My Arrogant and Insolent Shadow - Chapter 32

Her fragile body trembled, as if it might break with the slightest pressure.

Curled up in fear, she looked completely out of place in this secretive space she had dared to enter without permission.

Even though she was the one who had been tricked, to anyone else looking in, it would seem as though he had done something terrible to her.

As if he were the predator, and she the helpless, beautiful prey caught in his hands.

It was an absurd scene.

Why did you come here?

This place, created for treatment, was filled with pain. It was a dreadful room, soaked in suffering.

The process was brutal. He had to sit in freezing water until his body went numb, and then let his skin be covered in white vapor. It felt like every illness in his body crawled up his spine.

Because of that, everyone was strictly forbidden from entering, since the procedure was done without clothing.

The butler, always careful not to offend him, had likely repeated the rules again and again.

This girl had no reason to ignore any of them.

Especially not when she was now sitting there, clearly disgusted by the very sight of him.

Even if her face looked calmer now than in the past few days, he knew well it was all just a mask.

So what brought her here? What made her walk into this place on her own?

It wasn’t hard to guess.

This girl had made many enemies.

From the moment she entered the estate. No, even before that since the moment she started serving him.

No one had looked at her kindly.

The instructions to speak formally to her, to decorate her room more lavishly than others, had all worked to isolate her.

And he had known that. He had done it intentionally. The more cut off she became, the more she would cling to him.

He remembered what the maids used to whisper about her.

They said she was his mistress.

It would have made sense to punish them and throw them out, but Cassian had left it alone.

Because the rumor was amusing.

Maybe he should reward the one who set this little trap. After all, it had led to something quite entertaining.

A bitter smile crept across his face.

“I didn’t mean to…”

Her voice, shaking and thin, drifted through the air.

“You didn’t mean to what?”

His lips curled upward gently.

Someone had sent her here.

Her insistence that she didn’t know anything, the trembling, the pale expression—every bit of it confirmed it.

Still, she was the one who saw everything, and he was the one left exposed.

Even if it wasn’t intentional, shouldn’t the victim decide what happens next?

Despite shaking, she didn’t hesitate to speak.

“I thought… I thought you were the one who called me here.”

Her gaze was all over the place, unable to settle, yet her voice carried a strange confidence. Almost comical.

But even so, she couldn’t hide the tears welling up in her clear, emerald-green eyes.

“You were looking for me. That’s what the note said. I swear, it was written there…”

She started fumbling at her dress, trying to find the note. Her face grew more and more lost.

Cassian watched her silently. There was something oddly interesting about her confusion.

But then, her eyes lifted toward him, filled with distress.

He thought the sight would satisfy him, but instead, something unpleasant stirred inside him like smoke.

She looked more shocked by the missing note than by having seen his body.

That didn’t sit well with him.

Ridiculous.

So, what now?

He couldn’t allow the rat who had dared to disrupt his mood to stay in this estate.

He gently lifted her chin. Her emerald eyes filled with his reflection.

Lowering himself closer, Cassian whispered softly by her ear.

“Who’s going to believe that?”

Her pretty eyes twisted with frustration as she tried to explain herself.

Even in that messy, desperate state, she still looked beautiful. I must really be insane.

Or maybe it’s not me. Maybe it’s her face that’s insane.

The real problem is the fox that casts the spell, not the one who gets caught in it.

And if that’s true, then she’s been a problem from the very beginning.

“I really did receive a note from someone…”

“Oh, so is this the part where I start shouting?”

A sharp smile appeared on Cassian’s face.

If he did raise his voice, everything would spiral out of control. The lord might come, or worse, Lady Blanchet.

If that happened, in this place where the young master’s word was law, what would happen to her?

What about her mother, who was probably waiting in their room, completely unaware of what was going on?

Yurisiel’s face had turned so pale it was almost transparent.

She understood. He could be angry. She had seen him exposed. That was enough to justify it.

But it hadn’t been on purpose, and he knew that better than anyone.

His calm smile showed it. He wasn’t angry. He was enjoying this.

