ICTGMP 16

Chapter 16

My Male Protagonist Has Gone Twisted! (3)

I was torn.

I had to somehow make Lennet lose interest in me right here and now. It would be much better to get cursed at a little when we first met and have it end there.

What should I do? Should I pick my nose? Tell her she had something stuck between her teeth? No, I needed something more definite…

Then I remembered the picture frame in my hands.

There was no need to think any further.

“Then I’ll draw a picture for you! Just so you know, this is the extent of my artistic ability!”

I shoved the picture right in front of Lennet’s face.

Her eyes widened.

“Oh my?”

Lennet examined my drawing very slowly, wearing an extremely serious expression, and then gave me her assessment.

“Hmm… What is this painting supposed to represent? Is it some primitive human who climbed a tree to pick bananas, fell down, hit his head on a rock, and then bounced off the rock and plunged over a cliff?”

“Ah, well…”

Is it really that bad?!

“I’m joking. You drew Ash, didn’t you?”

The villainess had sharp eyes.

“Yes.”

“And you’re saying you’ll draw me like this, too?”

I nodded repeatedly.

“…Anastasia, do you know what I hate most? Ugly things, hideous things, dirty things, pathetic things, and anything that insults my beauty.”

I nervously waited for what she would say next.

Now she’s going to say she’s disappointed in me and leave, right?

Could she slap me?

“But goodness… Just when I start getting angry, one look at your face makes my heart melt. This has never happened to me before.”

“What?”

I couldn’t believe my ears.

Lennet murmured in a profound voice, lost in thought.

“I’d heard that Count Sinclair’s daughter was extraordinarily beautiful, but those were all just vague rumors, so I was skeptical. But now I’m furious with myself for discovering you so late. Anastasia, I’ll admit it. You are a peerless beauty capable of destroying my entire worldview. I think I’d even enjoy watching you eat maggots.”

Is this a death flag?

I only have two years left to live as it is. Is my lifespan about to get even shorter?

“Um…”

“Poor Anastasia. You possess a fatal beauty like deadly poison, capable of captivating everyone, yet you’re destined to die without knowing when it will happen… How tragic. I want to make you part of my collection. If only I could display you in my basement and admire you by myself until the day you died…”

“Lennet, you’re saying something extremely dangerous out loud right now.”

The villainess suddenly looked startled and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Gasp! I’m sorry! You’re not angry, are you? If Anastasia came to hate me, I might faint from the shock. Just imagining it is horrifying. I never knew my heart could be this fragile.”

Her coquettish, playful voice was so alluring that it made my heart flutter, but by then, I had already lost all motivation.

Life really isn’t anything special.

Death flags are raised this easily…

“May I go now?”

Wondering whether I should draw my funeral portrait in advance—I mean, my memorial portrait—I tucked the frame back into my arms.

The villainess put on an innocent expression.

“Of course! But you promised to draw me a picture, so let’s make an appointment. When would be good? An hour from now? Two hours from now? Or perhaps secretly at midnight?”

This woman truly belonged to a realm far beyond anything an ordinary person could comprehend.

I slowly began backing away before firing off my words like a machine gun.

“I’ll write you a letter once I’ve recovered my strength. Then, enjoy yourself and have a good time.”

I turned around and began walking quickly, making it clear that I had no intention of waiting for her answer.

“I’ll be waiting!”

I reluctantly glanced back.

The villainess was even waving at me.

She looked absurdly bright and cheerful.

I hurriedly climbed into the carriage, and only after it had left the Marquess’s estate did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Th-that woman was terrifying…”

My hands were still trembling.

I’d been so focused on getting one over on Ash that I had completely forgotten the villainess was actually quite close to him.

The two didn’t have any deep affection for each other, but they did meet whenever it suited their respective needs.

Lennet liked Ash’s handsome face and his lack of clinginess, while Ash had the kind of personality that never turned away a woman who approached him.

Come to think of it, Lennet seemed to have noticed something, too…

“Welcome back.”

As soon as I stepped down from the carriage, a handsome man who could make even a fairy-tale prince weep greeted me.

It felt as though my entire field of vision had suddenly brightened.

It was like being trapped in a dark, gloomy room for ages and finally seeing sunlight for the first time.

“Adel! I missed you!”

Without thinking, I hugged Adel.

The refreshing scent of citrus reached my nose, and I couldn’t help smiling.

As usual, Adel behaved impeccably and politely, so I obediently put some distance between us.

“Phew. I finally feel a little safer.”

“You look tired, Anastasia. Wouldn’t it be better to get some rest?”

Adel examined me with concern in his eyes.

I answered energetically.

“I’m fine. It would be such a waste to change clothes already when I went to all the trouble of dressing up. Let’s go out and have some fun. You were bored waiting for me, weren’t you?”

“I was worried. He will surely try to retaliate against you.”

I agreed with Adel’s assessment.

“With that temper of his, there’s no way he’ll just let it go. Oh, by the way, did you put any other magic on Ash?”

I remembered what the villainess had said and asked him.

Adel wore an expression that was somewhere between a smile and no smile at all.

“Nothing much.”

“I heard Ash likes pretty women, but he was rather cold toward me.”

Even the villainess fell for my beauty!

Of course, that’s not necessarily a good thing!

