The Obsession of a Fallen Paladin

12. To Tame a Dangerous Beast (1)

Regardless, Kasha did not stop walking.

Seeing this, Simon shouted once more.

“…All the things you’ve done! All the things you’ve made! I know everything. I know it all!”

Kasha halted.

Perhaps thinking his threat had worked, Simon raised his voice even more.

“I don’t know why you’re doing this to me, but our relationship can’t end so easily. You know that too, don’t you?”

“…….”

“Especially that… thing! I hid it well from the priests, but if what you unsealed appears in the world, do you have any idea how much trouble you’ll be in?”

Afraid that someone might overhear, Simon couldn’t even bring himself to utter the word “mana stone.”

Whoosh.

When Kasha suddenly turned around, Simon flinched.

“Indeed, I’m curious. Where did you hide those mana stones exactly?”

She had to struggle to keep from openly mocking his lie.

‘From now on, I will find them myself, Simon. Just wait and see.’

As Kasha turned away again with that thought, Simon shouted desperately.

“Besides, we’re practically engaged!”

Ha.

The absurdity of it made her scoff.

Was he referring to that nonsense he spouted months ago when he grabbed her hand while walking in the garden and declared, ‘We’re practically engaged now’?

Just as he had hurried through their marriage with a cheap ring, he now claimed their engagement was valid just by saying it.

‘Indeed, one must be that shameless to be a villain.’

Simon continued his nonsensical rant with an air of triumph.

“If you end things with me now, you’ll be the one in trouble! Don’t you know men and women have different social standings? No matter how bad you are at human relationships….”

Kasha remained calm regardless of his babble. However, she noticed Sena, who had come in with a new teapot, stop in her tracks and turn pale upon hearing their conversation.

‘I can’t stand this any longer.’

Kasha walked over and took the teapot from the tray Sena was holding.

Freshly boiled, steam still wafted from the spout.

Holding it, Kasha swiftly turned around.

Startled, Simon flinched again.

With a blank expression, Kasha held the teapot high towards him.

“Simon Blancsh. Shut up and get out. Before I pour this freshly boiled tea on you.”

It was no joke. Listening to his prattle made her feel murderous.

Reflecting on how pathetically she had acted to make him believe such nonsense was enough to make her furious.

Meanwhile, Simon’s face turned white in fear, was quite a sight.

“K-Kasha. Are you really crazy? How do you plan to handle this situation? I won’t stand for this. I can’t end things with you like this! Never!”

Despite his threats, he backed away hesitantly, showing that the earlier tea had indeed been hot.

Suppressing the urge to actually throw the boiling tea at his detestable face, Kasha stormed out of the reception room like a whirlwind.

* * *

‘I knew he wouldn’t leave easily.’

Clatter, clatter.

Feeling the gentle vibrations of the carriage, Kasha fell into thought.

As long as Simon needed her talent as a magic tool creator, he would never easily let her go.

Having seen how much she had changed, he would now seek other methods.

‘If you end things with me now, you’ll be the one in trouble! Don’t you know men and women have different social standings?’

Although his threat was ridiculous, it wasn’t something to simply laugh off.

‘This kind of idle play without consequences is only possible for someone like Odette, a daughter of a powerful family.’

For Kasha, things were different.

Although she was the daughter of the Margrave, she was an illegitimate child with a vague background. Moreover, she had the reputation of being an idiot and a lunatic.

If Simon spread strange rumors, it would indeed cause various troubles.

‘It’s laughable that he would spread such rumors himself. Until now, he’s only met me secretly at the count’s estate, fearing our relationship would be revealed.’

Despite her scoff, Kasha leaned back in her seat with a serious face.

It was true that she had unsealed the mana stone. The moment Simon and the hidden mastermind decided she was no longer valuable, they would surely frame her as a villainess and try to eliminate her, just like before the regression.

‘Therefore, I must break Leon’s curse, the first victim of the mana stone Ono, and make him my ally.’

Starting with Leon, she would find that woman. She would save both Leon and herself.

If Leon’s curse didn’t worsen but rather healed, how anxious would the faceless mastermind become?

The thought made her feel much better.

‘Getting closer to Leon offers more benefits.’

She needed a way to keep Simon from approaching her again and to prevent him from spreading false rumors.

In short, she needed protection.

