Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Interference (3)
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This rootless orphan was spouting what nonsense now?
Kazan Kashimir genuinely struggled to comprehend Evan's words.
No, perhaps he was refusing to understand them himself.
-She's going to be my woman from now on, so I don't think I can hand her over to you.
The drivel he'd uttered while hugging Lete's body as if it were truly his own. It wasn't worth believing, so there should be no reason to get angry either.
Kazan gripped the bouquet as if he meant to crush it. Veins bulged over his eyes, his emotions churning violently.
With Lete's intimidating pressure suddenly dissipating, his rage only doubled.
'How dare he... know his place...!'
He'd naturally forgotten the fact that Lete had just tried to grab his throat.
Right now, that didn't matter in the slightest. The core issue was that this lowly commoner of humble origins was getting in his way.
On some level, it was also a desperate attempt to forget what had just happened.
He conveniently ignored the fact that he'd provoked killing intent from Lete.
Instead, he outrageously fumed over Evan blocking his path.
...Born into a renowned noble house and raised as the heir, Kazan had never in his life failed to obtain something he wanted.
His talents overflowed. His looks were exceptional.
And as for his background, even within the Sun Church that spanned the continent, he counted among the top ten powerhouses—with a cardinal for a father, no less.
There was just one thing: something he desperately wanted but couldn't seize recklessly.
To Kazan, Lete Heresia was precisely that existence.
The daughter of a sacred noble house on his level. In fact, purely in terms of the family's actual prestige, House Heresia outranked House Kashimir by a step.
How displeased he'd been as a child when he heard their marriage proposal had been rejected.
That childish irritation soon festered into sticky desire, and the desire hardened into obsession and stubbornness, reflected in his reunion with Lete Heresia years later.
By now, Kazan was confident he could embrace any woman who caught his eye without difficulty.
He had the power for it. The circumstances allowed it. Yet the only woman he wanted in his arms but could never have was Lete.
Even so, he'd thought that someday—not far off—she would become his woman.
He'd believed without doubt that the day would come when he would dominate that beautiful body.
'A woman like that... a purity meant for me alone, rightfully mine... how dare a worthless commoner like you...!'
Snapped out of his dark, damp delusions, Kazan returned to reality soon enough.
His eyes glared at Evan with clear murderous intent. More precisely, at Evan's right hand touching Lete's body as he held her.
She was the woman he should have touched.
The body he had lusted after.
The aloof face he longed to one day cover in lascivious expressions... the flower atop a cliff he'd awaited his entire life.
But what was this? For what reason was the haughty Lete Heresia so meekly nestled in the arms of this rootless orphan?
Her face flushed unbecomingly, shyly brushing back her hair like that—
"...Ah."
He didn't want to see this repulsive sight any longer. Kazan heard something snap inside him as he advanced on Evan.
Thud, thud!
'I'll kill him.'
His fist trembled violently as he clenched it. Now that there was no interference with his divine power, he infused it fully.
Those who had been watching the standoff were startled into trying to stop him, but the distance had already closed to its limit.
Kazan saw only Evan in his vision. He ignored everything else as irrelevant.
A shred of affection, thickly laced with lust, had been utterly trampled.
With an impassive face... Kazan drew back his arm to punish the commoner before him.
"You'd better stop."
Just before he threw the punch, Kazan's pupils shifted slightly sideways, catching Lete murmuring with her lips moving.
A tone that faintly carried a hint of pity. Not an action to stop the violence, but a mere mutter.
"This guy's stronger than me."
Whoosh—!!
"...!?"
Before he could even grasp the deeper meaning—Kazan's vision turned crimson.
A red hue filling his sight, reminiscent of the sacred flames burning holy.
It wasn't a metaphor. Kazan felt his outstretched arm scatter pathetically before he could thrust it forward.
'W-What.'
Dry saliva rose in his throat against his will. Unnoticed until now, a red spear tip hovered close enough to pierce his eyeball... right there.
Spear of Holy Light. One of the signature holy spells of high priests—simple in structure but ferociously powerful even in a single strike.
One, two, three, four, five, six. Counting the chilling presences at his back, perhaps a dozen.
Such Spears of Holy Light floated around him now, all aimed at Kazan's body.
One gesture from the caster, and they'd turn him into a honeycomb.
Kazan's right pupil endlessly quivered as he stared at the spear tips. The divine power he'd summoned dispersed, regaining propriety.
Evan lightly twisted his fingertips, adjusting the spears' directions. He had no real intent to stab Kazan, but the threat was plenty sufficient.
"How many times do I have to say it before it sinks in."
A sneer curled his lips. Evan deliberately mouthed off while kissing the strands of Lete's hair in his arms.
"Lete's my personal doormat. She'll never be moaning under you, so..."
Whether Lete flinched and glared at him fiercely or not, Evan continued relentlessly.
