My Arrogant and Insolent Shadow - Chapter 46

The officers who had politely escorted Cassian inside quickly disappeared without offering any resistance, unlike before.

As the door clicked shut, Cassian stepped past the iron bars and walked straight into the room where Yurisiel was seated.

Her fragile body trembled violently under his gaze.

She had been told he collapsed.

She thought he might never wake up again.

But those rumors must have been nothing but nonsense. He stood before her now, steady and composed, just as he had always been.

Though his face looked slightly pale at a glance, Yurisiel could tell he was no different from usual. She had been by his side long enough to know.

Was she going mad? Was this some kind of hallucination?

Even as she heard the sound of his footsteps drawing closer, it didn’t feel real.

Yurisiel shivered as if she had seen a ghost.

Her body moved backward on instinct.

But in a room sealed from all sides, there was nowhere to run.

As she tried to retreat, Cassian reached out and grabbed her. He easily turned her face toward him with one hand.

Her reflection was clearly captured in his red eyes.

Her tangled red hair, her chapped and cracked lips, the tear-stained face.

Nothing was missing. Every detail was held in those eyes.

A crack appeared in Cassian’s calm expression as he looked down at her.

It was almost laughable. Even in this state, she had gone to the officers and said she found the man with silver hair.

He had collapsed completely after learning what happened to his mother.

Naturally, everything that had happened to Yurisiel over the past few days had reached Cassian’s ears.

Even the fact that she never once came looking for him.

And now, she looked at him as if he were some kinds of ghost come back to life.

This was not what he wanted to see.

This wasn’t the image he had hoped for.

He already knew she would eventually beg for his help. That was inevitable. So why did it bother him so much?

A storm of emotions stirred inside him. Feelings he couldn’t name twisted through his chest.

A vague sense of anger and discomfort rose within him, distorting his face.

The veins in his clenched fists stood out.

But really, was it her fault?

In the end, he was the one who came back to this place like a fool.

Cassian’s red eyes met Yurisiel’s in the space between them.

Her beautiful green eyes always reminded him of a deep, quiet forest.

Yurisiel realized it in that moment.

He was her last hope. Her final chance.

It didn’t matter how he had woken up or why he was here.

Only then did Yurisiel’s clouded mind begin to return to focus.

At the same time, she fully saw the cold expression on his face.

What could she say to save her mother from that nightmare?

Would he believe in her innocence?

And even if he did, would he step forward for someone like her, someone who meant nothing?

Her mind filled with countless thoughts.

But all of those thoughts vanished like steam the moment his long, pale fingers brushed against her lips.

His hand, pressing gently on her dry and cracked lips, didn’t move away for a long time.

Through her lowered lashes, Yurisiel could see his eyes fixed on her lips.

They were standing so close, she could hear only the sound of his breathing.

Outside, the sound of rain softly filled the silence.

She still remembered clearly the last time he had touched her lips like this.

The unfamiliar sensation made her body tremble slightly, but Yurisiel didn’t resist. She waited quietly, letting him do as he pleased.

Right now, she was the powerless one.

If even he abandoned her now, everything would truly be over.

Time seemed to slow, as if the world had stopped moving for everyone but them.

His face, so close, shone under the flickering torchlight.

The vivid light in his eyes beneath long lashes, the sharp line of his nose, his tightly pressed lips.

Yurisiel found herself tracing Cassian’s face without realizing it, but then she froze.

His expression was completely different from before.

He looked sorrowful. Or perhaps deeply angry.

Had she done something wrong?

If so, what was it?

Her chest twisted with a wave of desperation.

Finally, he looked into her eyes.

Just moments ago, she had promised herself she would stay strong.

But the way he looked at her made it hard to breathe. She couldn’t speak.

It was Cassian who broke the silence first.

“Don’t you have something to say to me?”

His whisper brushed past her ear, sending a ticklish wave of fear down her spine, just like the touch that had lingered on her lips.

The hand still holding her face radiated an intense, almost frightening heat.

Yurisiel had no choice left.

“Please… just this once. Help me.”

A sob she had held back escaped. She was terrified. She knew what would happen if she lost even him.

Her voice trembled with cold, as if she carried the chill of winter inside her.

“What is it?”

