A Shadow Cast in Paradise (23 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 6
His brow furrowed slightly upon spotting Liana, then quickly smoothed back into an expressionless mask.
His black hair, damp as if he’d just finished bathing, hung in loose, tousled strands.
Could it be due to his unusually tall stature?
It felt as though his enormous shadow engulfed the entire room.
“You should give someone a chance for revenge before killing them.”
Some say revenge is a burning emotion.
Yet in Shade Lester’s eyes, no such fiery emotion was visible.
Instead, a coldness so intense it seemed ready to shatter at the slightest touch had frozen solid.
Before that emotion, she felt brittle—fragile enough to splinter into pieces from even the smallest shock.
His icy gaze flickered briefly toward her legs, then indifferently shifted toward the table.
Without a word, he sat down on the sofa and poured himself a brandy.
Liana couldn’t even breathe freely.
Only the sound of crimson liquid filling a crystal glass filled the room.
Though sharing the same space, she felt both disconnected from him and yet strangely entangled.
Perhaps it was because the scene before her eyes overlapped with one from several years ago.
Liana recalled the origin of this eerie sense of déjà vu and unease.
Back then, it had been Liana—or rather, Luise—sitting on the sofa, while Shade stood silently, watching her with sealed lips, just as Liana did now.
Their beginning had been the exact opposite of this moment.
Thus, this situation felt both familiar and alien.
While she was lost in thought, the clear glass touched the edge of Shade Lester’s lips.
Crimson liquid slipped past his mouth as he took a sip.
After swallowing the brandy, his eyes turned toward her once more.
Liana quickly averted her gaze, flustered.
Shade stared at her in silence, brandy glass still in hand.
Liana felt as though she’d turned into a statue.
Not a particularly artistic one—just a crude, poorly carved figure.
Standing motionless in the center of the room, enduring his scrutinizing gaze.
His eyes seemed to methodically appraise the statue, judging its worth,
as if seeing right through her and recognizing just how dreadful a piece of craftsmanship she was.
As if to hide her roughness, Liana tightly wrapped her arms around herself.
At that moment, a dry, seemingly bored voice resonated through the air.
“I never expected a noble lady to dress like that for me.”
A faint sneer brushed his lips.
Liana’s face instantly burned hot.
“Take her away and make her useful.”
That single sentence was all Shade ordered his servants.
He hadn’t meant it the way they took it.
He’d only meant for them to treat her injured leg and turn her into a servant fit for use.
But his subordinates had misunderstood his words entirely.
Humiliation surged, scorching her cheeks.
“…I’ll take my leave, then.”
Realizing the misunderstanding, Liana bowed her head.
She’d planned to speak up the moment he arrived.
That she didn’t want this. To ask him to let her go.
That surely, he didn’t desire this either.
If this wasn’t the place he originally intended for her, then it was actually for the best. So there was no need to feel ashamed.
Liana tried to limp away from the room as if fleeing.
But then—
“I never gave you permission to leave.”
The cold voice behind her halted her steps.
It was an order.
Slowly turning her head, she saw him staring at her with indifferent eyes.
“Didn’t you enjoy being doted on by the baron?”
At his words, Liana couldn’t conceal the crumbling expression on her face.
From his utterly emotionless face, she understood exactly what she meant to him.
“So to the servants, you’re nothing more than that kind of woman.”
Shade idly swirled the brandy in his glass and scoffed quietly.
She couldn’t argue.
The painful truth she’d replayed in her mind every day for years struck her with a throbbing ache today more than ever.
“…There’s nowhere lower for me to fall anyway.”
Hiding her dry tears, Liana replied in a deliberately calm voice.
She’d already endured far too much to be wounded by words like those.
Just then—thud—the sound of a glass being set down on the table echoed.
Followed by slow yet distinct footsteps.
The footsteps stopped. His haughty, merciless eyes looked down at her.
Like a collector finishing the appraisal of a statue.
“Then take it off.”
His voice rang out, devoid of any warmth.
There wasn’t even a trace of excitement in the tone commanding her to undress.
No—instead, she sensed cold fury.
Liana realized.
She was a cheap, disposable statue, one that didn’t matter if it shattered.
He was merely testing her, toying with her—
a worthless pastime to kill time.
“You said there’s nowhere lower to fall. So why can’t you do it?”
Shade looked down coldly at Liana, who stood frozen, arms still wrapped around herself.
Liana couldn’t utter a single word.
