Chapter 10 — He’s not Noah, Noah is dead!

“Don’t kill Annie.”

“….”

Annie had been taken hostage.

Kairos told me that if I returned quietly now, he would spare the lives of those who had helped me—that their lives were in my hands. That meant Ginger and Edmond had also been captured. What a vicious hostage-taking!

Unlike Annie, who had told me to escape without regard for herself, I couldn’t do that.

So, I dragged myself toward the carriage.

He paused his steps several times to match my pace, but it felt like my heart was being dragged out of me anyway. After walking for a long time, I got into the carriage he escorted me to. It felt like a prison without chains.

“Please spare Ginger and Edmond. They only helped me because they wanted to save me.”

“Why would I kill them when you’re right by my side?”

“….”

“They’ll always be safe as long as you don’t leave me.”

His words made me shudder.

How dare he make such threats in that voice? I bit my lip and stopped glaring at him. It was only hurting my mouth and my eyes. If he was going to kill me anyway, why not kill me here instead of taking me all the way to Ferarium in a carriage?

I was annoyed, annoyed, annoyed.

The pursuit hadn’t stopped. We just couldn’t track down the ones who were tracking us.

Maybe Kairos had found out my whereabouts on the day he heard the news that the pursuit had stopped. I didn’t know if it was because he wasn’t in his right mind or if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but he looked very relieved as soon as I got into the carriage without resistance. What nonsense.

“My lord.”

Kairos, who was about to get into the carriage, stepped back at Sid’s call. He looked at me once before he closed his mouth and shut the door.

Sid’s lips moved incessantly as if he were reporting something outside.

Then, the door opened, and Kairos got into the seat across from me and closed the door again. I didn’t even give him a glance until he got in and closed the door.

“I ordered them to bring all the things you were using.”

“Then, you’ve already been to my house…! Hmph, do as you please.”

“Hazel.”

“….”

It would take at least thirty minutes by carriage to get to the nearest portal gate from this vicinity. Kairos’ gaze stung my cheek. Since my abilities didn’t work, I couldn’t escape unless I broke the window and went out, but he kept his eyes on me as if he were watching me, never taking them off me even once.

The carriage that boarded the portal gate arrived in Ferarium in a matter of minutes as if it were nothing. And the carriage headed toward Edith’s mansion. A sense of futility washed over me at the familiar sight.

My escape had come to an end after only a month. And with three hostages to boot.

As soon as I got out of the carriage, I came face to face with Nigella, who had been waiting for me at Edith’s mansion. I had thought she would have gone back to what she was doing before I left, but it seemed she was still working at Edith’s mansion.

She greeted me, but Nigella, who had lost about 10kg, looked so haggard that she didn’t recognize me. It was only natural. I had erased all her memories of me. It would be too much of a burden on her body to bring them back. And I didn’t want to.

As a large hand suddenly reached out from behind me, I flinched in surprise and looked up. Kairos’ eyes narrowed.

“…I can go in by myself. I won’t run away.”

Then, I pushed his hand away and went into the mansion on my own. I could feel his gaze on me from behind, but I didn’t look back even once.

* * *

I headed towards the room I had thought I would never return to, guided by the servants.

“You’ve returned from your outing, so I’ll prepare your bath, milady.”

As if nothing had happened, the maids were the same as usual. I had been gone for a month, but it was as if I had just returned from work at the guild today.

That was what was scary.

“…No, it’s fine.”

Still, they didn’t leave, just exchanging glances with each other.

Since they weren’t leaving easily, I started to have all sorts of thoughts. Were they also included in the scope of the threats, like Annie, Ginger, and Edmond? Would they be arrested or killed for not attending to my bath?

I had seen people get replaced from time to time before, but I had never seen anyone get killed or anything like that right before my eyes, so my imagination ran wild.

I had no choice but to get up from my seat.

It was several hours later that Kairos entered the room. It was already pitch black outside, and it would have been time for bed normally. I moved to the farthest corner from him as soon as he came in. I couldn’t go out the window because I had hostages.

“Why are you doing this?”

Kairos couldn’t hide the absurdity on his face as he looked at me. He was carrying a tray with food in his hands. Was it poisoned?

“A, are you going to kill me now?”

