TNMN 22

Chapter 22

“So, what was your purpose in approaching me?”

“I already told you. I said I would follow the divine revelation to teach you, Duke, the human emotion called love.”

“Love? You’ve been saying amusing things since earlier. Do you really think I need such a feeling?”

“…Probably not.”

“Then who do you think the world will believe—your words, or mine, the Duke’s?”

“Naturally, they’d believe the Duke’s words.”

At Alosha’s answer, given without a moment’s hesitation, Whistler let out a scoff, unable to hide his bewilderment at her behavior.

“You’re terribly bothered by me right now, aren’t you, Duke? You’re annoyed, and yet curious about what I’m up to?”

He didn’t want to admit it, but it was true. Just who was this woman to shake him up like this? Why was he, of all people, playing along with the insane words and actions of a woman like that…

“…That is a symptom of the denial phase.”

“The denial what?”

“At first, you find yourself a little bothered. Then you start thinking about me. Confused by your own uncharacteristic behavior, you’ll treat me coldly. You might even get angry or try to push me away, but the more you do, the more you’ll become obsessed with me until you go crazy. And then, finally, when you see me with another man, you’ll realize it was love all along and become frighteningly possessive!”

“…I feel like I’m going to go crazy with anger, faced with someone I simply cannot reason with.”

Any normal person would have shut their mouth and just watched their step at Whistler’s murderous words. But Alosha felt like cheering—this confirmed that she had indeed influenced the novel’s characters to some extent.

*’Great! Let’s push forward with this.’*

Alosha’s eyes sparkled as she suddenly grabbed Whistler’s hand.

“Just you wait. In the end, you will fall in love with me!”

Startled by Alosha’s sudden action, Whistler lifted one corner of his mouth in a sneer.

“Love? Me, fall in love with someone? You really thought that, didn’t you!”

“…!”

This time, Whistler was genuinely taken aback by Alosha’s words.

“This is the turning point! This is what we call a love flag.”

Whistler stared intently at Alosha, whose eyes sparkled with apparent delight, and then lifted one corner of his mouth again.

“Aren’t you scared? As you said, I am trying to bring down the Empire.”

“They say a beauty of unparalleled charm brings ruin to a nation. And if you truly wish to destroy this empire, Duke, I’ll help you from the side.”

At the mad declaration—spoken with pure, innocent eyes that held not a shred of deceit—that she would help him destroy the empire if he wished, Whistler let out a small chuckle.

“Fine.”

“Pardon?”

“Didn’t you say you’d teach me about love? Let’s see you try, then.”

It was a challenge, half of it, and permission, given half out of caution. It was simply a rational decision that it was better to keep this unpredictable woman close, even if it gave him a headache, rather than leave her out of sight to cause who knows what trouble.

“Uh… really?”

In contrast, Alosha’s face showed confusion as she scanned Whistler’s expression. Considering his personality, she had imagined he would refuse at least three chapters’ worth, with her having to push forward relentlessly. When writing a novel, things often don’t go as planned, but she hadn’t expected the plot to advance this much, and she was greatly flustered.

“What’s this? Could it be that talk of revelations and such was all a lie, and you were just trying to make a fool of me?”

Just as a vertical line appeared between Whistler’s brows, Alosha put on an exaggerated smile.

“Oh my~! What are you saying! You must trust me! I swear by the revelation of the god Saeibi, I will definitely make you fall in love!”

It felt good when she declared it so boldly.

*’What is this…?’*

Everyone has experienced it. Pushing and pushing on a locked door only to find it was a pull door. Or that uneasy feeling when you get a surprisingly easy ‘Yes’ for a Friday or Monday leave you were sure would be denied.

“I look forward to it.”

Whistler, with a face that didn’t look forward to it at all, waved his hand dismissively. Alosha reflexively rose from her seat and, as if possessed, walked out of the study.

*’…What just happened?’*

They say life doesn’t go as planned. She had squeezed her rom-fan writer talents dry to create a barely plausible plotline and had prepared Plans A, B, C, and D to gain the Duke’s permission, but she didn’t even get to use them before the matter was resolved. It should be a cause for celebration, something good, but what was this lingering unease in her chest?

Even on the way back, her butt suffered in the jostling carriage, but unlike on the way there, she stared blankly out the window, her mind a blank. Alosha came to her senses only when she arrived home and was met by two people waiting for her at the entrance.

