If They Get Obsessed, I’m Doomed - Chapter 57

RP: Haebaragi_syk

Chapter 29.2

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Your Highness. The third-floor window is the room where Young Lord Solem is. The shadow of a person lingered for a while.”

“Okay. I’ll check it myself.”

Skylar’s voice.

As the sensations in her entire body became tense, Ariel’s complexion turned pale from the approaching fear. Since it was a reception room at the end of the hallway, there was only one exit… and that was facing the person coming up the stairs.

Running into Skylar was inevitable.

‘What excuse could I give Skylar in this situation? I can’t reveal the deal with Solem…’

At that moment, Racine’s blunt bass voice drifted into her stiffened ears.

“Do you need my protection now?”

Ariel nodded her head without hesitation.

Immediately, he pulled her wrist. Like a feather blowing in the wind, her light body was dragged through the door. Once inside the room, her body was pushed against the wall behind the door by Racine’s hand.

“Stay quiet.”

He ordered softly.

Ariel followed the command and held her breath.

Racine, without any attempt to disguise himself, casually stood with the door ajar, waiting for the imminent visitor to arrive. Soon, the sound of steady footsteps came closer and closer and stopped in front of the door where he stood.

“Did you wait for me?”

Skylar’s displeased voice flowed clearly through the crack of the door.

“Because it was noisy.”

“I let someone loose. Just looking for a person.”

Skylar quickly got to the point. Then, he glanced at Racine with a questioning look.

“The daughter of Countess Huckley… You probably wouldn’t know even if I told you.”

He then corrected himself, considering Racine’s indifference.

“Have you seen the girl I had in the car the other day today?”

“No.”

“The servant said they saw a shadow of a person here.”

“It’s my servant. I called them because I have something to entrust them with.”

With a response as blunt as if the answer was inflexible, Skylar lowered his head and rubbed his forehead.

“Ha…”

As he let out a long sigh, he seemed relieved for some reason.

“Perhaps it’s a good thing.”

After he muttered under his breath before lifting his head, Skylar’s face was completely cold.

“Anyway, if you see her… No, forget it. I’ll leave.”

He turned and moved away without any hesitation. It seemed he believed there would be no occasion for Racine to face her anyway. It wasn’t that he trusted Ariel, but he trusted Racine’s indifference.

On the other hand, Racine closed the door and returned as Skylar moved away. Seeing Ariel, who was still frozen against the wall, he opened his mouth indifferently.

“You can move now.”

Upon hearing his words, Ariel let out a long breath. It wasn’t that she had been holding her breath, but perhaps she was overly nervous. Regardless of whether she did or not, Racine cut straight to the point.

“If the prince finds out you came to negotiate neutrality with Solem, you’ll be in trouble. Besides, no matter the affairs between families, the prince has personal expectations of you.”

“Personal expectations…”

“It means the prince harbors possessive desire towards you.”

It was something that she was aware of to some extent. Because of that, when she heard Skylar’s voice earlier, she was taken aback. Given his personality, he wouldn’t just overlook her secret meeting with Racine.

Despite this, she pretended not to know.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“If you don’t know, then you should find out from now on.”

When Racine spoke plainly without pursuing the matter further, Ariel simply nodded her head quietly.

“Thank you for your help.”

“Now, I don’t owe you anything or have anything to do with you. All I did was merely facilitate the deal between Duke Solem and Countess Huckley.”

It was a callous and thorough drawing of boundaries.

Racine must have anticipated the situation turning out this way. That was why he offered her protection and lured her into being consumed in this way.

There were two reasons.

Firstly, it wouldn’t be good for him to be questioned about the deal between the Duke of Solem and the Countess of Huckley. And secondly, he didn’t want to be indebted to Ariel, who came to him after all the trouble and proposed a profitable deal.

It was a meticulous calculation with no loose ends.

‘Seeing it come to this… seems like there won’t be any further connection between us.”

However, Ariel couldn’t afford that. Without Racine’s favor, she wouldn’t be able to see the special endings, and then there would be no way to escape this world.

She needed to maintain her connection with him.

“Then next time, I’ll bring a personal transaction that will appeal not to the Duke of Solem but to the Young Lord of Solem.”

“….”

“Thank you very much for today. I shall take my leave.”

Ariel bowed her head and withdrew, declaring that she would be involved with him somehow. Although she expected him to be angry, Racine only nodded slightly.

She hoped it was auspicious.

After safely concluding her meeting with Racine, she returned to the reception room in the south wing. On the way, she encountered servants who were searching for her under Skylar’s orders, but nothing special happened since Skylar was away, attending a meeting. Honestly, she was relieved not to meet him. She wanted to leave in his absence if possible. However, she still hadn’t resolved the main purpose of her visit to the Imperial Palace.

As she stayed in the reception room, waiting, a maid soon entered. She delivered a message from the Crown Prince.

“There was a problem with the test results, so a re-examination was conducted. We sincerely apologize.”

‘Is it possible for errors to occur in matters conducted at the Imperial Palace?’

A strange question briefly crossed Ariel’s mind upon hearing the maid’s words.

“May I ask what the problem was?”

She thought for a moment, then asked politely. At this moment, she wasn’t visiting anyone’s protection, so the difference in status between her and the maid wasn’t significant.

“I’m sorry. I can’t disclose that information, but it’s not a significant issue.”

“When can I expect the results, then?”

“We’ll send you the results as soon as the re-examination is completed. Please wait a few more days.”

There was no clear answer, and she even had to wait longer for the results.

Doubts swirled in Ariel’s mind. Nonetheless, if that was the imperial family’s position, she couldn’t argue. Since she wasn’t in a position to challenge the will of the imperial family, she had no choice but to obediently wait in silence.

“I see.”

Though uneasy, she reluctantly agreed.

There was no longer any reason for her to stay in the Imperial Palace. Ariel immediately got into an imperial car and returned to the Count’s estate. She left the jewelry she had brought as a gift in the main reception room of the south wing.

She hurriedly left as if fleeing.

It was obvious that when Skylar returned from the meeting, he would pry about today’s event with her. She couldn’t be bothered to come up with an excuse, so she just avoided him.

‘I said we will meet when the academy starts, so I’ll just deal with him then.’

She didn’t think much of it. Fortunately, Skylar didn’t have the temperament to viciously pursue her like Lexius.

In the car on the way back, Ariel took out her cell phone.

『 A target has been detected far away. 』

『 Racine di Solem

▷ Favorability towards you: — (He’s not interested in you.)
▷ Current Location: Imperial Palace 』

She checked just in case, but as expected, Racine’s favorability didn’t increase at all. Despite the fact that he was showing kindness unexpectedly or letting things slide even though she crossed the line…

‘…Still, it’s okay. It’s not bad. There’s still time.’

Ariel quickly brushed off her disappointment.

At least today, she didn’t hear any harsh words from Racine today. Now, if there was any business with him, it should be okay to approach him.

‘I guess I should think of another good excuse… What could it be?’

She couldn’t think of anything right now. Ariel only had a headache.

It seemed that the fatigue that had been building up from running around nervously, trying to avoid Skylar, suddenly washed over her. Having spent all her time inside the house, her body felt like a piece of paper. She was exhausted too easily.

‘I need to build up my stamina first.’

Ariel leaned against the car window and closed her eyes.

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