Wood grasped the tiny foot that had stepped on his chest. His hand slid up from the top of the foot, eventually encircling the slender ankle.
But that was as far as it went.
With the ankle held tight as if in shackles, Wood looked up at Navia, who gazed down at him with a breathless look in her eyes.
Navia asked with a smirk, "Shall I give you a chance?"
"What kind?"
As he parted his lips, a low, simmering voice emerged.
"You're not doing this show just because you're really sorry, are you?"
"..."
"You're doing it because you like me, you want me to like you."
How well I know you, Wood.
Navia, who had been standing on his chest, knelt beside him, her long hair fluttering down over Wood's upper body.
He liked every bit of it.
Wood had to admit that he was completely conquered by this terrible personality of a lady. So, he had to seize the opportunity.
"Tell me. What kind of chance will you give me?"
Navia leaned forward, still hugging her knees.
"Take me to Agnes in two days without telling anyone. Midday would be a good time. If you do that, I'll be lenient with your punishment."
Of course, it was a lie.
Wood didn't seem to believe her words either.
"How can I trust you?"
"What else can you do but trust my words?"
There was no room for argument.
As Navia said, he could only choose one of two options.
"Wood, do you know why you could approach this annex?"
"…?"
"I had already given permission. If Wood Agnes comes looking, don't block his entry."
Except for a few people, no one could approach this annex without Navia's permission.
"I've already given you a chance. Haven't I?"
Wood lay on the ground, silently looking up at Navia.
Seeing his gaze, Navia felt even more amused and disgusted.
Wood, in love, was foolishly romantic and passionate. His past obsession with Sara, doing anything for his unrequited love, was proof of that.
Even if love meant jumping into fire, he was a foolish human willing to do so.
As Navia gave him a seemingly affectionate smile, Wood shivered. It was the first time he had seen such a sweet smile from her.
The tips of Wood's ears turned bright red in an instant.
"How long will you lie there?"
Navia helped him up and dusted him off.
Wood's gaze was fixed on her face, immobile.
She deliberately avoided his eyes and asked, "So, what will you do?"
There was a momentary silence before he answered.
Instead, a large hand was seen clenching and unclenching, fingers curling as if scraping the floor.
The fingers lifted slightly, then hesitantly fell, slowly reaching up to grasp Navia's hand before dropping it away from his body.
Every movement was slow. As if it was just an excuse, as if he yearned to touch her.
Navia coldly brushed off his hand and met his gaze.
Wood's forehead crinkled slightly.
He looked as if he was dying. As if he was going mad holding back his desire to hold and kiss her.
Instead, he opened his mouth.
"I will."
His answering voice
[Translation]
His heart had been pounding relentlessly since earlier. He pressed his palm near his heart and then lowered his gaze.
His hand, which had gripped Navia's ankle, was trembling slightly.
Somehow, the events that had just occurred felt like a dream.
The fragments of sunlight that had fallen on Navia still seemed to flicker before his eyes, imprinted on his retina.
Coldly beautiful and merciless woman. A woman who spewed intense hatred and poured out her anger at him.
He covered his eyes with his hand. A trembling breath escaped through his lips.
"Damn it..."
This is serious.
It seems he was shaken by her gaze.
The intense whirlpool that seemed to engulf him in his childhood, the silver hair that fluttered in the air, and the red eyes that looked at him indifferently but were filled with deep hatred.
He was intensely shaken by all of it.
So he kept having insane thoughts.
Their relationship was bound to be terrible. No matter how young he was, what he did to Navia was cruel, and her revenge on him was ruthless.
He should hate and detest her to death, and Navia was already doing that, so why wasn't he?
"Navia..."
I desperately crave you. So much so that I want to possess you by any means necessary.
His darkened eyes suddenly glinted fiercely.
'Creed Eiles. That bastard was with Navia.'
Creed had been an unrivaled talent since he first saw him at the academy. He was already a complete genius and achieved the remarkable feat of graduating in the shortest time and at the youngest age.
Moreover, he immediately went to the battlefield after graduation and turned the tides of an unfavorable war.
Unlike him, the next head of the Agnes family, Creed was a prince, a duke, and a war hero.
So did Navia look at him in a special way too?
Thump!
Wood, boiling with jealousy, punched the seat next to him.
Then, suddenly, the carriage stopped.
"What? Why are we stopping?"
He shouted at the coachman with an irritable expression.
Bang!
Suddenly, the door opened out of nowhere.
As Wood turned to look, his collar was grabbed, and he was thrown to the ground.
"Who the hell...!" he shouted, raising his head to meet the murderous blue eyes facing him.
Creed was looking down at him menacingly.
"Haven't you come to your senses yet?"
"...Duke, what are you doing?"
Wood tried to get up, grinding his teeth, but was knocked back to the ground with a kick from Creed.
"Duke!"
Wood screamed Creed's name like a scream in excruciating pain.
Creed walked over to where Wood had fallen and kicked him in the abdomen again.
Thud!
"Argh! Cough, cough...! You, you crazy bastard...!"
Wood unleashed magic on Creed, but it was like tickling the god-like Creed.
Creed simply waved his hand and deflected the sharp stream of water Wood shot at him.
The sharp edge was directed at Wood.
"Why are you doing this!"
Wood shouted in desperation, and Creed tilted his head slightly.
"You caught my eye."
"...What?"
"And you dared to approach my fiancée."
Fiancée?
Wood's expression hardened instantly.
Creed was quite angry now.
Wood dared to approach Navia, from the longing looks he gave her to everything else, it was intolerably infuriating.
"Don't approach Lady Eseled. Before I kill you."
"...I don't want to?"
But it wasn't just Creed who was obsessed with Navia.
Wood craved Navia. His desire to possess her was boiling over. So he glinted his eyes, trying to scratch Creed in any way.
"A noble family with nothing, all alone, and you're engaged to Navia? Hahaha! You really don't know your place!"
Wood had never held back on anything.
The world was his, and before he even thought he wanted something, it was placed before him.
The reason his unrequited love for Sara Lucia was passionate was largely because she was someone he couldn't easily have.
But Navia was different. Beyond being of good lineage and incredibly beautiful, she was shocking.
Wood chuckled and looked up at Creed.
"And by the way. I may have been born this way, but do you think Navia knows you're such a bastard? A double-faced bastard."
Creed listened to him with an expressionless face and suddenly burst into laughter. His slightly folded eyes looked enchanting.
Creed wore a 'good younger brother' expression.
"My sister doesn't like me because I'm obedient. She just likes me."
"…!"
"Whatever you do, it's like my sister hating you."
It's the same principle.
[End]
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