Trapped in the Mad Duke's Snare (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 11
The rain that had started falling since early last night steadily intensified, and by morning, it poured down as if the sky itself had torn open.
As if a storm were about to rage, Adeline’s eyes snapped open instinctively at the sound of the heavy downpour.
The storm hinges on the windows rattled noisily, as though struggling under the weight of the deluge.
‘Will this house hold up?’
After all, this was no ordinary place—it was Duke Torpeo’s villa, even if neglected.
Just yesterday, watching the rain fall, she had thought it would be fine.
‘Surely Duke Torpeo’s villa wouldn’t collapse.’
But faced with this alarming downpour, Adeline began to worry.
Just looking at the windows shaking violently in the wind made it feel as if something terrible was about to happen.
And not long after, her fears became reality.
A flash of lightning split the sky, accompanied by a clap of thunder, and then came a sharp cracking sound.
“What—what was that? Ah!”
Startled by the tremendous crash, Adeline hurried to the window and gasped in shock.
The ancient tree right beneath her window had apparently been struck by lightning, splitting cleanly in two.
“What’s happening, Del?”
Hearing Adeline’s scream, the Duke rushed over to her.
Frantically, she pointed toward the window.
Beyond it, one half of the split tree slowly began to tilt toward the mansion’s wall.
In an instant, the falling tree smashed through the window and crashed right into the house.
Without a word, Adeline and the Duke locked eyes in midair.
“…What should we do?”
“Oh dear. The window’s completely ruined.”
Adeline sighed, unable to believe what was happening.
Just then, as she stood stomping in place, unsure what to do,
another thunderous crash shook the mansion—this time from the room beside them.
“That sound! Isn’t that the study window?”
The two quickly left the bedroom and headed toward the study.
Sure enough, the study window was utterly destroyed from the impact with the tree.
Glass shards were scattered across the floor, and rain poured fiercely through the open window.
“Good heavens.”
Adeline let out a sigh filled with despair.
But staying idle wouldn’t fix anything. Just as Adeline began picking up the glass shards one by one,
the Duke, who had been watching her, approached and stopped her.
“You’ll hurt your hands. Let me do it—come away.”
At the Duke’s urging, Adeline stepped back and stared at the window.
In her view appeared a window hanging by a single broken hinge.
‘How can we even repair this?’
Seeing how precariously the window dangled, Adeline decided to remove the hinge herself.
The closer she got to the window, the harder the rain lashed against her, soaking her instantly.
Ignoring it, she tried to pry the hinge off with her bare hands.
The Duke, who had nearly finished clearing the glass, noticed her reckless action and shouted,
“Del, let’s call a repairman! The rain’s too heavy—we can’t handle this ourselves.”
“No.”
Adeline replied as she tugged at the hinge.
“Don’t do that—just call a repairman.”
It was then that the Duke stood up and grabbed her wrist to stop her.
“I already said no!”
Adeline shook off his hand sharply, shouting before she even realized it.
Back at the dress shop, that whole mess had already happened—if she called a repairman now and he found out this man was Duke Torpeo, what then?
But the Duke, unaware of Adeline’s worries, couldn’t understand her.
How could they possibly fix this enormous house by themselves?
“Del! Why are you being so stubborn…?”
Just as the Duke tried once more to stop her from removing the hinge,
“Ah!”
Adeline lost her balance and fell from the windowsill.
At the same moment, a sharp, twisted edge of the hinge sliced across her palm.
A pained groan escaped her lips. Bright red blood dripped steadily from her palm onto the floor.
“I told you not to do it!”
Seeing the blood streaming down Adeline’s palm, the Duke’s anger flared.
He knew she was stubborn, but he hadn’t expected her to be this unreasonable.
He’d been anxiously watching her perilously lean against the window, determined to fix it herself.
And now, an accident had happened just as he feared.
“Why must you be so obstinate?! Look at your injury.”
