In the ballroom, filled with people dressed extravagantly and a joyful atmosphere, a chilling atmosphere hung between Noah, me, and the lieutenant colonel. It felt as if the three of us were separated, isolated in a different space.
“Do you want Diana to be unhappy?”
Noah grinned and asked Lieutenant Colonel Groenendaal in a cool voice. The Colonel took off his mask and answered nonchalantly.
“I don’t wish it, but she might become unhappy someday.”
“Well, happiness is relative and changeable.”
Noah came towards me, took my hand, and lifted it up as if showing it to him, and laughed with his nose.
“It is certain that you will die by my hand when you act presumptuously.”
“Colonel Rotsilt, don’t you really know that what you’re thinking isn’t for her?”
Noah nervously brushed his hair back.
“I quit the military. And, you keep touching what’s mine, so that’s why you’re doing that, right?”
Noah's grip on my hand loosened, and he let go completely. He reached into his coat pocket and came out, holding a gleaming silver pistol.
"You, an officer, came here during a power outage, pretending to be a businessman. You'd be right there, even if I shot you dead right now."
It wasn't the lieutenant colonel he was aiming at.
The gun was now pointed at Celine's head, which had already approached. Celine stood motionless, like a statue, staring at Noah through the tip of the gun pointed at her.
“Choose. You either die, or I kill her.”
Celine's green eyes, visible beneath her pure white mask, dried up at the choice Noah offered with a smile.
Lieutenant Colonel Groenendaal sighed, wiping his lips.
"Killing Miss Claire would cause you and Diana a lot of trouble. She risked her life to prevent that."
“Diana...”
Noah's eyes shot up fiercely as he muttered under his breath, as if he was annoyed by the lieutenant colonel's friendly words.
I suddenly remembered that Celine knew something and that she had subdued Erita with just a few words. She was a woman I hated to see, but she had come to help me, no matter what.
“Noah.”
I stared at Celine's expressionless face, standing there like a target, at the point where the gun muzzle held in Noah's outstretched hand was pointed.
“Please put the gun in.”
Noah's head tilted crookedly at my firm tone.
His murderous gaze was directed at me.
"Why?"
"Why? There are so many eyes watching, right? You want to postpone the wedding? It's almost time for the wedding, and if we have to go to trial... Aah!"
My vision shot up from above, then down, and my legs were lifted into the air. My hands fluttered and flapped in the air.
Noah slung me over his shoulder and headed off somewhere. With me draped over his shoulder, all I could see was the floor and his sleek brogues. The sound of his heels clacking down the hallway echoed.
As he half-turned, the door swung open, and my vision spun around again. Looking at the ceiling painting, I realized it was the room I'd stayed in during my brief stay at the palace.
He put me down on the bed and looked down at me coldly with one hand on my side.
“Why did you make that choice?”
He muttered something unclear as a question or a soliloquy, then turned his head with a frown and ran his hand through his silver-white hair.
I lay still in bed, my eyes darting around, trying to assess the situation. Then, I glanced at him. "Is that guy angry?"
“What? Celine indeed came to help.”
I slowly got up. He closed his mouth and twisted his lips into a grunt.
He narrowed his clouded blue eyes as he made a voice that sounded like he was sharpening a knife.
“She came because she didn’t want to die.”
“You want to be like family again? If that’s not asking me to kill her, then what is it?”
“It wasn’t that we wanted to be like family, it was just a temporary alliance...”
I stopped talking at the sudden chill that pierced my entire body, instinctively feeling danger, and shrugged my shoulders.
The area under his eyes, now transformed into his squinted eyes, was plump and sharply curved. It was different from his usual captivating smile. The man, with the corners of his mouth turned up so strangely, asked.
“Do you need her more than me?”
“No. I’m just trying to use her.”
"I see."
Noah smiled faintly, caressed my cheek with his cold hand, took off my mask, and asked me again.
“Your sister even brought that man with her. Why do you think she did that?”
"That..."
A strange chill ran down my spine. Perhaps I'd never offended this man before.
I don't go out much, don't enjoy interacting with people, have no true friends I can confide in, and have plans to keep my identity a secret, so basically like I have no family.
“I don’t know either. Why did she bring that man here?”
"Ha."
