Chapter 11
"Are you... interested in me?"
Why is the male lead trying to get on the villainess's good side? Is he feeling grateful because I saved Kanna?
"Yes. Dare I say, to you..."
The male lead lowered his eyes. Is he perhaps shy?
No, surely this isn't the "I'm just a villainess who wants to live comfortably, why are you doing this to me!" route, right? We agreed to be rivals fighting over the female lead last time. Right. I decided that on my own though... Come to think of it, that's unfair? You looked at me like I was some ghost, and now this?
The male lead's voice, which would likely remain unfazed even if struck by a sword, trembled slightly. This definitely seemed like a flag had been planted. Looking back at my romance fantasy experience, it was certain.
This is ruined! I tried to act all cool escaping as the villainess, and now the male lead seems to have fallen for me. Am I an idiot?
"How foolish. Not knowing your place."
Right. I should have known my place better. I underestimated villainess reincarnation stories too much. But we only met once. Is that male lead guy just a fool? Come to think of it, most romance fantasy characters were fools anyway.
Anyway, it's ruined. I thought I only stole the female lead's favorability points, but it seems I've stolen the male lead's interest too.
Right. It's a romance fantasy, so I understand. But the problem is that my villainess escape plan that I stayed up all night for two days writing has just become garbage. Right. What's the point of me working hard on planning? Becoming the female lead is the fastest and surest way.
But I'm telling you I have no intention of dating the male lead! He's a paper doll, and I'm a person.
"I'm not interested in you."
Oops. In my hurry to shake him off, I went and used "I'm not interested in you." I really am an idiot! At this point, my subconscious just wanted to act out a romance fantasy. Once a flag is planted, if I try to distance myself from the male lead, he'll just cling to me instead.
"Yes. I had guessed that the Lady has no interest in people."
The male lead answered as if it were obvious. What is this reaction? If I say I'm not interested, shouldn't he be like "How dare you not give me your interest?" And "no interest in people"—that phrasing is a bit strange.
But the strangest thing is that even though I said I'm not interested, the male lead shows no reluctance whatsoever. Wasn't he interested in me? Did I misunderstand? But for him to accept it so meekly—have you been scolded in comments saying "you eat meals with your sense"? More than once or twice.
"Still, it doesn't matter. I am simply curious about you."
See! See this! I knew this would happen! Don't underestimate my experience of living buried in romance fantasies!
The male lead said such cringe-worthy words without a flinch, as if sugar water flowed through his body instead of blood. Rather, I felt like I'd get goosebumps listening. Of course, since Evangelin's body also has the blood of the romance fantasy race, even when hearing embarrassingly sweet lines, real goosebumps didn't rise.
Romance fantasies are scary. Trembling inside, I changed the subject as if the male lead was being gracious, and continued explaining the drawing.
Looking at the moth drawing again, peace came to my mind.
"About this circle. I didn't know until we moved the body, but this wasn't a halo but closer to a pattern."
The male lead pointed at the shriveled lines that looked like moth antennae, then took out another paper. It's broken, so why is this a circle?
And looking at the newly taken out paper, I was shocked.
'Crazy, what is this! This is my summoning circle that Donau stole!'
I thought it burned with the house!
A reunion through tear-soaked ashes. Looking at it again with emotion, I realized something was strange. The letters attached like footnotes at the bottom were missing, and the paper looked new...
"This is that pattern. I copied it and then burned the drawing on the floor."
Ah. So the male lead drew this too.
Wait. You drew this too? You drew this one exactly, but why did you draw a moth earlier? Is he a science type?
I calmed my excitement. The important thing isn't the male lead's drawing skills.
So this isn't my paper but something Donau drew on the floor that the male lead copied. The original burned. So I'll never read the summoning spell in my life. I let go of my attachment thinking it just flew away, but having only the drawing return made my heart feel empty. Goodbye, Spirit King...
"By any chance, is this pattern clearly drawn in the painting where the artist depicted Donau's corpse?"
"Except for the parts hidden by the body, it's identical."
No, he's just taking someone else's otherworldly cheat key. I got annoyed at the artist whose face I don't even know, then cooled my anger. If parts are hidden and even I failed, then without the summoning spell, I wouldn't be able to summon spirits anyway.
That seemed to be the end of what the male lead had to say. The male lead was now just watching my lips to see what story I would bring up.
Looking at the male lead's unnecessarily handsome face and the summoning circle, I decided to just speak. Of course, it wasn't his face that won me over.
"The reason I went to find Donau wasn't because Kanna was kidnapped. It was because he ran away with my drawing."
"You mean this?"
"Yes."
"Lady."
Hena called me worriedly. Don't worry! I'll package it well and tell him.
