Trapped in the Mad Duke's Snare (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12

It happened in an instant.

Adeline had no way to avoid Cassis’s gaze because both her cheeks were held.

Before she could even feel discomfort from his red eyes, something touched and left her lips.

“What is this right now…….”

Adeline looked at Cassis with eyes stained with confusion.

As their two gazes met straight on, Cassis slanted the corner of his mouth upward.

“You’re not avoiding it now.”

Adeline could not take her eyes off the duke.

The duke’s red eyes seemed like embers were blooming inside them.

The small embers gradually spread in power under Adeline’s straight gaze, appearing as if they were blazing.

“Don’t avoid it ever again.”

Eyes that were already red beyond measure shone ferociously toward Adeline.

The duke slowly lifted Adeline’s chin, tilted his head sideways, and approached.

Adeline unknowingly shut her eyes tightly at his face gradually coming closer.

Soon, their lips met, and Cassis invaded, parting the seam of Adeline’s teeth.

A hot breath rushed in with a whoosh. As if bound by that hot breath, she could not move a single finger.

Her mind became distant.

The two focused on each other as if they had lost their reason. Even the mercilessly pouring rain sound seemed inaudible to them.

The moment the kiss became increasingly dense, a flash of light flickered and brightly filled the bedroom before vanishing.

In that blinding flash, Adeline snapped back to her senses.

“Ah!”

Startled, Adeline pushed the duke away with force in the hands placed on his chest.

At the urgent touch, the duke obediently stepped back one pace from Adeline.

“Over there…….”

Adeline could not finish her words, unsure how to bring them up.

The duke, gazing at Adeline’s endlessly trembling eyes, raised his hand and rubbed her reddened mouth.

“Wash up now.”

The heat in his red eyes had not cooled at all, but he smiled gently and slowly moved away from Adeline.

Adeline hurriedly entered the bathroom, as if the situation was unbearably embarrassing.

Leaning against the bathroom door, she clutched her wildly pounding heart that seemed about to burst.

Why did he become such a different person!

She had only lowered a zipper for him, yet she never imagined it would lead to kissing like this.

‘What should I do…….’

Adeline quietly placed her hand on her swollen red lips. Her mind was completely filled with the moment her lips touched Cassis’s.

Adeline’s face burned hotly. Even splashing cold water did nothing to calm it.

Adeline did not realize it. That looking into Cassis’s eyes was no longer as frightening as before.

[This is the timeline separator]

The sky outside the window had cleared brightly, as if the heavy rain had never fallen.

After finishing her shower, Adeline left the bedroom and encountered the duke standing in the hallway.

Meeting his red eyes, the earlier events began to resurface in her memory.

Adeline hurriedly bowed her head to hide her flushing face.

“Mel, I’m going out to the city for a bit!”

“Now? Why suddenly to the city…….”

Cassis seemed naturally intent on following her.

But Adeline had no intention of waiting for Cassis to prepare.

“I’ll be back soon. Don’t follow me. Stay and guard the house well!”

Without even listening to Cassis’s reply, leaving only her words, Adeline hurriedly left the mansion.

If she stayed in the same space as Cassis, those earlier thoughts would not leave her mind.

She felt she absolutely could not stay with him.

Part of it was embarrassment from the kiss with Cassis, but there was truly business in the city.

The shattered window. If she did not fix that window, Cassis would inevitably call a repairman.

Thus, Adeline headed toward the village.

She had stopped by the hardware store and was on her way out after buying simple tools.

A boy selling newspapers in front of the shop caught Adeline’s eye.

‘Could there be some news published?’

For some unknown reason, the empire’s only duke was injured and in this remote village.

Surely, a considerable time had passed since the duke disappeared from the capital.

Since the duke’s disappearance was tantamount to going missing, she thought a huge article would be on the front page of the capital’s daily newspaper.

“Kid, give me one newspaper too.”

Adeline called the boy, gave him a coin, and took the newspaper.

Contrary to expectations, there was no content about the duke anywhere in the newspaper.

The headline in very large letters covered the missing case of a marchioness young lady, not the duke.

[ Special Report! The beautiful young lady of House Credion. Missing ] [ The marchioness young lady of the Credion family has wheat-colored hair and gray eyes…… ]

On the front page of the newspaper, a detailed description of Adeline’s appearance was listed.

‘Why are they only now publishing an article about me?’

