The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 104

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 104
“Did you just say ‘dare’?”
Anette stepped forward first. The villagers seemed intimidated by Avilos’s sudden appearance and distinctive appearance.
But that woman—Anette, whom I hadn’t seen in over a decade—showed not the slightest hint of intimidation.
“Lord Abilos Teje.”
Her eyes had sharpened in the years we’d been apart, and she now carried herself with such refined grace that it was difficult to call her a young girl anymore.
Her pale green eyes gleamed with quiet authority.
―Regardless, she’s nothing but a mere woman, Avilos sneered inwardly, twisting his lips.
She spoke with a chilling, measured tone.
“Lord Teje, mind your manners. The Crown Prince of Eldorado and the Grand Duke are present, not to mention Marquis Winston himself.”
As she called out each name and gestured around the space, Sisrain, Heinrich, and Kyle emerged from among the villagers.
“…!!!”
Damn.
Avilos’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Ah, well, I was just―”
Anette cut off his attempt to change his tone with swift precision, pronouncing each syllable with deliberate emphasis.
“‘Dare.'”
“…!!!”
Avilos’s mouth snapped shut with an audible click.
“To speak so carelessly without even basic courtesy before such distinguished persons.”
She lowered her gaze, her voice dripping with contempt.
“This constitutes not merely an insult to the Nobility, but furthermore, an insult to the Imperial Family itself.”
“Miss Anette! But, but an insult to the Imperial Family? Such slander!”
In his panic, Avilos found himself using formal speech toward the diminutive Anette. A moment later, he realized his mistake, and his teeth ground together audibly.
‘This cunning woman.’
She’d grown far more cunning than before.
Avilos was certainly no commoner himself, yet his rudeness before high nobility and the Imperial Family was an undeniable fact.
Seizing the advantage, Anette turned to look back and spoke.
“Is that not so, Your Highness the Crown Prince?”
“Indeed.”
The man with those eerie crimson eyes, blood still staining his appearance, languidly brushed his ear.
“I do feel rather insulted, actually.”
“…!!!”
His gaze held the hunger of one ready to devour his prey alive. Sisrain smiled, baring his white teeth.
“Cutting off one of those distinctive ears might soothe the insult nicely.”
“Your Highness, I―!”
Then, as if witnessing something utterly distasteful, Heinrich furrowed his brow and spoke.
“Then I’ll take both arms.”
Vivantum shrugged his shoulders.
“I simply don’t like how they’re attached.”
“…!!!”
A madman.
I thought Kyle Winston, the one among them who appeared remotely composed, would remain silent, but he belatedly opened his mouth with his characteristic refined accent.
“I shall choose both ankles. The way you stand so rigidly suggests you know nothing of submission.”
“…!”
The carnivorous deer smiled faintly.
“I trust you will maintain a posture of submission for the rest of your life.”
―It was the most insane thing I’d heard.
Moreover, the expressions of Winston’s Shield standing behind Marquis Winston were as if they would grind Avilos into powder (already so menacing in appearance, they created a “bouquet of ferocity” effect).
“…P-please spare me!”
Avilos threw himself flat on the ground.
“My apologies! I failed to recognize Prince Gerard, Grand Duke Hyacinth, and Marquis Winston!”
I had no master here to protect me. Even if I died a dog’s death in this place, there was no one to stop it.
Then Anette spoke.
“―Stop this at once.”
“….”
“….”
“….”
Remarkably, all three madmen fell silent.
Even from his prostrate position, Avilos opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
What had just happened?
It was as if a skilled animal trainer had appeared, and all three obeyed the words of this one small woman.
I couldn’t fathom what power this petite woman wielded.
Anette looked down at him without hesitation, as if she were a noble lady who had enjoyed aristocratic privilege her entire life.
“What is your reason for seeking me out, Lord Teje?”
Since the Crown Prince had not yet ordered him to rise, Avilos, who had lifted his head slightly, was forced to press his forehead to her feet as he spoke.
“―Prince Gerard has sent a formal summons.”
As the one delivering the summons on behalf of Prince Gerard, he should have stood upright and presented it properly.
This way, it was as good as telling him to bow his head to Gerard and offer the summons.
However, to Avilos, who was gauging whether he might be permitted to rise, Sisrain simply spat out coldly.
“Denied.”
“…!”
Avilos, who represented Gerard’s authority wherever he went, was unaccustomed to such humiliation.
His body trembling, he extended the summons toward Anette.
Anette gazed at the scroll for a moment.
‘What could it say.’
