Chapter 234
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 234
Chapter Title: I Might Really Get Torn Apart
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"……."
……Heavy.
A light tone, as if cracking a joke.
But the trust woven into those words was so solid that Li Chingwei found herself thinking it without realizing.
Of course, she knew full well.
It was a double-edged sword, at best.
A credit as sharp as it was firm, predicated on the understanding that he would cut her down without mercy if she ever betrayed that faith.
And yet, rather than feeling any resentment, she could only wear a complicated expression for an entirely different reason.
Unaware—or perhaps fully aware—of Li Chingwei's inner turmoil,
Rimon suddenly spoke up, as if the thought had just occurred to him.
"By the way, Princess, it seems like you've forgotten something important."
"Something important, you say?"
"Yeah."
What could she have overlooked?
Wondering about that, Li Chingwei's eyes widened moments later.
Rimon, who had leaned in slowly as if to whisper in her ear, had abruptly shoved her backward.
"……?"
It was so unexpected—and coming from Rimon, no less—that Li Chingwei ended up plopping down onto the bed behind her.
But Rimon didn't stop there.
He pressed down firmly on her, forcing her from her barely seated position flat onto the bed.
With one hand pinning her securely in place so she couldn't rise, Rimon slowly bent at the waist.
And he stared straight into her eyes, now round and black as ebony pearls.
"Princess, who do you belong to?"
"……I belong to the Sword Duke."
"That's right, just as you said."
As if there wasn't even a need to think about it.
Even in her fluster, Li Chingwei had answered unconsciously.
Nodding at her response, Rimon let his hand glide over her body.
From her round earlobe, down her slender neck like that of a doe. To the elegant curve of her collarbone, where her silky hair had cascaded like a waterfall when she fell onto the bed.
With utmost delicacy.
Yet without hesitation.
As if handling a work of art that was his own possession.
His fingers traced the soft contours, and Rimon murmured low.
"From a single strand of hair to the tips of your toes, you're already mine."
"……!"
"So I can't allow you to treat your own body like some bargaining chip without my permission."
Secrets were fine.
Lies were okay if she wanted.
As long as she didn't turn her back on him, he would never abandon Li Chingwei and would trust her completely.
But letting anyone—even herself—handle what was already his as they pleased? That was unacceptable.
Whispering those words, Rimon peered directly into her obsidian eyes and asked.
"Got it?"
It wasn't a question—it was a demand.
An utterly unreasonable, tyrannical ultimatum that allowed no answer but affirmation.
And yet, that restraint felt so comforting.
The hand around her waist was reassuring.
Before her mind could even process it, Li Chingwei's lips were already replying.
"……Yes, crystal clear."
"Good, as long as you understand."
As if praising her for the perfect response.
Rimon smiled in satisfaction and pulled Li Chingwei even closer.
Still pinning her down, he lowered his head, bringing his lips toward her trembling gaze and those red lips that stared up at him…….
[Hey, sis and bro over there.]
Rimon and Li Chingwei turned to the side.
Meeting their gazes, Yuna Kyung sat on the table with a pouty face and continued.
[Sorry to kill the mood, but there's a 0-year-old baby bird right here, you know? If you don't want to get busted under child protection laws, tone it down a bit?]
"Yuna, don't you know it's etiquette to just look away politely at times like this?"
[Sadly, I've been a hopeless singleton in my past life and this one too, so no clue about that kind of etiquette?]
Perhaps miffed at being ignored.
After chuckling once at Yuna Kyung's grumbling,
Rimon released his hold on Li Chingwei and approached her, flicking her forehead mischievously with his finger.
Even after regaining her freedom, Li Chingwei blinked dazedly for a long while before finally sitting up with a tousled upper body, murmuring to herself without thinking.
"……I, I might really get torn apart at this rate."
"What'd you say?"
"Nothing at all."
As if she'd never lost herself in the moment.
Li Chingwei flashed her usual gentle smile and played innocent.
'I think I get how people feel when they're enchanted by the Black Heaven Dark Soul Style.'
If Rimon had just said one word demanding her secrets, who knows how much this unruly mouth of hers would have spilled.
The mere thought sent chills down her spine.
Especially since that chill stemmed not from fear or wariness, but from something else entirely.
But the very Rimon who had stirred such turmoil in her spoke to her casually, as if nothing had happened.
"More importantly, Princess, did you feel anything off?"
Snapping out of her reverie at Rimon's words, Li Chingwei masked her unease and asked.
"Does it bother you that Myia singled out the Sword Duke?"
"Nah, that doesn't seem strange. I can roughly guess why the Green Dragon Princess pointed me out."
'No, I bet you have no idea.'
Li Chingwei smiled wryly to herself.
But unable to reveal her true thoughts, she maintained a calm facade on the surface.
"Then what do you mean is strange?"
"The Green Dragon Princess's complexion looked way too poor."
"Is that really so odd?"
"……Well, yeah, I guess not."
Li Chingwei tilted her head.
Rimon scratched his cheek at her matter-of-fact reaction.
For any other princess, maybe—but the Green Dragon Princess looking unwell? That wasn't unusual at all.
