It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 10
Long red hair that fell dramatically, slightly drooping eyes, golden irises, and a beauty mark under his left eye—the description from the novel was unmistakable.
It was Dantère Ortatum, one of the male protagonists of A Night of Entwined Serpents.
A flustered servant, carrying clothes, hovered just behind Dantère, who strode confidently into the room and stopped near the sofa.
“Well, well,”
Dantère narrowed his eyes, looking Lionel up and down.
“Did I interrupt something?”
“Yes, so leave,”
Lionel replied curtly, not even sparing Dantère a glance.
Wanting to avoid both Lionel’s intense gaze and Dantère’s interest, I buried my face in my teacup, pretending to drink while sneaking wary glances at them.
‘Please, just go away.’
But, of course, the situation took a turn in the direction I least desired.
“I don’t want to.”
Instead, Dantère turned and sat down right next to me.
“Hello there.”
“Ah… hello.”
Resigned, I lowered my cup and returned his greeting.
“What are you doing? I told you to leave.”
“I already told you, I don’t want to, darling.”
“Darling… Darling, really…”
“Priestess, what’s your name?”
“There’s no need for you to know.”
Lionel, who had abruptly risen, circled the tea table and strode up to Dantère, grabbing him by the collar.
“I’ve made it clear that no one here gets to defy me in my own mansion. If you can’t accept that, you shouldn’t have set foot here in the first place.”
I stared at Lionel, eyes wide in shock.
‘He could talk this fast?’
His low voice spilled out swiftly, and his expressionless face made him all the more intimidating.
“Alright, alright, now let go…”
Dantère quickly raised his hands beside his face in mock surrender, yet Lionel showed no sign of relenting.
He hefted Dantère, who was hardly lacking in build, and, walking decisively to the window, flung him outside like he was tossing out trash.
Even the handkerchief Lionel took out to wipe his hands was discarded through the window without a second thought, leaving me with a sense of cold disdain.
He closed the window and carefully drew the curtains, then gestured to the servant standing by the door.
“See to it that no other guests are directed to the annex.”
“Yes, Your Grace. My apologies.”
At Lionel’s icy warning, the servant promptly replied and assisted him with his attire.
Only after he was impeccably dressed, jacket and all, did Lionel return to the sofa. He placed a heavy pouch on the tea table before settling beside me, as if nothing unusual had occurred.
“Now, where were we?”
He took a sip of his now-cooled tea, his movements graceful and composed.
“Uh… well…”
My arm brushed against his solid one.
The sweet scent of Dantère’s perfume was now overpowered by Lionel’s warm, earthy scent.
Feeling like my throat was burning, I swallowed.
“I was going to say… I’ll try even harder from now on. That’s what I wanted to tell you.”
Apparently, he was pleased with my response.
A faint smile spread across his face as he glanced at me.
“There’s no need to strain yourself. Just staying here, in my mansion, is more than enough.”
Perhaps it was the subtle undertone in his words, but the servant who had been quietly gathering Lionel’s bloodstained clothes froze, shirt in hand.
In the next instant, he quickly slipped out of the room, making sure to shut the door soundlessly.
“Ah…”
“I like the fragrance of this tea.”
It was only after finishing two more cups that Lionel finally rose from his seat, leaving a suggestion that we share dinner together.
However, perhaps I’d exhausted myself too much mentally, for I ended up dozing off on the sofa.
When I opened my eyes in the middle of the night, I simply pulled a blanket over myself, deciding it was too late for dinner, and fell right back to sleep.
When dawn came and I awoke fully, I could only sit there in shock, frozen in place.
I had no memory of getting off the sofa and crawling into bed.