Noah covered his face with both hands and let out a sigh, almost a groan. Sharp eyes, visible between his smooth fingers, slowly scanned me.
"He's still harboring feelings for you. That's why she brought the lieutenant colonel with her, on purpose."
To have them witness our appearance and wedding before their eyes? The lieutenant colonel has no feelings for me, but from that perspective, it's a cruel situation.
"Ah..."
Noah slowly tilted his head as he saw a hint of sympathy in my eyes.
“The lieutenant colonel agreed and came along. Because he wanted to see you.”
“I don’t know why he's going to such lengths either. Since he came to rescue me before... we’ve never really met before.”
I definitely built a wall. It's so unfair.
"The lieutenant colonel has Medea's blood in his veins. Furthermore, the Duchess was the daughter of a noble Medea."
"If he risks execution to restore you to your rightful place and gain your forgiveness, he'll have the justification and qualification to become a state official. Medea's blood alone will make him more worthy of being your husband than me. I hate even the slightest possibility of that."
Those who meticulously calculate and prepare for every possibility, attributing causality to even the smallest details, tend to dislike variables. No matter how perfectly planned, unexpected variables are bound to arise.
I carefully stroked Noah's arms, which were draped over the sheets on either side of me.
"Even back then, you said the Duke of Hessen looked at me that way, but he didn't try to woo me or anything. I don't think the Lieutenant Colonel would do that either."
“How do you know when you’ve never even met the lieutenant colonel?”
Noah grinned at me. I turned my head, embarrassed, and just licked my lips.
"I watched the Admiral a few times, just to see what he might do. That's enough to get a sense of what he might do."
"Diana. I hate the very fact that you needed someone else. And Eden? He couldn't woo you. I hated the very fact that he harbored such feelings."
“He couldn’t woo me?”
Noah's eyes widened in amusement as if he was recalling something very interesting.
“Because Young Master is there.”
The Duke of Hessen must have known about Noah. Does that mean he didn't court me because he didn't know what Noah might do to Daniel?
What would have happened to Daniel if I had accepted his dinner invitation? I sat there, my lips slightly parted, lost in thought.
This man was like this from the beginning. I recalled the crazy sight of him pointing a gun at me with a strange possessiveness and smiling beautifully.
But instead of pointing a gun at me as I left, he simply looked at me with a vulnerable gaze. Perhaps he changed his strategy because threats and intimidation weren't getting what he wanted from me.
Honestly, I don't really understand his complex and subtle thoughts or psychology.
What was contained in the pretty packaging, with its gentlemanly manners and elegant and dignified appearance, was a kind of real madness.
Like those people who are usually kind and polite, but are liked by everyone behind the scenes and commit murder. Of course, he's only kind to me.
If the plunderer were to change into the plundered, and the instincts that had been hidden and suppressed were to be released like a torrent, the kindness of the past would disappear, leaving only madness that could no longer be controlled.
This means that with the appearance of the lieutenant colonel, things have reached a boiling point and are on the verge of going out of control.
Unlike the destructive and violent madness of rabies, that man's madness is calm, eerie, and grotesque, like a work of art with a twisted meaning.
Noah spoke with a kind face and a somewhat discordant voice.
“The possibility that I might not be the person you need most drives me crazy.”
“What should I do?”
"So, I hope you don't have anyone around you. The men who showed interest in you? What do you think happened to them?"
Those are harsh words that don't match that gentle expression at all.
I already knew he had different expressions and emotions, but my heart was sinking. In the past, there were people who occasionally approached me, whether intentionally or out of genuine affection.
I don't know what happened to those who openly showed interest in me, asking if I had a partner or asking me to dance. I never really cared about others, so I never even thought about it.
"Of course, I didn't do it myself because you hate things like murder. Good, huh? If you'll let me, I'll do it myself from now on."
Noah took my hand and rubbed his cheek with a look of praise. Had he been unknowingly dealing with the people who approached me all this time?
What on earth have you been doing behind my back without me knowing? I shuddered at the chill that penetrated my abyss, squeezing my eyes shut tightly before slowly lifting them and asking him.
“Noah. Is that love?”
Even though he already knew it wasn't love, Noah's lips tightened in a line at the question. The brief silence felt like an eternity. He wrapped one hand around my waist and held me close, then answered.