The moment he took off his mask, I was so resentful that I couldn’t hold back my words, even though my voice was trembling in fear.

Still, if he had taken me hostage, he wouldn’t kill me right away.

Then, why did he bring me here if he didn’t intend to kill me? There was no reason to capture and bring me here.

“Why would I kill you? I brought you dinner since you didn’t eat. You probably didn’t eat anything during the day either.”

“I don’t… care.”

Oh, man. He had only taken a step closer, though I couldn’t help but be scared and add a pause to my words. While my pride was hurt, I was too scared to burst into tears, so I decided to just use the speech pattern I was used to.

“Eat, even if you don’t care. Your stomach has been empty for too long.”

“I told you I’m not eating… Why did you bring me here?”

Regardless, he neatly placed a bowl of fish soup and a spoon on the table.

“This is our house.”

“This is your house, and my house is over there with Mabel at 11th Street, 27th Avenue.”

“No, Hazel, your house is here. Why are you being stubborn?”

“….”

“Come here. Come and talk to me.”

He pulled out a chair and motioned for me to come to him instead of sitting down. I stood my ground, and he sighed again. I couldn’t count how many times he had sighed by now.

“I won’t kill you. Why would I hurt you? I’m not going to do anything, so come here. Let’s eat and talk slowly.”

With suspicious eyes, I walked over like a turtle and sat down on the chair.

I wasn’t particularly grateful for his courteous gesture of pushing my chair. I kept my mouth shut as I looked at Kairos, who was sitting across from me. We maintained an awkward silence, our gazes locked. He forcefully handed me a spoon, but I didn’t take a single bite.

“Eat first. Slowly.”

“I don’t really feel like eating.”

“…Okay, then let’s talk. When were you planning to come back?”

“Come back from where?”

“So, you were planning to leave me for good?”

He seemed genuinely curious, as if he had finally shed his detestable mask. I was bewildered that he would ask such a question, even though he knew the reason all too well. Was he really thinking I wouldn’t leave him?

Perhaps it was annoying, or perhaps it was absurd. He was scrutinizing me with a strange, intense emotion that combined betrayal and resentment as if he couldn’t understand.

What was this? He was acting as if he had been betrayed, even though everything had been a lie anyway.

I was flabbergasted.

I didn’t like relying on others and wanted to be alone, but I knew my weak heart, which could be swayed at any moment, was being consumed by loneliness. That was why I needed to hold on to him.

I felt like I could withstand any storm or hardship by his side. I felt like he would gently caress my cheek with his large hand, even if I were swayed. I felt like he would wipe away my tears with his warm fingers, even if I cried.

But no. He was here to kill me. Whatever the reason, he was here to strangle me. He was a different person from me from the very beginning. He was someone who held me in the palm of his hand, amused, and ready to kill me at any moment.

“You came to Ferrarium to capture me. Stop pretending now. It’s all over. You brought me here to get rid of me, didn’t you? Because I stole your money. Because you’re resentful.”

“….”

“H-h-honestly, I didn’t earn that money fairly either.”

I timidly appealed to him, feeling wronged.

“Aha. So you’re claiming to be a righteous thief, my wife?”

“Your wife? This is a sham marriage. Get your words straight.”

Kairos’ face briefly cracked and then returned to normal.

“…So.”

As the conversation was going in circles, I opened my mouth in frustration.

“I paid it all back. I paid it back in full, with interest. I can’t help that you’re resentful, but it’s been over a year now. You’ve been deceiving me all this time, so isn’t it even now?”

“So you’ve paid it all back.”

“I’m asking you to let me go. It was a sham marriage without love in the first place, so there’s no reason to continue it now that you’ve found out.”

“I said I wouldn’t hurt you. I said I wouldn’t kill you. Why do we have to get a divorce?”

I looked at him with a bewildered expression.

…Why did we have to get a divorce?

“What are you talking about?”

“I said I’m not going to kill you, and you can use as much money as you want. Just tell me if you need anything.”

“….”

“You said you loved me, so why should we get a divorce just because you found out who I am? You got everything you wanted. You found your ideal type. Whether then or now, I’m still your Noah Edith, so what’s the problem?”

What was he talking about?

“What are you talking about? My ideal type?”

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