Chapter 29
“Wow, it’s really dark here.”
“P–Princess Selena… what brings you here…?”
Tap, tap—the light sound of footsteps echoed through the corridor.
The Zains estate, which I was seeing for the first time, was so dark it truly felt like a den of shadows.
‘This is… quite new.’
The Zains estate, so completely opposite in atmosphere from Leighton, felt nothing short of fascinating to me.
There was also some enjoyment in looking at the eerie and bizarre paintings hung intermittently along the walls.
Unlike Leighton’s smile, which resembled a spring breeze, this place seemed perfectly suited for demons to live in.
“What is this painting? Why is it only painted in red? It looks like a famous piece.”
“Ah, that is a painting symbolizing the Zains family soaked in crimson blood—no, that’s not what it is.”
I heard Leighton cut himself off and let out a small sigh.
“Oh? A sigh? Why are you sighing?”
That sigh probably meant, Why did you come all the way here?
I glanced back at Leighton, who was following closely behind me, looking restless.
He likely hadn’t expected me to follow him all the way to the northernmost marquisate estate.
I had heard he went out briefly, but within less than an hour of hearing that, Leighton had appeared—and the look on his face was something to see.
He blinked his beautiful eyes repeatedly, staring blankly at me, then leaned his head back in disbelief and laughed.
Watching him run his fingers through his neatly styled light brown hair while letting out a hearty laugh, I found myself thinking, He really is handsome, and simply smiled back at him.
At my question about why he sighed, his blue eyes turned toward me.
But only for a moment—his gaze quickly shifted past me, beyond my shoulder.
‘Is he avoiding eye contact right now?’
Noticing his awkwardly averted gaze, I deliberately stepped one pace closer to him.
Then I clutched my neck slightly, pretending to be in pain.
“Ow… I think my neck hurts a bit.”
“…P–Pardon? Are you alright?”
Cough, cough. “I think I might even be coughing…”
I tilted my head slightly while rubbing the neck wrapped in a sky-blue scarf, and our eyes met directly.
His blue eyes trembled slightly, filled with many emotions.
I wanted to know what he was thinking.
As soon as our eyes met, Leighton quickly turned his head away, and I asked cheerfully,
“Are you concerned about my neck?”
“The marks on your skin… are those why you’re wearing a scarf?”
His low voice, hesitant and wavering as he asked, sounded uneasy.
I smiled gently and nodded.
“Yes!”
Contrary to his answer about scars remaining, my voice was bright and cheerful, causing him to flinch.
“So you ran away? All the way here?”
“This isn’t running away. This is my home.”
His tone was calm and composed as usual, as if making an excuse, but it was now easy to tell he was flustered.
He had a habit of lightly biting the inside of his mouth and slightly furrowing the corners of his eyes.
Seeing his handsome face struggle like that gave me a strangely satisfying feeling.
I folded my arms and tilted my head as if encouraging him to continue.
“And… I did have some business in the marquisate as well.”
It seemed he absolutely refused to admit he had run away.
Standing upright, Leighton finished speaking and walked ahead of me.
“Are you done talking? Weren’t you going to ask why I came here?”
“…No, I wasn’t.”
“Oh? That can’t be. You don’t want to talk to me?”
As I followed closely behind him, the household servants of the marquisate began to look at us.
Their gazes were filled with a mix of curiosity and reverence—all directed at me.
“Your journey must have been difficult. How about having a meal first? Of course, it may be modest compared to the Bennett Grand Ducal household, but we will prepare it with utmost effort.”
Even while speaking, he never once turned around, so I was left staring at his broad back the entire time.
In the end, I grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop.
Perhaps he hadn’t expected me to take the initiative, because he startled and froze.
Through his light brown hair, slightly disheveled and covering part of his face, I could see his widened eyes.
Standing face to face with him, I pouted my lips as much as possible, expressing my disappointment.
“Aren’t you my older brother?”
“….”
“You used to say you’d act like an older brother to me… but where did that go? All that’s left now is the cold Marquis Zains…”
I hung my head deeply, pretending to look pitiful with all my strength.
I could feel him looking down at me, but I didn’t lift my head.
