A Shadow Cast in Paradise (23 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 16
The wound was no longer visible.
The leg that had been bitten by a dog. The deep scar that had remained. She was clearly the woman who, just yesterday, hadn’t fully healed and had been limping.
And yet, he had thought it impossible for her to run away so swiftly on that very leg.
“Stand up.”
Before his eyes—now veiled with reason—Liana’s heart fluttered.
She set down her spoon and slowly rose from her seat.
Her calves, previously hidden beneath the long hem of her dress, were once again fully exposed by Shade.
“What happened?”
Shade slowly lifted his eyelids and met Liana’s gaze.
“…I used holy water.”
Liana offered her excuse in a trembling voice.
It was the same lie she’d prepared like an apology every time she used her power.
“Holy water?”
At Shade’s question, Liana nodded.
Holy water was a healing agent into which priests infused their divine power, capable of healing most wounds cleanly without leaving a scar.
On battlefronts where priests were scarce or in emergencies, holy water became the elixir of life that saved people.
If she cited holy water, it could account for her unnaturally rapid healing.
Shade’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“How did someone like you—a mere maid—get hold of holy water?”
Holy water was precious precisely because of its potency.
Ordinary priests could fill only a small bottle of about 50mL per day with their divine power. There were fewer than a hundred officially ordained priests in the entire empire.
Thus, the temple strictly controlled and sold holy water. Even nobles used it cautiously, except during wartime, as it was that rare.
In short, it wasn’t something a mere maid could possibly possess.
“…”
Liana fell silent before his relentless questioning.
“I asked you—how did you get holy water?”
Shade grabbed her forearm as she sat in the chair and roughly pulled her upright.
Yet, as if her lips were sealed shut, Liana remained stubbornly silent.
Shade’s jaw muscles clenched threateningly.
Holy water, though rare, wasn’t entirely impossible to obtain.
Sometimes, stolen holy water surfaced on the black market at exorbitant prices. On exceedingly rare occasions, a priest with surplus divine power might show compassion to someone pitiful and unfortunate.
Perhaps she’d stolen it from the Godwin baron’s house, where she’d once worked at the Grand Temple.
But Liana offered no explanation whatsoever.
As if he weren’t even worth speaking to.
Or as if she refused to tell him anything at all.
Her tightly closed, silent lips made his blood boil.
“You have an obligation to answer my questions, Liana Serpens.”
Bang!
“Ugh!”
Shade slammed her against the wall.
Veins bulged roughly on his large hand gripping her wrist.
“Would burning down an entire city—not just a harbor—finally knock some sense into you?”
It had always been this way.
Luise Ideana had never properly answered a single thing to him, not even in the past.
She had always stayed silent; his questions were always ignored; he never received explanations for anything she did.
She erected an impenetrable barrier around her world, as if forbidding him even a single step inside, and made decisions alone.
Shade couldn’t tell what he’d done right or wrong, or what she truly wanted.
He could only accept, like fate, every decision handed down by that highborn lady.
Nothing had changed.
He had risen to a lofty position, while she had sunk into the mire—but still, she held him in her grip and shook him as she pleased.
Her kindness, betrayal, death, and even their reunion.
“Damn it—do you even understand your position?”
As Shade tightened his grip, her small, clenched palm turned white.
Liana squirmed, trying to pull her wrist free.
When her stubbornly upturned eyes—lips still sealed—began to redden, Shade roughly let go.
He knew.
No matter how much he cornered her, she wouldn’t utter a word.
She would stay silent even with those bright red, tearful eyes.
And that only made him angrier.
Though he was clearly her master now, it felt as if she still made every decision.
“Fine. Stay silent to the very end.”
Like a growling beast, a low voice slipped through Shade’s clenched teeth.
“You won’t be able to run away anyway.”
[This is the timeline separator]Shade instructed that Liana Serpens be assigned as his personal maid.
From early morning until nightfall, Liana had to stay exclusively by Shade’s side, handling all the menial tasks he ordered.
Even her sleeping quarters were arranged in a corner of his room.
He was a man who always kept his warnings.
Every step Liana took felt like walking on thorns.
Even when she closed her eyes, trying to sleep hidden under a blanket, she felt as if she were under surveillance.
Thus, she gradually grew closer to Ideana.
And then—
“Oh, so we finally meet face to face like this.”
On the way to Ideana’s quarters, a visitor entering Shade’s barracks smiled brightly upon seeing Liana standing beside him.
Liana quietly lowered her head upon recognizing the guest.
