Killing Your Sweet Breath - Chapter 4
Chapter 2.2
“You know I would never allow that.”
“And yet, here I am to kill you.”
Van simply chuckled at her words. It was a laugh that showed he didn’t care at all.
“What do you want? Are you curious to know who ordered the hit?”
“Well, do you know something?”
“I might know the client’s name or something along those lines.”
She thought of throwing out a name, either the empress consort or the last remaining prince since it was likely someone from the imperial family who had ordered Van’s assassination.
What did a little lie matter if it meant she could survive?
But as soon as Van heard Winter’s words, he burst into laughter.
“Is this how you greet your fiancé after not seeing him for such a long time?”
“What should an insolent man expect when he kisses a woman without her consent?”
“I had no choice, you wouldn’t swallow anything otherwise. Though, I would’ve preferred to do it while you were sober.”
His chin rested in his hand as his mouth stretched into a slow smile, eyes full of mischief. It was the same expression he used to wear when he would teasingly call her “Winter” instead of her real name.
“So, you’re using the name Winter. I’m quite honored. After all, that was the nickname only I had the privilege of calling you. Princess Ruhen of the Winter territory.”
The confident expression on his face made Winter frown.
Of course, she might have liked him at some point. The well-defined features of this man reminded her of the young boy in their childhood.
Golden eyes that held the sun and glossy black hair that resembled the galaxy flowing through the night sky.
His skin was impervious to the sun no matter how long he stood under it. His almond-shaped eyes and sharp nose.
Those red lips that gently curved when he smiled.
Even as a young girl, when Van would mischievously hold her hand and look into her eyes, Winter thought, “So this is what it’s like to feel your heart race.”
“Don’t look so full of yourself. I only use that name because they found me on a snowy mountain.”
Even as Winter’s tone sounded deliberately cold, Van’s expression didn’t change. A fond look crossed his eyes as he scanned her features.
“I knew I would see you again. They never found your body in the ruins of Castle Ruhen. Others said you must have burned to death, your bones reduced to dust, but I believed you were alive. And now, here we are.”
It was like he wasn’t listening to himself. The look in his eyes and his innocent smile felt eerie. This wasn’t pure affection, but rather a desire Winter couldn’t yet comprehend.
“Ha… There were rumors that the crown prince had gone mad and returned to the capital. It looks like they weren’t wrong.”
“Haha, is that so? Those rumors exist?”
“Yeah. I heard you’re a real son of a bitch. They say you’re responsible for the deaths of the two princes.”
It took a while for Van’s laughter to cease, as if he found the idea of being called a son of a bitch amusing.
“You’ve changed so much.”
Hearing the affection in his voice, Winter bit her lip. Changed? Was that something the emperor’s son should be saying?
Who was it that took everything from her? Who was the one responsible for making her this way?!
“Van, we were engaged as children. I lost my family because of the emperor and turned into this. Meeting you now again changes nothing. I am no longer the Ilia you once knew.”
“That doesn’t matter. I never called you by that name anyway.”
Van, who had been sitting in a lazy manner, slowly rose from his chair. Winter’s eyes followed him as he gave her his back.
What was he doing? His steps were unhurried as he walked to the table placed beside the window.
Van returned to Winter’s side with the same demeanor, pouring a glass of water.
“Don’t use your voice so much. You kept vomiting because you ingested a strong poison. The doctor said there would be side effects and that you should take it easy for a while. Why did you even take poison in the first place?”
“Because it’s better than being tortured.”
“Tortured? Me, torture my fiancée? What kind of man does that in this world?”
Van questioned, cupping Winter’s chin. Watching him silently, she figured he was trying to give her water, and his thumb pushed between her tightly closed lips.
His gesture didn’t feel like he was giving her water out of necessity. It was unnecessarily sensual and, at the same time, tender.
Despite reminding him of their unhappy pasts, his shameless actions suggested that nothing had changed.
Every instinct in her body warned her of danger.
The water probably wasn’t poisoned. But this strange, twisted kindness of his was more dangerous than any poison.
Crash!
Winter slapped away Van’s hand just as he kindly offered her the glass of water.
Even as the cup shattered on the floor, Van didn’t glance at the broken pieces. He just kept his eyes rooted on Winter, smiling.
His relaxed, almost passive attitude infuriated her.
She couldn’t understand what he was thinking. Even though he had turned against the emperor, it didn’t absolve Winter’s hatred for the imperial family.
Van knew this too, so why was he treating her like a lover from the past?
“I’ll say it again. I’m not the person you knew. I’m the daughter of a traitor, and I survived and trained to become an assassin. And I came here to kill you.”
“I don’t care.”
“Van–!”
“I’m the one who ordered the hit.”
Van revealed, interrupting Winter with a sly remark.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