“Please release me, so my mother won’t end up as the Lord’s mistress.”

Cassian remained silent, simply watching Yurisiel until her sobbing came to a stop.

A storm of dark, unshaped emotions stirred deep inside him.

It felt as if this wasn’t what he had wanted to hear at all.

“Say something else.”

Yurisiel’s eyes widened in confusion.

She couldn’t read what he was thinking. His expression was firm and unyielding.

It was as if he had no intention of granting her request unless she gave the answer he was looking for.

“You said you knew I collapsed.”

“…”

“Isn’t it polite to ask how someone’s doing before asking for a favor?”

Yurisiel swallowed hard and looked up at him, standing so high above her.

Through tear-filled eyes, his face appeared hazy, but as the tears cleared, it came into focus.

Why would he act like this toward someone so desperate?

Her heart was filled with resentment, but she couldn’t let it show.

He was right. She was the one begging, and he was the only one who could help.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t figure out what he wanted her to say. Why bring up a greeting now?

She stood frozen, unsure, and Cassian slowly let go of her face, a faint smile curling at his lips.

“You could’ve at least pretended to be happy I came back alive.”

“…”

“If you keep trembling like I’m some kind of ghost, it makes me feel like there’s no reason to save you.”

Yurisiel’s thoughts spun quickly.

Should she say she was glad? Ask how he woke up? Or that she had worried about him?

Would he even believe her if she said that now?

Did she even have the right to weigh her words?

“I was really worried,” she whispered.

“…”

“Are you alright now?”

The sound of rain tapping against the windows filled the space around them, the only noise in the silence.

Cassian didn’t react.

It was as if she still hadn’t said what he wanted to hear.

Or maybe, he was just waiting to see what she would do next.

Yurisiel bit down on her lip until it hurt.

“I’ll do anything you ask. Please…”

Tears spilled from her again, and her voice trembled as she struggled to breathe.

Cassian quietly stood up from where he sat.

He no longer felt like sitting there and facing that expression.

To see her trembling every time she looked at him, as if he were a ghost, and lying so easily like it meant nothing.

If she was going to lie, she could at least try not to make it so obvious.

A sharp discomfort pricked at him.

Even though everything was going his way.

The real culprit would be revealed soon.

Matil, the servant, had already confessed everything in front of Lanod.

By tomorrow, the investigation would be moving toward the truth.

It had all been a plot crafted by Lady Catherine.

And after that, he would be leaving this place.

Just yesterday, Cassian had received a letter from Lady Blanchet.

She was coming to Alphonse herself. The letter was clear. This time, they would leave for good.

Apparently, a cure had been developed.

But he had heard that before. There had been talk of a cure once, and it had all collapsed.

He knew that others had died in clinical trials meant for him.

This was probably just another one of those attempts.

If he left Alphonse now, there was a good chance he would never return.

The blood he continued to cough up, the worried looks on the physicians’ faces, made it clear.

He didn’t have much time left.

It was time to start putting things in order.

Looking back, it felt almost laughable.

He was going to leave anyway. Why was he doing all this for a girl who looked at him like a ghost every time?

What a fool he was.

In the end, all that crying and begging was probably just her trying to play the role of a dutiful daughter.

He was just being used.

And he knew that.

But still, he pushed that uncomfortable truth far away.

It was the kind of truth that would only leave a mark on his mood.

Just as Cassian turned to leave, Yurisiel, pale as a sheet, grabbed him.

Her slender hand trembled violently.

As Cassian turned back slowly, Yurisiel looked him straight in the eyes.

His red eyes, like polished rubies, stared right through her.

Yurisiel wrapped her arms around his neck.

The trembling in her touch reached him through her skin.

Even though she had initiated it, Yurisiel’s eyes were tightly shut.

Her clumsy boldness almost made Cassian laugh, but he let her be. He wanted to see how far she would go.

Then, a dry and shaky pressure brushed against his lips.

A faint, sweet breath entered his lungs.

Her lips, as if she had bitten them in nervousness, lingered only for a moment before she pulled away.

It was such a small touch, he couldn’t tell if it had been a kiss or an accident.

Cassian let out a faint, bewildered laugh.

Then he reached out, placing his large hand on the back of her head, holding her in place.

So, she wouldn’t be able to pull away again.

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