'Hmm, just my imagination?'
"Anyway, Sword Duke, be careful while you're staying here."
In the end, deciding to chalk up the odd discomfort from Myia to nothing, Rimon heard Li Chingwei say worriedly.
Rimon had to stay here for at least ten days.
Not an excessively long time, but if someone tried digging into his secrets during that span, it wasn't short either.
Especially if that someone was none other than the Green Dragon Princess.
So Li Chingwei dropped her usual smile, her face turning deadly serious as she continued.
"If Myia finds out you're not from the Black Dragon Clan, things could get a lot trickier from there."
"That man isn't from the Black Dragon Clan."
"Pardon?"
Barbara blinked as she walked the corridor following Myia.
She couldn't immediately grasp who "that man" referred to.
But only for a moment.
Realizing the implication soon enough, she asked in disbelief.
"You don't mean the Black Dragon Princess's attendant? The one set to serve her starting tomorrow?"
"That's right."
"But……!"
Barbara couldn't hide her shock.
Not just because a non-Black Dragon Clan member was acting as Li Chingwei's attendant.
She had every reason to believe "Ri" was undeniably from the Black Dragon Clan.
"But he's the violinist you ordered me to investigate, isn't he?"
"Correct."
"……So you're saying a non-Black Dragon Clan member used that kind of psionic power?"
Barbara was plunged into confusion.
The Green Dragon Clan knew roughly about the London incident, and investigations into "Ri" were underway.
It was shocking enough for such an expert to emerge from the already fallen Black Dragon Clan.
But for that man to show up as Li Chingwei's attendant—and not even be from the clan? It was absurd.
If not for her revered princess's word, she would have questioned if it even made sense.
Sensing her turmoil,
Myia asked with a sneer.
"Barbara, if I said I was selling my body to another clan, would you quietly obey?"
"D-don't even joke about that! How could I follow such an order unless I'm in my grave?"
"And yet you think that man is from the Black Dragon Clan?"
"……Ah!"
Finally catching on late, Barbara let out an exclamation.
Looking at her, Myia curled a cold smile on her pale bluish lips.
When Li Chingwei offered her own body as payment, a true Black Dragon Clan member should have reacted just like Barbara.
But Myia had seen it.
Rimon, who hadn't panicked at the outrageous proposal but merely twitched an eyebrow.
As a skilled physician adept at reading physical responses tied to emotions, she knew it wasn't feigned.
That was how she became certain Rimon wasn't from the Black Dragon Clan.
"That's why I'm even more curious."
His ability to wield psionics through performance.
His true identity masquerading as Black Dragon Clan.
Even those cold eyes that felt infinitely aloof despite the polite address.
Recalling the enigmatic, insolent young man who was a bundle of riddles in every way, Myia smiled coldly.
"What secret does that man hold, that even that Li Chingwei would offer her body to keep it hidden?"
Barbara's expression grew complicated.
Joy that the usually cynical, pessimistic Myia showed such clear interest.
And the quintessentially Green Dragon Clan envy and jealousy that it wasn't directed at her, stirring her inner conflict.
But it was fleeting.
As Myia's close aide, Barbara did what she must.
"Leave it to me. I'll stick by his side and uncover every last detail."
As if it were only natural, Myia nodded to respond—then suddenly closed her mouth.
After a brief silence, she spoke again.
"No, entrust it to Arvela."
"Arvela, who made a huge blunder today?"
"Precisely because she blundered."
Perhaps thinking her chance to shine was stolen.
Myia spoke sneeringly to the stiff-faced Barbara.
"Someone has to monitor the Black Dragon Princess while she's here, but I can't assign someone who showed such disgrace."
"……So you're saying I should handle guiding the Black Dragon Princess."
"Yes."
"But even so, there's no need to specifically assign Arvela to investigate him……."
"Barbara."
Myia called her coldly.
Then, with gloomy green eyes glaring, she continued.
"I'm not asking for your opinion. This is an order."
"I-I'm sorry."
Barbara dropped to her knees in haste, apologizing.
Looking down at her with cynical eyes, Myia finally let out a cold scoff and spoke again.
"Tell Arvela this clearly. Merit must erase demerit, so if she wants forgiveness for today's failure……."
Myia couldn't finish.
Something acrid surged from deep in her throat.
"Cough, cough cough!"
"Princess!"
Seeing Myia hack violently, Barbara startled and moved to support her.
Or tried to.
If Myia hadn't suddenly widened her eyes and bellowed.
"Don't come near me!"
Barbara froze.
Myia glared at her like an enemy, then irritably repeated.
"Cough, withdraw for now."
"But……."
"You intend to make me repeat myself?"
"……Your servant Barbara withdraws."
Covering her mouth as she coughed, Myia's unwavering gaze gave Barbara pause, but only briefly.
Biting her lip, she finally left.
Only then did Myia reach into her bosom, pull out a vial of pills, swallow one, and press a hand to her chest, slowly regulating her breath.
Confirming the coughing had stopped at last, she tucked the vial away and murmured lowly.
"……Not much time left, is there……."