Chapter 69
Psyche paced anxiously around the room. Three days had passed since her brother proposed the hostage exchange. For all three days, the mansion was dead quiet, and no one touched her.
She glanced at the clock. Time had already passed 11 PM. By now, there should have been some conclusion whether they went to Bermus Bridge or not, but it was so quiet it made her more anxious.
Suddenly, ping—! A slight dizziness struck her head. Psyche stopped walking for a moment. She was in terrible physical condition from not sleeping well these past few days due to worry. As she was running her fingers through her hair irritably—
Knock knock, a knock sounded and the door opened. As she hesitated and turned her gaze, she saw Rezus standing in the doorway.
He stared at Psyche for a moment, then slowly closed the door and approached her.
Psyche, who had been pacing in the middle of the room, unconsciously flinched and stepped back. At this, Rezus stopped walking.
“Why are you running away? Afraid I’ll eat you?”
“……”
She looked up at him silently. Her eyes were full of wariness.
“No need to be so guarded. I only came to thank you.”
“What do you…”
“You were right. Zephyros Rosebel’s goal wasn’t to exchange hostages. He was obsessed only with provoking us. It was as if he’d forgotten you were in my hands.”
“Ah…”
Bitterness showed on her face as she lowered her eyes. Though she had expected it, hearing it directly from Rezus’s mouth made her heart heavy.
“Why that expression? Wasn’t this what you expected?”
She didn’t bother responding to those words. Instead, she asked in a voice carefully controlled to exclude emotion, managing her expression skillfully.
“…So, what did you do?”
“I provoked him back.”
Rezus answered as though he had been waiting for the question. His gaze briefly turned upward as he recalled something, then returned to her. He continued with a snicker.
“I’ve never seen that bastard trembling like that before. I’d always wondered what that smug face of his would look like when distorted, and it was even more satisfying than I imagined. It was entertaining.”
“…I see. Is that all you have to say?”
“Psyche. This isn’t all…”
He trailed off and curved his lips.
“It’s all thanks to you.”
Then he slowly moved, narrowing the distance between them. Psyche hesitantly stepped backward. Perhaps seeing her reaction as fearful, he shrugged as if showing he had no intention to attack, and stopped about five steps away.
“Since I enjoyed such a good show thanks to you, I wanted to make you a proposal.”
Despite his tone being soft enough to tickle the ears, Psyche couldn’t lower her guard. There was no way Rezus would make her a good proposal at this point.
“…Is this really a good proposal for me?”
“Yes.”
Rezus, who had been quietly looking down at Psyche’s suspicious gaze, added in a whisper.
“A very good proposal. For you, and for me.”
In an instant, Psyche’s shoulders trembled. Those words reminded her of the moment when her arms nearly broke, when he told her to spread her legs, saying it would be better for both of them. Whether he had intentionally spoken those words or not, Rezus Anocton’s gaze as he looked down at her had grown darker.
“Go tell Serdin. Tell him that having you here brings comfort. Then I promise I won’t touch you anymore.”
“…Is that all I need to say?”
“For today.”
“For today… meaning there will be more to come.”
“Obviously this won’t be the end. This is just the beginning. These situations will keep repeating.”
Rezus Anocton tilted his head.
“It’s not difficult, is it? You just need to say what I tell you to.”
“I don’t understand why this proposal is supposedly good for both you and me.”
“If you do exactly as I say, you’ll be guaranteed safety here, so it’s a very good proposal for you.”
Psyche listened silently to his words with a somewhat tense face. He continued speaking at a pace neither fast nor slow.
“And it’s a very good proposal for me because I’ll get to enjoy watching what that bastard does when he’s backed into a corner.”
“That sounds like… if I say exactly what you tell me to, you can corner my brother. Did I understand correctly?”
“That’s right.”
When she sent him a look demanding more detailed explanation as he readily nodded, he lowered his gaze. The man who seemed to be contemplating something deeply parted his lips.
“Psyche, you said it yourself. Not to go to that place.”
A sardonic smile briefly crossed his face.
“But if I hadn’t gone there, it would have been a disaster. Because I discovered something very interesting there.”
“…Interesting?”
She felt her entire body’s senses heighten. He stared at her intently as if gauging her reaction, then bluntly said.
“Your brother doesn’t care one bit about your well-being. But that doesn’t mean he’s not worried about you. That bastard was very concerned that you might open your heart to us.”
“…What did you say?”
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