The Obsessive Maniac Is Trying To Confine Me - Chapter 171

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

Episode 171

What on earth is going on?

I fidgeted with Pandora’s gem clutched in my hand.

【This is definitely Pandora’s gem. There’s no way this could be fake.】

The craftsman was certain it was genuine.

【Be careful not to lose it.】

Despite hearing the craftsman’s repeated warnings, I still couldn’t be sure what was what.

Was the craftsman wrong, or was Rihardt lying to me…?

I recalled what I had seen in the newspaper.

Pandora’s gem had sold for a record-breaking price to some mysterious gentleman of unknown identity.

‘Rihardt has debts, so there’s no way he could afford something like this.’

If that’s the case, then he’s been deceiving me all this time, but what reason would he have for that?

Not knowing was simply frustrating.

I stopped at the edge of the forest.

My grip tightened on the gem.

Should I really just go into the cabin pretending nothing happened?

Should I ask Rihardt what this gem is, whether his claim about having debts was a lie?

I shook my head.

If it’s true that Rihardt has ulterior motives, the moment I let on that I’ve figured it out, things might become dangerous.

Going straight into the cabin would be reckless after all.

Right now I need to go somewhere else…

Just then, a cold hand descended onto my shoulder.

Startled, I turned around to see Rihardt standing there with his chilling expression.

I was alarmed by the unsettling atmosphere, but in that moment he smiled brightly as usual.

“My lady, why are you just standing here?”

“…Oh.”

“Aren’t you going home?”

This touch that I would normally have found affectionate now gave me chills.

I had no choice but to step into the forest as Rihardt led me.

“By the way, my lady, where do you go at this time every day?”

“I just went for a short walk.”

I answered calmly as if nothing had happened.

Rihardt smiled as if to say “I see” and took hold of my hand.

He gripped it so tightly that I couldn’t possibly pull away, then entered deeper into the forest holding my hand.

I had no choice but to follow wherever Rihardt went.

But the farther we got from the village, the more anxious I became.

Finally, when the cabin came into view, I couldn’t stand it anymore and shook off Rihardt’s hand.

“My lady?”

I smiled as naturally as possible at Rihardt, who looked at me with puzzlement.

“Rihardt, I just remembered something I need to go take care of. So please go into the house first today.”

I tried to naturally create distance from Rihardt and pass by him.

But Rihardt took a step to block my path, preventing me from passing.

“Let’s go together, my lady.”

“…No. I’ll go by myself.”

“It’s getting late. It’s dangerous for you to go alone at this hour.”

He wasn’t easy to shake off.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. I’m not going far.”

“Then at least tell me where you’re going.”

“I just remembered something I need to buy.”

“What do you need?”

He persistently pressed without letting up.

“Well…”

What could be urgent enough that I’d need to go right away?

Most things were already stocked at home, so it wasn’t easy to think of something.

“Well, you see…”

“Stop.”

As I was racking my brain, Rihardt smiled gently and stopped me.

“Are you perhaps trying to go to the estate?”

In that moment, I forgot to breathe and stared at him.

Though it was only a very brief time, many thoughts flashed through my mind.

“…How do you know that?”

“I saw you coming out of the estate.”

Seeing him respond so calmly left me speechless.

It was a reasonable answer, but somehow I felt strangely unsettled.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were working at the estate?”

“Well, because you… don’t like me going out to work. I’m sorry for hiding it. I was going to tell you later.”

It was a childish answer.

I wasn’t exactly in the right for hiding the fact that I worked at the estate either, but Rihardt’s particularly dark expression bothered me.

“Quit the estate job, my lady.”

“Why?”

I couldn’t help but ask immediately. Then Rihardt hesitated instead of answering right away.

Seeing his suspicious behavior, I spoke as if I knew nothing.

“The estate work pays better than I expected. It’ll definitely help with household expenses.”

“I’ll worry about household matters. My lady, you don’t need to worry about such things…”

“No. I happened to catch Count Ascent’s eye. So my pay increased, and I think I’d regret quitting.”