The Duke frowned deeply as he lifted her hand to inspect the cut.
“Ah—it’s deeply sliced. Huh… Wait here. I’ll get medicine.”
He stormed out the door with a loud bang. Only then did Adeline sink to the floor, clutching her head.
“Ha….”
Nothing was going right.
She never truly believed she could fix the broken window herself.
But since calling a repairman wasn’t an option right now, she’d tried to manage it somehow.
‘It’s not like I wanted to get hurt. I’m the one injured—why is he the one angry?’
Just as bitter emotions welled up inside her, the Duke returned.
Without a word, he began treating her hand.
Adeline’s gaze drifted past his back.
Throughout the treatment, the relentless rain continued pouring into the study, soaking everything.
“We should probably block the incoming rainwater….”
At Adeline’s murmured words, the Duke’s eyes shifted toward her.
After scanning the study, he pointed to a piece of furniture and said,
“For now, let’s block the window with that piece. It looks easy enough to move. Then tomorrow, we’ll call a repairman.”
Adeline’s breath hitched as she saw the furniture he indicated.
It was the very piece concealing the passageway to the basement.
“No!”
She couldn’t possibly reveal the basement entrance. All she could do was keep shouting.
“Why not?”
The Duke’s brow furrowed.
His voice sank low as he asked the stubborn Adeline,
“No repairman, and not that furniture either.”
Adeline had become someone who could only keep repeating “no.”
“Why have you been so obstinate since earlier?”
Unaware of the real reason, the Duke simply couldn’t understand her stubbornness.
“Fine. If it’s impossible, then forget it. Leave it alone—I’ll handle the house myself.”
“Ha! Do as you please. I don’t care anymore.”
At Adeline’s sharp, irritated tone, the Duke abruptly stood and stormed out of the study.
He strode quickly away and left the room.
Adeline walked to the window and yanked the curtains shut.
She couldn’t bear to see the rain crashing in any longer.
Her soaked dress clung uncomfortably to her skin, and her throbbing palm—everything just infuriated her.
[This is the timeline separator]Uncomfortable in her damp dress, Adeline returned to her bedroom.
Had the villa always been this large? Today, the bedroom felt unusually quiet and shadowy when she was alone.
Just as Adeline reached behind her back to unzip her wet dress,
“…Ah!”
A sharp pain surged through her palm.
The cut must have been deeper than she’d thought—it throbbed painfully with every slight movement.
She kept fumbling with the zipper slider. Frustrated that even taking off her wet clothes wasn’t going smoothly,
– Click.
She heard the bedroom door open behind her.
Had the Duke returned? Adeline paused mid-motion and turned toward the sound.
Unaware that she was about to change, he strode into the room
and plopped down irritably onto the sofa, his anger still not fully dissipated.
No words passed between them.
Adeline, who needed to change, found his presence utterly baffling.
“Could you step out for a moment? I need to change.”
She spoke without even looking in his direction.
“Why should I leave?”
Perhaps still annoyed from their earlier argument—or simply feeling contrary—he showed no sign of budging.
“Then stay there, I suppose.”
At Adeline’s quiet, weary reply, the Duke stood up.
Perhaps he’d suddenly realized how childish he was being. He headed toward the bedroom door.
‘What on earth am I doing?’
Already exhausted from the heavy rain, she now found herself wasting emotional energy unnecessarily.
She didn’t fail to understand his feelings, but she lacked the strength to explain everything in detail.
And since she couldn’t possibly reveal the whole truth, she felt even more trapped.
Well, nothing to be done.
Adeline returned to struggling with the zipper on her dress.
She was so close—just a little more—but her hand kept slipping.
And whenever she forced it, her injured palm stung sharply.
“Ha….”
All the emotions Adeline had been suppressing surged up uncontrollably.
She’d always thought her life was hard enough—only to die suddenly without a sunny day in sight, run over by a car.
In this life, she’d hoped things would be different with a father by her side—but her blood relatives remained indifferent.
