Episode 39: Monopoly Desire (2)
On Percy’s white gloves, there were traces of bloodstains from wiping my hand earlier. Perhaps that’s why his action of tapping his chin with his long fingers seemed strangely eerie.
I involuntarily clenched my fist and raised my chin. With a blunt tone, I questioned, “So, are you dissatisfied?”
“Well, let’s say it’s a bit unsettling.”
Percy, who was wiping his chin with his index finger, suddenly stood up and leaned his head towards me. When his gaze came closer, I instinctively shrunk my shoulders. He squinted his red eyes and asked in return.
“Do you still love Daniel?”
“Yes?”
What kind of talk is this? I furrowed my brow in confusion. Percy answered with a nonchalant tone.
“That’s what I heard. You still love Daniel Bohan, but you’ll hold the hand of Percy Stewart, who can protect you.”
“Oh.”
Do I really sound like that?
“No, that statement is partly true.”
I may not, but the original Siena probably liked Daniel. However, Percy’s words were unexpected. I asked casually.
“I thought you had no interest in feelings like mine.”
“No, I don’t have any interest.”
Percy immediately replied. Perplexed by his answer, I frowned. If he’s not interested, then why inquire like this?
Then, it happened. His red pupils sparkled like tiny flames.
“But when I hear you talk about it, it turns my stomach.”
His hand touched my side. Now, his breath was so close that it seemed to touch my face. It was strange. Earlier and now, whenever I faced Percy, it felt like his emotions flowed into me.
He was clearly confused now.
“I didn’t know I had such greed in my heart.”
He seemed to want to reach me.
Two inexplicable emotions swirled unsettlingly in his eyes, both earlier and now. Unconsciously, I reached out with my right hand and touched his cheek. As if lightly dabbing his cheek with my palm, my thumb touched his lips.
“Ugh.”
His red lips slightly parted, and he nibbled on my thumb. It was a deliberately provocative contact. Even as he behaved provocatively, his direct gaze seemed to ask if I would back away.
I didn’t avoid his gaze.
At that very moment, his arm that was on my side coiled around my waist like a snake and pulled me forcefully towards him. Suddenly, halfway up from the carriage seat, I found myself drawn into his arms, with my knees up, looking down at his face.
“Haup!”
Our lips met tightly. His body heat, pressing forcefully, felt scorching. Like someone who forgot how to breathe, I gasped for air, clinging to his neck.
How much time passed? With my disheveled earlobe, he murmured in a low voice.
“Erase Daniel Bohan from your heart right now. It’s okay if it’s empty, but I can’t stand seeing another man filling it.”
He dropped the honorifics, and his voice sounded like a beast growling.
* * *
Beth blinked dazedly.
‘What on earth is going on?’
Everything ended in an instant. The culprit was swiftly brought in, and she passed away instantly, unable to comprehend the situation.
‘Who is that man?’
Beth hugged herself with both arms. Percy’s red pupils spun in her mind.
Siena, standing behind, might not have felt the lack of warmth, but Percy’s face, devoid of any emotion, sent shivers down her spine like a death god.
‘Surely, that man killed the culprit, right?’
She didn’t know what method he used, but without lifting a finger, without uttering a spell, he swiftly eliminated the culprit.
‘What the heck is this? Such a frightening situation shouldn’t happen in this game.’
Beth desperately escaped from reality. It was only natural since something she deemed impossible was unfolding right before her eyes.
‘Anyway, I won’t have any encounters with that frightening man. Since he hasn’t appeared in the game.’
Yeah, it was clear that the sudden appearance of such a frightening man was to eliminate him since he hadn’t appeared in “[Victorian Love].”
‘Hey, I’m the protagonist! Unheard-of events won’t happen in my story.’
Beth was convincing herself when the Emperor’s gaze, which had been ordering everyone to step back, turned to her crouching figure.
“By the way, who is this young lady? I’ve never seen her before.”
Beth quickly lowered her head.
“I-I am Beth, the teacher of Count Bohan’s household.”
“A teacher? Why would a teacher participate in the hunting festival?”
“I came to look after the young master I am teaching. I was just scouting the hunting grounds in advance.”
“I see.” The Emperor chuckled with a benevolent old man’s expression and asked casually, “So, did you really witness that situation?”
