Chapter 21: You Dare Touch What’s Mine?

When Lloyd followed Aria, he had steeled his resolve.

He thought he would completely erase someone like Clea from his mind and focus on the person right beside him.

Though he intended to completely erase a woman like her from his life, somehow his thoughts changed once they reached the imperial palace.

‘That wasn’t what I meant to do.’

He had originally intended to apologize to Clea.

Unlike before, when he had always made her apologize despite him being in the wrong first, this time, he wanted to apologize himself.

He didn’t know why.

Despite hating her so much, Lloyd intended to ask Clea to come back.

But contrary to those feelings, when he met Clea’s cold gaze, his composure to treat her kindly completely disappeared.

Anxiety ate away at his mind, and the thought that he had to take Clea away somehow dominated his emotions.

Even though he knew she hated his aggressive voice and forceful tone, he couldn’t stop himself.

Feeling that if he didn’t grab her now, she would go to Edmund again, he couldn’t help but try to hold onto her.

“Clea.”

He couldn’t leave and kept pacing in place.

His mind was still blank.

Seeing the blood Clea had spattered on the floor, he felt like he would go crazy with confusion about what had happened.

Lloyd closed his eyes as he found it hard to breathe.

“What exactly happened?”

He had never heard that she had any chronic illness.

He was worried about her, having coughed up blood right in front of him.

Though he had never once considered things from her perspective before, Lloyd was only now beginning to understand her.

But Lloyd didn’t know.

That in Clea’s heart, he was already branded as a man she didn’t even want to associate with.

‘This is not where she should be. I need to send her home to recover as soon as possible.’

* * *

Clea felt very dizzy.

Her chest felt tight and her body heavy.

She hadn’t known that just talking with someone she hated to face would affect her like this.

As soon as she reached her room, she collapsed onto the bed.

“When will this curse come to an end?”

Clea looked at the back of her hand with a slight smile.

The second hand that had been running fast returned to its normal speed as she moved away from Lloyd.

Analyzing this strange phenomenon, Clea had a thought.

‘Is this telling me to run away somewhere no one knows if I want to live even one day longer?’

That thought might be right.

Considering how she had coughed up blood after facing Oberon and Lloyd earlier.

It seemed her weakened body could barely withstand dealing with people she disliked.

But Clea had no intention of running away.

“I’d rather die here.”

Whether she escapes or not, the second hand keeps ticking.

She had no desire to leave behind the person she had come to like because of the people she disliked.

She imagined him.

A man with dark black hair and red eyes, completely different from herself.

Before meeting him, Clea had always been ready to leave.

Since she hadn’t gotten attached to anything, she had nowhere to feel a lingering attachment to.

She could have run away to somewhere others couldn’t find her at any time.

But now it was different.

‘Meeting you made me feel happiness for the first time. How could I give up now?’

She hadn’t understood how one emotion called happiness could make people cry and laugh.

Would people have trouble living without such emotions?

Then why was she, who had never been happy since transmigrating to this world, breathing and living so well?

Clea realized that what she had felt until now since meeting Edmund was emptiness.

Only after noticing the emotion she had been desperately denying did she understand.

She finally looked back at her heart that had been worn down completely.

“I miss you.”

She missed Edmund terribly.

She wished that he, and no one else, would appear by her side.

Only after spending countless moments of fleeting time did she finally feel the emotion of loneliness.

“Clea!”

A familiar voice reached her ears.

Clea wondered if she was hearing things because she missed him so much.

But in the direction of the voice stood the person she had been longing to see.

“Why are you here? You’re busy.”

Though she had missed him, Clea knew well how busy Edmund usually was.

She had always felt grateful even for the time he spared for her from his busy schedule.

Not wanting to worry him unnecessarily, she was about to get up when–

“Don’t get up.”

“Edmund.”

“Oberon told me. That you’re very ill right now.”

Had he guessed from the traces?

Remembering how Oberon had caught her before, she let out a hollow laugh.

It was ridiculous how the man who had been so busy antagonizing her was now constantly looking after her.

‘Is this about not hating someone who’s facing death?’

Thinking that Oberon was doing this simply out of pity for her, she felt displeased.

