I Sought Out the Tragedy’s Scheming Mastermind - Chapter 17

“You’re good at saying unfamiliar romantic things.”

Out of habit, Eliana smoothed her hand over his.

Verkley whispered softly as her lukewarm temperature warmed his cold hand.

“So you don’t like it?”

His eyes were definitely out of focus, but it felt like she was going to get sucked in by that mysterious color.

Eliana dodged his gaze inadvertently.

He was the mastermind, and she didn’t know what to expect.

Eliana answered quietly as if she were talking to herself.

“No, I don’t hate it.”

Pretending to have feelings for someone was more confusing than she thought.

Knowing that he’s the mastermind, she has to stay on guard… but there are times when she reacts unconsciously.

‘Especially when you say things like that with that face, it makes me feel weird.’

Verkley chuckled as if he were in a good mood.

The smile on his pale face was very beautiful.

His blank expression looked a little cold, but when he smiled, he looked pure.

His blue eyes still stared at her unclearly.

But even that seemed elegant, so Eliana was a little embarrassed.

“Can I kiss you?”

He’s asking if he can come closer and kiss her.

While complaining on the inside, Eliana nodded quietly, still in awe of his features.

“Yes.”

A charming smile spread across his face when he heard her answer.

She was lucky to have gotten close to him, but as they kept kissing each other, she felt a lot of emotions run wild.

She could reject him if she wanted, but she always allowed him to because of his looks.

As these thoughts invaded her mind, Verkley lightly bit Eliana and then licked her lip.

He kissed as if he were savoring something, still cautious.

Eliana slowly opened her eyes and stared at him.

He looked enraptured.

Like drinking water after being thirsty. Like a starving beast that consumes until it’s full and enjoying itself.

His face seemed to gradually fill with satisfaction.

Why in the world?

These were exactly Eliana’s thoughts.

She had no idea why he liked it so much.

She had no thoughts of even seducing him yet, but he gave in too easily.

She felt like something was wrong when she tried to tempt him openly.

‘Is this really okay?’

What kind of person was Verkley in the original novel?

Wasn’t he blinded by revenge? Acting without knowing that his soul was being eaten?

So if he discovers that he is being tricked and used, she might be killed at once.

She could never get caught.

However, she kept doubting whether their relationship was okay.

Maybe she shouldn’t have kissed him or pretended to have feelings for him.

But even if she ended up regretting it, what’s done was done.

Eliana shook off her dizzying thoughts and kissed him back.

The soft and cool touch of his mouth was pleasant.

Verkley’s lips were cold and moist to the point where she wondered if a human’s body temperature could be this low.

His cheeks flushed red once they pulled away.

But as soon as she saw his expression, it was like a bucket of ice was dumped over her head.

‘…He doesn’t make shy expressions.’

This was fake compared to how satisfied he looked when they kissed.

If she hadn’t seen his face, she actually might have been fooled.

Eliana smiled bitterly at Verkley’s fake reaction.

He only reveals his true feelings when they kiss.

She didn’t know why he was attracted to her, but she could tell he was trying to play the image of a man in love.

That’s right.

Eliana tried to erase her confused thoughts revolving around his reaction.

Two people in a relationship that take advantage of each other while they are still worth using.

Verkley touched Eliana’s cheek and murmured.

“Just touching you drives me crazy.”

Despite confessing his feelings in a tender voice, Eliana was still unimpressed.

Why was he doing this?

Why was he pretending to like her as if she were his entire world?

Having already read his feelings, Eliana spoke without realizing it.

“…Why?”

She could not understand his reaction to love, which was a lie.

Verkley gently brushed his hand against her cheek. His cold touch lingered on her skin.

Not long after, he smiled beautifully. “You very well know the answer to that.”

An irrelevant response. Apparently, she already knew the answer.

Eliana was struggling to interpret his words as someone knocked.

“It is the time you promised, Your Majesty.”

It was Sophia.

“Goodbye, Eliana.”

Eventually, Eliana left the room holding on to his uninterpretable words.

Verkley did not answer her question in the end.

* * *

“Welcome.”

Hera again welcomed her so kindly that she thought it was too much.

Her attitude was generous, unlike when she gave her a bloody warning last time.

It was awkward since Hera seemed glad to see Eliana as soon as she walked in.

But Sophia was surprisingly silent. It seemed she was already used to Hera’s change of attitude.

