman he wanted. There are quite a number of men in the underworld who can do the same as well.

Additionally, even if his taste is a lady of noble origin, since he will become the Duke of Leontine soon, he will eventually get what he desires easily.

Herod noticed that Tidwell considered his bond with Ravia as special. However, it was too reckless to consider it as love, while their time together has been too short to consider it as friendship.

At this point, it’ll be better to conclude that he got possessed by her beauty.

Haa. Herod heaved a sigh.

“Do you really think she’s your sister or something? Do you pity her because you think she’s your family now? Pull yourself together, man.”

Since when has my partner become such an idiot?

Herod was so angry to the point he couldn’t control his ability.

Herod removed his leather gloves from his hands in a reckless manner. His gloves, for that reason, became half tattered. In fact, it wasn’t just his gloves. When Herod loses control over his emotions, the tables and chairs gradually disintegrate and decay to the point of no return.

But he didn’t care about such things. Because what resounded in his mind was Violeta’s words that night.

-Even if you came back, you couldn’t save me. Nothing in the world can save me.

Nothing can save me. Ravia said, just like a calm, waveless lake.

As she said those words, her image reminded me of an exhausted deer under the blazing sun and dead leaves falling off a cliff.

Yeah, that woman is definitely attractive. Herod admitted.

Originally, flowers were the most beautiful just before sunset, and the sunset was more dazzling than the sunrise. With that in mind, this could be a good thing considering Tidwell had no place to put his mind at ease.

In any case, wouldn’t he be more human if he has a person he cares about?

But if the internal thoughts of Ravia that he peeked into were from her true heart, then Tidwell should back off. Because….

“She’s not interested in you at all, Tidwell. She’s about to leave. Forever.”

That was the only thing he saw through Ravia. She may be getting along well with Tidwell right now, but that was solely for her own safety.

“You may like your sister, but Ravia Leontine….. That woman doesn’t think the same of you. I can assure you that. So…”

“That’s enough, Herod. Look around you.”

Tidwell placed his hand on Herod’s shoulder. Only then did Herod come to his senses.

The ends of the armrests began to decay, whereas the tables began to disintegrate. It made the hole Tidwell drilled on the table look very cute and petite in comparison.

Only after realizing the damage he made did Herod regain his control over his ability. Because the process was a little slow, Tidwell’s hand that was on Herod’s shoulder became slightly burned.

But Tidwell didn’t mind. Once Herod was able to regain his composure, Tidwell only swung his throbbing hand once, and then spoke carefully.

“I’m sorry for not being good enough. I don’t know what else I can say seeing as I look like an idiot who can’t take care of myself properly in your eyes.”

“No, I….”

“But don’t say that again.”

There was no smile on Tidwell’s face. Rather, he looked as though he was warning him. For that reason, it now seemed like he wasn’t joking when he said he would crush Herod’s nose at the party.

“You know nothing about my relationship with my sister. Watch your mouth.”

Herod smiled bitterly. This guy has truly lost his mind.

“Say, Tidwell. What if that’s true?”

“…What?”

“Ravia Leontine. What will you do if your sister wants to leave you forever?”

“Well…”

Tidwell frowned as if he didn’t even want to imagine it. He swept his hair and removed the necktie on his neck for no reason.

“It’ll be great if she doesn’t do that.” He said with an ambiguous smile.

***

Although he said that to Herod, Tidwell suddenly became anxious.

Really, really anxious.

Ravia only told Tidwell that she didn’t hate him, but she didn’t say anything more than that. It was obvious that Tidwell was the only one who continuously paid attention to the other during their meetings.

He didn’t mind that before. It was enough for him to be with her. As long as he could look at her, and as long as she responds to his questions kindly. That was enough.

But is there anything more deceitful than the human heart?

At Herod’s words, he realized.

The day Ravia touched his cheek, and the day Tidwell buried his lips on her small hand. His heart tightened because he could feel her affection towards him for a moment.

‘That can’t be true.’

Tidwell knew that Ravia was not a kind person. He found out easily by listening to the conversations of the servants.

-Isn’t it easy to serve our young master?

-Oh, that’s true. He’s so kind.

– Ha, we have a hard time serving our lady because she hates it if anyone touches her body….. What’s more, she makes everyone uncomfortable because of how cold-hearted she is.

He couldn’t believe it at first. My sister is cold-hearted?

She smiled brightly at her adopted brother who took away her place. She gave him roses and treated him kindly as if he was truly her younger brother. She had all the reasons to hate him, but she didn’t.

It was hard to believe. So, Tidwell thought there must have been something wrong.

Until he saw a maid who accidentally made a mistake in front of Ravia. The soup bowl was so hot that she dropped it. The carpet was splattered with soup, and the expensive bowl was shattered. Because of that, the maid even cried.

-Oh my god. I’m sorry, my lady….

-That tableware is limited edition, isn’t it?

-Pa-pardon?

-My mother liked to collect pretty tableware when she was still alive. So, whenever it’s my mother’s birthday, my father buys her expensive tableware… It has rarely been used because it’s only for display, so…

She thought for a moment, and asked.

-Did you take out the bowl?

-No, it wasn’t me!

-I thought as much. It doesn’t matter who did it. It’s you who broke it, but I’ll be the one who’ll get cursed at.

Ravia laughed coldly. She had a bittersweet smile on her face.

-The butler won’t tell you to pay it back right away, but you’ll only get half of your salary until you leave this mansion. It’s expensive, and you won’t be able to afford it no matter what, but the butler will write you a recommendation letter even if you’re kicked out.

As she said those words, she kicked the broken pieces of the bowl with her foot. As if telling the maid to clean it up.

It was a cold response to the crying maid, who burned her hand, broke the bowl, and even heard a shocking statement that she would only have half of her salary in the future.

But what can she do? She had to do what she was told to. So, the maid picked up the broken pieces with tears in her eyes. But because the tears made her vision unclear, she cut her hand.

At the occurrence, Ravia only continued to watch the maid who was picking up the broken pieces of the bowl and putting them in her apron with her hands that bled.

It was extremely insensitive and heartless.

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