She didn’t want to receive pitying looks. Feeling Edmund’s gaze, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Fortunately, the blood stains had been completely wiped away.

“May I ask where it hurts?”

His gaze was full of worry.

Though she had been displeased about receiving pity from Oberon just moments ago, somehow, Edmund’s concern made her feel good.

Perhaps it was because she had just faced Lloyd.

It made his difference from Lloyd even more apparent. She reached out toward Edmund, who showed no trace of being forceful.

“I’m sorry, but it’s difficult to say.”

“…I see.”

Edmund showed only infinitely gentle and soft expressions in front of her.

As if she might crack at the slightest misstep.

Edmund was curious about where Clea was hurting.

Her complexion looked bad even at a glance.

Though she seemed a bit better than when he had silently watched from the doorway, she still looked unwell.

Yet she didn’t even exaggerate, let alone tell him where it hurt. Somehow Edmund felt like he might cry.

“I wish you weren’t in pain.”

“Edmund.”

“I mean it. I wish you could always be happy by my side.”

He held Clea’s cold hand.

He momentarily gripped her hand that felt completely lifeless, like a corpse.

Hoping that his warmth might transfer to her if he held on tightly like this.

But worried she might be in pain, he loosened his grip after a while.

But this time, Clea gripped Edmund’s hand tightly.

“Me too.”

“Clea.”

“I want to stay happily by your side for a long time too, Edmund.”

She looked at their clasped hands for a moment.

She kept looking at their hands, knowing she didn’t know what expression she would make if she met Edmund’s eyes now with her joyful feelings.

The pain that had been stabbing and constricting her chest began to fade away.

As if this time together with him was such a welcome and happy time for Clea.

Perhaps due to the happiness she felt belatedly, greed kept growing rapidly within her.

‘Maybe with you, I could even break this curse.’

Clea began to have hope seeing how Edmund treated Aria.

Edmund didn’t seem to have any affection for Aria.

Even if he had feelings before, his current attitude made it seem like he had sorted those out too.

Unlike Lloyd, being someone who felt responsibility, he might have done so.

A small hope sprouted in Clea’s heart.

That perhaps with him, she could be freed from this terrible curse.

The situation was gradually changing.

Though not enough to be certain yet, she began to harbor hope that she might be able to paint a happy future until the end with this man.

‘The original story is definitely changing.’

The man who, in the original story, was supposed to be glaring at her with murderous intent now showed no such signs. Instead, he seemed desperate to have her.

Anxiety also came along with hope.

If this favorable flow didn’t bear fruit, if they ultimately couldn’t break the curse…

She imagined him being left alone then.

She looked at the back of her hand.

‘Unless this curse is lifted, our eternal farewell is inevitable.’

She imagined herself peacefully passing away, unable to escape the curse in the end, and him either wandering alone or ending up with someone else.

Though the curse had brought about their meeting, it still felt cruel.

But even so, unlike before, she had gained a small hope.

If she could stay by his side and break the curse…

She could live happily for a long time.

Just daring to dream of living while only looking at each other was already great progress. She smiled contentedly.

Feeling her heart beating calmly, Clea lifted her head and met Edmund’s gaze.

She wondered how he would react if she told him she was unwell after meeting Lloyd.

Though she had no intention of mentioning it.

She didn’t want to cause friction between him and the Grand Duke’s family because of her.

“Edmund, I’m fine now. So please go back and finish your work.”

“…Yes, I should finish my work.”

Edmund obediently followed Clea’s words.

Though he hesitated to let go of her hand, he seemed relieved seeing her improved complexion.

“I’ll send the maids.”

“There’s no need to attend to me.”

“Do it for my sake, Clea.”

When Edmund spoke as if it were his wish, Clea silently nodded.

She agreed out of guilt for making him worry so much.

* * *

Finally feeling relieved, Edmund left the room.

The hostility he had hidden in front of Clea began to show in his eyes.

“It seems I’ve been too merciful to the nobles until now. Is that why they disrespect me like this?”

Oberon, who appeared beside him, swallowed and asked Edmund.

“What will you do?”

At Oberon’s question, Edmund let out a hollow laugh.

“I’ll have to show them what happens when they touch what’s mine.”

The smile drawn on his lips contained no emotions other than coldness and anger.