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More than surprise, it was sheer absurdity.
Since when did he care so much about "physical attachment" that he couldn't stand the sight of her touching another man, yet now he says he wants to break her?
‘Crazy... is he insane? Is our Empire truly doomed?’
A flurry of unresolved question marks flooded her mind.
The problem was that the only person who could answer all these questions was the lunatic standing right in front of Yevgenia.
She instinctively tightened her grip on his hand to prevent him from grabbing her waist.
Barely managing to swallow a dry lump in her throat, Yevgenia asked cautiously.
“I have so many things I'm curious about, but let me ask this first.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“When you say you want to break me, do you mean that physically? Like... you want to assault me? Or that you want to see red liquid?”
Provoking a madman inside a locked room was never a good choice.
She was so careful that she feared even mentioning the word "blood" might trigger something hidden within him.
Yevgenia’s eyes momentarily flickered toward the window connecting them to the coachman.
If any problem arose, she intended to dash toward it and knock frantically.
Perhaps that anxiety reached Yulan as well.
Chuckling, he replied in a voice that still held a trace of amusement.
“I'm disappointed that you saw me as such a violent man.”
“No, no, no. It's not that I think you're like that, but just in case, for the sake of my safety...”
“There's no need to be so scared. What I said is merely the ultimate goal.”
‘That's exactly why it's fucking terrifying...’
She wanted to give her past self a severe beating for ever thinking that talking to Yulan had become comfortable.
If her past self were to be struck by a barrage of "back-spikes" in a rapid-fire rhythm, she would surely snap out of it quickly.
She couldn't even begin to guess what kind of thoughts were swirling inside Yulan's head.
She did her best to compose herself so as not to show her fear, but she couldn't stop her body from trembling slightly.
“You're shaking. Are you afraid of me?”
“....”
“Don't be. I simply want you to—”
“M-me?”
‘What on earth does he want? What am I supposed to do? This is driving me crazy. I thought I finally escaped Raymond and avoided the downfall ending, only to end up with some guy who's either a second male lead or just a supporting character...’
Since recalling her past life and the original work, Yevgenia had realized one thing.
It was that she desperately wanted to avoid a "bad death."
‘Well, who wouldn't...’
Aside from fragments of information that popped up occasionally, she had no memories of her previous life.
Judging by that, it was clear her previous death hadn't been a peaceful one either.
On top of that, the body she was reborn into was a character destined to die in prison, so it was only natural that she became obsessed with a peaceful passing.
She didn't even hope to live forever.
She simply wished to go peacefully, happy and without pain.
‘At the very least, I must avoid being murdered here.’
She didn't know what Yulan wanted, but she was willing to grant him anything as long as it didn't involve her life.
With that mindset, she stared intently into Yulan's eyes.
As she did, the smile gradually vanished from his face.
‘Sh-shit, was that wrong? Should I have looked away?’
Though she was already curled up in the corner of the carriage, she tried even harder to retreat further into the corner.
The moment she lowered her eyes in fear, a strong force lifted her chin.
As she opened her mouth to say something in the face of this forced eye contact—
“Mmph...!”
The other's skewed lips brushed against her own.
Their parted lips locked, sharing the same space.
A refreshing breath filled her mouth.
‘Was this... that stimulant...?’
If there was one difference, it was that it was mixed with a sweetness like candy.
But she had no time to think deeper about it.
A soft tongue invaded her mouth just like that.
Their naturally overlapped bodies pressed heavily against her.
She felt as if he had stripped her of all freedom.
The feeling of surrendering her mouth in that state made it seem as though she were giving him everything...
“S-stop, stop it...!”
The moment their lips parted slightly, she pushed him away with all her might.
Death? Of course, she feared it.
But she absolutely could not endure the feeling of her very soul being dragged away by him.
It felt as if the entire world wanted her to become "Yevgenia" once again.
In a short span of time, she vigorously wiped her damp lips.
Red lipstick smeared all over the white sleeve of her dress.
Her lips and the corners of her mouth were likely in a similar state as that sleeve.
Her vision was slightly blurred due to the tears that leaked out, as she hadn't completely overcome her terror.
“Please... why are you doing this? We were fine until a moment ago...”
As she spoke, Yevgenia panted as if she were about to collapse.
Yulan, who had been looking down at her silently, firmly rubbed her cheek, which remained untouched by the ruined makeup.
“Ugh...!”
“It looks good.”
“What, what...?”
“I said you're pretty.”
No matter how many sweet words he let slip with a gentle smile, not a single syllable reached Yevgenia's ears.
Her mind was filled only with the thought of what she had done wrong to be pushed into such a corner.
He had applied so much pressure that the cheek he rubbed already stung.
Everything she had perfectly set up had become a mess, yet for some reason, he seemed to genuinely like this sight.
‘Does he have a weird fetish? Like, the uglier the better?’
No, if that were the case, he wouldn't have fallen for Yevgenia.
Some might call it arrogance, but this wasn't mere confidence; it was an objective judgment.
Just because her makeup was ruined or her dress was dirty didn't mean she became ugly.
‘Ah. Maybe I was too arrogant? Is that why he wanted to break me? No, who is such a sociopath!’
...But then again, hadn't Yulan been acting like a sociopath since the first time they met?
Now that she thought about it, he had.
Because she had used him so conveniently in the right places and had maintained a decent interaction with him, she had forgotten that side of him.
Perhaps he had been intentionally hiding it all this time.
‘I guess that was his true self. I'm too scared to point it out, so, hmm, should I go with the "innocent Imperial Princess" strategy?’
Forcing herself to suppress her racing heart, she grabbed his shoulders.
“Yulan.”
“Yes?”
“I'm truly sorry, but I love Raymond.”
“...Huh?”
At such an absurd statement, the serious expression on Yulan's face momentarily cracked.
But this was her chance.
She had to refresh this incredibly awkward atmosphere.
So that he would never have any romantic thoughts about her again.
“I was a bit surprised at first, but it seems you wanted to... make me like this in the end.”
“....”
“The reason I slept with you and did those things was all to erase the name. And that,”
“...That was to cancel the engagement so you could wish for the happiness of the Raymond you love so dearly.”
His voice sounded much more drained.
Thanks to that, her trembling body slowly returned to normal.
She gave a shallow nod and patted his shoulder.
“Yes, that's why I cannot accept your feelings.”
“Haha....”
“Using someone's feelings as a weakness and acting selfishly is something I would never do, even if I died. ...You'd understand that, wouldn't you?”
If you removed the existence of "Raymond," this was her pure sincerity.
Hoping her sincerity would reach him, she looked up at him desperately.
‘Please, just give me a normal reaction...!’
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