Imprinted with the Obsessive Male Lead - Chapter 63

Chase, who had been quietly looking down at me, headed toward the garden behind the mansion without a word at that. It’s where the training grounds are. Without realizing it, I stopped walking and stared blankly at the darkened training field.
Chase asked,

“Do you want to go in?”

“Is that alright?”

“It’s not that you can’t, but it’ll be boring.”

“Still.”

Chase opened the door to the training grounds. Even without turning on the lights, moonlight poured in through the large windows, making it feel bright. When we stepped inside, the wide space was filled with countless wooden swords and real blades. Not only that, there were also numerous exercise machines that made it look almost like a gym.

Mm. I nodded to myself quietly.

“What are you looking at so fondly?”

“It’s nothing.”

Even so, a smile lingered on my lips. In truth, I had watched the knights’ morning training from the corridor window before. Quite often, at that.

This morning, I was with Anthony and the timing didn’t match, so I couldn’t watch, but aside from today, I had observed it almost every day.

The knights usually trained inside this training ground, but at the exact time I went down to the dining hall for breakfast, they would run out into the back garden.

In the middle of winter, the knights trained with their upper bodies bare. At first, I watched because it was surprising to see them sweating in the cold, and after that, I found myself staring because their physiques were so impressive. Of course, I swear I didn’t intentionally watch them every morning. I’ll say it again, it just so happened that when I went to eat, they were outside the window training in a very noticeable way. I’m not a pervert, but it’s true that it was pleasing to the eyes.

“It’s not nothing.”

“It really is nothing…”

Thinking that this perceptive man might see through me, Chase suddenly bent down and brought his face close to mine.

Startled by how close he came, close enough that I could feel his breath, I scrambled for something else to say and barely managed to bring up another topic.

“I- Instead of that, Chase, there’s something I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“What is imprinting?”

His brow furrowed.

“…Imprinting?”

“It seems related to the wolves’ blessing, but I’ve never heard of it before. I’m curious.”

Fortunately, perhaps because the new topic caught his attention, Chase pulled back a little from where he had leaned in.

“Who did you hear it from?”

I was about to say Logan, but I shut my mouth and only rolled my eyes. Judging by the atmosphere, it felt like it would be a disaster if I added another offense to Logan. Just the fact that he gave me that blue juice was enough to make it obvious what kind of state he’d be in tomorrow.

“I just happened to hear it. By chance.”

“…Logan.”

“N-No.”

“Whatever. It’s not exactly a secret.”

For a brief moment, Chase’s face seemed tinged with bitterness. I was staring at him blankly when a breeze came from one side of the training ground. As I fixed my hair, I found myself staring at Chase as if entranced.

His black hair fluttered lightly, revealing his smooth forehead. Despite swinging a sword like that, his skin was flawless, without a single scar. His blue eyes, sweeping across the dark training ground, were gleaming.

It reminded me of the first time I saw his face. Back then it was under the morning sunlight, but even under the moonlight, he looked just as striking. As I stared at him absentmindedly, I came back to my senses at the sound of his footsteps.

One of the windows on the left side of the training ground was slightly open. It seemed to have been left open for ventilation. Chase walked toward the window, and I followed him subconsciously.

“When the wolves made a contract with my father, they granted not only the blessing, but one more privilege.”

“A privilege?”

“Yes. The privilege to choose one more person who can receive the blessing.”

Click.

Chase’s hand closed the window.

“That’s imprinting.”

He slowly turned around. Soft moonlight settled over his black hair.

“If I leave an imprint on a specific person, the one I choose will also receive the wolves’ blessing.”

My eyes widened. Not only was imprinting itself new, but this was something I had never known. In the original story, it was only mentioned that the wolves’ blessing was passed down through the Heinrich bloodline. Even when going around purifying with Vivian, Chase had never once mentioned the existence of imprinting to her.

Why…? The question rose in my mind. Could it be related to what happened to his parents? But if that were the case, it only raised more questions. If he had wanted to protect the one he loved, it would have felt natural for him to leave an imprint.

“The previous Grand Duke also received the blessing, right?”

“If you mean my father, then yes.”

“And you had already received it as well?”

“Yes.”