In truth, I had suspected this when we returned to the village after the attack by the Belkain Tribe. That Gerard would pressure her not only through force but also through official channels.
So I was not taken aback.
At last, she took the scroll and unrolled the summons to read its contents.
And,
‘As expected.’
A bitter smile played at the corners of Anette’s lips.
Ten years, and nothing despicable about you has changed, Gerard.
Well, I’d be disappointed if it had.
* * *
「 ‘Anette von Axilpherion’ is hereby commanded to return immediately to the Eldorado Imperial Palace.
The deadline is four days.
Should you fail to comply voluntarily with this order, forced repatriation measures will be implemented after four days.

―Gerard von Axilpherion
」
I sat alone at the table, turning the summons over in my mind.
‘Now that’s the truly despicable part.’
―Forced repatriation in two days.
If the summons had arrived without incident, I couldn’t have called it despicable, but….
Today, Gerard had shown Anette himself.
What would happen to this small Bayonere Island when he implemented ‘forced repatriation measures’.
He certainly had no intention of quietly taking me away.
Not when breaking my spirit for defying his command was the goal.
Kyle, upon seeing this summons, said this:
“My lady, while you were not formally adopted by Gerard at that time, you can still complete the process after reaching adulthood.”
“You already know this, don’t you? You’re more versed in the Empire’s adoption laws than we are.”
―Heinrich was right. Especially after fleeing Gerard, I’d pore over adoption law whenever I had a spare moment.
Just in case a day like this came, hoping to find a way to escape it (though admittedly, there was no immediate solution).
‘According to imperial law, there are only two cases where adoption procedures can be halted.’
One is when the adoptee has already established their own household and family line.
The other is when inheriting a ‘title’.
Both were only possible when one was leading their own house.
It was rare for an adoptee to disappear without being formally adopted during the process, but it was a clause created long ago because of an orphan who had been kidnapped.
When they were found again, they had already established a family on a distant continent.
In the end, that adoption procedure was cancelled.
“…So that’s what Sisrain meant.”
When I said I’d need time to answer his proposal, he had replied like this.
“I think you’ll decide soon.”
I murmured quietly.
“He foresaw it all.”
Perhaps marriage was the only option left to avoid being formally adopted by Gerard.
Ah, this is like being cornered as a mouse holding three expensive rings, isn’t it?
―Though that’s one luxurious mouse, isn’t it?
I rested my chin in my hand and gazed down at the table.
“…Is marriage really the only way?”
I laid out three ring cases in a row.
To escape the demon called Gerard, I had to marry one of three madmen.
Sob, sob. God, why is my life difficulty set to hard mode continuously?
This is truly too much.
“…Or, I could devise other methods as usual.”
My gaze shifted to the locket on one side of the table.
It sparkled and rotated beside the three rings.
―It still hadn’t stopped glowing.
More than that, the light seemed to be growing brighter. It wasn’t an illusion.
The locket my parents left me.
‘It’s definitely a magical artifact. Looking at this, the probability that my parents weren’t ordinary commoners is high.’
Or even if they were ordinary commoners, if I found my real parents, I might be exempt from Imperial law.
It would be impossible to be registered in a different house when parents exist.
I immediately requested a meeting with Kyle.
This meeting was between ‘Larva’s Master’ and a ‘client’.
Since I had already sent word by letter last time that I had something to request, the conversation progressed very quickly.
“It’s certainly intriguing.”
“If you investigate this locket, I might be able to find my parents. The problem is.”
“Time is tight.”
“―That’s right, I’m summoned in three days. Is it possible?”
The master of the Dark Guild, counted as the finest on the Continent, smiled with gentle eyes. An attractive dimple deepened.
“I’ll bring you the investigation results within three days.”
“…”
I broke out in a cold sweat at those words.
―Good heavens, Kyle. Is that even possible?
I’d be satisfied if you brought results within a week.
In truth, I thought it impossible within three days.
No matter how he was the world’s finest Dark Guild master.
But showing distrust seemed slightly rude, so Anette lowered her brows and smiled brightly.
“Then, I’ll trust only you, Kyle!”
With that, I gently grasped his hand and released it.
“…!”
She didn’t notice. At that small gesture and those words of trust―
The carnivorous stag’s cheeks flushed red, and a fierce determination blazed in his eyes.
Indeed, the ‘smile and trust’ bestowed by his master returned as extraordinary results.
* * *
The next day.
Kyle Winston, the most diligent investigator in the world, appeared with sparkling eyes and spoke.
“I found the source of the ‘locket’ you mentioned.”
“…!!!”
Huh? Already?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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