Chapter 12
For someone with such malicious rumors and dangerous abilities surrounding him, there was a strangely naive side to him. Maybe deceiving him wouldn’t be too hard.
Hansel lowered the arms she had been using to push him away and placed them neatly on her lap.
“My stamina is depleted. I really can’t do more. Normally, I’m much better, but today, I just can’t. Don’t you think I’ve had a rough day?”
Hansel stated firmly, leaving no room for negotiation.
He frowned slightly but eventually withdrew his hand from her head.
It was clear that staying calm and avoiding resistance had worked quickly.
“So, that means you can do it tomorrow.”
Hansel wanted to declare she’d only agree to once a month, but pushing too far might irritate him and backfire.
Given how many plans had already failed today, she needed to tread carefully.
“Yeah, but under some conditions.”
“Tch.”
He clicked his tongue.
Hansel felt a flicker of nervousness, wondering if she had gone too far, but she held her composure and lifted her chin.
“I need a hot bath, a comfortable bed to sleep in, and proper meals. That’s the only way to recover quickly.”
“You claim you don’t remember anything, yet you know a lot.”
The sharp remark hit home, but Hansel responded casually again, her expression unchanging.
“I said I don’t remember who I am, not that I forgot common sense. Everyone knows you can’t perform well when you’re exhausted.”
“Hah.”
Her increasingly brazen attitude seemed to drain the fight out of him.
He let out a hollow laugh, then tucked his now flaccid member back into his pants and adjusted himself.
“Fine. I won’t kill you today.”
Hansel exhaled a long breath as quietly as possible.
Whether he actually believed her absurd lies or just found her entertaining enough to let it slide, she didn’t know.
For now, her life was spared, and that was all that mattered.
But she couldn’t let her guard down.
He could change his mind at any moment.
This was a man who had killed more than a dozen men without even lifting a finger. If he decided to act on a whim, he could crush someone as small as her with his pinky finger.
She resolved that tonight, while he was distracted or asleep, she would find an opportunity to escape.
That was when it happened.
“Ahhh!”
Hansel screamed, startled.
He knelt down on one knee, slipped his arm under her back and legs, and lifted her effortlessly into the air.
The sudden shift in weight caused Hansel to reflexively grab onto his clothes for balance.
Her exposed, pale chest pressed against him, flattening under the motion.
Because of his towering height, the distance to the ground felt dizzying.
Hansel clung to his sturdy frame in a panic.
He paused and looked down at the now wide-eyed Hansel in his arms.
She tried to calm her pounding heart as she stared up at him.
“Wh-why are you picking me up? You said you wouldn’t kill me, right? Right?”
Is he going to toss me into a boiling pot like the rumors say?
All color drained from Hansel’s face.
“You said you need to bathe.”
“Huh?”
He didn’t elaborate further.
Without another word, he began striding toward a room filled with steam wafting through the doorway.
***
Hansel finally understood why all mages feared him.
“How… is this even possible?”
She found herself murmuring under her breath without realizing it.
He looked down at her from where he stood in the middle of the bathroom.
“What’s possible?”
Hansel turned her head instinctively, and her eyes met his.
Startled, she quickly shut her mouth.
The golden light from the bathroom lamps illuminated his face directly, allowing her to finally get a clear look at him.
He was, in a word, a fairytale-like prince.
Despite his deep voice, his face seemed quite youthful, likely close to her own age.
His features were sharp and well-defined, as if carved from a single piece of dense ore.
Thick eyebrows framed deep-set eyes, while long, dense lashes cast shadows over them.
His nose was sharp and prominent, and his lips were full and well-shaped. His skin was flawless, smooth without a blemish.
The combination of his ashen gray hair and striking red eyes was mesmerizing.
Though his hair grew unevenly down to his nape, it only added to his unpolished charm.
Hansel was known among mages for her discerning tastes, yet even she couldn’t help but admit his face was remarkable.
If beauty were rated on a scale of 1 to 10, she’d give him a solid 9.5.
However, since her type was a more princely, refined look, she felt compelled to deduct half a point.
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