I Sought Out the Tragedy’s Scheming Mastermind - Chapter 36

I Sought Out the Tragedy’s Scheming Mastermind – Chapter 36

Eliana stared at her hand in confusion.

‘Nothing’s happening…?’

She just felt the same as usual.

When she had contact with the Hanev the other day, she felt tired, but not now.

However, Verkley seemed to feel something.

Eliana asked with persistence, determined to understand what he was talking about.

“So? What power are you talking about?”

“You really have no idea?” Verkley asked with a glare in his eyes.

He was always friendly, but his tone was harsh, probably because he was determined not to hide his true nature anymore.

Eliana nodded quietly.

She really didn’t know, so she needed him to tell her.

Eliana was curious. What power was he talking about?

Then, Verkley lightly brought his mouth to the back of Eliana’s hand.

His ice-cold lips touched the back of her hand softly.

He had a slight wickedness in his smile. It was dangerous.

“Don’t make this harder by hiding it from me. Just touching you like this makes me feel strange.”

“…I-I’m really not hiding anything… ack.”

Eliana was about to protest, saying it was unfair, but this time he nipped the back of her hand.

Eliana, surprised, let out a low squeak that made her shut up.

It sounded kind of embarrassing.

Verkley stared at Eliana intensely and growled low. 

“Tell me before I dig it all up. Because I’m going crazy wondering who you are.”

‘No, I mean, I really don’t know! You tell me, for God’s sake!’

Eliana touched her forehead because of Verkley’s stubbornness.

What she explained at best was sloppy.

He demanded an answer, though she had already explained everything she could.

Eliana finally regained her composure and began to explain her situation step by step from the beginning again.

However…

“So, you expect me to believe that?”

Verkley, who was listening to her story, sat in a chair with his legs crossed, arrogance written all over him.

Eliana didn’t give up and tried to persuade him.

I lived in Korea, and when I opened her eyes after the accident, I was here.

You are the scheming mastermind of this novel, and you’ll soon blind Mary.

After a long explanation, he questioned her.

“If you’re right, then you had no reason to come to the palace, correct? Being the young daughter of a count is not a bad role.”

“I was just trying to survive. But that’s not all of it. I was to be sold as the second wife to an old marquis.”

“Ah, so you mean Marquis Valkyrie was your fiancé?”

Eliana nodded vigorously as Verkley repeated.

“A political marriage at such a young age makes no sense. And besides, Count Mussieux is abusive.”

“So you came to me, the same as in the original story?”

“Yes, that’s it!”

Eliana was overflowing with joy, thinking she finally got through to him.

“All right, let’s move on. How will you prove you’re not on Hera’s side?”

“That…” Eliana hesitated.

She wasn’t sure how far she should confess, even though she’s already been caught.

Verkley had a relaxed smile as if telling her to come clean.

Perhaps he was not particularly threatening her? Eliana decided to evade the question.

“I heard you were handsome.”

“What?” 

“It was written that you were really handsome in the novel, so I came to see if it was true.”

“…”

Verkley looked dazed at her random answer.

There was an awkward silence.

Eliana reiterated, despite her embarrassment. “I’m not on Hera’s side. I came to see you. Please believe me.”

“All right,” Verkley answered roughly before getting lost in thought.

‘What is he thinking?’

Eliana glanced at Verkley.

His face had softened beyond recognition when he heard that she had come to see him.

But for the anxious Eliana, his expression only seemed unclear.

She had no idea whether he would believe her or not.

Eliana continued to stare at him.

In fact, she left out the most important part.

That Verkley was destined to kill her.

It was a kind of assurance to herself.

If he knew the future, he’d probably say, “Oh, really? Then, you must die now.” She was afraid he’d kill her.

She was glad that she didn’t write that detail inside the note.

The brutal atmosphere gradually eased.

But you never know when it’ll get ugly again.

Eliana held her breath as she waited for Verkley’s response.

* * *

Verkley’s gaze moved to Eliana.

At first, he thought Eliana was talking nonsense.

But he could see it in her face.

She said the names of countries he had never heard of before and used strange words as well.

Judging from that point, he had to give her some credit.

