“Only if that statement isn’t false.”
Upon Laila’s response, Millei clasped his hands and rested them on his crossed legs. It was unclear if he expected such a response, but he appeared quite at ease.
“Then, Princess, you have reached another crossroads.”
He gestured towards the table, prompting Laila to look down at the pass he had offered her.
“Shall we make a second deal? This time, I’ll also stake what I want.”
Despite having said that their previous interaction could not be considered a deal, Millei deliberately referred to it as the ‘second’ one.
If it was indeed the second, then it was right. Laila found herself at another crossroads, having to decide whether to trust what he had thrown in front of her.
The first was whether to trust him and annul the engagement at the ceremony.
That dilemma was like gambling with her life, choosing to trust the boy who cried wolf despite his numerous lies.
And now, the second.
“If that pass is real, you will also believe my heart is genuine.”
Laila had already secured a late, but safe and certain path. If she just waited a week, she would be on her way back to Wessex.
In the midst of this, the man in front of her offered an even quicker route. The problem was that neither stability nor certainty could be guaranteed.
Laila picked up the continental pass, the size of her palm.
On the front of the pass, engraved with the Damvernent continent in relief, were delicately carved mountains and rivers.
The back contained the clauses of the treaty that justified the creation of this pass, inscribed in tiny letters.
Being so scarce, Laila had only heard about it and seen pictures of it. She examined the intricately designed pass closely.
This pass, being of high value, naturally had anti-forgery measures.
First, the mountains and rivers on the front were painted with a special dye that shone brightly when lit, and the back also had glowing letters where the treaty clauses were inscribed.
Laila shone a lamp nearby on the pass, countering Millei’s words.
“If this is real, the Duke will have no choice but to come looking for me. But that doesn’t prove your feelings.”
Millei strongly refuted her statement.
“No, it will prove it. I will propose to the Princess of Wessex the day I set foot on its land.”
“Millei…”
At that moment, a loud bell rang somewhere. It was the bell striking 7 PM. Darkness had already fallen outside the window.
Millei, glancing towards the uncurtained window, informed Laila of his planned schedule.
“The ship heading to Wessex will leave at dawn tomorrow, when the bell rings five times.”
In other words, at 5 AM.
Laila was surprised by the much earlier timing than expected. According to him, less than 10 hours remained.
“Do I need to leave so quickly?”
Responding to Laila’s query, Millei nodded as if asking something obvious.
“With Isabella Fitzroy targeting you, we cannot be optimistic about Wessex’s situation. The royal palace might be burning at this very moment. In such a case, would you waste a week here?”
“That is…”
His statement about Wessex’s royal palace being potentially conquered in just a few days was quite radical. But it must have indicated that Millei classified the first princess of Fitzroy as a very dangerous individual.
However, before Laila could fully agree, Millei brought up something to sway her decision.
“It seems you don’t have a family you wish to protect.”
It was a piercing statement.
Seemingly too well aware of Laila’s heart.
“That’s not true.”
Laila thought of her youngest brother, Cedric, who she had been worrying about.
Although Cedric was a much younger sibling, he had always been a source of comfort to Laila. He was the only family member who told her to return after the engagement ceremony if she disliked it, even when her father was pushing her to go to Filmer.
Thinking of him, Laila realized that returning quickly might be a better choice than just worrying here.
Millei offered her another condition, seeing her indecision.
“My lieutenant Lilburn has hired mercenaries to protect the princess and her maid.”
“Is there a guarantee they won’t harm me?”
“I will have a couple of my own people with them, but I can’t force you to trust them. However…”
Millei paused for a moment and then stood up. He walked towards Laila, who was sitting across from him.
As he leaned over the table, their faces suddenly drew close, causing Laila to turn and slightly back away. A deep voice came from him.
“I am the one who led to the annulment with that garbage, am I not?”
“…”
“Laila Wessex, a truth you surely cannot deny.”
The lamp’s light might be bright, but in the dimly lit drawing room, their faces were so close.
However, unlike with Reynald, Laila didn’t feel threatened by Millei.
Was it because of his soft gaze?
Or perhaps because his eyelashes, like hers, were trembling with nervousness?
Or maybe…
“May I kiss you, even if it’s underhanded?”
“…”
Was it his kindness in asking for permission?
She guessed, but knew that if she just shook her head or lightly pushed him away, he would immediately step back. Yet, Laila didn’t want to push the man in front of her away.
Even though she knew her feelings were improper.
“Does your silence mean you consent?”
“Millei, you are really strange…”
“All of this will be clarified if you come to the port tomorrow morning. Then you will know who I am.”
At Millei’s calm response, Laila clasped her hands in front of her chest and slowly tried to organize the numerous reasons she should be skeptical of him in her mind.
“If I trust you, I should go there. But there’s a chance you might not be there. Then I will surely regret having trusted a liar.”
“Even so, it wouldn’t be a great loss, would it? At most, you’ll waste an hour or two, and you’ll leave Filmer in a week anyway.”
“True. If you are lying, it might be better for me if you’re not there. But if you are there and I end up boarding a ship with a fake pass, that would be the worst scenario.”
Laila emphasized the risks of trusting him, but Millei just laughed softly, as if finding her concerns endearing.
“Then I better not be a very bad person.”
“But you displayed your skills too brilliantly in dealing with Filmer’s seventh prince right before my eyes. It makes me think that dealing with a trivial princess from a small country would be easy for you.”
“Should I have been a bit more sloppy, so you’d have less to regret?”
Laila shook her head at this response, though Millei seemed to find even this amusing.
Despite the teasing atmosphere, the tension didn’t ease. Feeling moisture building up in her hands, Laila called out to him.
“Millei.”
Millei simply flicked his eyebrows once. It was as if he was indicating for Laila to continue speaking. Encouraged by this, Laila asked a question as risky as her previous one about whether he liked her.
“Why did you give me your room?”
This question seemed to have caught Millei off guard as well. A voice tinged with a hint of surprise responded.
“How did you know that?”
“There was a cufflink in the drawer of the dressing table. It looked like you’d lost its pair and forgot to remove the other one.”
Millei slightly tilted his head, seemingly unsure why she brought up this question.
“Surely, you don’t think that was part of my plan to gain your trust, do you?”
Laila’s chest slightly swelled with an inhale. Pausing for a moment to calm her heartbeat, she borrowed a word Millei had used earlier.
“Is Millei that underhanded?”
“…”
At that moment, a different light flickered in Millei’s eyes.
But Laila had no time to interpret its meaning.
Millei’s lips moved towards her.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