“…You met Count Ascent?”

Hearing his surprised voice, I could be certain.

That everything I’d been feeling wasn’t just my imagination.

Count Ascent definitely knew me. And he must be involved with Rihardt somehow.

“So I’m really happy. Count Ascent cherishes me greatly.”

“…”

“I know you’re worried I might find it difficult. But since Count Ascent looks after me, I don’t have to do any hard work at all, you know? I had no idea estate work could be this comfortable.”

I smiled brightly, acting like someone who hadn’t noticed Rihardt’s mood.

“…My lady.”

Now, let’s hear it.

If you want to convince me, you’ll have to reveal what your relationship with Count Ascent is.

“That’s certainly good news, but nobles are all scheming at heart.”

“You don’t know because you haven’t met him. Count Ascent is such a wonderful person.”

“My lady, actually…”

Rihardt looked troubled as he watched me.

“I owe Count Ascent a debt.”

“A debt? What are you talking about? You said before that you didn’t have any.”

“…I lied because I was afraid you’d be disappointed in me.”

Who does he take for a fool?

Someone with enough money to buy Pandora’s gem, yet he owes Count Ascent a debt?

“Are you very disappointed in me?”

Of course he’s disappointed.

“There’s no way that could be true.”

I denied it and pulled him into a strong embrace.

“…My lady.”

He seemed not to have expected me to react this way, as he raised his trembling hands to embrace my back.

“Since you say so, I’ll quit my job right away.”

“Thank you for understanding, my lady.”

“Not at all, Rihardt. More importantly, it’s gotten cold from being outside all this time. Let’s go inside quickly.”

I separated from Rihardt and walked ahead into the cabin.

Rihardt, who followed behind me belatedly, embraced me with urgent hands.

“Rihardt?”

Like someone starved of affection seeking warmth, he silently held me close.

The warmth that would have felt comfortable before now felt unbearably awkward.

The secret Rihardt had created became a massive wall blocking our relationship.

So had I come to dislike Rihardt?

That was difficult to answer.

Unlike the cold clarity I’d felt moments before, complex emotions made my mind feel dull.

“You must be hungry? Let me prepare a meal right away…”

“Let’s eat later. I’m quite tired right now, so could we eat after I take a nap?”

“Eat first, then sleep, my lady.”

“I’m too tired.”

I declined his suggestion and went into the room.

While I slept, Rihardt wouldn’t enter this room.

He’d be careful not to wake me while I was sleeping.

I looked at the window, just large enough for a person to slip through, and fell into thought.

What should I do now?

Should I try having an honest conversation instead?

But what if Rihardt, thinking his secret had been discovered, suddenly turned on me?

I couldn’t hope for the luck of everything working out smoothly, and my thoughts grew heavy.

In the end, I had to give up on taking risks and make a rational choice.

I have to run away.

* * *

“It’s around this area. This is where we lost track of the spies we sent.”

Dillen received the Watchman’s report while searching around the village.

The village was a peaceful place.

It was hard to believe that the Head of the Holy Knights and the fake impersonating Rose were hiding here.

Rose suspected those two were here, but Dillen found it puzzling.

What could they possibly lack that they’d hide away in a village like this?

Just then, as Dillen was surveying the village with disinterest, his eyes fell upon an eerie forest.

Large tree branches intertwined with each other, creating deep shadows that made the forest dark even from its entrance.

“That forest is…”

When Dillen began to speak, a villager poured out information about that forest.

The forest emanated an ominous aura that made most villagers avoid approaching it.

When Dillen asked if anyone lived there, the villager waved his hands dismissively, saying it wasn’t a place fit for human habitation.

There was an abandoned cabin, but most people avoided it, claiming it was haunted.

Even the Watchman, who had been carefully surveying various places, seemed reluctant to enter that forest.

Saying there was no way those two would live in such a place.

Dillen stood tall amidst everyone’s denials, staring intently at the forest.

And he made his decision.

“I’ll take a look around the forest alone for a moment.”

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