Chapter 8
“What the… making me feel… uneasy.”
I grimaced and pulled my hand away from him.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t be surprised. Just took a look, that’s all.”
“…What?”
“You’re the most precious person to him.”
What’s he saying?
Since meeting Julieta, has he completely lost his mind?
I looked at Gabriel with a nervous eye. The atmosphere was indeed different from before, significantly so.
Unlike in the past, when he always dressed in priestly robes, he had his buttons undone, revealing his collarbone.
On top of that, there was a somehow dangerous vibe emanating from his languid and decadent gaze.
“What’s up, you jerk. Have you really become someone else?”
Curiosity always needs to be satisfied to calm my nerves.
I gathered myself and asked Gabriel.
“Who are you exactly? You don’t seem like the Gabriel I knew.”
Gabriel stared at me without saying a word.
His gaze was heavy and steadfast, sending shivers down my spine.
“Gabriel?”
Unable to hold it in any longer, I called out to Gabriel in a quiet voice.
“Oh, forget it. Just quickly reveal your identity.”
I glared at Gabriel with that kind of gaze.
And at that moment, one corner of Gabriel’s mouth slightly lifted.
“Mercy is over now. If you interfere with my plans, no matter who you are, I won’t let you off.”
“What? Why all of a sudden…”
“If you disrupt my plans, I won’t hesitate to deal with you…”
With that, he issued an ultimatum to me.
And until Juliet went berserk, I couldn’t meet Gabriel again.
“Damn it… anyway, that useless two-faced bastard…”
As I thought of him, anger surged within me again.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and calmly organized my thoughts once more.
Whether Gabriel’s true identity was a two-faced person or whatever, it didn’t matter.
What mattered to me now was solely reforming the obsessed male leads.
So if Gabriel is a two-faced person, just reform both personalities. There was no need to complicate things.
“Alright, Gabriel. This time I’ll definitely renew you.”
I entered the prayer room with a wicked smile. If my guess was correct, he would be here praying to the Robenian god.
Inside the solemn and devout prayer room.
I searched hurriedly for Gabriel with quiet steps.
“Ah, there he is.”
And there, in front of the statue of the Robenian god, was a tall man dressed in a white priestly robe, praying.
Though his face was covered with white cloth, I easily recognized him as Gabriel from our previous encounter.
Now, let the obsession with Gabriel begin.
“Hey, just a moment…”
But when it came down to it, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“Ugh, I just can’t do it sober.”
As expected, I wasn’t as bold and audacious as other obsessed male leads.
I sighed and took out a small vial hidden in my pocket. In truth, it contained a magic potion that boosted confidence.
“Let’s borrow some magic power after all.”
Opening the vial and gulping it down, I felt an inexplicable surge of confidence.
Alright. Now I had the courage to make a move.
I walked confidently towards Gabriel.
Gabriel was in a reverent posture, praying to the Robenian god. There was no hint of distraction in his demeanor.
Grinning to myself, I intentionally cleared my throat to announce my presence.
At the sound, Gabriel’s murmuring prayer abruptly stopped, and he turned to me in surprise.
“Uh, um? Lady Ariadne?”
Perhaps because Ariadne was so famous, Gabriel recognized me at a glance.
“W-What brings you here?”
Startled, Gabriel hastily bowed.
“Why does he always seem so surprised to see me?”
I crossed my arms, feeling displeased.
Then, instead of using honorifics as I initially intended, I changed my mind.
“After all, speaking casually is the norm for obsessed male leads.”
They tended to view everything in the world as beneath them.
So, with a haughty tone, I said, “I’m just here to pray in the prayer room. Is there a problem?”
“Oh, no. It’s not that… It’s just that usually high-ranking nobles use the first prayer room.”
…That was a valid point.
“Gabriel always used the 24th prayer room of the temple.”
The 24th prayer room was located in the most secluded area.
However, it was always quiet and secluded, making it a good place to pray alone.
“Having no one around is fortunate for me.”
From now on, no one will hear the nonsense I say to Gabriel.
I sighed inwardly and approached Gabriel.
“I usually used the first prayer room. But now, I want to use this one more often.”
“Oh, I see… Um, should I vacate the seat for you?”
“No. Actually…”
I loosened my arms and took another step toward Gabriel.
As we got closer, Gabriel, surprised, tried to step back. And in that moment, I called him out with a cold voice.
“How dare you retreat in front of me?”
Gabriel, being an unknown lunatic, required asserting dominance.
If I treated him softly as I did three times before, I might end up with the same result.
I glared at him with eyes that seemed to devour Gabriel.
And in a chilly tone, I asked.
“Who gave you permission to step away from me?”
“Um… I-I’m sorry…”
Fortunately, asserting dominance seemed to work properly. Gabriel bowed his head awkwardly.
“You, you were too close, I… I didn’t realize…”
“Oh? If you’re sorry, then try stepping back once.”
“Y-yes? Y-yes?”
Gabriel’s pupils trembled as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Ugh… I’m making myself cringe with my words…”
It was a signature move of the male lead in a romance novel to cut in abruptly and speak as he pleased.
I hesitated for a moment and added.
“Why are you surprised? I just told you to remove the cloth covering your face.”
“Ah, um… I-I must have been mistaken… I’m sorry, milady…”
Only then did Gabriel hurriedly lift the white cloth.
Rustle…
As the sky changed, Gabriel’s face gradually came into view. His pure white hair, free of any impurities, sparkled in the sunlight.
I glanced briefly at his face before commanding, “You’re too tall. Lower yourself.”
“…Yes.”
Gabriel obediently complied with my command. Even though it might have seemed unfair, he didn’t refuse.
Come to think of it, he was always like this. In my third reincarnation, I visited Gabriel almost every day in pursuit of redemption, and each time, he didn’t show any displeasure or even a hint of annoyance.
And he promised to become a Benz-nam and smiled at me every time I preached. Unlike other leading men, he never once annoyed me.
Of course, after the original story began, he completely changed, becoming like a different person. So everything became meaningless…
As that thought crossed my mind, a surge of frustration welled up again. I furrowed my eyebrows and grasped Gabriel’s chin.
“…My lady?”
Gabriel called me in a bewildered voice. His eyes contained a hint of astonishment and shock.
Whether he liked it or not, I turned his chin this way and that, just as he had done to me before.
Turning left to confirm his sharp nose, then turning right to check his glassy eyes.
Whether looking up or down, he had a truly handsome face. His neat and ascetic appearance made him seem almost inhuman.
I roughly released my hand from Gabriel’s chin and looked down at him with cold eyes.
“You’re… beautiful.”
“…Huh?”
Gabriel blinked innocently. He had no idea what I was talking about.
Actually, I didn’t know what I was saying either. Perhaps the potion had affected me too much, or my mind wasn’t functioning properly.
I just emptied my mind and spouted lines from a romance novel, the dialogue of an obsessive male lead who falls for the heroine at first sight, trying to possess her.
“A priest as beautiful as you… I’ve never seen one before… What’s your name?”
In a flustered voice, Gabriel stumbled to respond, “Th-That… I-I’m Gabriel Higgins…”
“Right, Gabriel. From today, you’re my personal priest.”
If I were an possessive male lead, I had to deliver the line, “You belong to me.”
And in a quiet, almost whispered voice – but audible to the heroine – I had to murmur like this:
“I can’t afford to concede you to anyone else.”
