<CHAPTER 17>
What Do You Think I’m Going to Do?
‘Dahlia Lorenheim?’
Coming to her senses belatedly, Evelyn was truly impressed.
Dahlia was far more beautiful than described in the original story.
The woman with a shy expression soon offered a greeting in a gentle voice.
“Eternal glory to the Valtian Empire. I am honored to meet you, Countess Inevassel.”
For a moment, Evelyn looked at Dahlia with wide, round eyes.
“You know who I am?”
“Of course. The young Count Lorenheim told me.”
Perhaps because she had shown interest in Dahlia in front of Felix, he had given her a hint in advance.
Evelyn offered a greeting with a faint smile at her lips.
“Eternal glory to the Valtian Empire. I am pleased to meet you, Countess Lorenheim.”
Somehow, Dahlia looked a little pleased at her polite greeting.
Evelyn pointed to the deck and asked subtly.
“But what brings you here, my lady?”
At that, Dahlia raised her eyelids wistfully and answered in a sulky voice.
“There is someone I must meet here, but it seems they are a little late.”
‘Is it someone very important?’
She thought that perhaps the female protagonist had someone else to meet besides Kalid.
While Evelyn nodded lightly, color suddenly returned to Dahlia‘s face.
“What a relief. I thought I would have to return empty-handed like this.”
Wondering if she had heard correctly, Evelyn blinked her eyes slightly.
Then Dahlia‘s purple eyes curved affectionately, showing a subtle smile.
“It’s nothing.”
‘Was Dahlia Lorenheim originally this kind of character?’
As Evelyn composed her expression at the woman’s cryptic words, she sensed a change in the atmosphere around them.
The sound of male nobles conversing could be heard.
“Come to think of it, the young Duke Valentino didn’t look well, did he?”
“What, even the peerless young duke gets seasick?”
“Since we’re on a ship, it would be difficult to return to the estate immediately.”
Evelyn‘s expression hardened instantly as she listened to their conversation.
Aksion didn’t get seasick in the first place.
Which meant, could it be—
Evelyn recalled the conversation she had with her fiancé earlier.
“Lately, the cycles of my mana becoming entangled have become more frequent.”
Perhaps Aksion‘s mana rampage had begun.
Since they, who bore the same seal, had met frequently recently, their entangled abilities had once again led to rampage.
But she couldn’t understand it.
She had definitely given him the reptile saliva as written in the book.
‘Why on earth…?’
With bewildered eyes, Evelyn formed a hypothesis.
Aksion Valentino, who possessed enormous mana, might have no way to stop the rampage other than imprinting.
But she couldn’t just stand there blankly like this.
She was partly at fault for his mana rampage after all.
“My lady, are you alright? You don’t look well.”
“I’m sorry. I must go!”
After asking Dahlia for understanding, Evelyn learned his location from the nobles who had been talking about Aksion earlier.
Having hurriedly made her way, Evelyn arrived at the room at the end of the deserted corridor.
‘Such powerful mana…’
She had encountered strong mana a few times in her life.
But feeling mana at a level incomparable to those times sent shivers running down her entire body.
Crash—
The sound of objects breaking came from inside the VIP room.
Without further delay, Evelyn burst the door open.
The room, engulfed in darkness without a single light on, was truly devastated.
Shards of glass from the broken window were scattered on the floor, and other objects were smashed beyond recognition.
In the faint moonlight, she could see the man suppressing his groans while supporting himself on the floor.
He seemed to be forcibly suppressing his mana to keep from losing his reason.
‘Has the situation become more serious than last year?’
Since the seal had manifested on Evelyn, Aksion‘s rampage must have grown even more severe.
She couldn’t just stand by and watch the man who seemed on the verge of being consumed by madness.
“Aksion, are you alright?”
Just as Evelyn approached her fiancé and tried to support him,
Aksion fiercely swatted her hand away and muttered lowly.
“Don’t come near me.”
The man seemed unwilling to cause trouble to anyone due to his mana rampage.
But up close, Aksion looked precarious, as if he might collapse at any moment.
The sight of him clenching his fist so tightly that his veins bulged looked like he was fighting alone in agony.
‘What should I do?’
Seeing the suffering man, Evelyn‘s heart sank.
Should she call for the resident physician immediately?
But they wouldn’t be able to treat Aksion, whose rampage had just begun.
With anxious eyes, she soon squeezed her eyes shut tightly, then opened them.
Imprinting… she had to imprint.
‘There’s definitely no going back.’
If she were to imprint with Aksion, she would never be able to undo it.
She might come to regret this day.
The fact that the same seal as his had manifested on her.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and imprint.”
Even so, Evelyn couldn’t turn away from her fiancé.
Perhaps she had grown fond of him after all.
After taking a short deep breath, she continued in a trembling voice.
“Listen, Aksion, nothing between us will change because of this.”
Then she wrapped her arms tightly around her fiancé’s solid body.
She could feel him stiffen instantly at the sudden contact.
With her eyes squeezed shut, Evelyn focused on gathering the healing power within her body.
By now, Aksion must have been certain as well.
In this urgent situation, Evelyn urged him with wide-open eyes.
The effectiveness of the imprinting would only last as long as they maintained their engagement.
At least that was her thinking.
“It’s too late to regret now.”
Along with the warning that flowed out softly, Aksion completely trapped her within his embrace.
As the same seal as his was revealed, the back of Evelyn‘s hand burned as if engulfed in flames.
As mana blazed within her body, seemingly having begun to operate, she let out a thin groan.
“It will be hard to endure since it’s your first time.”
The man, whose expression was contorted no less than Evelyn‘s, held her even tighter so she couldn’t escape.
Their abilities entangled endlessly like mixing compatibility.
How much time had passed? Evelyn felt his mana and her healing power settling.
It seemed Aksion‘s unstable mana waves had finally subsided.
Perhaps the pain had minimized, as his rapidly beating heart gradually calmed down.
‘At this point, Aksion must have regained his senses.’
Evelyn had been conscious of the strange breath touching around her neck since earlier.
As the imprinting seemed to be somewhat completed, she slowly opened her closed eyes.
“”
At that moment, Evelyn‘s slender shoulders flinched in surprise.
She didn’t know since when, but Aksion‘s languid eyes had been directed at her.
‘Aren’t we… too close?’
Feeling somehow abruptly closer, Evelyn glanced at her fiancé.
She hadn’t noticed until just now, but her hand was pressed against the man’s firm chest.
T-this isn’t what I meant…
Somehow feeling the atmosphere flowing in an increasingly strange direction, Evelyn slowly closed and opened her eyes.
A strange light rippled in Aksion‘s eyes as he watched her intently.
“Don’t close your eyes. What do you think I’m going to do?”
Unable to hide her confusion, Evelyn chewed over her fiancé’s words and stopped.
‘What… what is he saying right now?’
He clearly still wasn’t in his right mind.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t utter such audacity.
Evelyn, who had been leaning closely against Aksion, belatedly tried to escape from his grip.
But the arm wrapped around her slender waist tightened even more.
Like a black panther preventing its prey from escaping its territory.