To them, she was merely a daughter they could do without.
Even when the Crown Prince—who killed every fiancé she had—had proposed, Marquis Credion had shown no concern.
Desperate, Adeline had fled House Credion and come all the way to this villa.
She’d believed that if she could just save Duke Torpeo, she’d be saved too.
But nothing ever went right.
At this point, she almost wished she’d pretended not to know him and left him alone entirely.
Once negative thoughts started flowing, they deepened endlessly, quickly swallowing her whole,
and pulling her down into a dark abyss.
Just as her eyes grew damp with unshed tears,
“…So stubborn.”
A flat, low voice brushed against her ear. Surprised, Adeline tried to turn—but felt a man’s solid chest press firmly against her back.
He must have come back, though she’d assumed he’d left.
Taking hold of her wrist, he pulled her hand down and whispered softly near her ear,
“Stay still.”
The Duke’s warm fingers brushed against Adeline’s neck—her body chilled from the soaked dress.
“What have you been doing all this time, letting yourself get this cold?”
“Ah!”
The sudden touch made Adeline flinch.
“With your hand in this state, how did you think you could manage that zipper?”
He let out a sigh and slowly began unzipping her dress.
The tiny zipper seemed to move so slowly it might have stopped altogether.
As it descended past her back and toward her waist, Adeline’s pale skin gradually came into view.
Then something soft and warm touched her half-bared shoulder.
Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, Adeline instinctively tried to turn.
“What just…?”
Just as she began to speak,
his large hands firmly grasped her slender shoulders, and he lowered his head, resting his forehead against hers.
The Duke’s warm breath brushed against her bare back, then faded.
Adeline froze, unable to move, as heat bloomed deep within her.
“Del.”
At the Duke’s low, almost growling whisper, Adeline found herself unable to utter a word.
A long silence passed, then slowly, the Duke turned her to face him.
His eyes met hers instantly—eyes as red as blood.
In that moment, Adeline instinctively stepped backward.
His crimson eyes burned so fiercely they seemed ablaze.
Unable to meet his gaze, Adeline looked away. In those eyes, she saw herself reflected as if she were his entire world—and that terrified her.
Guilt and tension over deceiving him churned inside her, overwhelming her completely.
“Why do you keep avoiding my eyes this time?”
“I’m not avoiding them.”
Adeline tried to turn away, feigning ignorance.
But before she could, the Duke’s large hands reached out first and cupped both her cheeks.
“Then don’t look away.”
His face drew closer as his low voice tickled her ear.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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MANGA DISCUSSION
3 Comments
Chapter Comments (56)
Why is he looking for her now? How despicable her father is! Why doesn’t he just leave her alone? That filthy crown prince!
Wow this guy is unbelievably sweet and thoughtful. He’s behaving like a model lover. He is even putting up with unreasonable demands.
Adeline is being too cruel to Cassis. I know she’s reacting out of panic and free, but she really should apologize for her meanness.
Inline Comments (29)
Not realizing how deeply he might probe, Adeline continued to fumble through her
Why not be honest here? She is in the paper & people from her house are in town.
“Hey, Mel… about yesterday… I was too sensitive. I’m sorry.”
Yay! I’m glad she apologized. I would have been annoyed if she didn’t.
He couldn’t allow anyone to take Adeline away. He needed to confirm that she bel
It’s unusual how quickly the Duke seems to have developed feelings for Adeline. These feelings appear to go beyond ‘I believe this person to be my lover therefore I treat them well’
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Artemtisforaday
Are we about to get a kiss in only 12 chapters? 😂
She’s kind of an idiot for trying to take down that hinge thingy and being so stubborn about it. She could have asked him to do it since he’s stronger.
Blairwoods
“Then don’t look away.”
His face drew closer as his low voice tickled her ear.
Kyaaaaaaaa!!!!!
Miioo
What? Did something happen to her? Wow, the Duke seems very dangerous.