He stared at me with a cold gaze. His face suggested that I was not worth answering, but I waited. Hoping for any sort of reply.
But Tobias simply stared at me, saying nothing.
I swallowed hard.
Be it the Duke’s orders, or the demons, or some other reason I haven’t thought of… there was no explanation.
There was only one conclusion.
‘Tobias is a traitor.’
I clenched my eyes shut. Something hot surged within me.
Why didn’t I see it?
The ‘bat’ had infiltrated the Duke’s castle a long time ago and was one of the people Hades trusted.
So, the candidates were limited. Hades must have known this.
‘But for some reason, Hades trusted Tobias till the end.’
Like hiding a tree in a forest, Tobias had, for years, gained Hades’ trust while passing various information to the empire.
He could act alone without arousing suspicion thanks to his position as ViceCaptain.
The ambassadors plotting near Tobias’ residence was also no coincidence.
And, his act of “protecting” me by provoking Shujechin…
‘It must have been to completely deflect suspicion.’
Shujechin’s angered expression certainly didn’t look like an act, so Tobias must have hidden his identity from him.
But there’s no way he, a spy for the empire, couldn’t have anticipated Shujechin’s actions.
‘He must have been prepared in some way.’
Perhaps he didn’t go to the doctor because he wasn’t injured in the first place. That would make the precious potion a waste.
‘I was genuinely worried…’
Thinking of that time made my insides boil. I had thought that Tobias risked losing the use of his arm permanently for protecting me from Shujechin.
Even though it wasn’t what I wanted, I felt responsible, and despite Amy’s discouragement, I went to get the potion.
And I gave him the precious stamina potion without regret.
To none other than an enemy of Hades.
‘Snap out of it!’
I scolded myself internally. I couldn’t afford to waste time being angry.
‘I have to escape.’
I quickly pulled out the daggershaped Denesor from my pocket and aimed it at him.
“Your Holiness.”
Tobias, still wearing a stoic expression, slowly approached me.
“Hand over that sword.”
I glared at him, gripping Dennesor tightly. Even if Tobias was the captain of the knight squad, I was the master of the holy sword.
I had no reason to comply so easily.
“Can you properly wield that dagger?”
“……”
I was taken aback.
Dennesor was currently not in its usual longsword form but had transformed into a dagger.
Naturally, there was no way I, who had practiced only with the longsword form of Dennesor, could handle it properly.
However, reverting it back to its original form would be as good as admitting I had the holy sword here, so I had no choice but to wield the unfamiliar dagger.
And the result was…
Clang!
Dennesor flew into the air with a curseladen shriek. Tobias chuckled and kicked it away as it fell to the ground.
“Is this a decorative piece you carry around? I wonder where you’ve put the sword bestowed upon you by His Majesty.”
Provocation aside, it was time to focus on survival.
I didn’t miss the opportunity created when he drew near.
“Setun!”
I clenched the rosary tightly, gritting my teeth. If Tobias was even slightly affected by the sleep skill, I could escape.
Picking up Dennesor later would be fine. It seemed clear that Tobias thought of Dennesor as a mere dagger.
I shouted once more with renewed vigor. I felt divine power emanating from the rosary.
“Setun!”
But nothing happened.
The corners of Tobias’s mouth lifted into a smirk.
“My Lady, would you like to know what this is?”
“……!”
I widened my eyes. A small necklace hung around the collar of the shirt he unbuttoned to show me.
It was ‘Tatiana’s Halo,’ an item that nullified magical and supernatural skills.
Of course, it couldn’t completely block powerful skills, but it had more than enough capacity to nullify my meager divine power.
He roughly grabbed my hand.
“You’d better come quietly, My Lady.”
I kept staring at the door. There was still hope. If I could just get out into the hallway, I would be seen by others.
But Tobias didn’t head toward the door. Nor did he head towards another exit, the window.
He stood erect, facing an empty wall.
‘Impossible!’
As if mocking my silent scream, a pitchblack hole opened wide, revealing itself.
It was the entrance to a secret passage I had once walked through with Hades.
Hades’s voice echoed in my ears.
“This place recognizes and accepts only Croitners.”
Tobias was… a Croitner.
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
