Chase, walking with Selena, clutched his chest.
His body had been acting strangely for a while.
He started to feel hot, his blood racing, and his heart pounding.
But that wasn’t all.
A strange and uncontrollable desire surged within him.
He felt all his nerves pulling downward, his rationality slipping from his control.
“My father will be here shortly. Could you wait just a bit longer?”
Selena, having led Chase into an empty room, spun around and smiled brightly at him.
It was a very seductive smile, her alluringly curved eyes extremely sensual.
Any man witnessing this might have found his heart captured in an instant.
Selena was confident. No one had ever rejected her before, and she was certain Chase wouldn’t either.
“…”
But Chase said nothing, simply breathing heavily.
His pupils were unfocused, and his usually sharp red eyes appeared sluggish, tinted with a sensual haze.
“Would you like to sit while you wait?”
Selena, smiling in satisfaction, gestured for Chase to take a seat.
She could tell just from the look on his face and the sound of his rough breathing that the potion was taking effect.
Chase stood his ground despite Selena’s urging.
“Hah…”
He took a deep, hot breath and unbuttoned the shirt around his neck.
It was stuffy. His body was so hot that he was sweating, and it was hard to breathe.
From deep within, a fierce desire surged, desperate to be released.
“The duke is getting married… It was so sudden, I was quite surprised.”
Selena decided to take it one step further in response to his unyielding attitude.
She approached Chase, who stood frozen like a stone statue, and placed a gentle hand on his sleeve.
“It’s such a shame…”
With a trembling voice and teary eyes, she looked up at Chase and bit her lip.
Her fragile, vulnerable appearance was a calculated move to seduce.
“Ugh.”
Chase wrinkled his brow at the scent that assaulted his nose.
Was it perfume? The overwhelming aroma wafting from Selena irritated him.
As he breathed in that scent, his vision became clouded.
It blurred more and more and then his head began to spin.
Even so, he swatted away the hand gripping his sleeve.
No one but Lizelle could dare touch him like that.
“…”
Selena froze, staring at her rejected hand, her expression hardening.
By now, the potion should have had him burning with desire, his body reacting to her slightest touch.
Any ordinary man would have succumbed long ago.
But Chase only stood there, breathing heavily, his dilated pupils staring blankly into space. He didn’t move an inch.
Like a tree or a stone statue.
How could this be?
Wasn’t a single drop of this potion supposed to be enough to ignite uncontrollable lust, turning men into wild animals…?
Just in case, she poured her entire supply into the champagne Chase drank.
Just to be certain.
And yet, he remained utterly unaffected.
Suppressing her growing panic, Selena decided to push even further.
She assumed the potion hadn’t fully taken effect yet.
Perhaps a more assertive touch would break his control.
“Your Grace…”
She called out in a soft, trembling voice, approaching him like a damsel in distress.
Even in his hazy state, Chase glared at her with disgust.
“What… have you done to me?”
His growl sounded more like a beast’s roar as he directed his rage at Selena.
At first, he thought he was merely tipsy from the champagne. But this was no ordinary intoxication.
It wasn’t a fever, either.
His surging desire was more like a volcano on the verge of erupting.
Not only did she drag him there, but she also suddenly started clinging to him.
Even the Count he was supposed to meet was nowhere to be found.
Chase instinctively knew this was a trap set by Selena.
“What… do you mean? I’ve done nothing…”
Selena feigned innocence, gazing up at him with wide eyes.
The overpowering scent of her perfume made Chase grimace.
His fragile control that was hanging on by a thread was on the verge of breaking.
Seeing his disgusted expression, Selena grew furious.
She couldn’t stand the way he looked at her, as though she were an insect.
She glared at him with venomous eyes and decided to move on to her last resort.
Since he won’t follow the plan, she has no choice but to force him.
“Oh my…”
Selena approached Chase and leaned forward, pretending to fall.
She was planning to push him down onto the sofa.
She believed that the shock of physical contact would finally break him.
But there was one thing she overlooked.
She underestimated Chase’s extraordinary mental strength.
Chase stepped aside, glaring coldly at Selena as she fell toward him.
He didn’t hesitate for a moment.
Even amidst the waves of overwhelming desire, he refused to let himself be touched by her.
He didn’t want to touch anyone but Lizelle.
Thud.
Selena landed clumsily on the sofa, all by herself.
“…”
Mortified, her face flushed crimson with humiliation.
How could he resist so thoroughly?
She had used an entire bottle of the potion.
This humiliating situation was so damaging to her pride that she felt like she was going crazy.
Never in her entire life had she been ignored like this.
Men had always approached her first and tried to get her attention.
But this man won’t even give her a glance.
Even under the influence of a potion, he rejected the hand she extended to him.
His body should have been so heated that he rushed at her uncontrollably…
But Selena saw it clearly.
The moment she collapsed on the sofa, Chase’s eyes looked at her with disgust.
Why? Why was he still in control of his reason?
“How dare you!”
Selena shrieked, glaring at him.
The potion’s effects were undeniable, his breath had grown ragged, and his face was flushed.
“Hah…”
Chase reached his limit. He moved his legs, gasping for breath.
With every step he took, his face became more and more distorted.
Even moving was a struggle for him now.
Every movement sent electric jolts through his body, giving him a tingling sensation.
“Your Grace!”
Selena raised her voice in anger.
But he ignored her completely and made his way to the door.
She couldn’t just let him leave like this.
She worked so hard for this opportunity…
‘I’ll never let you go. The position of Duchess is mine.’
Just as Selena lunged forward and grabbed his arm…
“Your Grace… Ahh!”
Chase turned and caught her wrist in a vice-like grip.
“I…”
“Y-Your Grace…”
“If you thought I’d go easy on you because you’re a woman, you were gravely mistaken.”
His sharp red eyes glinted like a blade, cold and deadly.
How dare she do this to him.
Chase felt like grabbing her by the neck right then and there.
Something terrifying was reflected in his eyes.
“A-Ah…”
For Selena his red eyes looked like they would twist her neck at any moment, carrying a murderous aura that was crushing her whole body.
Never before had she felt such paralyzing fear.
She couldn’t stand any longer.
The moment she saw his eyes, she was so frightened her legs gave out.
Chase let go of Selena’s wrist as she sank to the floor and stormed out of the room.
Bang!
The door slammed shut with a loud crash.
“…”
Selena, left alone, sat on the floor, her whole body trembling.
Her face turned ghostly pale with terror.
Though her wrist ached, she felt no pain.
Only the lingering fear from his piercing gaze, which replayed endlessly, was engraved in her mind.
