The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 136

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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 136
‘What on earth are you talking about?’
You’re claiming to be one of Sisrain, Heinrich, or Kyle?
I stared intently at the black-haired, blue-eyed man spouting such nonsense.
His face alone looked completely different.
“You’re lying.”
“…I assure you, I’m telling the truth. Try to guess who I am.”
Even his voice differed from all three of theirs. It was low like Sisrain’s, yet languid like Heinrich’s.
Meanwhile, his manner of speech somehow resembled Kyle’s.
I could sense all three of their characteristics blended together.
“First hint: someone who always hovers near you and thinks of you constantly.”
“….”
Sisrain came to mind first. But Heinrich and Kyle also fit that description….
The handsome man behind the mask widened his eyes.
“I see you even in my dreams.”
It sounded like a confession—a romantic one, embarrassingly so, masquerading as a hint.
‘The scent isn’t Sisrain’s.’
But would a man who could alter his appearance really refrain from changing his scent?
I regarded him with equal suspicion toward all three possibilities.
“What’s the second hint?”
Within an elegant and magnificent melody, we held each other and danced in circles.
It was a moment of complete focus on one another.
All the glittering splendor of the Imperial Palace seemed to dissolve, leaving only the two of us.
“Second hint.”
He whispered against my ear.
“Someone who wishes to always be with you. My dream is to grow old in the distant future, holding your hand as we walk together.”
A faint smile graced my lips. It was a dream I too cherished endlessly. I envisioned that future I had dreamed of countless times.
An intimate image of my aging husband and myself, unchanged in our tenderness, hand in hand as we stroll through the Garden together, breathing in the fragrance of flowers.
It was an imagination that naturally lifted my spirits.
“The final hint is….”
His low voice brushed against my ear.
The waltz had already passed its climax and was flowing into a gentler melody.
“Someone who would do anything for your happiness.”
At that moment, the violin’s sound faded, and the muscles in his forearm—where my hand rested—tensed (when the waltz began, I had lifted my hand from his chest and assumed the proper dancing posture).
I nestled comfortably into that arm and completed the dance safely.
It was a comfortable dance.
Soon, as we exchanged the final courtesy of the waltz, I looked up at him and spoke.
“I think I know the answer.”
“Is that so? I’ll give you three chances.”
“Pfft. There are three possible answers?”
What is this? Three possible answers, yet you’re generous enough to give three chances?
He spoke quietly, his hands clasped behind his back.
“I simply didn’t wish to see the lady distressed if she couldn’t arrive at the correct answer.”
It was a delicate and tender sentiment.
I stepped forward and whispered into his ear.
“My answer is Kyle.”
“….”
He regarded me without much change in expression, yet I detected a subtle shimmer of emotion in those deep emerald eyes.
I met his gaze once more and spoke—explaining the decisive reason I had recognized him.
“One can feign a manner of speech, but a person’s warmth cannot be fabricated.”
“….”
“I feel you.”
The mysterious masked man exhaled slowly.
Then, with deliberate grace, he lifted the mask upward.
Where the mask’s enchantment had concealed his features, emerald eyes were revealed. Beneath them, hair as warm as an autumn wheat field cascaded down.
As he smiled slowly, an alluring dimple etched itself into his cheek.
“My lady.”
“No matter how many masks you wear now, I’ll always recognize you, Baby Squirrel.”
Kyle’s smile deepened brilliantly.
The boy who had longed to be remembered by one girl, who had lingered near her and earnestly memorized her preferences, had finally succeeded.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For recognizing me.”
Kyle pressed a tender kiss to the back of her hand.
Once he donned the mask again, he returned to being a man with black hair and blue eyes, yet the poignant affection and warmth contained in that kiss remained entirely Kyle’s own.
* * *
When one is too delighted, the heart races first—a conditioned reflex, like puppies bounding through falling snow.
“…Marquis Winston!”
Or should I call him ‘the aspiring virtuous father-in-law’?
―It’s been so long, Marquis Winston.
In Eldorado now, when people spoke of ‘Marquis Winston,’ they understood it to mean Kyle, but for me, it was still natural to address him as Kyle’s father, Bijae Winston.
The only adult who taught me what warmth truly was.
In my childhood, when I alone devised a plan to escape the Forest to protect the boys, he unhesitatingly extended his hand.