Sophia respectfully curtsied to Hera and left the drawing-room.

Refreshments were already prepared on the table.

However, it was strange that there were three teacups.

A white teacup with red roses lay upside-down, waiting for its owner.

Eliana lowered into a chair and brightly smiled at Hera, thanking her.

“Thank you for inviting me to such a precious occasion, Empress Dowager.”

“I want you to know that this is all because I value you.”

“Of course. I am grateful, Empress Dowager.”

Eliana knew her intentions, but reacted shyly, pretending to be thrilled.

She didn’t forget to be deliberately overjoyed.

As Hera watched with satisfaction, a maid flipped the teacups and poured the tea.

Teatime began with a little chatter, as is usual with young ladies.

For a while, they had small conversations about the weather and what dresses were recently popular.

Eliana didn’t know anything about fashionable dresses, so she just listened and nodded.

After a while, Hera finally got to the point.

“I hear you’ve been getting along with Verkley well. After all, it seems he likes you.”

“I’m doing my best to help you, Empress Dowager.”

Hera delightfully laughed as if she were happy with Eliana’s pleasant words.

The atmosphere turned warm after Eliana basically pledged allegiance to Hera.

Hera took a sip of her tea and continued in a gentle tone.

“I think the outcome is more important than trying your best. I have high expectations for you, so don’t disappoint me.”

“I will repay you with a good outcome.”

Hera relaxed and smiled as Eliana answered tensely.

The way she spoke kept you from being careless for even just a moment, which was amazing.

All Eliana’s attention zoned in on grasping Hera’s intentions.

“I summoned you here today because I wanted to introduce you to someone.”

“Introduce me?”

“I thought it’d be better if the two of you met beforehand, just to get your story straight.”

Hera tapped the side of her teacup with her manicured nails.

The tea inside slightly stirred.

Then Sophia came back into the drawing-room and whispered to Hera.

Hera’s expression noticeably brightened.

“Looks like he arrived just in time. Tell him to come in.”

“Yes, Empress Dowager.”

Sophia gave a small nod and opened the doors of the drawing-room.

Eliana’s gaze naturally turned to the opening.

The man who followed Sophia into the drawing-room was worthy of the adjective “elegant.”

At a glance, his uniform and navy shoulder cape looked spectacular.

But Eliana thought his facial features were glamorous, not his attire.

His silver hair parted down the middle and shimmered in the light, his hair falling over his golden eyes, which were darker and clearer than Eliana’s golden eyes.

When the man’s gaze met Eliana’s, his eyes widened for a second, and then he smiled.

He looked directly at Eliana and introduced himself politely.

“My name is Rube Demeter.”

“Ah.” Eliana uttered a low exclamation at the name “Demeter.”

Only then did she realize Hera’s intention of introducing him to her.

He was Hera’s replacement. The reason why Eliana was allowed to enter the Imperial Palace.

Given that Verkley was also agitated by the name “Demeter,” he was not any ordinary person.

‘But why hasn’t this character ever appeared in the novel?’

Eliana was confused by the sudden appearance of Marquis Demeter.

He passed by Eliana and her stiff expression, respectfully greeting Hera.

“Welcome, Rube.”

Hera greeted him more kindly than how she treated Eliana.

Eliana stared at him, still unmoving.

[ The Princess Who’s Blind to the Emperor ] was a novel that was temporarily put on hold after the first part.

And during the first part, the name “Demeter” was never mentioned.

Also, while staying at the Demeter Estate, the staff said it had been years since the marquis had returned to the capital.

So, of course, she thought he was a supporting character… It was embarrassing to see him appear like this.

And those features.

Considering the author’s nature, he was never meant to be an extra.

While the novel was still ongoing, a reader once asked the author why Verkley was unnecessarily portrayed as a handsome man.

They said there were more descriptions of Verkley’s appearance than the male hero, Kallius, in the novel.

Then there was the comment that the author left.

[ In my novels, attractiveness and personality are always inversely proportional. If the hero is more attractive than the scheming mastermind, that means the hero is the scheming mastermind. ]

Yeah, that’s exactly what she said.

Attractiveness and personality are inversely proportional.

Considering her response, the man in front of her was likely to be just as evil as Verkley.

Eliana’s eyes shook as her thoughts sorted themselves out.

T/N: I made another mistake *fat sigh*