Protection that would block Simon’s approach, allow her to complete her research on the magic tool, and buy time to uncover the mastermind’s identity.

Leon had the status, family, and social standing to provide such protection.

‘If he accepts my proposal, that is.’

Kasha thought as she slightly opened the carriage window.

Beyond the well-maintained road, a grand mansion stood tall.

The Aranias Grand Duke’s estate.

Its pure white exterior, built entirely of white bricks, was dazzlingly beautiful.

Just like Leon himself.

‘He doesn’t seem easy to handle, just like that man.’

Kasha thought as she gazed at the firmly closed gate of the mansion.

After a lengthy conversation between the coachman and the gatekeeper, the gate finally opened slowly. Fortunately, her status as the daughter of Count Ruschino seemed to hold weight.

Naturally, she should have obtained permission for the visit via a letter in advance, but she doubted Leon would have granted it.

So, she had no choice but to charge in recklessly like this.

* * *

“Could you please wait here for a moment? The Grand Duke has not yet returned home. You did have an appointment, correct? I haven’t heard anything from him….”

The butler spoke with a troubled expression.

Kasha tried to look as shameless as possible and replied.

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Ah, I see. Then please have a seat. I’ll bring some tea for you while you wait.”

The butler bowed without further comment, though his face still showed evident doubt.

‘Our Grand Duke made an appointment with a lady alone?’

That must be the kind of doubt he harbored.

Kasha pretended not to notice and sat primly on the sofa.

Soon, the servants brought fragrant tea and cookies.

Kasha didn’t refuse and ate them with delight.

She hadn’t had a meal due to the rush, so she was hungry.

But once her stomach was full, an unexpected problem arose.

‘…I’m sleepy.’

The fatigue from staying up all night organizing research materials began to hit her.

‘This isn’t good.’

Nod.

‘No….’

Nod.

The afternoon sunlight streaming into the reception room of the Grand Duke’s mansion was too drowsy to fight off the sleepiness.

Before long, Kasha started nodding off, her head bobbing up and down.

How much time passed?

Kasha wandered in the boundary between dream and reality for a long time.

‘Die! Villainess! Die!’

‘So go save your own life. I’m already a lost cause.’

‘Can’t you die gracefully? Do you know how much mental effort I spent pretending to care about your gloomy self!’

It hurts. Stop it. Stop hitting me.

Her body, remembering the pain from her past life, trembled and turned cold.

At that moment.

Thump, thump.

The sound of steady footsteps came from somewhere, and the ghostly memories began to fade away.

Kasha opened her eyes, drenched in cold sweat.

“What are you doing here?”

His hair wet with sweat, perhaps from intense training. His uniform muddy and his jawline sharper. His violet eyes narrowed as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

All combined to give off the dangerous aura of an exhausted predator.

But he was the man who had maintained his convictions even in the relentless torment of the past life. The only person who hadn’t blamed Kasha despite losing everything. Leon.

Kasha blinked slowly as she looked at him standing before her.

He glared at her as if ready to devour her, but she did not avoid his gaze.

‘To tame a beast, you must not avoid its eyes. Otherwise, you’ll be eaten.’

“Sir Leon.”

“…….”

“It’s been a week.”

Kasha steadied herself and stood up from the sofa. When she suddenly stumbled, Leon, whose chivalry was second nature, instinctively reached out to catch her but then quickly withdrew his hand.

“Did I invite you?”

His voice was cold. It seemed like he was deliberately making it even colder.

But Kasha didn’t flinch at all. She ran her fingers through her sweat-drenched hair, a faint smile playing on her lips.

“Because you didn’t come, I had no choice but to come.”

Leon couldn’t tear his eyes away from her slow hand movements and smile, staring at her with an intense, predatory gaze.

“Impatient, aren’t you?”

“…….”

“Or maybe, you’re just fearless?”

It was a clear threat, but Kasha responded steadily.

“I’d like to have a conversation, just the two of us.”

Ha.

Leon let out a derisive laugh and turned away without hesitation.

After taking three large steps, he suddenly stopped, as if reconsidering.

“…Follow the butler to the second-floor study. I’ll go wash up.”

His order was directed at the butler, who had been standing nervously, without looking back at Kasha.

Still wearing a faint smile, Kasha followed the butler to the second floor.