Karina’s face touched a firm chest.
At the same time, she sensed a clear and refreshing body scent through her nose. It was as invigorating as a cool breeze.
Barely regaining her senses, Karina looked up at the man holding her, peeking with her eyes.
A small face was visible under the deeply pulled hood.
A straight forehead, high nose bridge, sharp jawline…
The man with distinct features had skin as smooth and translucent as porcelain.
But more attractive than anything else was the mysterious silver hair shining softly like moonlight and the red, alluring scarlet eyes.
‘Wow…!’
Karina was purely amazed by the man’s flawless appearance.
There was a strange charm emanating from him that made it impossible to look away.
However, apart from his handsome looks, it was an unfamiliar face.
‘But who is he?’
She was surprised and flustered that the embrace of this stranger felt warmer than expected.
“An explosion in a bustling market…”
Even his calm murmur exuded a mysterious charm.
Karina, who had been quietly observing him, opened her mouth.
“Excuse me…”
At Karina’s call, he lowered his head. His long eyelashes and mysterious eyes were beautiful as if painted.
‘My goodness… his eyes are like jewels.’
She thought his red eyes were very pretty.
Karina, who had been staring blankly at his eyes, suddenly came to her senses.
“Ah, could you let go of me now?”
Though grateful for protecting her from the dust, it felt awkward to remain in a stranger’s arms.
However, despite her request, the silver-haired man wore a troubled expression.
“Well, I’d like to, but the situation doesn’t seem favorable.”
“What do you mean by not favorable?”
It was at that moment.
Boom!
“…!”
Once again, an explosion occurred with an ear-splitting roar.
A larger scale than before.
Moreover, this time it was nearby.
Dark red flames shot up as if about to devour the sky.
As the heat of the explosion swept past, the stone fragments that had soared into the air began to rain down like hail.
The destructive power of the stone fragments falling from high in the sky was more than expected.
The market stalls and goods hit by the earlier falling stone rain were shattered to pieces.
“Hmm, whoever it is, their magic control is a complete mess.”
The silver-haired man grumbled softly as he stretched out his hand.
“Disperse.”
Along with his quiet murmur,
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind arose, pushing away the fragments pouring down overhead.
‘A mage?’
There is only one being that can artificially cause natural phenomena like wind.
A mage who manipulates magic power.
As if responding to his light gesture,
A gust of wind blew in, pushing away all the remaining dust clouds.
“It’s alright now.”
Finally free from the man’s embrace, Karina dusted off her clothes.
Thanks to his magic, there was hardly any dust on her clothes.
‘What an amazing ability. I should at least thank him, right?’
Karina looked up at the man.
“Thank you.”
He smiled silently in response to her words of gratitude.
‘More importantly, what on earth is going on?’
Such a large-scale explosion when this wasn’t even a battlefield. It was an unusual occurrence.
Sure enough, soon the voices of startled people could be heard.
“What’s going on? Where did that explosion come from?”
“The prison! There was an explosion at the prison holding criminals. It’s a jailbreak!”
“Jailbreak? What kind of fellows would… do such an outrageous thing!”
“Catch them! The criminals are escaping!”
Screams and shouts could be heard from all directions.
Prison, explosion, jailbreak.
Karina recalled the reports she had overheard from the knights beside Jeremiah on the way.
It was about troublemakers pouring in from outside causing all sorts of disturbances.
‘Whoever they are, it seems they’ve made quite a commotion.’
To cause such an uproar for a jailbreak. Did they know what kind of place the North was before committing such an act?
While she was thinking about the explosion and jailbreak, it happened.
“Escaped prisoners. Could they be referring to those people?”
The silver-haired man’s gaze was fixed on a certain spot.
Looking in the direction he was staring, a serious situation was indeed unfolding.
A building half-destroyed and engulfed in flames.
Men in prison uniforms were rushing out of what appeared to be the prison building.
“Stop! If you don’t stop, we’ll use force.”
“It’s the knights. Quick, run away!”
A fierce battle broke out between the fleeing prisoners and the knights rushing to subdue them.
“It seems the escapees are heading this way.”
The problem was that about a dozen fleeing criminals were running straight towards where Karina was.
It looked like they intended to hide in the chaotic marketplace.
“The situation doesn’t look good.”
The man turned to Karina after assessing the situation and continued speaking.
“We should probably get out of here for now.”
“No. There’s no need for that.”
At Karina’s calm response, he pointed ahead with a puzzled expression.
“Don’t you see those people? They’re even armed with vicious weapons.”
As he said, the escapees were armed with weapons like knives and axes, obtained from somewhere.
Their menacing aura suggested they would cut down anyone who got in their way in an instant.
But Karina remained unfazed even at the sight of them.
Because a tall man in black armor was walking towards the escapees.
If the unfamiliar man beside her gave off the impression of a dazzling white snow field, the man in black armor exuded an atmosphere like the night sky deeply dyed in pitch-black darkness.
His leisurely movements, as if out for a stroll, looked like those of an elegant black panther.
“Do you know him?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
The silver-haired man tilted his head at Karina’s ambiguous answer.
Karina frowned slightly and muttered.
“This could turn into a big mess…”
The silver-haired man nodded and responded.
“Indeed. The numbers are too many for one person to handle, we should hurry and stop…”
“I’m talking about the escapees. They’re trying to rush at that man without any fear. Don’t they value their lives?”
“…Pardon?”
Hearing the silver-haired man’s puzzled voice, Karina cast her gaze at Jeremiah.
