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Chapter 92




Chapter 92: The Hero Steals Yeuju’s First Love
11. A Shattered World
- No, I don’t have such feelings.
- What if they still exist?
Neither option seemed favorable to him. To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, I chose the first one.
“No, I don’t have such feelings.”
As I said this, I glanced at Pio beside me. His expression didn’t change much, but his affection level rose slightly.
“R, Really?”
A hint of color returned to Wilhelm’s face.
“Why? Do you think that if you win Tatiana’s heart, you’ll have a chance with her?”
“No, nothing like that...”
Though he trailed off, it was clear he was hopeful.
Seeing Wilhelm’s hopeful expression made me feel strange. What would happen if they found out that all these emotions were artificially created?
“Have you ever thought that your feelings for Tatiana are strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Have you ever thought it’s strange how your feelings changed so abruptly?”
In response to my question, Wilhelm laughed confidently.
“Of course, I’ve never thought it was strange.”
His bright, confident smile made me feel uneasy.
I wanted to see that confidence shattered and his face fall.
“Tatiana is the only light in my life, and protecting her is my life’s goal.”
“Liar.”
The male leads weren’t just driven by such pure emotions.
Raymond desired power, and Daniel sought honor.
They showed their raw desires to me, but not to Tatiana.
“You’re not satisfied just being by Tatiana’s side, are you?”
“What do you know about me to say such things?”
“I know more than you think. We attended the academy together, and after all, our engagement lasted quite a while.”
Moreover, in my previous life, I had experience as a player in his story.
Wilhelm might not realize it, but I knew more about him than he thought.
“Think about it. Consider what you’ve lost by choosing Tatiana. Is it really worth trading for her?”
“I am content with my life now.”
“Really? It doesn’t look that way to me...”
I stood up, holding Pio.
Wilhelm looked confused.
Has he never regretted his choice?
“Tatiana doesn’t value you as much as you think. If she truly cherished you, she wouldn’t have made you a subordinate to her husband.”
He bit his lip, as if I had hit a nerve.
“Think about it, Sir Wilhelm. Is this path really the right one?”
This time, Wilhelm, who usually proclaimed his love, remained silent.
He was definitely shaken. I smiled and left the room.
I quickly looked down at Pio and asked.
“How was it? Did you see any distorted mana being generated just now?”
[Hmm, it did seem to be generated, but the amount doesn’t seem enough to cause this.]
Hearing Pio’s words, I felt deflated.
If the amount is too small, Tatiana’s bracelet might not be the root cause.
“What if I was wrong?”
[Hmm, who do you think we are! If you bring that woman, we can definitely solve it.]
“I wanted to create a purification device because even Pio was unsure.”
[Uh, uh.]
There were too many things to resolve.
I needed to tackle them one by one.
I decided to take a walk with Pio to clear my thoughts.
Pio, who seemed to dislike the hot sand under his bare feet, demanded to be carried.
“Sigh, you can’t even walk properly here. What am I supposed to do?”
[The ground is soft and unbearably hot!]
“Yes, yes. I understand.”
Despite his large and sturdy appearance, I couldn’t figure out why he acted this way.
The weather was already hot, and carrying the warm fur ball made me sweat.
Moreover, carrying a dog in this world drew a lot of attention from people.
‘This damn dog.’
It seemed the wolves’ expressions were clearer when Pio was around.
While cursing them in my mind, Pio, who was in my arms, lifted his head and whispered.
[There’s something strange around here.]
“Strange?”
[Yeah, it doesn’t seem like he’s using magic...]
Before Pio could finish, someone approached me.
A man with red hair and golden eyes reminded me of someone.
“Pleased to meet you, Lady.”
The man already knew my identity.
“Who are you?”
“I am Eitan, the heir of the Cassel family.”
His words made me feel an eerie similarity to Raymond.
“Why has the Cassel family come to see me? Surely you haven’t forgotten about the assassin you sent to our family.”
“Haha, we made many mistakes back then. As you know, Raymond and our family don’t get along well.”
Eitan licked his lips and smiled slightly.
Seeing his smile, I was reminded of Raymond.
‘They are family, after all.’
However, unlike Raymond, who had a youthful charm, Eitan exuded a more mature and dangerous allure.
“I’ve always wanted to meet you, Lady. But this time...”
“Get to the point and tell me what you want.”
He looked taken aback.
“To ask for something, shouldn’t you compensate for the harm you’ve caused first?”
How brazen to ask such a difficult favor so casually.
“If you want money...”
“Does the Pheonion Dukedom lack money?”
Just like with Daniel, money wasn’t that important.
After all, we had more than enough to last a lifetime.
“Then what do you want?”
“I know you’re trying to monopolize the logistics business by sponsoring Giovanni Transport.”
“...”
A crack appeared on Eitan’s face.
He hadn’t expected me to ask him to give up part of his business.
I smiled and said to him.
“Is that too difficult? Actually, I don’t have any other requests for the Cassel family.”
“I didn’t expect you to ask for something like that...”
If life could be solved with money, how happy would that be?
Thinking everything could be solved with money was too simplistic.
Eitan was silent.
Given the magnitude of the issue, it was too much for him to decide alone as the heir.
“You don’t have to answer right away. Think about it and get back to me.”
I gave him a smile and left.
As I moved away from Eitan, Pio tilted his head.
“What’s wrong?”
[It’s strange, it’s not him.]
He sniffed around but found nothing.
I had to console the disappointed Pio and return to the room.
* * *
After being caught in a heavy rain, Andrew fell ill for a long time.
Considering he hadn’t been sick for years, this illness was particularly severe.
For several days, he ran a high fever and had long, vivid dreams.
These dreams were from the period when he met Tatiana and drifted away from Karina.
When he first met Karina, it felt like a dream.
As a prince, he had lived a life of luxury.
People said Andrew would become the crown prince.
And he believed it too.
His father, the late emperor, had despised Aster.
He would call Andrew in front of people and make him a laughingstock, enjoying it.
Andrew was among those laughing.
How foolish and ignorant he had been.
They were laughing at a caged beast, unaware that it was waiting for an opportunity.
After his father’s mysterious death, Andrew’s world changed dramatically.
The brothers who had laughed with him were all purged under Aster’s sharp blade.
The beast that was released from the cage was not just any beast.
Its ferocity shook Andrew’s life to the core.
Andrew, stripped of his name and face, barely managed to escape to the Lebron Viscount’s family.
The people he met again were cruel to him.
Andrew, no longer the emperor’s favored prince but just another Andrew in the remote Lebron Viscount’s family, was nothing to them.
They all pretended not to know him, as if he didn’t exist.
At first, it was hard to adapt to the disdainful attitudes.
He had no one around him.
Having never approached anyone first, Andrew didn’t know how to reach out and lived alone at the academy.
Andrew felt as if he had lost himself entirely.
As he gradually lost himself and adapted to his new life, one day,
“What are you doing here?”
Karina’s words began to illuminate his life.