Beth instinctively realized that her answer was crucial. She quickly prostrated herself and replied, “No! I swear to the heavens I did not see it!”
“Alright, if you say so.” The Emperor shook hands with Beth. “You can step back now.”
The culprit’s body was taken away, and the hunting ground fell silent in an instant. People resumed enjoying the hunting festival as if nothing had happened.
Beth, who stood up with trembling legs, walked shakily and bit her lips until they bled.
‘I lied. Beth can’t lie like this.’
She definitely witnessed it. However, out of fear for the Empress and Emperor, she lied. It was an action that didn’t suit the Beth in “[Victorian Love].”
**Warning: You have deviated significantly from the character of the female protagonist.**
The system window appeared, seemingly blaming Beth. She vigorously shook her head.
‘No! But that woman was a villain. The heroine doesn’t help villains.’
Beth recalled the moment she was suddenly singled out. At that time, the Empress was accusing her of being behind the incident where the culprit stabbed the Crown Prince.
‘his situation is not like ‘[Victorian Love]!’ Instead of becoming a laughingstock, the villain should be receiving condemnation, not help from a handsome man.’
Thinking like that, Beth felt indignant. She was happy when she first realized she had reincarnated into “[Victorian Love].”
However, that happiness was short-lived because the story didn’t progress according to her choices. Beth silently cursed the system.
‘Yeah! This is the system’s fault! Siena Liata isn’t that kind of character! It’s you who are deviating from the original!’
Feeling that way, she was walking with heavy steps. As she walked towards the Bohan family’s tent, someone entered her line of sight.
‘Danielle? … And Siena?’
Beth, who had been searching for Danielle all day, saw him confessing earnestly to Siena.
“Please give me another chance. If I lose you due to my misunderstanding and foolishness, I will regret it for the rest of my life.”
Watching their conversation, Beth’s insides were tangled into a mess. She clenched the frill of her dress tightly.
‘Why is Danielle confessing like that to Siena? He belongs to me! I’m the protagonist of this world!’
It wouldn’t be right for Danielle to be taken away by Siena, right? Beth anxiously eavesdropped on Danielle and Siena’s conversation.
And so, the situation concluded with Siena rejecting Daniel, grabbing the hand of the ominous man, and leaving. Smiling as she watched this, Beth thought, ‘In the end, it’s back to the original plot, although with a slight deviation.’
Siena hurt Daniel’s feelings, and comforting him was now Beth’s role. Approaching Daniel with a smile that resembled an angelic heroine, Beth said, “Lord Daniel.”
“…You again?”
Daniel shot Beth a cold gaze. He turned his head slightly, seemingly not wanting to reveal his slightly reddened eyes, and said, “Go away. I’m not in the mood to talk to someone right now.”
“No, you should talk to me now. You’re obviously hurting right now.”
Beth held Daniel’s hands with both of hers. Daniel’s hands were large and rough. Beth delicately caressed them as if handling a baby and said, “That woman is truly wicked, trampling on your sincerity like this. If it were me, I would have been so happy to receive your confession that tears would have flowed.”
Daniel swiftly withdrew his hand and responded curtly, “Those are meaningless words.”
“No, they’re not. They have meaning.”
Beth firmly stated. She knew the key to opening Daniel’s heart through “[Victorian Love].”
Beth firmly stated. She knew the key to opening Daniel’s heart through “[Victorian Love].”
“I will make you happy. You won’t be lonely or hurt anymore.”
“…You’ll make me happy?”
Daniel’s eyes wavered at Beth’s words. Although Daniel appeared to be the well-bred eldest son of a prestigious family, he had always been overshadowed by his younger siblings, lost his mother at a young age, and grew up suppressing his loneliness, pretending to be dignified. Consequently, a deep sense of loneliness and wounds lingered in his heart.
And the person who comforted him like a mother was Beth. Holding Daniel’s hand again, Beth smiled brightly.
“That’s our destiny.”
Yes, and to protect me, he will stab Siena Liata with a sword.
‘That’s your destiny. This game was designed that way from the beginning.’
Beth’s gaze towards Daniel lacked warmth. It was only natural, as she did not see the other person as an equal human being.