“Alosha! Are you back? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“That bastard… I mean, that Duke Whistler didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

As soon as the front door opened, the two fired questions without giving her a chance to greet them. Alosha blinked.

“…I’m home.”

“Thank goodness your tongue wasn’t cut out.”

“Don’t relax just yet. Look at Alosha’s face. She seems dazed; perhaps he used some unholy dark magic on her mind.”

“I’m really fine, so please calm down. Can we move this to the drawing-room instead of standing here?”

Even after moving to the drawing-room, the two continued their wild imaginations, practically turning Whistler into a villainous demon king who would summon Satan to conquer the world. Finally unable to bear it any longer, Alosha cut them off.

“I’ve decided to date him.”

“What???”

“Him? The one who doesn’t have an iota of emotion? What do you mean by that??”

“Dating.”

To be precise, it was about teaching Whistler the emotion of love, but surely no reader would object to calling that act ‘dating’.

“…With who?”

“The Duke and I have started dating. No threats, no brainwashing, no demonic possession—just two ordinary people doing ordinary dating.”

Even though she said it calmly, seeing the two of them looking utterly unconvinced made Alosha feel unnecessarily irritated. Sure, she wasn’t a dazzling beauty or someone who commanded attention, but Alosha definitely had a reasonably pretty face. Even if the novel described her as plain-looking, considering the heroines who end up with young, rich, handsome men, there shouldn’t be anything strange about Alosha dating the Duke. Seeing their faces filled with disbelief made her feel a little insecure.

*’Why are you all so strict with just me?’*

Tears welled up a little from the injustice of it all, but Alosha composed herself. As the saying goes, “All roads lead to Rome,” and like the motto “All roads lead through me,” she had taken a step closer to her grand goal of bringing the Duke down. What did other people’s opinions on her looks matter?

“…Dating? You, Alosha, and Duke Whistler? That can’t be… No way…”

“Why? Huh.”

Alosha felt another pang of sorrow at Dane’s stunned muttering. A family member could be strict, but you, of all people, shouldn’t be doing this. You, who awakened after Alosha’s death and led the long storyline to confront Duke Whistler—why are you so shocked by the news that she seduced him?

*’I thought you had a tiny crush on me.’*

Even if calling it self-love left her without a comeback, Alosha had grown up believing that the childhood friend was always the male lead. She firmly believed that Dane had romantic feelings for her. Why else would he have awakened after her death and vowed revenge against Duke Whistler?

“I’m tired, so I’ll go to my room now.”

“Wait… Alosha? Alosha!”

Leaving the two behind, who looked like they had much more to say, Alosha returned to her room and sighed at the plot that had once again deviated from her expectations.

“It wasn’t supposed to progress this far yet.”

She had planned to either persuade the Duke or slowly seep into his consciousness to imprint her existence, but he gave in so easily that it was actually giving her a headache.

“How am I supposed to develop the story from here?”

In romance novels, the thrill and excitement are in the journey to getting together, and the ending is always a cliché like marriage or a first date. However, all those romantic scenarios are only possible once the Duke has fallen for her. With Whistler’s current crooked attitude of “Let’s see you try,” they are utterly useless.

“How do I make him a captive of love?”

A picnic by a secluded lakeside or at a villa—he might just murder her there, so that’s out. Perhaps a shopping date or a café date in a crowded place, but it’s uncertain if the Duke would obediently agree, so that’s on hold. For every scenario she imagined, the fact that she didn’t know much about Duke Whistler himself made each idea hit a massive wall. It also seemed like the forcefulness of the original story was twisting in strange ways whenever she introduced ridiculous events to shake up the basic plot, which was its own kind of problem.

“Maybe I should just make the first move.”

Reaching the limits of her imagination, Alosha considered throwing in a 19+ element and just having a baby, but then she recalled her friend and Whistler, shaking her head. This novel was at most 15+. Even if she lay naked on a bed, nothing readers might hope for would actually happen.

“What? Emily is here?”

Having agonized over the problem all night, Alosha was elegantly having breakfast and pondering how to bring Whistler down—no, how to make him completely hers—when Annie announced Emily’s visit.

“Yes, she said she had something to discuss with you, so I’ve seated her in the drawing-room…”

Alosha hadn’t sent her an invitation, so something urgent must have happened for her to come rushing over this early in the morning. Already overwhelmed by events that had gone far beyond her expectations, and not wanting the plot to twist any further, Alosha rose from her seat and turned her head toward Annie.

“Lead the way.”