In fact, if Verkley had been an ordinary person, he might’ve thought she was crazy.

But he had confirmed with his own two eyes that mythical beings did exist.

So, he must also appear crazy to others because he made a deal with such a being.

He can’t completely trust her words.

But the fact that she knew his next move and this strange power that she had kept screaming at him to have faith.

Flap Flap.

Like a fish searching for water on a dry floor to survive, Eliana seemed pretty desperate.

Of course, she didn’t seem to be at her limit, given that she was making jokes about how “handsome” he is.

Eliana did everything to prove her innocence to Verkley, and he smiled in amusement.

‘I bet she’ll *squirm if I step on her.’

[ *T/N: Similar to the Korean idiom: Even a worm will wiggle if you step on it = Even gentle people can lose their tempers. ]

He thought about messing with her, but it didn’t appeal to him.

He had his doubts, but this actually felt like a good excuse to entrap her.

Verkley, who had arranged his thoughts, asked in a rather gentle tone.

“Wouldn’t it be more believable to describe this world with other words, rather than say it’s a novel?”

“Would you believe me if I made something up?”

“No,” Verkley said flatly and let out a laugh.

Eliana glared at Verkley for a moment before lowering her eyes.

It was rather refreshing to see her lashing out, curling her tail while staring at him.

Verkley cocked his head. “Why are you trying to convince me? Some people would think I killed you inside that novel.”

“Gasp!”

“…?”

It was a light jab at her, but Eliana inhaled sharply.

Her round eyes shifted and avoided Verkley’s gaze.

* * *

‘No, how is he so good at guessing?!’

His question was a surprise attack, so Eliana was in trouble because she couldn’t maintain her poker face.

Verkley’s lips gently rose.

He covered his mouth with his hand as if he was trying to suppress his laughter.

She didn’t know what he was thinking, but he seemed to have caught on to her reaction.

“So I’m right.”

Verkley murmured with a meaningful smile. It looked like he found this pleasant.

He was silent for a moment, and then with the flick of his finger, he signaled her to come close.

After finishing her explanation, Eliana stood a little farther away as if waiting to be punished, but then she slowly crept toward him.

Then, Verkley grabbed Eliana’s hair and pulled her to him.

Her head naturally leaned down.

It was scary to face him head-on.

Eliana asked him in a quivering voice, “Am I going to die now?”

“Why should you?” Verkley tilted his head.

In response, Eliana spoke with stern in her voice even as she trembled.

“In the novel, Your Majesty killed the nobles for saying the wrong things. There has been no tyrant like that…”

“It sounds like you’re asking me to kill you,” Verkley said as he threaded his fingers through Eliana’s hair.

Now, it was Verkley who did not avoid eye contact and met her gaze.

Verkley burst into laughter as Eliana swallowed hard.

“I won’t kill you yet.”

“What?” 

“I don’t know if you were like this in the novel or if you’re just you… but you’re quite useful.”

With those finishing words, Verkley lifted his upper body and kissed her.

The sudden kiss made Eliana go stiff, and Verkley smiled treacherously.

“So, don’t try to hide your thoughts. Just tell me honestly. Why did you come to me?”

Apparently, using the excuse that he was handsome didn’t work.

Eliana murmured in a crawling voice. “…I’m going to smack you.”

“Huh? Speak up.”

When Verkley smirked, Eliana took a deep breath and shouted.

It was the last straw.

“I didn’t want to die! I didn’t want you to kill me after finding out I was Hera’s spy like in the novel, so I tried to win your favor and run away!”

“All right. You should’ve just led on with that earlier.”

Verkley released her hair and stroked her head as if he were praising his pet.

After a while, Eliana faltered and backed away.

She felt that he was playing her, but she couldn’t help but feel relieved to hear that he wouldn’t kill her.

Eliana calmed herself down by repeatedly taking slow deep breaths.

This would still be a difficult novel to survive.

Then, Verkley suddenly got up and went into Eliana’s room.

Eliana was standing around, still unable to do much, and Verkley returned a moment later.

He held a pen and paper in his hands.

Verkley laid the paper on the table.

As Eliana stared at him, he held out the pen.