Adeline could not hide her bewilderment. Quite some time had passed since she left home.

There was no way Marquis Credion did not know she had left home, yet why was he suddenly starting to search for her now.

Even though all media outlets were under the control of the marquis family, the fact that a detailed description of her appearance was published meant one thing clearly.

That the crown prince had ordered Marquis Credion to start searching for her.

Adeline was enveloped in the feeling that the marquis would find her any moment and throw her before the crown prince’s eyes.

‘This is a complete death flag.’

Adeline trembled all over from the suffocating fear that rushed in.

At that moment, in this quiet Horn region, majestic footsteps resounded.

It was the sound like hard boots striking the muddy ground.

Enveloped in some uneasy feeling, Adeline hid her body at the entrance of a small alley.

After some time passed, several shadows began to appear on the main road beyond the alley.

“Have you perhaps seen a person who looks like this?”

“If I had seen such a beauty, I would remember it instantly! This is the first time?”

In front of the newsstand where she had taken out the newspaper, one man in uniform among the group was searching for someone.

Even through the narrow view between alleys, the emblem on the man’s shoulder was clearly visible.

The emblem of House Credion.

Two pairs of intertwined snakes embroidered on gray epaulets. The moment she saw that emblem, Adeline got chills.

The article about Adeline’s disappearance was in today’s newspaper, yet they were searching even in the Horn region far from the capital.

They must have been searching for her all along.

Adeline instinctively hid deeper into the alley.

Just how many troops had been deployed. Her fear only continued to grow.

‘I shouldn’t come to the city for a while.’

To avoid the troops, Adeline turned her body toward the opposite side of the alley she had entered.

She began hurrying back home. As soon as she left the city and reached the forest path, Adeline quickened her steps even more.

The forest path toward home was silent without a single sound. The suffocating quiet spurred Adeline’s anxiety.

It was too late.

She had said she was going to the city, but she was worried about the duke waiting at home.

Had she come about halfway. The rain that had subsided during the day began to fall again.

The rain gradually gained momentum and started pouring so heavily that it was impossible to pass through.

First, it seemed best to take shelter from the rain.

Adeline hid under a large tree and caught her breath.

She should not have gone to the city; she never imagined they would come searching even to this remote village.

Adeline looked up at the sky.

After gazing at the sky for a while. Far away between the trees, a large dark silhouette seemed visible.

In the thick rain pouring down as if emptying everything, Adeline could not properly grasp the situation.

‘No way. It can’t be someone from the marquis family, right?’

She thought she had escaped the village well, but Adeline suddenly felt fear.

The dark silhouette seemed to be getting closer to her little by little.

“@#$%^&*~.”

All sounds were buried in the tremendously pouring rain.

Yet, piercing through the rain sound, some murmuring was heard.

I have to run.

Adeline was certain that voice belonged to the marquis family’s knight she had seen in the city.

It was not the time to take shelter from the rain. Adeline left the large tree and started running.

She could not be caught and dragged away like this.

“Huff…….”

Adeline felt like her breath would burst. Yet she absolutely could not slow her steps.

Because that black silhouette was not getting farther but closer.

She could not head to the duke’s villa.

She could not let the marquis find out she was hiding and living there. She had to flee as far as possible from the villa.

As Adeline changed direction and started running, the black silhouette followed.

It was definitely chasing her.

In her previous life, she had not committed any particularly great wrong.

Yet,

‘Why is this happening only to me?’

Struggling to survive while fleeing, she felt so pitiful about herself.

Scratches began to form on her arms from fleeing between the trees.

If caught here, she would be dragged to the crown prince and killed. In the face of imminent death, the scratches were not a problem at all.

“@#$%^&*!!”

No matter how much she fled, the black silhouette raised its voice more and more, closing the distance to Adeline.

Adeline ran with all her strength at full speed. She could not look back.

Perhaps because of the heavy rain that had continued from previous days.

Everywhere, piles of earth from landslides and trees were entangled. Adeline hid her body among the earth piles.

Her legs had no more strength to flee.

Barely holding onto her fading consciousness, Adeline had no energy left. She only hoped they would not find where she was hiding.

Her breath came in painful gasps, and her heart felt like it would burst.

However, as if mocking Adeline’s wish, the black silhouette appeared from behind.

A large hand gripped Adeline’s shoulder.

The strong and firm grip holding Adeline’s shoulder. An inescapable vise brought intense terror.

It was the end.