"I love you? It's nice to hear, but I can't say it because of the error of not being unique. If you want, I can say it, just like you did."
He, who did not love me, looked me over with an extremely affectionate gaze.
"It's okay if the Princess doesn't love me. The fact that you need me and are by my side is more meaningful than that. The means and methods are clearly presented."
“Then can I ask you something?”
I wrapped my arms around Noah's neck and whispered in his ear.
"I don't know why you like me. I know full well that I'm not essential to you. It's not like you're trying to be my servant."
He said everything he did was because of me. I have no idea why he's so focused on me, as if he has only one goal in life. This is a question I've had since I first met him, but I never asked him.
Noah, who had been looking at my shoulder for a moment, slowly opened his mouth.
"The beginning and the trigger? Because, as I said last time, you're just like me."
“I don’t understand that alone. I don’t understand.”
In response to my question, Noah buried his face between my neck and shoulder and continued mumbling.
“You only know yourself. I like that.”
“Not anymore. Now, that includes you.”
“That’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted.”
He slowly raised his head and stared at me quietly.
It was a look I'd never seen before. He had a strange expression on his face, one that was hard to tell whether sad or happy, and he spoke in a soft voice.
“I waited for you to be born when I was little, and the moment I saw the baby, I knew it wasn't you. Isn't that strange?”
“Huh? How did you know that?”
He answered calmly, holding one hand over my eyes as if trying to calm my confusion.
"I don't know. At some point, I felt compelled to find you. I thought it was because of the promise I made to my father and the Queen, but I don't think that's true. I wanted to know what this unbearable thing was, so I did it."
He himself seemed unconvinced. His mysterious blue eyes, visible through his fingers, seemed to sink into a deep swamp.
"There's no reason. It's just that, from the beginning, you were mine. It's like it's deeply engraved in my subconscious. So you should be mine too."
A man with a primitive, blind, and excessive attachment to things that defy common sense begins to reveal his hidden true colors.
I now understand the true meaning of the uniqueness he always spoke of. It was difficult to grasp with ordinary thinking.
This man's affection is destructive and abnormal.
“I wish there were only you and me in the world. I want to make it that way.”
My Diana.
I want to kill everyone but you.
“Do you want Diana to be unhappy?”
Noah grinned and asked Lieutenant Colonel Groenendaal in a cool voice. The Colonel took off his mask and answered nonchalantly.
“I don’t wish it, but she might become unhappy someday.”
“Well, happiness is relative and changeable.”
Noah came towards me, took my hand, and lifted it up as if showing it to him, and laughed with his nose.
“It is certain that you will die by my hand when you act presumptuously.”
“Colonel Rotsilt, don’t you really know that what you’re thinking isn’t for her?”
Noah nervously brushed his hair back.
“I quit the military. And, you keep touching what’s mine, so that’s why you’re doing that, right?”
Noah's grip on my hand loosened, and he let go completely. He reached into his coat pocket and came out, holding a gleaming silver pistol.
"You, an officer, came here during a power outage, pretending to be a businessman. You'd be right there, even if I shot you dead right now."
It wasn't the lieutenant colonel he was aiming at.
The gun was now pointed at Celine's head, which had already approached. Celine stood motionless, like a statue, staring at Noah through the tip of the gun pointed at her.
“Choose. You either die, or I kill her.”
Celine's green eyes, visible beneath her pure white mask, dried up at the choice Noah offered with a smile.
Lieutenant Colonel Groenendaal sighed, wiping his lips.
"Killing Miss Claire would cause you and Diana a lot of trouble. She risked her life to prevent that."
“Diana...”
Noah's eyes shot up fiercely as he muttered under his breath, as if he was annoyed by the lieutenant colonel's friendly words.
I suddenly remembered that Celine knew something and that she had subdued Erita with just a few words. She was a woman I hated to see, but she had come to help me, no matter what.
“Noah.”
I stared at Celine's expressionless face, standing there like a target, at the point where the gun muzzle held in Noah's outstretched hand was pointed.
“Please put the gun in.”
Noah's head tilted crookedly at my firm tone.
His murderous gaze was directed at me.
"Why?"
