Chapter : 11
“The ringā¦ for me?”
Why is the male lead trying so hard to look good in front of the villainess? Did he feel grateful because I saved Kanna?
“Yesā¦ I dared toā¦ offer it to you.”
The male lead lowered his eyes. Could it be that heās shy?
No, surely this isnāt the āIām just a villainess who wants to live comfortably, so why are you doing this to me?ā route, right? We decided that last time he and the heroine would be rivals. Rightā¦ I decided that alone, butā¦ now that I think about it, it feels unfair. After glaring at me like I was a ghost.
The male leadās voice, which seemed like it would stay steady even if he were stabbed, trembled slightly. This was definitely a flagged moment. Looking back on my experience with romance fantasy, it was clear.
This is a disaster! I tried to escape as the villainess, and now it seems like the male lead has fallen for me. Am I an idiot?
“Foolish. Not knowing your place.”
Right. I shouldāve known my place. I underestimated villainess transmigration stories. But we only met once. Isnāt the male lead justā¦ a little slow? If you look closely, most romance fantasy characters were kind of slow.
Anyway, itās ruined. I thought I only took the heroineās favor, but now it seems Iāve even stolen the male leadās attention.
Yes, itās understandable since this is a romance fantasy. But the problem is that my two-day, all-night villainess escape plan has turned into trash. Yeahā¦ all my hard planning was pointless. Becoming the heroine is still the fastest and most reliable path.
But I donāt actually intend to date the male lead. Heās a paper doll, and Iām human.
“Iām not interested in you.”
Oops. In a rush to shake him off, I blurted out āIām not interested in you.ā I really am foolish! My subconscious clearly wanted this romance fantasy path. Once a flag is set, trying to pull away only makes him cling tighter.
“Yesā¦ I assumed that the young lady is not interested in people.”
The male lead answered as if stating the obvious. What is this response? Shouldnāt he be reacting with āAre you not interested in me?ā when I say Iām not interested? And ānot interested in peopleā sounds a little strange.
But the strangest thing is that even though Iām not interested, he doesnāt seem to linger at all. Didnāt he like me? Did I misunderstand? But in romance fantasy, being too passive never worksāyou get scolded in comments for missing cues.
“Still, it doesnāt matter. Iām just curious about you.”
See? I knew it! Donāt underestimate my romance fantasy experienceāIāve lived and died in this genre before!
The male lead said this cloying line as if sugar ran through his veins instead of blood, without any visible reaction. Honestly, it gave me goosebumps. Though Evangelineās body carries the blood of a romance fantasy lineage, even she didnāt react with chills at such sweet lines.
Romance fantasy is terrifying. Trembling inwardly, I diverted the conversation, pretending the male lead was just tolerating me, and continued explaining the illustration.
Looking at the moth drawing again, my mind finally calmed.
“This circleā¦ I didnāt notice it before clearing the corpse, but itās closer to a symbol than a halo.”
The male lead pointed at the bent lines resembling the mothās antennae, then took out another piece of paper. It was tornāhow could this be the cause?
And seeing the newly brought paper, I was horrified.
āWhat the hell, this isā¦ the summoning circle Donau stole from me!ā
I thought it had burned along with my house!
A tearful reunion. I was moved until I realized something was off. The letters at the bottom, like annotations, were gone, and the paper looked newā¦
“This is the symbol. After copying it, I burned the drawing on the floor.”
Ah. So this was drawn by the male lead as well.
Wait. You drew this too? Itās identical, yet the previous one was drawn like a moth? Science-type?
I calmed myself. The important thing wasnāt the male leadās drawing skills.
So this wasnāt my paperāit was the one Donau had drawn on the floor that the male lead copied. The original burned. That means Iāll never read the summoning spell in my lifetime. I had let go, thinking it was lost, but now only the drawing returned, leaving my heart empty. Farewell, Spirit Kingā¦
“Does the painting the artist made of Donauās corpse have this symbol clearly drawn?”
“Except for the parts hidden by the body, itās identical.”
So, he just spreads otherworldly cheat codes at his whim. I was irritated at an unknown artist but calmed down. Even if some parts are hidden, I canāt summon the spirit without the spell anyway.
