The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 42

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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 42
“There was an Imperial seal on the case.”
‘Truth is, I saw it fall when the High Priest’s neck went snap.’
―If I said that, my neck would go snap too, wouldn’t it?
So the lie I was about to tell had to be absolutely convincing.
I continued speaking with remarkable composure.
“That’s how I knew it belonged to the Imperial Family.”
But the Imperial Family member at that banquet wasn’t just Gerard alone.
If I claimed to have found the answer with only that, my logic would fall apart. So I needed to add more.
“So I narrowed the scope by process of elimination, Your Highness.”
[ How? ]
I continued answering without hesitation.
“First, the Ladies and Consorts of Eldorado don’t enjoy cigarettes, so I excluded them. And His Majesty the Emperor is known to have quit smoking.”
[ … ]
“Among the Imperial Princes, the Third and Fourth Princes are still minors and thus below the legal age to smoke according to Imperial law. The Second Prince, however, is frequently ill and often convalesces. Someone with asthma cannot be the owner of a cigarette case.”
I opened my eyes wide as I spoke.
“Most decisively, when Your Highness touched my head… I caught a faint scent of cigarettes.”
Then I smiled broadly.
“But of course, even that alone couldn’t give me 100 percent certainty. I took a sort of gamble, and only when I saw the raven you sent in the late dawn did I become truly certain!”
I finished my explanation and gazed at the parchment with bright, earnest eyes.
With the expression of an innocent yet clever model student.
‘There were no real gaps in my story.’
The ‘line of reasoning’ I’d given Gerard about finding the owner was quite plausible.
Even if I’d actually picked up the cigarette case without knowing who owned it, I would have used the same method.
[ …I see. ]
The reaction was exactly as expected.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I smiled sweetly.
‘I should manage my expression well too.’
Just because I could only confirm Gerard’s voice or handwriting didn’t mean he couldn’t see me.
‘You never know, do you, Teacher…?’
He might be looking at my face right now.
Since I hadn’t yet determined the parchment’s exact function, I needed to be careful.
[ Then I have another question. How did you know the cigarette case was important to me? ]
“…!”
My expression nearly faltered for a moment, but I barely maintained it.
Ah, what a sharp question!
[ You must have judged that object valuable enough to trade for the reversal of your adoption, which is why you proposed the deal to me. What was the basis for such certainty? ]
‘The Prince is smarter than I expected!’
Usually, when someone is desperately searching for something precious to them, they can’t scrutinize their counterpart so meticulously.
Yet Gerard was methodically interrogating me from his own position, probing for information I couldn’t possibly possess.
‘He’s no easy mark.’
[ Answer me. ]
“Well…”
How did I know?—
‘In the original story, you were obsessed with it like a madman over a cigarette case, weren’t you, sir?’
If I said that, his head would surely roll—it was painfully obvious.
“I realized it when I saw the cigarette case, sir.”
I answered calmly.
He may be formidable, but I’m no pushover at twelve years old either.
‘The answer was predetermined from the start.’
There were no other options.
After all, the cigarette case was my only clue.
‘Now that I’ve given the right answer… shall I flesh it out?’
I conjured the image of the cigarette case in my mind.
Then I began meticulously retracing all the information I’d gathered through careful observation.
In any case, it was true that he treasured the cigarette case. So there would certainly be traces of that care left on the actual object.
Ah, there it was—
I found it.
“The leather trim along the case’s edges bore heavy fingerprints. It must be quite old. Yet remarkably, the chrome body itself didn’t have a single scratch.”
My cheerful voice continued the explanation.
“That means the owner treated it with extraordinary care, Your Highness.”
Or more likely, with obsessive compulsion. A cigarette case is something used frequently, after all.
‘The owner must be either a deviant or paranoid.’
Or perhaps a paranoid deviant.
“Most of all, that black gemstone.”
[ …! ]
In that instant, the breathing on the other side of the communication device faltered slightly.
I didn’t miss that reaction.
‘Just as I suspected—the case’s true value lies in that black gemstone.’
It was neither a mana stone nor an ordinary jewel. What could it possibly be?
I was pondering this, but I wasn’t foolish enough to hint that I knew much about such an important object.
The socialization training that required me to act two years younger than my actual age proved useful in this moment.