After a long silence, Leighton asked quietly,
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
His cold voice echoed through the quiet corridor.
The atmosphere suited the darkness around us so perfectly that I instinctively held my breath.
It felt as though a dark, ominous aura was emanating from him.
Like the version of him under the moon during a bout of madness.
“Should I be afraid?”
Though he was different from usual, he was still Leighton.
I met his unsteady eyes directly.
“…Princess Selena, you trust people too easily.”
“Huh?”
Blinking in confusion, I watched as he stepped back from me.
“It’s only natural that you should find the foul stench of blood coming from my hands disgusting. Rather than me running away, it should be you and Lady Ailey who run away from me.”
It sounded like a warning, as though he were doing me a favor.
But for some reason, it felt more like he was telling me not to run away.
It sounded almost like a plea for me to hold onto him, and that thought made my chest ache slightly.
‘How pitiful.’
I wanted to comfort Leighton’s weary life.
So I took another step toward him.
“You know that I’m aware of your curse now, don’t you?”
“That’s why I’m giving you a chance. Since you’ve already saved me once, you should leave me now.”
Look at him.
He tells me to run away, yet he can’t even meet my eyes.
I silently stared up at him without responding.
His gaze, devoid of any affection, felt unfamiliar.
But I knew one thing—he was not someone who could remain a villain until the end.
‘Leighton is the male protagonist of my world.’
A man destined to break his curse and find happiness in the end.
Wouldn’t it be alright to help him reach that happiness a little earlier?
I strode toward him as he kept stepping back, trying to put distance between us.
“I’m not running away, so why do you keep trying to distance yourself from me?”
“Please stop coming closer.”
Even without looking behind him, he walked quite well.
Visibly flustered, he held out his hand to signal me to stop.
“You feel guilty about the scar you left on my neck, don’t you?”
He answered with a sigh so deep it seemed to sink into the ground.
Now there was nowhere left for him to retreat.
He had reached the dead end of the corridor and turned his head slightly to the side.
“I’ve risked my life protecting the Marquis.”
I had never once thought that the affection Leighton had shown to Ailey and me was false.
There had been times when I wanted to ask what that slightly uneasy emotion of his was.
But I trusted Leighton. I didn’t care what anyone else in the world said about him.
‘They’re people who don’t know anything about him anyway.’
To me and Ailey, he had been a very good person.
A person who opened his arms so that we—suddenly left alone in this world—would not feel lonely.
And yet such a person kept blaming himself and trying to distance himself—how could I just stand by and watch?!
Even though he never asked for such a thing.
I clenched my fist tightly and raised my voice.
“Then why do you keep trying to push me away like this?”
My voice grew louder, filled with frustration and disappointment.
“….”
No answer came back.
As unresponsive as ever.
He wasn’t normally this taciturn.
‘Honestly, why is he so frustrating in moments like this!’
It would be so much better if he just gave in and held my hand again.
If he still refused to respond after all this, I would have to use my last resort.
Ah… I really didn’t want to use this.
But since him refusing to return to the Bennett estate wasn’t part of the plan, I had to make it happen.
After confirming he still wouldn’t look at me, I took a small breath.
‘I don’t even know anymore.’
Steeling my resolve, I puffed out my cheeks and shouted loudly,
“Fine! Then I’m leaving too.”
To show that I was truly sulking, I even stomped my foot like Ailey often did.
“I’m leaving!”
Turning my body away completely, I shook my shoulders slightly and let out a faint sob.
Perhaps thinking I was crying, he suddenly lifted his head.
“A–Are you crying?”
“…What if I am?”
Would my act fool him?
Hailey had often fallen for my fake injuries before.
My acting skills, honed from repeatedly using them whenever I didn’t want to attend etiquette lessons, were quite effective.
At times, I even thought I might have a talent for acting.
I delivered what I believed was a decisive blow and waited for his response.
‘A soft-hearted Leighton will probably tell me not to cry and agree to do what I want.’
But Leighton was more stubborn than I expected—and a tough opponent.
When no reply came, I slowly turned my head and met his blue eyes directly.
He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, shaking his head as if he had no choice.
Then he replied calmly,
“I know you’re not crying.”
I’m going crazy.
Why is he so perceptive?!