It seemed the male lead had nothing more to say. He just waited, watching my mouth for what I would say next.
Staring at his unnecessarily proud face and the summoning circle, I decided to speak. Not because I had feelings for him.
“I didnāt go after Donau because Kanna was kidnapped. Itās because she ran away with my drawing.”
“This one?”
“Yes.”
“Young ladyā¦”
Henna called me worriedly. Donāt worry! Iāll explain it neatly.
I also need that paper back. Arguing with the male lead isnāt worth it. He seems to be on my side, so Iāll just tell the truth.
Considering the situation, since the male lead seems to have feelings for me, heās unlikely to harm me. This makes me trust him more.
“Could you please explain what this symbol is?”
“Itās a summoning circle.”
“What does it summon?”
“Wellā¦”
Of course, I couldnāt mention spirits directly, so I dodged. Fire spirit? No, something else. What did the romance fantasy people worshipā¦ the Sun God Rahel? Something like that, almost kingdom-level sacred. No choiceāletās just say that.
“Seems like it could summon an angel.”
The male lead looked at me steadily, then slowly nodded.
Really? You believe this? You donāt believe Donau was blessed by God but believe it can summon angels? Do you just trust someone because they like you?
Is this the level of a romance fantasy male lead?
She was an unusually white figure. With closed eyes, one could believe she was a statue. The pale color contributed to making Evangeline Rohanson appear otherworldly.
Her movementsālifting a teacup from the table and sippingālooked natural at first glance, but somehow felt staged.
“I want to help.”
Gabriel finished speaking.
Evangeline Rohanson, who had been enjoying the tea with a bored expression, put her cup down. It clinked harshly against the saucer, reflecting her mood. The tea wobbled but regained its balance.
As the surface of the tea calmed, silence fell.
Everything around seemed to quiet in deference to Evangeline Rohanson. Birds stopped mid-flight; petals froze mid-air.
When the orchestra of nature paused, only the beating of hearts remained.
“The ringā¦ for me?”
Evangeline asked Gabriel as if witnessing the worldās most foolish sight.
As she spoke, all the restrained noises erupted at once.
The clock hands started moving again, and the ticking sound clashed with the heartbeat. The second hand seemed unusually slow. Gabriel realized it wasnāt the clockāit was his heart racing.
“Yesā¦ I dared toā¦ offer it to you.”
He could barely speak. Each word left him breathless.
“Foolish. Not knowing your place.”
Evangeline Rohanson sighed.
Though the indoor lighting hadnāt changed, her shadow seemed to fall over Gabriel.
“Iām not interested in you.”
Her once indifferent eyes now held anger; the red corners of her lips twisted in disdain. The respectful tone vanished, leaving clear contempt.
Gabriel acknowledged it. Humans donāt care about ants crawling in the garden. If they donāt kill them for fun, itās mercy. Even if stepped on, itās unnoticed, so no guilt.
Evangeline was angry simply because an insignificant ant entered her home.
“Iām just curious about you.”
Even though it was in a negative direction, drawing emotion from Evangeline Rohanson was encouraging. It was like witnessing a flower bloom from a withered tree.
The table shook slightly when she got angry. The teacup trembled. Just when I thought it might collapse, the shaking stopped.
Evangeline sipped her tea again as if she had never been fierce, though her gaze remained on Gabriel.
Thankfully, Evangeline hasnāt dropped her mask yet. Seeing her calm, the maid beside her breathed a sigh of relief.
Gabriel continued his explanation.
Gabriel looked at the Rohanson mansion. It felt unusually gloomy for a bright afternoon. Despite the staff, the mansion was eerily silent.
Only the cherry blossoms in the garden were strikingly red. Gabriel quietly observed the flowing cloth and dangling white foot hanging from the weeping cherry branches.
“Director, youāre late.”
Raphaela, waiting in the carriage outside the Rohanson mansion, greeted Gabriel. Seeing the cherry tree he had been looking at, she commented:
“What a huge tree. Are cherry trees usually this big?”
As Raphaela said, whether due to fertilizer or something else, it was unusually large.
By the time Gabriel looked back, the doll hanging from the cherry tree had disappeared. Had he imagined it when seeing the drooping petals?
