The day began with Hades’ solemn voice.
“Let’s talk, Angel.”
My heart dropped as I fumbled the toast I was eating.
The tea, tasteless as chewing on cardboard, was not made any better by Hades’ uninvited visit.
Pretending to pick up my toast, I barely composed myself. I had been avoiding Hades for days, but what had to come had come.
“…Hades.”
I called his name, trying my best to sound composed.
“Do you not think it’s too early for a serious conversation? Look, I haven’t even properly had breakfast yet…”
“You’ve been fiddling around for over ten minutes; you don’t seem to need more time for breakfast.”
“… ”
I bit my lip. Yes, any excuse would be futile if Hades was attempting to ‘talk’ with me.
If we were bound to have this conversation eventually, having it now wouldn’t be so bad.
“Yes.”
As soon as I responded obediently, all the maids who had been attending to me left the room. Amy hesitated the longest, but she, too, couldn’t resist Hades’ sharp gaze.
Once they left, Hades’ gaze shifted to me.
“I think I’ve given you ample time to think, Angelica.”
“…Well.”
I looked out the window. The snow was still falling; it appeared Hades planned to continue restraining Altair and his companions.
“Do I have a choice?”
Hades looked puzzled.
“Do you think I’m forcing you, Holy Maiden? I’m not that kind of person.”
“…You may not be forcing me intentionally.”
I took a deep breath.
“But your pressing me for an answer puts a lot of pressure on me.”
“If you feel that way, I regret it.”
Hades’ response was dry.
Or was he trying his best to mask his emotions?
Gathering courage, I looked into his eyes and sensed swirling sentiments.
“Angel, I’m not… forcefully holding onto you. You’re not a prisoner of Donovan, you’re a Holy Maiden, and you’ve helped us countless times. I can’t repay kindness with enmity.”
“But…”
My voice trembled involuntarily.
“You wouldn’t accept my refusal, would you?”
“I would if there was a valid reason.”
Hades’ voice was firm, not a hint of waver in it.
“But you have not yet presented a single valid reason.”
“My secret is…”
Hades stared straight at me.
“Angelica, I’ll ask just this one thing. Are you the same person I first met and the one you are now?”
“…No.”
“And the you who saved us multiple times from the demons, and the you now?”
“…The same person.”
“Then why should I reject you for not being the ‘real’ Angelica?”
I thought as fast as I could. It was a relief that Hades no longer considered my words lies. Yet, it was still unfortunate that my affection score hadn’t decreased.
“That… Aren’t you scared? I might have been a criminal! You don’t even know how I came to possess the body of a Holy Maiden. I could be a terrible person!”
For a brief moment, silence prevailed.
Soon, I realized that the silence was because Hades was desperately holding back laughter. Eventually, he let out a soft chuckle, unable to fully contain himself.
“Ah, Angel.”
He wiped away a tear at the corner of his eye.
“It seems you’re unaware that I see a murderer every day.”
He looked at me.
“Every time I look in the mirror… a man who’s killed several people looks back at me.”
I swallowed hard. I had learned the hard way from the game that Hades Croitner’s hands were far from clean.
But why did hearing it from his lips hurt so much?
Especially when I would probably never see him again.
“…Just because you’ve killed people doesn’t mean you have to keep another criminal by your side.”
“True.”
Hades agreed readily.
“But you seem to misunderstand my words. I never said it was okay for you to be a murderer.”
Amethystcolored eyes shimmered brightly.
“Because I’ve tried it myself, I know better than anyone. You’ve never killed a person. Nor have you committed any major crime equivalent to that.”
“…….”
“I know you well.”
Hades’ voice was soft yet cold, like the onset of a winter night.
“More than you think.”
He took a step towards me. I immediately stood up, but due to the table and chair in between, I couldn’t completely avoid him.
Our hands brushed past each other, leaving the gap of a single sheet of paper between them.
“So….”
A low voice echoed in my ear.
“I also know well that you don’t shy away from me.”
My heart pounded. I was so startled that I felt a hiccup might come. Since when, and from where?
I am not a fool.
I’ve been aware of my feelings for him… since quite a long time ago.
I’ve only tried to suppress and hide them.
Because they’re emotions that are of no help to me now. Emotions I shouldn’t have towards him. Even if I were to get them back, the end of this relationship is too obvious.
Consciously and unconsciously, I’ve tried to cut off these emotions.
But the fact that Hades saw through that…
‘I was completely incompetent at hiding it.’
It was an amusing situation, but I couldn’t laugh.
Now, I couldn’t reject Hades by saying my heart isn’t moved by him.
I had to create a new excuse to reject him.
The problem is, there’s no such excuse!
‘No… perhaps.’
My head was spinning.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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