It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 39
Of course not.
“This is the safest place.”
After settling me onto the bed, Lionel bent down to meet my gaze.
“Well, I suppose that’s true, but…”
As I hesitated, he reached for my shoes.
I flinched at the faint brush of his fingers against my ankle bone.
Lionel probably didn’t think much of it, but for some reason, I was the only one feeling tense.
A strange, ticklish sensation spread somewhere indistinct, making me want to scratch at my skin.
“Don’t move from here until I return. Just rest.”
Lionel tucked the blanket up to my chin, thoroughly wrapping me in warmth.
“I won’t be long.”
He said it again, holding my gaze as if to reassure me, then finally stepped away from the bed.
As he reached the door, I murmured a quiet farewell.
“…Alright. Take care.”
It had been so long since I had spoken those words to anyone.
I thought my voice had been too soft to hear, but Lionel suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Turning back, he looked at me— just my eyes peeking out from beneath the blanket— and smiled before stepping out of the room.
Just before the door closed, I overheard his instructions to Cale.
“Don’t let anyone in. Whether it’s Vivian or anyone else, no exceptions.”
“Understood, Your Grace.”
Once the door clicked shut, the outside world fell silent, and I could no longer hear what was being said.
And only then, alone in the silence, that I realized the reality of the situation.
‘Wait… am I really lying in the Duke of Luanax’s bed?’
Sinking into the vast mattress— large enough to fit at least ten adults side by side— I blinked rapidly before pinching my own cheek.
It was a completely surreal situation.
Either this was a dream… or I’d gone insane… whichever was more likely.
But the sharp pain that made my eyes sting with tears proved that this was, indeed, reality.
‘Lionel put me here.’
The reason?
‘Because he deemed it the safest place.’
To him, it was the most logical choice.
‘Yes. That’s all there is to it. No need to overthink it.’
For the sake of my mental stability, I decided to accept that reasoning and pulled the blanket over my head.
Even with exhaustion weighing on me, sleep didn’t come easily.
I kept recalling Lionel’s voice, sharp and unyielding, as he had warned Ardin.
And the way he had looked at me afterward.
He had been far more shocked… and furious… than I had expected.
Why?
What was it that made him so angry?
There was no way he understood Ardin’s true nature as well as I did.
Nor could he have foreseen the future awaiting Serenia Solen and Crown Prince Axion.
Then again, this wasn’t the first time Lionel’s words and actions had baffled me.
From the very beginning, he had been like this.
He had insisted on taking me from the monastery, outbidding every offer with a sum large enough to build a castle.
And yet, even now, he seemed uncertain as to why he needed me. It felt as though he was searching for a reason after the fact, just to justify keeping me close.
‘Could it be… Lionel fell for me at first sight?’
Over the past week, I had found myself entertaining that ridiculous thought more times than I cared to admit.
Logically, I knew it was impossible —Lionel Luanax, as he was written in A Night of Entwined Serpents, would never act that way.
And yet, if not, how else could I explain the way he looked at me?
‘But… what if he really does like me?’
Even more absurd was the tiny part of me that secretly wanted it to be true.
Lionel was the best possible shield I could have against the Crown Prince.
‘Should I just close my eyes and accept his proposal?’