"Why? There are so many eyes watching, right? You want to postpone the wedding? It's almost time for the wedding, and if we have to go to trial... Aah!"
My vision shot up from above, then down, and my legs were lifted into the air. My hands fluttered and flapped in the air.
Noah slung me over his shoulder and headed off somewhere. With me draped over his shoulder, all I could see was the floor and his sleek brogues. The sound of his heels clacking down the hallway echoed.
As he half-turned, the door swung open, and my vision spun around again. Looking at the ceiling painting, I realized it was the room I'd stayed in during my brief stay at the palace.
He put me down on the bed and looked down at me coldly with one hand on my side.
“Why did you make that choice?”
He muttered something unclear as a question or a soliloquy, then turned his head with a frown and ran his hand through his silver-white hair.
I lay still in bed, my eyes darting around, trying to assess the situation. Then, I glanced at him. "Is that guy angry?"
“What? Celine indeed came to help.”
I slowly got up. He closed his mouth and twisted his lips into a grunt.
“Think of it as me coming to ask you to kill her. Of course, I brought you here first to get your permission. Like a gentleman.”
“She came because she didn’t want to die.”
“You want to be like family again? If that’s not asking me to kill her, then what is it?”
“It wasn’t that we wanted to be like family, it was just a temporary alliance...”
I stopped talking at the sudden chill that pierced my entire body, instinctively feeling danger, and shrugged my shoulders.
The area under his eyes, now transformed into his squinted eyes, was plump and sharply curved. It was different from his usual captivating smile. The man, with the corners of his mouth turned up so strangely, asked.
“Do you need her more than me?”
“No. I’m just trying to use her.”
"I see."
Noah smiled faintly, caressed my cheek with his cold hand, took off my mask, and asked me again.
“Your sister even brought that man with her. Why do you think she did that?”
"That..."
A strange chill ran down my spine. Perhaps I'd never offended this man before.
I don't go out much, don't enjoy interacting with people, have no true friends I can confide in, and have plans to keep my identity a secret, so basically like I have no family.
“I don’t know either. Why did she bring that man here?”
"Ha."
Noah covered his face with both hands and let out a sigh, almost a groan. Sharp eyes, visible between his smooth fingers, slowly scanned me.
"He's still harboring feelings for you. That's why she brought the lieutenant colonel with her, on purpose."
To have them witness our appearance and wedding before their eyes? The lieutenant colonel has no feelings for me, but from that perspective, it's a cruel situation.
"Ah..."
Noah slowly tilted his head as he saw a hint of sympathy in my eyes.
“The lieutenant colonel agreed and came along. Because he wanted to see you.”
“I don’t know why he's going to such lengths either. Since he came to rescue me before... we’ve never really met before.”
I definitely built a wall. It's so unfair.
"The lieutenant colonel has Medea's blood in his veins. Furthermore, the Duchess was the daughter of a noble Medea."
"Surely you're not implying that the lieutenant colonel intends to become a state secretary? That's a bit of a stretch."
Those who meticulously calculate and prepare for every possibility, attributing causality to even the smallest details, tend to dislike variables. No matter how perfectly planned, unexpected variables are bound to arise.
I carefully stroked Noah's arms, which were draped over the sheets on either side of me.
"Even back then, you said the Duke of Hessen looked at me that way, but he didn't try to woo me or anything. I don't think the Lieutenant Colonel would do that either."
“How do you know when you’ve never even met the lieutenant colonel?”
Noah grinned at me. I turned my head, embarrassed, and just licked my lips.
"I watched the Admiral a few times, just to see what he might do. That's enough to get a sense of what he might do."
"Diana. I hate the very fact that you needed someone else. And Eden? He couldn't woo you. I hated the very fact that he harbored such feelings."
“He couldn’t woo me?”
Noah's eyes widened in amusement as if he was recalling something very interesting.
“Because Young Master is there.”
The Duke of Hessen must have known about Noah. Does that mean he didn't court me because he didn't know what Noah might do to Daniel?
What would have happened to Daniel if I had accepted his dinner invitation? I sat there, my lips slightly parted, lost in thought.
This man was like this from the beginning. I recalled the crazy sight of him pointing a gun at me with a strange possessiveness and smiling beautifully.