"Know your place and back off, you idiot. Don't you feel ashamed, always groping at another man's woman without a clue?"
"...">
"That's why even 'that' Eliya refuses to sleep with you, saying she hates touching you."
Thus delivering the finishing blow with a middle finger to boot.
He felt a bit sorry for dragging Eliya into it, but whatever. He could just buy her something tasty later.
Anyway, bolstered by the final remark, Kazan froze in place like a statue, his pupils shaking.
"You...!"
Lete whipped around to vent her dissatisfaction at Evan, but her mouth was swiftly sealed.
Chomp!
"...Mmph!? Mmmph, haa!?"
"See? Lete's agreeing with me vigorously right now. Got it?"
"Mmmph, mmf...!"
"Ow! Don't bite, you crazy bitch!"
Evan pressed Lete down harder once more, shooting Kazan an awkward glance.
He was still rigid, staring dumbly at the scene. He looked unlikely to snap out of it anytime soon.
'Must've hit him hard.'
Evan clicked his tongue inwardly. Whatever, it wasn't his problem if Kazan was like that.
Somehow, though, it felt like he'd excessively crushed one man's pure heart. Even so, was there really no need to rub salt in the wound like this right in front of him?
There was no reason for it, yet he inexplicably felt a twinge of guilt...
"...Hmm."
In any case, this corridor was too crowded. Spectators had swarmed like a tide the longer the standoff dragged on, their stares prickling annoyingly.
"Alright... So make sure you stay away from my girl from now on."
"!?"
Evan snapped out of his thoughts. Still holding Lete, he spun around and tucked her under his arm like a sack.
Suddenly clutched like a cat, Lete's eyelids fluttered in confusion—
"See ya later."
As Evan snapped his fingers, the Spears of Holy Light encircling Kazan dispersed as if on cue.
While Kazan stood there with a blank face, the two vanished like the wind.
More precisely, the man had taken off with the woman tucked under his arm on a whim.
The others might not have noticed, but Kazan couldn't even track their movements as they left.
He just trembled endlessly in place. Enveloped in rage, humiliation, defeat, and muddy resentment.
"Pha...!"
After fleeing far to the opposite side of the library and arriving at a secluded outdoor corridor devoid of people.
Basking in the refreshingly cool night breeze, Lete was finally freed from her silence.
After catching her breath from the long-suppressed exhale... she glared fiercely at Evan and yanked his collar toward her.
"You really...! What the hell was that...!?"
Naturally, to vent her displeasure at his arbitrary actions.
"Sorry, Lete."
"Yeah, you should feel sorry to me... What?"
But it was Lete who ended up flustered by Evan's blunt apology that followed immediately.
She looked up with a bewildered expression. Even grabbed by the collar and pulled, Evan Lane still towered over her.
Uncharacteristically sheepish, he scratched his cheek.
"I know you hate that kind of vulgar talk, but in the moment, nothing else came to mind that would make him give up for sure."
"...">
"...Obviously, I don't really think of you that way. D-Don't misunderstand."
Evan glanced at Lete cautiously as he finished. The hesitant tone—
Probably referring to that 'doormat' business. Lete parted her lips, then closed them again.
Unsure how to interpret her silence, Evan repeatedly reached out and pulled back, gauging her mood.
The quiet stretched on for a long while. Only Lete had the right to break it, and when she finally did, it was much later.
"...You're ridiculous, really."
Her curt first words somehow carried a hint of shyness.
Lete brushed her hair primly behind her ear and averted her gaze while clutching one of his arms.
"Even if you hadn't stepped in like that, I could've handled it myself... Really unnecessary meddling, okay?"
"...Uh...">
Contradictory feelings that shouldn't mix, yet that's exactly how she came across.
Evan stared at her in deep confusion. How was he supposed to interpret this reaction?
As his mind compared and contrasted her past behaviors to form the most plausible hypothesis—
"Doormat? How could you say something so rude and crude to a girl...?"
Lete's words and actions increasingly mismatched. Her cheeks flushed pink as she subtly lowered her stance.
Kneeling demurely before Evan's lower body, she looked up.
Gulp!
Evan swallowed dryly without thinking. He caught an inexplicable heat, passion, and lust in her blue eyes.
"Haa...">
But he had no say in how things unfolded. Lete exhaled a slightly aroused breath and touched the pants before her.
"!? H-Hey!"
Evan urgently tried to push her hand away, but Lete proceeded silently.
A sweet voice, thrilled and excited, leaked from between her lips.
"...No helping it. Just for today, I'll do it like you said."
"What? No, wait. What are you even saying."
"Take off your pants, Evan...">
Lete gazed up at him with ecstatic eyes. A bewitchingly seductive smile played on her lips.
Her cute pinkish lips parted.
"Today, I'll use my mouth."