Too many to handle alone?
That only applied to ordinary people.
Jeremiah Colsberg.
The Grand Duke of the highly esteemed House Colsberg and master of the North.
There was another name for him who guarded the frozen land.
The Empire’s strongest sword.
The ruler of victories with an undefeated record.
Three years later, it would be a legendary reputation known to every imperial citizen.
Of course, not many people knew of his skills yet.
It was before that incident where he slaughtered all the swarming magical beasts with just one sword.
“What? Do you want to die?”
“Get out of the way!”
The escapees charged at Jeremiah with wild screams.
Despite the threat of the escapees surging like waves, Jeremiah remained calm.
“Are you sure it’ll be alright?”
The man watching the situation asked again.
“Of course.”
Karina nodded once more.
Then suddenly, a question occurred to her.
‘Come to think of it, why am I speaking so formally to this man?’
She felt it might be because he had helped her in a somewhat dangerous situation.
At that moment,
“Die!”
“Crush him!”
The escapees swung their weapons at Jeremiah.
It was then that Jeremiah, who had only been walking steadily, reacted.
Shing.
The blade emerged from the scabbard at Jeremiah’s waist.
The dazzling flash of the blade reflecting the sunlight even created an illusion as if a shower of light was pouring down.
The surrounding murmurs, the hazy dust, the ear-splitting screams, the hissing sounds from all directions.
As if time had stopped, all those flows and noises disappeared.
In the distant silence, as if fallen into deep water, only Jeremiah’s sword alone emitted a silver flash.
Swish.
A short and concise sound that rang out in the suffocating stillness.
Click.
The bright light that had traced a brilliant trajectory along the sword disappeared in an instant.
That was the end of it.
Thud. Flop.
The escapees who had seemed ready to slash Jeremiah to pieces just moments ago fell lifelessly like puppets with cut strings.
There wasn’t even a scream.
When they came to their senses, there was only one person left standing at the scene.
Jeremiah Colsberg.
That man alone.
No one could defeat him with a sword.
“Still the same.”
Karina looked at him with furrowed brows.
The intermittent blood splatters all around and the deep pool of dark red blood at his feet.
In between, he looked impossibly clean for someone who had just finished a battle.
His figure, walking silently past the fallen enemies, was chilling like a grim reaper yet beautiful enough to draw admiration.
“Are you alright?”
Jeremiah approached Karina and asked about her well-being.
“I’m fine. Fortunately, this person saved me.”
“This person?”
Karina pointed to the silver-haired man beside her and said.
“When the explosion happened, this person shielded me.”
“He shielded you?”
Jeremiah’s gaze shifted to the silver-haired man.
The silver-haired man answered with a gentle smile.
“My name is Mikhail.”
“Mikhail, is it.”
Jeremiah scrutinized Mikhail’s appearance with hawk-like eyes.
Seeing Mikhail’s appearance in worn robes, Jeremiah continued.
“You don’t seem like an ordinary traveler…”
“I’m a wandering mage on a journey. Saving this lady was mere coincidence, so you needn’t concern yourself too much.”
“…A mage?”
Jeremiah’s eye corners twitched at Mikhail’s words.
“Grand Duke!”
Just then, a knight hurriedly came before Jeremiah, glanced around, and whispered something in his ear.
At that moment, the atmosphere suddenly became subtle.
Jeremiah turned back to Mikhail with lowered, intense eyes.
“You said you’re a mage. Then where are you affiliated?”
“As I mentioned earlier, I’m a wanderer… so I’m not currently affiliated anywhere.”
“What were you doing here now?”
“I was just passing by…”
“I see.”
Shing.
When had he drawn it?
Jeremiah’s sword was pointing at his neck.
“…Why are you doing this?”
To Mikhail’s question asking for a reason, Jeremiah replied in a cold voice.
“I’m arresting you on suspicion of involvement in the jailbreak.”
[This is the timeline separator]“That can’t be.”
Back at the mansion, Karina strongly protested the arrest of the silver-haired man who had saved her.
“The investigation of the explosion that destroyed the prison revealed evidence of a mage’s involvement. And a mage who coincidentally appeared at the scene. Moreover, a wandering mage without proper affiliation. Isn’t that enough to suspect him?”
“He’s innocent.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Karina was momentarily at a loss for words at Jeremiah’s pointed question.
How did she know?
‘If he were the culprit or an accomplice, he wouldn’t have been leisurely spectating there.’
If he had really been involved in the jailbreak incident, he would have used magic to escape or attack.
And the somehow relaxed atmosphere emanating from him also played a part.
But such explanations wouldn’t work on Jeremiah at all.
“He’s someone who saved me from danger when we just met today. There’s no way such a person would be involved in a jailbreak.”
“That will naturally come to light during the investigation. Rather, I’m curious why you’re so adamant about defending that mage.”
“You really are…”
Hoo.
Karina let out a sigh that sounded like lamentation.
Yes, he was always like this.
Someone who moves strictly by the rules. A person who has built walls against flexibility or consideration.
“Fine. Then let me meet him. I want to know what circumstances he’s in.”
“He might be the culprit who caused the explosion. I cannot allow it.”
“Are you saying I can’t even offer words of comfort to my benefactor?”
Jeremiah’s straight brows twitched in response to the word ‘benefactor’.
“I’ll say it again. I cannot allow it. And…”
He warned Karina with cold eyes.
“Don’t use the word ‘benefactor’ so carelessly in front of me.”
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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