This voice, could it be…!

Irene turned around in surprise, and the shoe she was holding tightly in her arms tumbled down the stairs.

Then, she saw Carlos, slightly bending over, offering her a candelabrum.

Though she had guessed from the voice, she was even more surprised that it was indeed Carlos, and she pulled her body back as she sat.

But since the stairs were right behind her, she couldn’t go far and staggered, tilting backward.

“Ah…!”

Irene screamed, reaching out her hand. It was not in the hope that Carlos would catch her, but a reflexive action to keep her balance.

Carlos tightly grabbed her hand, pulling her forcefully towards him.

Thanks to that, she avoided the unfortunate fate of tumbling down the stairs, but instead, Irene’s eyes quivered when she was caught by him.

The large hand that held hers felt like a sturdy snare, making her uncomfortable and afraid.

Irene tried to pull her hand away, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he held it even more tightly, as if he would never let go.

“Let, let me go.”

“There’s something you should say first, isn’t there?”

What should I say? Reading the question in Irene’s eyes, Carlos added an explanation.

“Shouldn’t you be saying thank you for saving you in a situation like this?”

It was true, but it felt strange coming from him.

“Thank… you.”

Only when Irene reluctantly expressed her gratitude did Carlos finally let go of her hand.

Irene, holding her stinging hand, shakily stood up.

“What were you doing here?”

No, she was trying to stand, but her legs gave way as she sat back down at the following question.

“There’s a bathroom in your room, so it’s not that you were going to the bathroom.”

The indifferent and calm voice continued from above.

“Are you hungry? If not that…”

His eyes narrowed for a moment as he looked down at Irene.

“Were you trying to escape?”

Thud.

The sound of her heart dropping rang loudly in her ears. Seeing Irene’s blue eyes flinch with anxiety, Carlos twisted the corner of his lips.

“You were indeed trying to escape.”

“No, no. I just wanted to know where I was…”

It was a pathetic excuse. There was no way Carlos would believe such an unbelievable excuse.

Indeed, he was looking down at her as if it were absurd.

Irene avoided his gaze, clasping her hands together.

‘He will be angry.’

Fierce slaps, kicks, or in the worst case, death could be on the way.

The plea for mercy rose to her throat, but Irene never let it out.

No matter what she said, even if she cried and begged, there was no way he would listen.

Though she was naive about how the world worked due to a lifetime confined at home, she knew very well how terrifying and cold Duke Esper was.

Her mother, pitying Irene who had to be home alone all day, had provided various reading materials, among which were gossip newspapers that often featured stories about Duke Esper.

Whether Duke Esper indeed had the blood of a demon, or his strange personality, or the fact that he would kill even a child without hesitation if displeased, they were all eerie tales.

Whether one way or the other, if death was her fate, she wanted to keep the last shred of dignity she had left.

Once she had resigned herself to everything, her mind became more comfortable.

Wishing that whatever punishment awaited would end quickly, she closed her eyes and waited, but a cool voice rang out above her.

“Catch.”

At those words, Irene slowly opened her eyes. There was Carlos, reaching out his hand to her.

“How long are you going to sit there?”

So now, did he mean for her to take his hand and get up?

Confused that he hadn’t hit her, Irene stared blankly at Carlos.

Although her attitude might have been annoying, Carlos neither clicked his tongue nor rushed her but silently waited.

Coming to her senses belatedly, Irene got up without taking his outstretched hand.
Carlos slightly furrowed his brow, not understanding, and withdrew his outstretched hand.

“I’ll take you to your room.”

Why isn’t he angry?

Could that absurd excuse have actually worked?

There were many things he was curious about, like the reason he had brought him, where they were going next, but none of them could easily be spoken.

Because he was still afraid of him.

Especially when facing the purple eyes that symbolized the emblem of the demons, his calves would tremble, and goosebumps would rise.

‘But I need to know.’

He couldn’t be dragged around without knowing anything forever.

Upon arriving at the room, Irene mustered the courage to ask.

“Why did you… bring me?”

Carlos, who was kindly opening the room door in response to Irene’s question, looked back at her.

The courage she had scraped together shattered into pieces the moment she met his eyes, scattering everywhere.

Her face turned pale, and she hung her head lifelessly.

Carlos looked down at Irene like that and opened the room door the rest of the way.

“Because I needed to.”

With his other hand, he gently pushed her back.

Irene, who had accidentally entered the room, momentarily forgot her fear and looked back at him in surprise.

When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem

This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Synopsis:

“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”

Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.

Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.

While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the  Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…

Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.

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