If he had yelled or raged, she could have told herself he was just upset. But that gentle, composed smile made it all the more cruel.

Her chest tightened. The words burst out before she could stop them.

“You know I didn’t mean to. You know it wasn’t on purpose.”

“And if I do know, what does that change?”

“…”

“To anyone else, it just looks like some girl tried to seduce the Blanchet heir.”

“What are you talking about…?”

He stepped forward, closing the distance between them.

His breath brushed against her skin. Warm, soft, far too close.

Then, in a whisper mixed with breath, his voice wrapped around her ear.

“So the heir to the Blanchet family has a servant girl who enjoys spying on his body? That kind of story would be torn apart for being too unrealistic. Don’t you think so?”

The pressure in the air choked her. She couldn’t speak.

“Should I keep it a secret?”

Yurisiel’s body trembled, full of shame.

“I didn’t do anything like that.”

Water trickled down from his fingers as he held her chin.

“Really?”

“…”

“So you’re saying my eyes are the ones that were wrong?”

His gaze lingered, watching her like he was studying something under glass.

In this version of the story, she was the one at fault, and he would be the kind and noble one who kept her secret.

That had to be what he wanted. He was just enjoying the sight of her losing her composure.

Simple.

The conversation he had with the butler earlier echoed in her mind.

He was leaving. He would be gone soon.

He would walk away from Alphonse and forget people like her, as if they never existed.

He would leave behind the mess and move on with a clean smile.

This was someone who could ruin another person’s life while looking gentle and noble doing it.

That was why her answer had already been decided from the beginning.

“Please… keep it a secret.”

Yurisiel said it just the way he wanted her to.

She asked again and again. Please keep it a secret.

That word, secret, once felt dirty and heavy. Now it almost seemed to shine.

Her voice, saying it, was soft enough to be worth recording, as if it should be saved forever.

Far outside the window, he spotted her again.

From the time she left the rooftop to when she finally sat down to eat, she hadn’t regained any color in her face.

Only when she reached the shade beneath the large zelkova tree did her cheeks finally show a faint bit of warmth.

Her appearance lingered in his mind. She didn’t look like someone carrying a secret.

Watching her elegant movements, so far removed from her low status, Cassian reached for the bell cord and gave it a gentle pull.

When Lanod appeared, Cassian spoke in a low voice.

“Someone sent her to the rooftop today.”

“Sir?”

“Find out who it was.”

Lanod looked troubled but gave a respectful bow.

Cassian didn’t react. He leaned back in the armchair, his gaze still fixed on Yurisiel outside.

He had clearly seen the way her eyes flinched the moment they landed on him.

If she stood there and watched long enough, she must have also heard it.

The talk about him possibly leaving for the capital.

Did she get excited like the butler did, practically thrilled? Or was she trembling, worried about the medicine her real mother needed?

I should have stayed and watched her face when she heard it.

In truth, I was never going to leave this place.

The progress reports that the butler loved to quote from the daily papers always claimed there was improvement in the research.

Those false updates were often leaked to impress Blanchet and secure more funding.

Giving people like me a false sense of hope in the process.

Of course, I wouldn’t count myself among the victims.

I had long since given up. I didn’t bother hoping for anything anymore.

Still, this peace wouldn’t last.

The real storm was always elsewhere, waiting.

“The horse thief.”

Even without finishing the sentence, Cassian’s question was clear, and the butler answered promptly.

“Handled, just as you instructed.”

A satisfied smile spread across Cassian’s lips.

“Bring me a magic stone.”

“Pardon? A magic stone, sir? Why… all of a sudden?”

Magic stones, made from rare material that could absorb magic, were not only expensive but extremely difficult to find.

The butler already felt a headache coming on.

But emotions like that were things he could never allow to show.

“Do I need to explain myself?”

“N-no, sir.”

As the butler disappeared, Cassian continued staring in the direction where that flowing red hair had vanished.

The magic stone would be carved into a recording crystal, and it would hold her voice.

There was something he wanted to hear.

And he would keep it with him, until the day he died.

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