‘Eklas Vittel.’
She knew the man with ruby-red eyes.
Eklas Vittel was unmistakably eye-catching at first glance. A symbol of wealth, he was also famed for his handsome and refined appearance.
The ornate earrings glinting lavishly at his ears instantly captured attention.
His coat, embroidered with delicate patterns, the waistcoat tailored from premium fabric, cufflinks studded with gleaming rubies, and brown boots crafted from fine calfskin—all bore the mark of meticulous artisanal care.
Whatever clothing he wore or accessories he adorned quickly became trends in high society.
Even the mandarin-collar vest Baron Godwin had once bought was copied from an outfit Eklas Vittel had worn.
He was a shrewd merchant who both set and sold trends.
Yet to Liana, Eklas was defined by just one thing:
The son of the Vittel Trading Company’s owner—the man who had accepted her deal to sell Shade.
The very person who had willingly sent Shade, then a slave, to the Lester domain.
Perhaps due to that past connection, Eklas seemed quite close to Shade.
‘He probably doesn’t recognize me…’
Liana thought, lowering her eyes.
She’d met him only once, eight years ago, exchanging just a few words during the transaction.
Their meeting hadn’t lasted long—less than an hour, surely.
Since then, much time had passed, and the naive, sheltered young lady Luise had become the shabby maid Liana.
So of course, Eklas wouldn’t recognize her.
But it couldn’t hurt to be cautious.
“Good day, Viscount Eklas Vittel.”
Liana bowed courteously like any other maid, offering a proper greeting to the guest.
But then—
“I’m glad to see you, Miss Liana Serpens.”
When Eklas clearly spoke her full name, Liana looked up at him in surprise.
It was rare for a noble to remember the name of a servant from another household.
Shade’s eyes flicked between the two of them.
“You’re quite famous, after all.”
Eklas added this in response to Shade’s somewhat cold gaze.
“Famous?”
“Why, the duke himself has started keeping a woman by his side. Everyone’s been talking about it.”
“Nonsense.”
Shade cut off Eklas’s carefree chatter with icy dismissal.
Despite the notably chilly reception, Eklas’s expression didn’t shift at all as he moved toward the chair placed before Shade.
When Eklas gestured with his eyes, asking if he could sit, Shade gave a brief nod and spoke.
“Leave, Liana.”
It was the only time he ever sent Liana away.
No sooner had Shade spoken than Liana bowed her head and stepped out of the barracks.
Though she clearly obeyed his command, Shade found her footsteps—quicker than usual—irritating.
Even though knights surely watched her closely outside, she seemed eager for even a brief moment apart from him.
“Even if it’s nonsense, it’s best to be cautious about rumors.”
Eklas remarked meaningfully, watching Liana vanish beyond the barracks door.
“It’ll surely reach Archdeacon Giselle’s ears as well.”
Eklas withdrew his gaze from Liana and fiddled with the coin in his hand.
“Our archdeacon is a woman of strong pride.”
The youngest graduate, the youngest priest, and the youngest archdeacon in the history of the seminary—
She had claimed every “youngest ever” title, a possessor of formidable divine power and an elite among elites.
Now considered a leading candidate for the next pope, she certainly wouldn’t look kindly on her fiancé parading around with a maid.
The noble archdeacon wouldn’t tolerate such a blemish on her betrothed.
“Are you worried I might get my engagement broken off?”
“Not at all—but it wouldn’t hurt to build a good business relationship with your fiancée. She’s an excellent partner, after all—hardly anyone gets someone like her.”
“…”
At Eklas’s advice, Shade rested his chin on his hand with an air of boredom.
Eklas let out a small sigh.
There was no point saying more—he wouldn’t listen anyway.
Instead of wasting words on useless nagging, he got to the main reason for his visit.
“And about the medicine you requested—it’s already departed for Paradel Fortress. It should arrive around the time we do.”
“That was fast.”
“That’s why so many clients favor the Vittel Trading Company.”
Eklas forced a sly, flattering smile, recalling Shade’s unusual request.
“I’d like you to prepare some sedatives.”
The reason Lupus had historically been treated as slaves wasn’t merely because of their ominous eye color.
The very reason they were scorned with the derogatory term “beast” was their rutting cycle.
At regular intervals, during this rutting period, Lupus became easily agitated and overwhelmed by impulsive desires.
Yet Shade had never once caused trouble due to his rutting cycle.
In fact, he’d never once sought women or shown lust.
And now, Shade Lester—who had never once requested sedatives before—had suddenly begun asking for them.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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