The Impact Of The Villainess’ Fake Marriage On The Ending

Chapter 39

Maybe it was because she had promised not to get drunk, but Adeline just stared at the wine in front of her.
Only Kael, sitting across from her, gently grabbed his glass and shook it.

“I meant not to get drunk; I didn’t mean not to drink at all.”
“Ah…”

Adeline moved her eyes around for a moment, then carefully raised her glass.
She stared at the glass of wine, filled to the brim, with her light green eyes. Then suddenly, as if she had made up her mind about something, she emptied the glass at once.

“I’m sorry. It was a little cold. I’m not going to drink anymore, so I won’t get drunk.”

Surprised, Kael then laughed as if it was ridiculous.
Even the smallest of Adeline’s actions rarely went as he had expected.

“Ahem, as I said before, I didn’t come in to steal or take anything.”
“I know even if you don’t tell me. But it’s more suspicious because you’re emphasizing it.”
“What? No. I’m telling you again just in case you misunderstand me further, I never did anything suspicious. I swear.”
“Is that so?”

Kael gazed at Adeline, holding back the laughter that was about to come out.

Anyone could see that she was not a woman who had come in with bad intentions. He knew it well even if Adeline didn’t emphasize it.
But seeing how she kept being at a loss made him want to tease her.

“The only thing I saw when I came in and approached by chance were the framed portraits…”

When she mentioned the framed portraits, Adeline stopped talking with a look of realization on her face.
Her clear, light-green eyes shook slightly.
Kael, who was looking into her eyes, only looked at Adeline without showing any reaction.

But he knew well why Adeline reacted as if she had made a mistake.
There was no one in the empire, especially not an aristocrat who lived in the center of the social world filled with all kinds of rumors, who didn’t know what had happened to the Inver family.
Everyone knew how Kael lost his family at a young age.
Adeline, of course, knew it too.

“…”

Adeline, who thought she had to sort out the situation, moved her lips as if she was going to say something, but no words could easily flow out of her mouth.
Kael watched Adeline for a moment, then took a sip of the wine.
Since it wasn’t easy to see Adeline look bewildered, he thought he wanted to watch her a little more, but then Adeline would be quite troubled, and he knew she would worry.

“Anyway, it’s been a while. How has staying in the North been?”

Kael casually changed the topic.
He was considerate of Adeline, and he also didn’t want to encroach this night into a memory he didn’t want to remember even after a long time.

“Did you think about wanting to go back? With such a loud and violent blizzard raging, you must want to run away.”

As soon as the topic changed, Adeline sighed.
Maybe her tipsiness was flaring out; the change of heart that Adeline would have usually hidden was clearly revealed outside.

“I don’t like blizzards like the one today, but I still don’t want to go back.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Rather, I think this is a good place. I think it’s a good place with a lot of kind people.”
“Kind people? The people of the North?”
“Yes.”

Kael frowned slightly at the completely unsuitable adjective.
He couldn’t believe she used the adjective ‘kind’ for the people of the north.
It was unimaginable.

“You’re probably the only outsider who looks at the people of the North and says they’re kind.”
“How is that possible? You shouldn’t judge the people of your territory too harshly.”
“I’m not being harsh, it’s the truth. I think even they would shudder hearing that.”
“That’s all prejudice. I can tell you’re kind just looking at you.”

His blue-gray eyes trembled slightly at Adeline’s words.

She had ‘that gaze’.
A gaze that showed she wasn’t thinking hard to act like she was in love with Kael, but instead revealed her true feelings without any fabrication.
Adeline looked at Kael with those eyes and told him that he was kind.

“I guess you don’t know what the world calls me.”
“I know everything.”
“And yet you say that?”
“Because I saw something.”

Her expression and tone of voice that she was merely telling the truth made Kael’s mood strange.

‘What does she mean, kind?’

It was something he had never heard before in his life.
No one could think of the northern ruler, who was so frighteningly cold he was like a walking winter, as someone who was kind.
Even Kael himself thought so.

“I’m not as gentle or as good as you think.”
“That could be the case. But I believe in what I see with my own eyes.”

Kael sincerely denied it, but what followed was Adeline’s heartfelt conviction.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if you really are like that. I’m also not as good as you think, so we can balance it out like that.”

Kael smirked at her confident words.