“You held his hand and even gave him a picture as a gift. I simply took precautions beforehand to prevent him from developing inappropriate feelings. I severely suppressed his sexual appetite, appetite for food, and desire for sleep. He’ll have a difficult few days.”

His answer was much more decisive than I’d expected.

The picture was currently shoved into a corner of the carriage, though…

As I hesitated, Adel naturally changed the subject.

“Did you enjoy your first social gathering?”

“Everyone was kind, so I enjoyed it. Lady Renetia Bliss was especially k-kind to me.”

I accidentally stammered.

I pretended not to notice Adel’s gaze.

“I’ve met Lady Bliss several times myself. At the last hunting competition, she bought the albino gazelle I caught because she wanted to have it preserved.”

“I suppose I should be glad she only preserves animals for now…”

I muttered in a voice barely louder than an ant.

The most frightening thing about the villainess was that she didn’t care about the people around her at all. Whenever she wanted something, she became half-mad until she obtained it.

And that something was usually a rare, extravagant, beautiful animal or person.

“I’m glad you liked her. Would you tell me what happened?”

I blinked in confusion.

“Didn’t you already know everything?”

I had assumed he’d been watching through magic.

Adel didn’t exactly deny it.

“I’m curious about what you thought of it. It would be nice to hear about it while we take a walk.”

As he said that, Adel held out his hand, and I naturally took it.

I’d become far too accustomed to holding Adel’s hand.

Its smooth, soft, warm sensation felt so good that I thought my hand might melt.

We exchanged idle conversation as we left the Count’s estate.

I looked around.

Only a few modest shops could occasionally be seen, and the street was deserted.

There was no one around except us.

“That boy isn’t around today. Do you think he’s finally given up?”

“There was a torrential downpour a few days ago. He might have been swept away somewhere by the rainwater.”

Adel said it in such a perfectly calm voice that I was horrified.

“You say some scary things.”

Was he joking?

He was joking, right?

“Anastasia, you should stop thinking about people who aren’t worth your concern.”

His voice was gentle but firm.

I nodded.

“Mm-hmm. I’m sure he’s doing fine somewhere. Don’t worry about him either, Adel.”

For a moment, Adel seemed about to say something, but my attention was drawn elsewhere.

“Huh?”

I spotted roses displayed outside a flower shop made of painted-looking bricks.

The pink roses looked very different from the roses I knew.

“Adel, look at those. The roses are so tiny.”

I let go of Adel’s hand and approached the flower shop.

They were even more fascinating up close.

Tiny roses no bigger than my fingernails were blooming in clusters.

If I hadn’t looked carefully, I might have thought someone had painted baby’s breath with a brush dipped in pink paint.

Sensing someone nearby, a man who seemed to be the owner of the flower shop came out.

“Welco—Gasp.”

He stared at me with his eyes wide open.

I pointed at the ridiculously adorable roses and asked,

“What are these roses called?”

I waited for his answer, but the man blinked several times before violently shaking his head.

“Uh… Um… I’m sorry. What did you say?”

I burst out laughing.

His reaction was so honest and unmistakable that I found it amusing rather than offensive.

“I’ll buy all of these flowers. Just have them delivered to Count Sinclair’s estate.”

“Th-thank you! I’ll take the utmost care of them!”

Take care of what?

The flowers?

I left the man, who was too distracted by my face to function properly, and tugged Adel along.

“Come on, Adel.”

Adel willingly followed my pull, though he seemed lost in thought.

After walking a few steps, I tilted my head.

“Adel? What’s wrong?”

“You smile easily in front of anyone.”

It was a somewhat unexpected remark.

I answered casually.

“Do I? I’ve never really thought about it.”

“You don’t do it out of a sense of obligation, do you? No one ordered you to. You simply do it because you like to.”

“Is that strange?”

His red eyes, impossible to read, stared directly at me.

“You simply don’t seem like someone suffering from an incurable disease. Recently, even though you know death is approaching, you don’t become depressed about your circumstances or cry. In fact, the person you used to be was easier for me to understand.”

Only then did I realize what Adel was getting at.

“Because I realized there’s no point in doing that.”

“Have you given up?”

“I suppose I have.”

Adel lowered his gaze.

Had my words hurt him?

Because it sounded like I’d given up hope?

“Don’t you intend to ask me to save you?”

What was that supposed to mean?

“Most people think that if they have magic, they can accomplish anything. Perhaps that’s actually true. Maybe curing Anastasia isn’t completely impossible…”

I felt all the blood drain from my body.

I cut Adel off before he could finish.

“Adel, don’t ever say something like that again.”

Magic was absolutely not omnipotent.

Especially when it came to restoring someone like me, whose life was already nearing its end. An enormous price would have to be paid.

In ancient times, there was a king who sacrificed a thousand people in an attempt to cure his illness.

And the end of that story was horrific and gruesome.

“I don’t want to live if it means cutting away pieces of your life to keep me alive.”

My voice broke.

Seeing how agitated I’d become, Adel tried to persuade me in an even gentler voice.

“What if it isn’t my life? What if we use someone else’s life? Would it be all right to sacrifice someone who has never even met Anastasia?”

His words were so sweet, and yet so sorrowful, that I was left speechless.