The moment she parted her lips, she feared her trembling voice would betray the tears hidden within.
As she stood there silent, Shade’s body slowly leaned toward her.
The scent of brandy from his breath brushed her nose as he drew closer.
Beneath long, dark lashes, his violet eyes fixed intently upon her.
A droplet from his damp hair fell—plink—onto her bare chest.
The cold drop traced a path down the hollow between her breasts.
Liana swallowed hard, her lips quivering.
Her heart pounded so rapidly her head spun.
She’d thought herself immune.
She’d believed those faded, worn-out memories could no longer stir her.
Yet her foolish heart began beating again to the rhythm it remembered from long ago.
The man’s refined yet impassive expression expertly tightened the air around her.
Liana squeezed her eyes shut, helpless before him who drew near as if about to touch her.
At that moment—
“Then I’ll drop you myself—to the very bottom.”
His cold breath brushed her ear.
With it came a force that overwhelmed her.
Her body was lightly tossed onto the nearby bed with a thud.
“Ugh!”
Her hair, neatly arranged by the maids, now spilled across the white sheets, and her loosened neckline exposed her bare chest.
The silk dress she wore clung precariously to her limbs, barely staying on.
Pain flared in her leg, which had only been hastily treated.
Shade gazed down at her unnaturally pale skin and began undoing his robe.
Once removed, his solidly muscled frame was revealed, crisscrossed with scars that looked as though a malicious hand had violently carved them into an otherwise pristine marble sculpture.
Unable to face those old marks, Liana squeezed her eyes shut. She knew the origin of every scar.
It was all her fault.
She had made him this way.
Memories of the past throbbed, clutching at her heart.
“Luise.”
As if to sharpen that memory further, a familiar voice brushed her ear.
His large frame pinned her down, trapping her completely.
Like a bird caught in a trap, flapping its wings in vain with no hope of escape.
This was territory belonging solely to Shade Lester—his room, his domain—and Liana was nothing but a maid.
She bit her lip, trying to suppress her trembling breath.
“…I told you not to bite your lip.”
Shade stared down at Liana with half-lidded eyes.
Startled by the irritation in his gaze, she released her lip.
“I’m sorry…”
Her pale lips trembled faintly.
She had no defense to offer, no future to promise.
All she could give him was a pitiful apology that offered him no help at all.
“I’m sorry, Shade…”
For a fleeting moment, ripples stirred in his violet eyes.
Tears she’d held back finally spilled over, tracing her ear.
His grip on her tightened sharply—so tightly it felt as if he’d snap her wrist.
For the first time, a flame-like emotion flickered in his previously icy eyes.
“…Damn it.”
Shade muttered a curse under his breath and abruptly released her, as if discarding something worthless.
As if all interest had drained away, he rose to his feet.
His large hand snatched the robe hanging loosely off the bed and draped it over his shoulders.
He swept back his damp black hair with irritation, glanced once at Liana, then strode out of the bedroom without another word.
[This is the timeline separator]Bang! Shade slammed the door shut and strode down the corridor with heavy steps.
“M-Master…!”
Werner, the head butler, and the waiting servants outside flinched and pressed themselves flat against the wall, bowing their heads.
They had no idea what had transpired inside.
But one thing was clear—the master of the ducal house, Shade Lester, was furious.
More visibly furious than they’d ever seen him before.
“That woman—who told you to bring her into my room?”
Shade looked down at head butler Werner as he asked.
His low, flat tone made the servants’ hearts jump.
“W-Well… you said to make her useful…”
“The hell—I ever said to bring a woman into my bedroom?”
“Th-That is…”
Wasn’t this the first time he’d ever personally brought a woman himself?
Werner barely choked back the words threatening to burst out.
He’d never brought in courtesans, harmless grandmothers, or even children.
This was Shade Lester—the very man whose neglect of his own fiancée had made him a frequent subject of gossip.
So if he personally brought a woman here, there could only be one reason.
Especially if she was young and beautiful—no further explanation was needed.
They’d heard what the knights said.
That Shade had carried her himself? That he’d treated her injured leg personally?
Therefore, everyone was certain.
She must be “that” woman.
But now it wasn’t?
Surely that couldn’t be…
“Get rid of her. Immediately.”
Could it actually be true…?
Cold sweat trickled down Werner’s back.
Shade Lester’s eyes were murderous.
The head butler gulped audibly and bowed his head.
“Yes, Master.”
Hearing Werner’s reply, Shade turned and strode away with heavy, furious steps.
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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