Adeline dealt with Kael and looked at him in a completely different way from everyone else.
It was unfamiliar, so he kept getting interested.

“And you seem to be sure I’m going to hate the North, but that’s preposterous.”
“…”
“The East wasn’t just full of good things either.”

Saying she would take this opportunity to tell him everything, Adeline started listing the various good aspects of the north she felt during her stay.
But that didn’t come into Kael’s head at all.
He didn’t hear anything, he just wondered.
It was just interesting to see what was in that little head that caught Kael off guard at any chance and made him smile lightly.

“So, let go of that certainty now. Alright?”

While he was brooding over it for a long time, the wine marks on Adeline’s lips caught his attention.
Maybe it was because she emptied the glass quickly, but her lips were slightly smudged by the ruddy liquid.

“Kael?”

Adeline called out to Kael, but he only looked at Adeline’s lips like a man who was firmly possessed.

“Why aren’t you saying anyt…”

The voice that was about to ask what was wrong disappeared in an instant.
There was no helping it.
Kael, who got up and came closer, scanned Adeline’s lips with his hand.

“…”

Adeline was so surprised she couldn’t even breathe.
Kael’s gaze was more languid than usual, and his fingers, rubbing her lips carefully, were as hot as fire.
It was as if her flesh was burning following the path his fingers made.

The distance between the two was extremely close. Even the unique cool scent coming from Kael, who bent over his body to get closer to her, felt different.

“… Kael?”

Her slightly shaky voice was filled with Kael’s name.

“Ah…”

It wasn’t until the soft trembling reached Kael that his gaze turned to Adeline’s eyes.
When he saw the trembling light green eyes, he felt the drowsy heat fade and quickly got to his senses.
As soon as he realized where his hand was touching, his blue-grey eyes shook like crazy.
It was an agitation not easily seen in Kael.

“There was a little wine smudge on your lips.”

He hastily removed his hand and gave her an explanation, but he couldn’t undo what had just happened.
A deep redness spread over Adeline’s face, and being also embarrassed, Kael’s ears also turned red.

“Ah, it’s this late already. Thanks to you, the blizzard is not scary anymore. You must have been busy, so go rest. I will also go to bed right away.”

Adeline sprang to her feet and strode down the path with quick steps.
Her willingness to quickly cross the study and go back to her room could be seen.

“Adeline!”

Kael tried calling her name belatedly, but she had already left.
Kael, who was left alone in an instant, swept his forehead with a dumbfounded expression.

‘What was I thinking…’

It was hard to believe.
He stared at Adeline’s lips as if all reason had been blocked, then reached out to her without realizing it.
It was something unthinkable for the normal Kael.
The touch of her lips was still too vivid on his fingers. The lingering attachment that remained even after removing the wine marks was also clear.

Kael gazed in the direction of the study in dismay.

‘… There’s no way she will be fine with the blizzard.’

As he came back to his senses, the confused feelings grew deeper and deeper, and amid that, he was worried about Adeline, who had thoughtlessly left the room.
The violent blizzard was still hitting the window. Saying that she wasn’t scared anymore, or that she was going to sleep right away was all a lie.

Kael went straight across the study and stood in front of Adeline’s room.
He didn’t know what on earth he was doing, but for now, looking after Adeline was more important.

“Ugh!”

But as soon as he grabbed the doorknob, a terrible pain struck Kael.
His vision shook instantly, and he felt short of breath.
It was a pain that seemed to twist his limbs, a pain he didn’t get used to even after experiencing it a few times.

‘Damn it.’

Kael managed to move his unresponsive body towards his room.
It was a figure that Adeline couldn’t and shouldn’t ever see. He had to get away from her.
Even taking a step forward was hell. In an instant, his whole body was covered in sweat, and he could feel his consciousness fading with the terrible pain.

“Your Grace. It’s Vero.”

When he thought that he should call Zion or Vero by any means, he heard Zion’s voice just in time.

“Your Grace? I’m coming in…”

After a while, as he opened the door and came in, Vero’s face turned white.

“Your Grace!”
“Ugh, hurry…”
“Yes, Your Grace.”

Vero immediately supported Kael and took him to the deepest and darkest part of the castle.

‘That time’ came a little sooner than Kael had expected.
The time when he so desperately hoped for death, when every breath was painful.

——