A Shadow Cast in Paradise (23 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 11
Shade gave no lengthy explanation. Yet, like well-trained dogs, Kael and the knights immediately obeyed his command and dashed downstairs.
Werner, who had just woken up, blinked his eyes with messy hair—utterly unlike his usual neat appearance—and fidgeted nervously.
“My lord.”
“Liana.”
“Yes?”
“Liana Serpens has disappeared.”
“L-Lady Liana?”
“Wake everyone up at once and find out if anyone has seen her.”
Shade fastened his belt at his waist and stared intently at the stables outside the window,
as if by glaring hard enough, the horse would instantly rise and finish its preparations.
Though the exchange had been brief, the seasoned butler was quick to catch on.
Werner immediately roused all the servants in the mansion and asked where Liana was.
Because of Liana Serpens alone, the servants were dragged from their sleep and rubbed their eyes, replying irritably.
“I haven’t seen her.”
“Isn’t she sleeping in the back storage room?”
Just as half-hearted answers continued, a large shadow sliced through the center of the hallway, drawing closer.
“She must have been awake until late—surely someone saw her?”
At that low, icy voice, the servants’ eyes snapped wide open. The Duke himself had come in person to inquire after Liana Serpens.
Was there truly no one who had seen or stopped her from fleeing? Among so many people?
Shade scanned each sleepy-eyed servant one by one.
Only then did they realize the gravity of the situation.
“W-well… I did see her when loading the cart.”
A servant, recalling Head Maid Caroline’s earlier task, quickly answered.
“Be precise.”
When? Where?
“It must have been a little past nine at night… We were nearly done loading the cart. I saw her passing through the central garden.”
Several others nodded in agreement at the servant’s words.
“And then?”
“After that… I’m not sure. I thought she’d come to move something or check on the luggage.”
The servants of the Lester household had seen the new maidservant, dressed in old clothes, walking among the bundles.
She had a hood draped over her shoulders, but they paid her no mind.
They only recalled what had happened to Head Maid Caroline, who had confronted her.
They had distrusted the new maid, felt uncomfortable around her, and believed she had already cracked the long-standing rules of the Lester household.
They avoided interacting with her, never spoke to her, and paid her no attention.
They even thought things had been better before she arrived.
Thus, no one bothered to look after the unfamiliar maid amid their busy schedules.
Some had seen her leave through the main gate along with the departing cart—but that was all.
It was late at night. No young woman alone would leave the estate at such an hour.
Especially not a woman with an injured leg, leaving with no belongings, barefoot—it was unimaginable.
Besides, Liana Serpens hardly knew the geography of the Lester territory.
Therefore, no one had cared when she passed through the main gate.
Why meddle and risk trouble?
Hearing the servants’ explanation, Shade’s temples throbbed tightly.
“So no one stopped her?”
His voice remained low as usual, yet it sent chills down the servants’ spines.
Shade gritted his teeth as he looked over the careless, foolish servants.
“Damn it.”
He turned abruptly and slammed the door shut as he left.
The door slammed so violently that everyone flinched as if startled birds.
Creak—unable to withstand the force, the door wobbled, then thudded to the floor.
Beyond the fallen door, Shade’s retreating figure disappeared down the corridor.
Everyone swallowed hard at the sight of his back.
His stride was wider than usual, his steps faster, his footfalls rougher.
“I’ve never seen… my lord like this before.”
“To hell with it! All this chaos over that damn woman!”
Even the long-serving servants of the Lester household had never witnessed Shade Lester so agitated.
Their master, always cold and composed despite his fearsome reputation, seemed as though he had gone mad today.
Werner felt his vision blur at the situation.
‘If we fail to find her, we’re all as good as dead.’
He’d long since lost all sleep. A cold trickle of sweat slid down his spine.
Meanwhile, Shade sprang onto the horse his coachman had brought out.
“She couldn’t have gone far. Issue a lockdown order immediately and find her.”
Shade twisted the reins in his grip and commanded.
And he thought:
He would need to tighten her leash a little more.
[This is the timeline separator]Liana looked down at her leg, which had not yet fully healed.
Blood had clearly soaked through the bandages wrapped around it.
The pain had worsened from walking too long, making even lifting a single foot agonizing.
Her naturally slow pace had quickly become noticeably sluggish.
“They’ll realize I’m gone once the sun rises.”
Liana dragged her throbbing leg as she thought.
She even allowed herself a sliver of hope.
Perhaps Shade had realized that a fallen noblewoman like her was utterly worthless—and wouldn’t even bother searching.
Liana entertained the foolish hope, then shook her head.
It might be possible, but she couldn’t afford complacency based on such slim odds.
“At this pace, I’ll be caught in no time.”