The man who accepted everything and became my ally.
During all this time, he had often met me wearing a mask as the Phantom Boy,
but to receive him fully as Marquis Winston,
in his true form just as before—it had been such a long time.
Perhaps that was why Marquis Winston didn’t bother wearing a mask to alter his appearance.
His face from before was visible beyond the mask. A faint memory surfaced.
The moment I fell for him at first sight as my ‘ideal father figure.’
In that moment, Bijae Winston—whom I hadn’t seen in so long—had aged with remarkable grace and dignity.
‘Goodness, he’s truly become a distinguished gentleman!’
Save for the subtle lines around his mouth, he looked young enough to be called a vampire, appearing scarcely older than his own son.
“My dear Anette, how I’ve missed you.”
“And I you, Marquis. I received your letter about attending the Founding Festival, but I never expected you at the eve celebration!”
“…Did you truly miss me?”
“Truly, so very much!”
I grasped Bijae’s hand tightly, unable to conceal my delight.
“Oh, should I be calling you ‘Duchess Valienne’ now?”
“Not at all. I would prefer you call me as you always have. This isn’t an official occasion, after all.”
I shook my head.
“Besides, you’re like a father to me.”
“…Anette….”
Bijae’s emerald eyes trembled with genuine emotion.
“My, how beautifully you’ve grown into such a lovely lady.”
“It’s thanks to you.”
“….”
“If you hadn’t cared for me all this time, I might not be standing here now. I’m always grateful to you.”
“Grateful? Nonsense. That was merely a transaction, Anette. You’ve already repaid me sufficiently, haven’t you?”
…Sufficient repayment?
All I did was try to underpay him as the ‘half-price boy,’ cutting corners on wages.
Though I suppose I did repay everything eventually.
I couldn’t help it—I was in my mad entrepreneur mode, Marquis.
‘Besides, if it were truly just a transaction, you wouldn’t have quarreled with the Imperial Prince and departed to the frontier.’
“For a transaction, Marquis, you’ve sacrificed far too much.”
“Sacrificed?”
Bijae smiled warmly from behind his mask and cupped my cheek in his hand.
“You’ve become a healthy, beautiful lady and a proper Duchess. That alone is more than sufficient compensation.”
“….”
His genuine affection for me stirred my heart so deeply that I felt tears threatening to spill foolishly.
Thank you, Marquis.
Because of you, my kind tall gentleman, I could finally understand what love from a mother and father truly means…
At least, I could begin to comprehend it.
Now there’s nothing I envy.
I couldn’t cry before Bijae after so long apart, so I smiled as I spoke.
Today was a joyful day, after all.
“Oh, Marquis, there’s still that ‘wish token,’ isn’t there?”
I hadn’t forgotten the agreement I’d made when I first conducted that transaction with the Phantom Boy.
“Once you’ve grown, grant me one wish. That alone shall be the price of our deal.”
Bijae had said he would help me escape in exchange for a single wish token.
I had grown up properly now, matured enough to grant Bijeje whatever he desired.
“I’ll do anything for you!”
I declared with confidence.
“I’ve reached a position where I can do anything for you now.”
He was the one who had consistently looked after me under the guise of a ‘transaction,’ worried that I might feel burdened.
For him, I wanted to do anything as Anette and as Duchess Valienne.
―I wanted to repay him, even if only a little.
For the grace and unconditional love he had shown me.
“…Hmm, I happen to have many wishes.”
―Why is that?
Suddenly, why did he have such a wicked expression?
A smile bloomed on the face of the innocent prospective father-in-law, who was stroking his chin in serious contemplation (with an expression that said, which grand wish should I choose~).
“Father.”
As if reading that expression, Kyle, who had been standing quietly, stepped forward with an awkward look.
―As if trying to stop him.
“Wait a moment, Kyle. I need to choose the grandest wish among those I possess.”
…How much was the total wealth of House of Valienne again?
Among the mines I own, which is the most valuable?
How far can I fulfill things with the power of Duchess Valienne?
‘Could it be marriage?!’
He wouldn’t be wishing for marriage with his son, would he?
Just as I tensed up, Bijeje leaned toward me.
And he revealed his secret—in that same tender voice with which he had proposed to me as a daughter-in-law on the day we first met.
“May you always be happy, Anette.”
“….”
“That is the most precious wish among all I possess.”

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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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