“Really, nothing to say?”

I don’t know what Estelle will say. But Johan thought she would say something within his expectations.

“I, I mean, I…”

But somehow, Estelle’s tears made Johan’s heart sink.

“I didn’t intend to deceive Johan.”

From Estelle, who had tightly concealed her true feelings, Johan needed to unearth the truth.

‘This is not right.’

If I knew it would be this difficult, I would have done things differently.

“So, I… didn’t want to disappoint you.”

Perhaps Estelle was tormented by a sense of guilt she hadn’t honestly confessed from the beginning. And it seemed like she expected Johan to be disappointed in her, thinking he would abandon her.

“I’m afraid of this moment ending.”
Estelle’s voice trembled with desperation.

“I was wrong. I’ll answer anything you ask. I’m sorry for deceiving you all this time.”

Johan felt despondent, and anger welled up within him.

‘What a fool.’

It seemed like Estelle had suffered more abuse in Libertà than Johan had thought. She was shivering, looking like a child on the verge of punishment.

Her appearance was strangely shocking.

Johan’s mind turned blank. As he stared blankly at Estelle, she, who had been trembling and pleading, suddenly made a shocking move.

“So please, save me.”

Estelle, who seemed like she could collapse any moment, knelt in front of him as if crumbling. Her delicate, pale face was twisted in agony.

Estelle, who had been trembling uncomfortably, suddenly…

Joined her hands together and began to beg Johan, tears streaming down.

“So please, save me.”

In the bewildering confusion, Johan recalled the words he had uttered in the past.

“Then, say you want to live. Beg me for it. Say you want to live. That you don’t want to die.”

That was the only way for him to survive immediately.

‘Okay, beg. Say you want to live. Somehow, you want to stay alive.’

Johan… had promised to save her if she begged.

“So please, save me.”

I looked up at Johan, collapsing as if I would fall at any moment. Due to the backlight, Johan’s face was not visible.

“I’m sorry for not saying from the beginning that I wasn’t the beloved daughter. If I said that, there would be nothing left for me. I thought everything would end.”

I wanted to live.

“Saying this now won’t make any difference, I know. But…”

So, just as Johan had said, I started begging while crying.

‘It’s so miserable.’

It felt like my insides were crumpling, burning pitch black.

“But still, forgive me just this once. Before, you… You said you couldn’t be without me, didn’t you? You said that if I begged like this, you would save me.”

Tears welled up, and I pressed my hand against the swollen eyes. Even though I was groveling on the ground anyway, the part of me inside was plummeting to the ground.

“Just this once…”

“Alright.”

Johan knelt down, enclosing me in his embrace.

It was just him hugging me, but suddenly, it felt like my throat was clogged, and I couldn’t breathe.

“I understand.”

His firm hands wrapped around my entire head, and his other arm supported my waist. I felt surrounded by Johan as if immersed in water.

“So stop it.”

Johan growled like an enraged beast. The suppressed breath could be felt above my head. I felt the strength in the arms holding me, making me tremble.

With my breath barely restored, I asked while still in his embrace.

“…Stop what?”

‘Why am I suddenly like this?’

Because Johan didn’t laugh at my pitiful state and wasn’t blindly angry, my sense of shame had suddenly disappeared.
“Wasn’t this what you wanted, Johan?”

Right now, it’s a situation where Johan should be angry with me. The moment the woman who lied about being a beloved daughter takes off her mask.

‘Just not pushing me is good enough.’

“So, you brought me here saying it’s a gift. You wanted to ask if, despite the evidence of being scorned in Libertà, I still felt loved.”

But I felt even more miserable.

Johan’s strong embrace made me feel like he would protect me now.

The warmth of Johan, which had become familiar, felt like it was his heart. And even though I didn’t like everything about it, it made me angry, and tears flowed down.

“If this isn’t it, then what should I do? If you want to live, you told me to kneel and beg, right? It was you who said you’d grant anything if I did that.”

“….”

“What should I stop doing? What should I do to make you do as you please?”

Johan hugged me even tighter. His breathing became rougher.

“Estelle.”

At that moment, the trees seemed concerned about me.

[Dash] Darling. Are you okay? Strangely, your condition feels not good.

[Dash] Yeah. Until just now, a few Eden Roses were healthy, but suddenly, some are withering, and others are radiating light, confusing your energy.

[Dash] Is there any dangerous or difficult situation right now? If it’s dangerous, briefly tell us. With your restored strength, you can ask nearby trees for help.

But I had no mind to answer the trees. Upon that, the trees seemed to perceive the situation more seriously.

[Dash] Quickly contact other trees! Why can’t we figure out where our baby is when she’s in such a difficult situation? Why can’t we show the situation to other trees when the connection isn’t even severed?

[Dash] Is there a place without trees? Even if there is, it would be a bigger problem. I guess it won’t work. We waited for our baby to fully grasp the power of a fairy, but we can’t wait any longer.

[Dash] What should we do then? Shall we interfere with the elemental power instead of our baby? But if the curse is lifted, she might not adapt well to the fairy’s power and find it hard to use alone…

[Dash] What’s the use if the baby goes wrong later!

Johan, who took a deep breath, grabbed my shoulders with his big hand, lifted my head.

“Estelle, look at my face.”

‘Strange.’

Johan was always a perfectly refined man without a single flaw. Just until a moment ago, he was relaxed and elegant.

‘It’s not the face I imagined.’

Johan’s eyes were strangely distorted. His red eyes, burning with anger, even trembled slightly as soon as our eyes met.

With his big hand gripping my shoulders, Johan, who had just regained his breath, spoke word by word.

“This wasn’t what I wished for.”

“Then what did you wish for?”
I couldn’t understand Johan’s words.

“Didn’t you want to dig up what I was hiding and apologize on your own? So, you know everything I have to say, right?”

Cornering the opponent, extracting the desired answer, and creating a favorable situation—these are Johan’s specialties as a villain.

‘Perhaps he prepared this while watching me seek revenge on Miryu.’

“If this isn’t what you wanted, am I misunderstanding right now? What else am I doing wrong?”

Honestly, I couldn’t trust Johan. A person who believes there’s nothing impossible, an incredibly intelligent and remarkable man like him openly denying that he set a trap for me was strange.

This is undoubtedly a trap set to corner me.

“I know there’s no way that’s true.”

The hand that grabbed my shoulder trembled. Even his firmly sealed lips quivered. The Johan in front of me looked like someone who genuinely didn’t want this.

‘Probably because I want to see him that way.’

People tend to see things in the way they want to believe.

“That’s enough. Instead of going around, it’s okay to speak honestly about what you wanted to say. Anyway…”

I reached out with both hands and pushed Johan’s chest, creating more distance between us.

“Anyway, you don’t love me.”

“Me?”

Flames flickered in Johan’s red eyes, which had a complicated expression. His face, which had quietly stayed still as my arms created distance, approached closer.

“I don’t love you?”

In that moment, my whole body turned cold and hot.

‘Why…’

Normally, it should have felt like boiling up from within. But this time, it was a bit different from usual.