I need to get that paper back too. There's nothing good about making an enemy of the male lead. Since he says he's on my side, I have no choice but to trust him and just tell him.
Looking at the situation, since the male lead seems to have fallen for me, at least he won't screw me over. Actually, now that it's come to this, I trust him.
"Would you please explain to me what this pattern is?"
"It's a summoning circle."
"What does it summon?"
"Well..."
Of course, I can't honestly bring up spirits, so I'll vaguely hedge a bit... What should I say instead of fire spirit?
What do otherworldly romance fantasy people believe? Sun god Rahel? That's almost at the level of a holy kingdom. There's no other way. Just say that.
"It seems to summon an angel or something."
The male lead gazed at me steadily, then slowly nodded.
He really believes that? He doesn't believe that Donau received God's blessing, but he believes that I'm summoning an angel? Is he just believing whatever the person he's fallen for says?
Is this real for an otherworldly romance fantasy male lead level?
***
He was an exceptionally white existence. If you closed your eyes, you'd truly believe he was a statue. The pale coloring contributed significantly to making Evangelin Rohanson seem like something alien to this world.
The series of actions from picking up the teacup on the table to taking a sip seemed natural at a glance but somehow felt like a staged scene.
"...I wish to help you."
It was the moment Gabriel finished speaking.
Evangelin Rohanson, who had been savoring the tea's fragrance with an attitude of boredom, set down her teacup. The cup placed without consideration, as if expressing her mood, clattered against the saucer. The tea rippled as if about to overflow, then found its center and settled.
As the surface of the teacup grew still, silence flowed.
Everything around seemed to hold its breath as if watching Evangelin Rohanson's mood. Birds stopped mid-flight and fell, and flower petals, not wanting to shake in the wind, formed buds again.
When the orchestra that had been playing majestically stopped, only the sound of hearts beating remained in the world.
"Are you... interested in me?"
Evangelin asked Gabriel back as if looking at the most foolish thing in the world.
As Evangelin opened her mouth, all sounds burst forth at once as if exhaling held breath.
The clock hands began moving again, and the ticking of the second hand sounded out of rhythm with heartbeats. The clock's second hand seemed unusually slow. Gabriel realized it wasn't that the clock was slow, but that his own heart was racing.
"Yes. Dare I say, to you..."
He couldn't even speak properly. With each word he uttered, his breath grew short.
"How foolish. Not knowing your place."
Evangelin Rohanson sighed.
The indoor lighting shouldn't have been able to sway, yet the light seemed to change direction, and Evangelin Rohanson's shadow appeared to fall over Gabriel.
"I'm not interested in you."
Anger appeared in the formerly indifferent eyes, and the red corners of her lips twisted as she spat out contempt. When the honorifics that had at least maintained surface politeness vanished, a tone looking down on people became clearly revealed.
Gabriel affirmed.
Do humans pay attention to ants crawling in swarms in a garden? Rather than crushing them out of boredom, he should be thanking them for being merciful. Even if he were to step on and crush a swarm of ants, he wouldn't notice, so it wouldn't be a sin.
Evangelin was angry that insignificant ants had entered her home.
"I am simply curious about you."
Even if that direction was negative, drawing emotion from Evangelin Rohanson was quite encouraging. It felt like witnessing a flower bloom that had no business flowering from a withered, skeletal dead tree.
When Evangelin grew angry, the table trembled as if resonating. The teacup on the table shook. Just when it seemed like it might collapse, the trembling stopped.
As if she had never shown any ferocity, Evangelin sipped her tea again. However, even while quenching her thirst, her gaze remained on Gabriel.
Fortunately, she doesn't seem to be shedding her Evangelin Rohanson guise yet. As Evangelin seemed to calm down, the maid who looked like she might faint beside her breathed a sigh of relief.
Gabriel continued his explanation.
***
Gabriel looked at the Rohanson mansion. A mansion incongruously gloomy for midday. There should be quite a few servants, yet strangely, there were no signs of people and it was quiet.
Only the cherry blossoms blooming profusely on one side of the garden were unusually red. Gabriel quietly gazed at the hem of clothing fluttering from a weeping cherry branch and the limp white feet.
"Captain, you're late?"
Raphaela, who had been waiting in the carriage parked outside the Rohanson mansion, greeted Gabriel. Raphaela looked at the cherry tree Gabriel had been watching and added:
"It's really a big tree. Do cherry trees normally grow that large?"
As Raphaela said, whatever fertilizer they used, the tree had grown exceptionally large.
When Gabriel looked again, the doll hanging from the cherry tree had already disappeared. Was the scene I just saw an illusion from looking at the drooping petals?