Chapter 2
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From a distance, Kaelen’s face was a thundercloud. His cold gaze fell on me as he slowly approached. He clicked his tongue, a sneer playing on his lips.
“Well, Elara, you’ve certainly grown bold. You were so sick from the drug, yet you’d rather run to your cold
hearted cousin than come to me?”
His voice dropped, and he beckoned to me with a flick of his fingers. “Come here, Elara. Come to my side.”
“If you come to me now, I can forgive everything.”
Julian’s gaze darkened, but he remained silent, his eyes fixed on me. They were deep and cool, like shattere moonlight on a dark pool. He was hesitating, afraid…
Afraid because for years, I had run to Kaelen’s side without a backward glance, never sparing a single loo!
for him. He’d been forced to bury his feelings in the lonely, sunless nights. A secret he would have taken tc his grave, one I never would have known.
I tightened my grip on Julian’s hand, pressing my body closer to his. “I’m not going,” I whispered, letting my
voice tremble. “Cousin, I’m scared. I only want you.”
【That’s it! Just act weak, use those crocodile tears! He’ll give you his life!)
【Elara is finally free from the toxic couple’s drama! From now on, it’s all sweet kisses and no more bitte
tears.]
【Crude, but not wrong. Though maybe you could have phrased that a little more delicately?]
Kaelen froze, his face contorting with disbelief. “Elara, I gave you a chance!” he snarled. “Don’t you dare co me crawling back to me later! No matter how many tricks you pull, how much you cry and beg, I will never let
you into my house!”
didn’t even bother to look at him. For some people, even a single glance is a waste.
Kaelen’s gaze shifted from me to Seraphina, who was dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. He roundec on me, his voice tight with fury. “What did you do now, Elara? Why is Lady Seraphina crying?”
‘She was the one who kindly alerted me, worried something had happened to you! She was just trying to
help!”
Oh, I was so grateful for her “help.” She just wanted to make the scandal as big as possible, to ensure my complete and utter humiliation in front of Kaelen.
He was, as always, ready to defend the woman he truly cherished.
‘Lord Kaelen,” Julian, still standing in front of me, spoke again, his voice devoid of emotion. “My sister is someone I would move heaven and earth to protect. Who are you to speak to her with such disrespect?”
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“You won’t marry her?”
“Good.”
“Someone else will. Someone who will treat her like the treasure she is.”
The comments were wild.
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[I can’t stop smiling! Chancellor basically just said, ‘You heard him, she’s mine now. Anyone who tries t take her from me is dead.‘]
10
On the eighth of September, for the Queen Mother’s birthday, as her youngest niece, I was required to atten the celebration at the royal palace. My handmaiden informed me that Seraphina was also on the guest list.
Fortunately, so was the Chancellor.
[Oh no, another run–in with the schemer.]
[Be careful, Elara! I have a bad feeling about this!)
Halfway through the evening banquet, the poison that had been dormant for days roared back to life, a famil iar fire licking through my veins. A cold sweat soaked through my undergarments. My legs felt like jelly.
All I could think about was Julian. His cool lips. His long fingers.
I bit my lip and sent my maid to find him. “I’m behind the grotto,” I whispered, the words tasting of shame.” The poison… it’s back. Tell him to hurry. I don’t know how long I can hold on.”
I slipped out of the grand hall.
Seraphina followed close behind, a strange man in tow, blocking my path. She smiled her usual gentle, eleg ant smile. “I am so sorry for the misunderstanding the other night, which caused such damage to your repu tation, Lady Elara.”
“I’ve brought my cousin here to offer a formal apology.”
The man she brought with her stared at me, his gaze hot and undisguised.
“I don’t need your fake apologies,” I snapped. “Get out of my way.”
Hurry. I had to find Julian.
Seraphina’s gaze turned cold as she watched me stumble away. I heard her laugh, a low, chilling sound. “We- Il, cousin? You said you wished to marry a noble lady from a prestigious family in the capital.”
“What do you think of her?”
“With so many people at this banquet, if someone were to… stumble upon something they shouldn’t… Elara’s face is so flushed. The poison clearly hasn’t been fully purged. She’s probably looking for some other man to
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help her.”
17:37 RW
“If you can find her before that ‘other man‘ does, dear cousin, do you think marrying the first daughter o House Caelan would be so difficult?”
The comments flickered frantically before my eyes.
[You schemer! Can’t you go one day without causing trouble? If you’re that antsy, why don’t you just sla; yourself a few times?]
【Where is Elara’s protector?! Your girl is being targeted again! Get rid of these two clowns, they’re ruining my mood!]
I hid inside a small, dark grotto, listening as the voices and footsteps outside grew closer.
“I saw her run this way…“”
“The royal gardens aren’t that large. And with the poison acting up, where could she possibly hide?” Seraphi na’s voice had lost its usual soft elegance. It was now cold and sharp. “If you want wealth and power, cousin then you’d better start looking!”
The fire inside me felt like it was consuming everything. I slumped against the cool, damp rock of the grotto my body sliding toward the ground.
But the figure that appeared at the mouth of the cave was not Seraphina’s cousin.
It was Julian, clad in the deep purple robes of his office.