Her pursuers would be on horseback, and with her limping steps, they’d overtake her instantly.
Moreover, the Lester territory was firmly in his grasp—capture was only a matter of time.
She had to escape this land before dawn at the very least.
Liana hid her body in the darkness and quietly touched her collarbone.
Beneath her worn clothes lay the crescent-moon-shaped birthmark.
Liana recalled the sin branded onto her flesh as though it were part of her very being.
“Just once.”
Just once more—enough to slip from his grasp.
She closed her eyes, calming her trembling heart.
At that moment, black mist began rising from the wound on her leg.
“Ugh…!”
Liana collapsed onto the grass.
An excruciating pain, as if her entire body were being torn apart, overwhelmed her.
The price of her power—neglected for years—was far more agonizing than she remembered, as if venting its fury at her abandonment.
Her body was instantly drenched in cold sweat, muscles convulsing and shaking uncontrollably.
Her swollen cheek—beaten by the head maid—and the injury on her leg burned as though set aflame.
Liana bit her lip to suppress a groan, gripping the grass with her pale, trembling hand.
Blood seeped from her bitten lip, but even that wound vanished instantly, replaced by fresh skin.
The injuries on her leg and cheek healed likewise.
The deep gash from the dog bite closed monstrous fast.
Flesh torn down to the bone seamlessly restored itself as though nothing had happened.
Her bruised, torn cheek had long since returned to flawless smoothness.
It had taken barely a few minutes.
As the pain gradually subsided, Liana collapsed onto the grass and finally exhaled the breath she’d been holding.
“Haah… haah…”
Lying beneath the night sky, Liana remembered just how monstrous she truly was.
Her astonishing regenerative ability was merely one of the curses she bore.
And she had no idea how to kill the demon who possessed such terrifying power.
She had faced death many times before.
But she had always failed to cross that final threshold.
Indeed, she was no longer worthy to gaze into the Abyssal Mirror.
“Ugh… ughh…”
Nausea rose at the memory of the past.
“Rejoice. You shall live forever, Luise.”
The demon she faced after so many years was utterly revolting.
And the despair of realizing that revolting demon was herself was unbearable.
Beneath the night sky, in absolute darkness, Liana wept alone.
Shade would never know.
Just how horrifying the truth she concealed truly was.
Why she had to flee.
Why she dreaded returning to her identity as Ideana.
Shade Lester would ultimately seek to end his revenge by killing Luise Ideana.
Yet even if she wished to grant him that desire, she simply could not.
Liana clutched her own arm tightly, her insides twisting from the flood of emotions.
She forcibly swallowed the feeling tearing at her heart, again and again.
She had no luxury to wallow in self-pity.
If Shade discovered her absence, he would chase her swiftly.
She had to leave—now.
From Shade’s grasp.
From the Duchy of Lester.
[This is the timeline separator]The sound of hooves pierced through the darkness.
The pursuer was foolish—but sharp, relentless, and tenacious.
“She probably hasn’t gone far. If we thoroughly search this area…”
The knights’ voices echoed faintly in the distance.
No, she wouldn’t be caught that easily.
Despite issuing a lockdown and mobilizing everyone, his anxiety refused to fade.
Shade gazed toward the river tinged with the first light of dawn.
“She’s heading for the Kellents River.”
The Kellents River was a long river separating the Duchy of Lester from the Marquisate of Marlehein.
It was far too distant for an injured Liana to reach in a single night.
Yet he was uneasy.
It felt as though she had already slipped beyond his lands.
Like fine grains of sand slipping through his fingers, she might vanish without a trace—just as she had once before.
His insides burned.
Uncontrollable rage swallowed his reason.
The one he raged at most was none other than himself.
Eight years. A full eight years believing she was dead.
The joy he felt upon meeting her—thought dead—surpassed any fortune he’d ever known.
Now he wanted to kill himself for losing such a precious opportunity due to his own carelessness.
If he lost her now…
Crack—the reins in his grip twisted with a mournful creak.
He could not let this fateful reunion slip away like mere fate.
“When she fled, she must have had some assurance.”
The Luise Ideana he knew was intelligent and thoughtful.
She wasn’t the type to make reckless decisions without planning.
If his assumption was correct, Luise would try to cross the river as quickly as possible.
Once across the river, she would escape his reach.
Within the Marlehein territory, Shade’s authority to move troops would be restricted, and deploying men freely would be difficult.
While he sought permission to mobilize soldiers, Liana might board a ship and disappear entirely to some distant land.
“I must catch her before she leaves this land.”
He couldn’t rely on the lockdown alone.
He spurred his horse onward toward the Kellents River, riding until it collapsed from exhaustion.
Dawn was already breaking in the distance.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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