But instead of pointing a gun at me as I left, he simply looked at me with a vulnerable gaze. Perhaps he changed his strategy because threats and intimidation weren't getting what he wanted from me.
Honestly, I don't really understand his complex and subtle thoughts or psychology.
What was contained in the pretty packaging, with its gentlemanly manners and elegant and dignified appearance, was a kind of real madness.
Like those people who are usually kind and polite, but are liked by everyone behind the scenes and commit murder. Of course, he's only kind to me.
If the plunderer were to change into the plundered, and the instincts that had been hidden and suppressed were to be released like a torrent, the kindness of the past would disappear, leaving only madness that could no longer be controlled.
This means that with the appearance of the lieutenant colonel, things have reached a boiling point and are on the verge of going out of control.
Unlike the destructive and violent madness of rabies, that man's madness is calm, eerie, and grotesque, like a work of art with a twisted meaning.
Noah spoke with a kind face and a somewhat discordant voice.
“The possibility that I might not be the person you need most drives me crazy.”
“What should I do?”
"So, I hope you don't have anyone around you. The men who showed interest in you? What do you think happened to them?"
Those are harsh words that don't match that gentle expression at all.
I already knew he had different expressions and emotions, but my heart was sinking. In the past, there were people who occasionally approached me, whether intentionally or out of genuine affection.
I don't know what happened to those who openly showed interest in me, asking if I had a partner or asking me to dance. I never really cared about others, so I never even thought about it.
"Of course, I didn't do it myself because you hate things like murder. Good, huh? If you'll let me, I'll do it myself from now on."
Noah took my hand and rubbed his cheek with a look of praise. Had he been unknowingly dealing with the people who approached me all this time?
What on earth have you been doing behind my back without me knowing? I shuddered at the chill that penetrated my abyss, squeezing my eyes shut tightly before slowly lifting them and asking him.
“Noah. Is that love?”
Even though he already knew it wasn't love, Noah's lips tightened in a line at the question. The brief silence felt like an eternity. He wrapped one hand around my waist and held me close, then answered.
"I love you? It's nice to hear, but I can't say it because of the error of not being unique. If you want, I can say it, just like you did."
He, who did not love me, looked me over with an extremely affectionate gaze.
"It's okay if the Princess doesn't love me. The fact that you need me and are by my side is more meaningful than that. The means and methods are clearly presented."
“Then can I ask you something?”
I wrapped my arms around Noah's neck and whispered in his ear.
"I don't know why you like me. I know full well that I'm not essential to you. It's not like you're trying to be my servant."
He said everything he did was because of me. I have no idea why he's so focused on me, as if he has only one goal in life. This is a question I've had since I first met him, but I never asked him.
Noah, who had been looking at my shoulder for a moment, slowly opened his mouth.
"The beginning and the trigger? Because, as I said last time, you're just like me."
“I don’t understand that alone. I don’t understand.”
In response to my question, Noah buried his face between my neck and shoulder and continued mumbling.
“You only know yourself. I like that.”
“Not anymore. Now, that includes you.”
“That’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted.”
He slowly raised his head and stared at me quietly.
It was a look I'd never seen before. He had a strange expression on his face, one that was hard to tell whether sad or happy, and he spoke in a soft voice.
“I waited for you to be born when I was little, and the moment I saw the baby, I knew it wasn't you. Isn't that strange?”
“Huh? How did you know that?”
He answered calmly, holding one hand over my eyes as if trying to calm my confusion.
"I don't know. At some point, I felt compelled to find you. I thought it was because of the promise I made to my father and the Queen, but I don't think that's true. I wanted to know what this unbearable thing was, so I did it."
He himself seemed unconvinced. His mysterious blue eyes, visible through his fingers, seemed to sink into a deep swamp.
"There's no reason. It's just that, from the beginning, you were mine. It's like it's deeply engraved in my subconscious. So you should be mine too."
A man with a primitive, blind, and excessive attachment to things that defy common sense begins to reveal his hidden true colors.
I now understand the true meaning of the uniqueness he always spoke of. It was difficult to grasp with ordinary thinking.
This man's affection is destructive and abnormal.
“I wish there were only you and me in the world. I want to make it that way.”
My Diana.
I want to kill everyone but you.
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