My Husband Has Changed (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 19

“Adelheid. If there is even a single point of suspicion regarding the Grand Duke, you must not avert your gaze. If a shadow truly resides within him, you will be able to recognize it.”

Why, of all times, did her conversation with Father Padre suddenly resurface in her mind? Was it because of his firm tone, so vividly etched in her memory? Or perhaps the strange certainty in his voice—that while others might fail to see it, she herself must be capable of recognizing it?

“Oh.”

For a brief moment, she lost touch with reality and faltered. Valentin caught her wrist and tilted his head slightly. Their faces drew close—so close their breaths were about to tangle. Startled, she spread her fingers wide. As if waiting precisely for that reaction, Valentin bit down on Adel’s bloodied finger.

“…….”

Heat, dampness, and a sharp, numbing pain flared up—so intense it turned into a chilling sting. With his tongue, he pressed hard against the wound, probed it, then set his teeth and chewed gently. It was merely a droplet of blood, yet he swallowed greedily, his Adam’s apple bobbing rhythmically as if quenching a desperate thirst.

Slurp, suck.

The wet sound of him sucking the wound echoed starkly in the unnervingly quiet room. Adel watched, slightly bewildered, as he fixated intently on her finger—his cheeks hollowed from the effort, shadows pooling in his eyes, his nose straight and proud, his jawline sharp as if carved by a blade.

And his pupils—narrowed like a beast’s, locked onto her with relentless focus……

“Just look at how every scrap of blood vanished while the flesh and organs remained untouched.”

A voice suddenly cut through her thoughts, sharp and urgent. At once, a vision unfolded before her eyes: heaps of slaughtered sheep piled like hills, thick acrid smoke, and crowds of people unanimously testifying that this was no work of beasts, but of demons.

Her thoughts leaped again, as if stepping onto red-hot brass.

“…Father Padre said not to avert my gaze.”

“On the night of the full moon, prepare a mirror and silver-edged blades.”

Blades. The word sent a chill down her spine, and goosebumps prickled her skin in response. What expression had crossed Father Padre’s face when he saw her then?

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