Chapter 40
She’s Mine.
“By the way, Count Paul Heredian—where is Lady Lorentia?”
“That would be… at His Highness Crown Prince Adrian’s—”
After finding out from Brandt where Lorentia was, Luans strode off quickly. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. It irritated him deeply. That some insignificant woman kept lingering in his mind was unbearable. Perhaps what really angered him was that the “monster” who had always belonged to him alone was now in someone else’s hands.
“That monster is mine.”
The fury boiling inside him would not subside.
With a loud bang, Adrian’s office door burst open. Both Adrian and Lanslone froze at the sudden noise.
“Luans. What brings you here?”
“My apologies, Brother Adrian. I heard Lady Lorentia was here.”
Adrian’s lips curved up, amused—as though he’d just found a new toy. It had been a long time since he’d seen Luans with such an anxious expression.
“Ah.”
“What is it, Your Highness?” Lanslone tilted his head.
“It’s been a while since I saw that face on Luans.”
It was the same expression Luans had worn back when he’d lost the chance to become Crown Prince—the look of a man who’d failed to possess something he’d believed was rightfully his.
“Lady Lorentia is with Marquis Tayshar right now—in the drawing room. The two of them, alone.”
“Alone, Brother Adrian?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“It’s a problem for an unmarried lady to be alone with a man.”
“Well, they’re both unmarried. If something does happen, Marquis Tayshar will take responsibility.”
The irritation that had been merely simmering now spread through Luans like black ink, staining him from head to toe. Adrian’s offhand tone only made it worse—filthy, infuriatingly so.
His chest tightened. He wanted to throw something, to destroy everything within reach. His rage was taking over—he’d never felt this kind of loathing before.
Grinding his teeth, Luans stormed toward the drawing room and slammed the door open.
Bang!
“Lorentia.”
“Prince Luans?”
He stared at her—and for a moment, something strange washed over him. The stiff, broom-like red hair she used to have was gone. Her hair now rippled softly, full and beautiful, a vivid red sheen. Her violet eyes blinked up at him like a proud but adorable cat’s.
Her rough, reddish skin was now pale as snow, and her lips—once cracked and bleeding—were now clear, bright red. He couldn’t look away.
Lorentia smiled faintly, her cheeks tinged pink as she called his name with that small, delicate mouth. It should have pleased him—but instead, it enraged him. And he quickly realized why.
“Marquis Spencer, please step away from Lady Lorentia.”
He had noticed Tayshar sitting close beside her. The sight made Luans’ blood boil. He wanted to draw his sword and drive it straight into the man’s heart.
“I said, step away, Marquis Spencer!”
Lorentia glanced nervously between the two men, sensing the strange tension.
“Lorentia! Come here.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said come to me! Are you deaf again?!”
Luans’ voice thundered, making Lorentia flinch involuntarily. She knew that voice—the voice that came before he broke things, before he cornered her and screamed that all of it was love.
I’m doing this because I love you, Lorentia. You’ll never understand the depth of my love.
She had once believed that. She had endured all his violence because she thought it was love. But as memories from her previous life began to resurface, her body trembled.
You can’t die without my permission! If you love me, you’ll die when I tell you to.
It’s too hard, Your Highness…
Then bear it—for me. If you truly love me, you’ll endure even the pain. Ha… So that’s all your love amounts to? Then you never loved me at all, Lorentia.
She had begged for forgiveness. Pleaded for him not to be angry. She had agonized over what she’d done wrong.
I love you, Lorentia.
There’s no way I could ever love you. You only deluded yourself into thinking my obsession was love.
Seeing her tremble, Tayshar quietly took her hand.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Luans roared.
The more he shouted, the more violently Lorentia trembled—like a small flower tossed in a storm.
“Lorentia! You should refuse when the Marquis takes your hand! What are you doing?”
Tayshar pulled Lorentia closer into his arms. Luans’ veins bulged at his neck.
“Lorentia!! Come here right now!”
“Prince Luans. I suggest you speak with decorum.”
“Decorum? You call this decorum—embracing an unmarried lady?”
Luans’ temper snapped completely.
“Luans!”
Adrian’s sharp voice cut through the tension, but Luans only let out a hollow laugh.
“Brother, don’t stop me. That man is forcing himself on Lorentia!”
He had called her, but she hadn’t come. Instead, she’d let herself be held by Tayshar. The fury burned his reason away.
“Brother Adrian, Marquis Spencer is getting between Lady Lorentia and me!”
“What are you talking about? There is nothing between you and Lady Lorentia to interfere with. If anything, you’re the one causing trouble.”
“No! She’s mine!”
“Luans,” Adrian said evenly. “Wasn’t your fiancée Lady Illina? Now suddenly Lady Lorentia is yours? And stop referring to people as if they’re things.”
Luans fell silent, his face twisting in rage. He stepped toward the sofa where Tayshar and Lorentia sat, glaring at the Marquis with a predator’s eyes.
“Lorentia… So he’s the reason you won’t come to me.”
His voice was now calm—almost gentle.
Luans’ hand moved toward his sword. His eyes burned with murderous intent.
“Yes. It’s because of him. Because of the Marquis Spencer.”
Adrian folded his arms and watched. Lanslone looked horrified, silently screaming as the tension reached its peak.
Tayshar whispered softly to Lorentia:
“Please, lower your body, my lady.”
She nodded and ducked down.
Luans let out a guttural scream.
Before Luans could draw his sword, Tayshar was faster. He seized Luans by the collar.
“Prince Luans,” he said coldly, “I suggest you do not draw your sword before me.”
“Give Lorentia back!”
“She is not an object.”
“She’s mine!”
Tayshar tilted his head slightly, one corner of his mouth curling.
“I warned you before, didn’t I?”
“What?”
“Not to anger a serpent.”
“Marquis Spencer!”
“If you ever try to claim her again in front of me, I won’t stay my hand. And if you draw that sword right now, I won’t restrain myself either.”
With that, Tayshar shoved Luans back. The prince crashed to the floor, face flushing red with humiliation.
He couldn’t endure it—his pride was shattered. Snarling, Luans leapt up and unsheathed his sword.
He lunged, slashing down at Tayshar—but the Marquis had already anticipated it. Calmly, he drew a short dagger and blocked the attack.
A metallic clang echoed through the drawing room.
Tayshar tilted his head, smiling faintly.
“You really don’t listen to warnings, do you, Prince Luans?”
“Die! Die, Marquis Spencer!”
“Careful, Tayshar,” Adrian sighed. “He’s still my brother.”
He gestured to Lanslone. “Take Lady Lorentia out of here.”
Lanslone slipped past the dueling men, bowing low, and lifted the trembling Lorentia into his arms.
Luans tried to stop them, but Tayshar’s dagger blocked his way. As Lorentia disappeared from view, Tayshar’s crimson eyes darkened further.
With a swift motion, he struck upward, knocking Luans’ sword from his grasp with another sharp clang.
Then Tayshar grabbed Luans by the collar again and punched him square in the face.
Thud.
Luans gasped, breath ragged, reeling from the shock and pain.
“This is self-defense,” Tayshar said evenly. “Did you really think you could defeat me by charging in like that, Prince Luans?”
He slapped Luans hard across the face with his open palm.
“If this were a battlefield, I’d have killed you already.”
After several sharp blows, he finally released the prince. Luans’ face was swollen and red, marked clearly with Tayshar’s handprints.
But even that felt far too little, compared to what Lorentia had suffered under him.
“Ugh… ah…”
Luans collapsed to the floor, blood dripping from his lips.
Adrian sighed heavily as he watched the scene unfold.
