#78

“Rachel?”

“It’s too late, Zakari.”

Rachel stepped back, her voice cold and unwavering. Zakari, staring up at her with wavering eyes, couldn’t understand. Just moments ago, the mood between them hadn’t seemed this hostile. Now, her expression was frostier than ever.

“Wait, I just—”

As Zakari stood and tried to reach for her, Erhardin Rodin emerged from behind a tree, casually stepping to Rachel’s side.

“Why so clingy? Rachel’s made it clear she’s done with you.”

Zakari’s golden eyes flashed dangerously. Erhardin, unbothered by the threat, placed a bold hand around Rachel’s waist.

“Do you want to lose that hand?”

Zakari’s growled warning was laced with menace. Erhardin instinctively flinched but stubbornly kept his arm around Rachel, his defiance speaking volumes about his misplaced confidence.

Zakari raked a hand through his hair in frustration. A rare moment of privacy with Rachel had been ruined by this insufferable intruder.

What stung the most was that Rachel wasn’t pushing Erhardin away. That, more than anything, was unbearable. Unable to contain himself, Zakari seized Erhardin’s wrist, his voice a low snarl.

“Didn’t you hear me? Let go.”

“Ugh—”

Under Zakari’s crushing grip, Erhardin winced and released Rachel. But just as Zakari thought he’d succeeded, Rachel smacked his hand away, her tone icy.

“Take your hands off me.”

“…Rachel?”

“And what difference does this make now?”

Rachel’s voice rose sharply, and Zakari, visibly deflated, let his hand fall. He looked uncharacteristically unsure, his confidence shaken.

Meanwhile, Erhardin, rubbing his sore wrist, sidled closer to Rachel with a smug grin.

“Why bother? Let’s go.”

His lighthearted remark softened Rachel’s sharp gaze, and to Zakari’s disbelief, she nodded and began to leave with him.

“Wait!” Zakari moved to block her path, desperation evident in his voice.

“We have nothing to discuss,” Erhardin replied for her, a mocking lilt in his tone. He tried to pull Rachel along, but Zakari’s growl made him hesitate.

“Stop talking nonsense before I—”

Zakari bit back his words, restraining himself. His attempts to intimidate Erhardin had only fueled Rachel’s hostility earlier.

This reaction from Rachel was foreign to him. She had never truly hated him before—not even during their worst fights. But now, her cold indifference was as though she loathed him entirely.

‘Can emotions really change so quickly?’

Was it his careless words that hurt her so deeply? The thought sent a pang through his chest.

Regret settled heavily on Zakari. He shouldn’t have pushed her away with those cruel remarks. His pride had gotten the better of him, and now, he was paying the price.

His expression darkened as self-reproach took hold.

Even if their relationship was tangled in a web of love and hate, Zakari had always believed the love outweighed the hate.

But now, standing before Rachel, it felt like that love had never existed.

“Rachel,” Zakari called her name gently, taking a hesitant step closer. Her gaze flickered momentarily, betraying a hint of emotion.

Encouraged, Zakari confessed with quiet sincerity, “I know I’ve been selfish. I admit it—I pushed you away because of my own fears.”

“…”

“I was wrong. Please, don’t shut me out like this.”

“I…”

Rachel hesitated, her voice faltering as if his words were reaching her. Zakari moved to close the gap, hoping for reconciliation, when suddenly—

“Ugh…”

Rachel clutched her head and sank to her knees. The air around her trembled with unstable pheromones.

“Rachel!”

Zakari knelt beside her, panic flooding his features as she pounded her chest, looking nauseated.

Fearing the worst, Zakari’s face turned pale. “This isn’t good. I need to get you to the infirmary.”

As he lifted her into his arms, Rachel gagged and suddenly vomited something up.

Thud.

A crimson bead rolled across the ground, stopping near Erhardin’s feet. With a panicked expression, Erhardin snatched it up.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. He had intended to use the fox bead to manipulate Rachel and leverage her against Zakari.

But Zakari showing up at the hunting grounds was an unforeseen complication, and Erhardin broke into a cold sweat.

No one could fool the black lion.

Zakari’s sharp gaze locked onto Erhardin’s hand, his expression darkening as he sensed Erhardin’s pheromones emanating from the bead.

His eyes narrowed, and his voice dropped to a menacing growl.

“You bastard dared to—”

A suffocating aura seeped from Zakari, his dark pheromones coiling like a predator ready to strike. Erhardin fell back, trembling uncontrollably, his body paralyzed by the overwhelming pressure.

“S-spare me!” Erhardin pleaded, his voice barely a whisper. But Zakari’s attention was solely on Rachel.

He gently laid her down under a tree, her unconscious form finally stabilizing as her pheromones returned to normal. The bead had clearly drained her energy for a long time.

Zakari brushed her pale cheek, his touch lingering before he turned to Erhardin with a low growl.

“Spare you?”

After what he had done?

Zakari’s rage reached its peak, his aura thick with lethal intent.

“P-please—” Erhardin stammered, bowing and begging with all his might.

Zakari’s fury only deepened. His anger wasn’t just at Erhardin but also at himself for failing to protect Rachel from this.

“I don’t let anyone who touches what’s mine walk away alive.”

Zakari rose, his steps slow and deliberate, exuding a calm yet deadly aura. The quieter he grew, the tighter the noose around Erhardin’s neck became.

Moments later, Erhardin’s agonized screams echoed through the forest, scattering birds into the sky.

* * *

By the time Kiera arrived, Erhardin was already half-dead.

“Lord Zakari.”

“Finally here, huh.”

Zakari, looking considerably more at ease, ran a hand through his hair and gestured at the battered form of Erhardin with a jerk of his chin.

“This one’s coming with me.”

The shattered remains of the fox bead on the ground told Kiera that Zakari had already pieced together why Rachel had been acting strangely.

What puzzled her was the fact that Erhardin was still breathing.

Kiera stared down at Erhardin with an expression of detached indifference and murmured, “You managed to hold back and not kill him?”

“That’s because this bastard pulled something this bold for a reason. He was after something.”

Zakari’s golden eyes narrowed sharply.

Before Zerakiel’s wedding, he had been too focused on pushing Rachel away to notice anything unusual. But now that he thought about it, Erhardin’s actions were suspicious from the start.

After all, he had suffered humiliating defeat at Rachel’s hands in the past—someone like Erhardin, with his fragile pride, would never have come back proposing marriage without an ulterior motive.

And if Zakari considered the timing of Zerakiel and Cersia’s invitation, it wasn’t just Rachel that Erhardin might have been targeting.

There had to be someone orchestrating this from the shadows.

“I should have seen it sooner.”

Zakari let out a bitter laugh at his own oversight, but the storm of anger within him hadn’t calmed. Needing an outlet, he delivered another swift kick to the unconscious Erhardin.

“Idiot,” Zakari growled, though it wasn’t clear whether he meant himself or the broken man at his feet.

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