I spoke with flushed cheeks.
“…That beautiful gemstone looked incredibly expensive!”
[ … ]
Then I lowered my head and fidgeted with my hands at the hem of my modest dress.
“So I thought it must be worth far more than a useless orphan girl like me, Your Highness….”
Gerard on the other end listened to my entire answer before falling silent for a long while. Then he spoke softly.
[ You truly are a clever child, Anette. ]
“Thank you!”
I answered readily enough, but something about his tone didn’t quite feel like praise.
Even though the content was clearly complimentary, Gerard seemed displeased by it.
He was a man who created the most peculiar atmosphere.
He could be gentle with children yet merciless, speak in soft tones yet carry an undercurrent of coldness if one listened carefully enough.
He emanated a dangerous aura unlike any adult I had encountered before.
‘Here I am, risking my life in a deal with this madman….’
Should I just ask to be adopted right now?
So what if I’m scared? Between ‘scared but rich dad’ and ‘losing my head’—the former wins every time. Sob.
[ Yet a fundamental question still remains. ]
“…!”
‘What question is he going to ask now?’
I lifted my head, slightly tense.
‘The questions from socialization training weren’t even that difficult.’
I’d thought those were tricky too, but each question Gerard posed felt like placing my neck on the guillotine.
One wrong answer, and I could almost hear the blade falling—*swish*—right through me.
Sure enough, Gerard had planted a massive landmine beneath my feet.
[ Why are you rejecting my adoption request? ]
‘Here it comes.’
I closed my eyes for a moment. This was indeed the most difficult question.
The ultimate goal of the Forest Children was adoption, and being adopted by the Imperial Family was their greatest success.
So logically, this situation itself made no sense.
A reason to reject the adoption request….
Suddenly, a soft voice brushed against my ears like an early summer breeze.
“We….”
“Promise we’ll never part and live together happily for a long time.”
The moment I recalled that voice, it became vivid again.
The tender warmth that had wrapped around me.
“Sister….”
“Let’s go somewhere fun on my birthday this winter.”
“We’ll share one blanket and watch the snow fall all day long.”
Heinrich, I want to keep that promise with you.
I want to be with you on your birthday, at least this once.
Imagining leaving the two children behind made my chest ache slightly.
[ Is it because of the children? ]
“…!”
A sharp voice cut through my thoughts, and I lifted my head.
Then I answered immediately.
“No, Your Highness, that is not the reason.”
I didn’t want that terrifying man to take even the slightest interest in the Forest Children.
I stood rigid before the Forest Children, positioning myself as a shield against danger, and answered.
“There’s another reason.”
Now it was time to weave in the truth.
The most exquisite lies are perfected when credible truths are woven through them, after all.
“Of course, if I were adopted, I would live a wealthy and comfortable life as a daughter of the Imperial Family. Perhaps a life that all the Forest would envy.”
[ But. ]
“The reason I refuse despite all that is―”
I lowered my eyes, then raised them with firm resolve as I spoke.
“I simply cannot see the Prince as….”
[ …. ]
“A good person at all.”
[ …!!! ]
Gerard fell silent for a moment, clearly caught entirely off guard.
It must have been the first time. Such a direct and honest assessment.
All of Eldorado was praising not only Gerard’s talents but his virtue as well.
After a long silence, Gerard, seeming flustered, quickly asked me.
In a very gentle tone, too. Yet he could not hide the desperate curiosity beneath.
[ Why do you think that, Anette? I’ve been kind to you, haven’t I? ]
I bowed my head humbly.
“The weaker the herbivore, the more keenly it senses the scent of fear and danger.”
When a lion gives chase, a deer flees from dozens of meters away.
“I felt that you are not as lenient toward the children as you appear on the surface, Your Highness.”
It was quite a harsh assessment.
‘Will he be angry?’
Gerard’s acting ability was considerable, yet I had just blurted this out so recklessly.
Moreover, around Gerard were nobles eager to curry favor, so they surely had lavished tremendous praise upon his character.
But what I had done was essentially hurl a fastball directly at him: ‘In my eyes, your character is rather lacking.’
Just a mere orphan, a twelve-year-old child at that.
Yet at that moment, unexpectedly, a low laugh burst forth from above my head.

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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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