I was completely spent, feeling as if I’d been dragged from a river.
His long fingers were cold. The places he touched felt like heaven, a soothing balm on my burning skin.
‘Elara,” he said, his voice low. “Hold on.”
He grasped my waist, pulling me into his arms. His cool sandalwood scent, the smooth silk of his robes–at
his moment, they were the most fatally alluring things in the world.
looked up at him from his embrace, my eyes misty and red, a pathetic, whimpering sound escaping my lips.
‘It hurts so much.”
‘Cousin, a kiss would make it better.”
‘Just like last time…”
Julian wasn’t faring much better. His eyes were clear, but they were dark and terrifyingly intense.
He wouldn’t kiss me.
So I hooked my arms around his neck. My fumbling fingers tore at the neat buttons of his collar, exposing the pale skin of his collarbones.
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Thirsty. I was burning from the inside out.
I bit down.
The taste of his warm blood was so, so sweet.
Julian’s eyes turned black as iron, threatening to swallow me whole. A low groan rumbled in his chest.
“Elara,” he rasped. “This is the royal palace. We can’t.”
If we left the palace, did that mean we could?
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【People are everywhere! The schemer’s cousin almost found them so many times! This is thrilling!)
[Can’t do it here, but can do it back home. Get the hint, Elara?]
[You think her cousin is a eunuch? After all this teasing, his own ‘fever‘ must be stirring. Get home already and let the dark, secret room plotline begin!)
Julian shrugged off his outer robe.
The garment, saturated with his cold sandalwood scent, fell over my head, enveloping me in darkness and shielding me completely. He lifted me into his arms and walked out of the grotto.
I buried my face in his shoulder, nuzzling the warm skin of his neck. He stiffened, sucking in a sharp breath, but then continued walking as if nothing had happened.
“Chancellor, a moment…” Seraphina’s clear, melodious voice called out.
She couldn’t see my face, but she saw the untouchable Chancellor Julian carrying a woman in his arms. A flash of raw jealousy crossed her face.
She curtsied gracefully. “Chancellor, have you seen Lady Elara? She was feeling unwell and also came to the gardens…”
I trembled in his arms, my burning cheek pressed against his chest. I couldn’t tell if it was from fear or from
the drug.
Julian’s voice was hoarse. “I have not seen her.”
He tried to walk past her.
Seraphina couldn’t stop herself, her voice laced with a sour note. “Then who is that in your arms, Chancell-
or?”
“I have studied the classics my entire life, strived to become a woman of intellect, all in the hopes of being a match for you, Chancellor.”
“I believe I am far more suited to you than Elara. I could be your true partner, a helpmeet in your great endea-
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vors…” Her voice was three parts sob, seven parts adoration.
The comments couldn’t take it anymore:
[All she can think about is competing with other women. So impressive!]
【What kind of writer created this female lead? She wants everything. Turns out the psycho was just he backup plan, she was after the Chancellor all along. He’s obsessed with his cousin, lady, so you can just bott le up your green tea and go.)
Julian paused. “The woman I am holding,” he said, his voice flat, “is the woman I intend to marry.”
“But if Lady Seraphina insists, you may have a look.”
He made a move to lift the robe covering me, to expose me to her.
A small whimper escaped my lips. My hand shot out, grabbing his wrist, holding on tight.
Seraphina’s eyes, red and furious, locked onto my exposed fingers.
Julian’s voice was slow and deliberate. “My apologies, Lady Seraphina. My fiancée is shy. She does not wish
to be seen.”
12
Back at the Chancellor’s residence, I was so weak I couldn’t lift a finger.
Julian grabbed my ankle and placed my foot on his lap. “Elara. Can’t you take better care of yourself?”
tried to pull away, but his long, strong fingers tightened, holding me fast. “Scars do not suit a young lady. Be good. Let your cousin apply the ointment.”
The poison had flared up so suddenly. As I was hiding in the grotto, my legs had been scraped by sharp ocks in several places. Now, his cool fingertips, slick with salve, traced the lines of the cuts.
A shiver racked my body.
‘Julian!” I snapped, losing my temper. I kicked out, sending the pot of ointment flying. A few black droplets splattered across his flawless, pale cheek.
When he wasn’t smiling, he was terrifying. Cold, remote, and utterly unreachable. Beneath the fine robes was not just a tall, elegant figure, but a man who wielded the ruthless power of the court.
But I wasn’t afraid.
In fact, I grew bolder, pressing the sole of my foot against his chest.
“They said… if you and I… made love…” I stammered, my voice soft and weak. I didn’t dare meet Julian’s dark oppressive gaze. “The poison in my body would be cured. I wouldn’t be in pain anymore.”
The text in my vision, the one that said he was addicted to me… was it a lie? I had never seen him lose cont-
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rol.
Julian leaned closer. The cool sandalwood scent threatened to unravel my sanity all over again.
He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “Elara, not yet.”
“Something like that… must wait until after we are married.”
“I need to be certain… that you won’t regret this…”
As his lips came down to meet mine, another bitter pill was passed from his mouth to my own.
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[He wants her, he wants to possess her, which is why he’s being so careful! He’s really… I’m crying.]
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