The Boundaries of Possession - Chapter 35
Logically speaking, Andreas would also suffer repercussions from the rumors. However, there would certainly be some shameless individuals who would still attempt to court him. After all, he possessed the status to brush off such trivial gossip.
Elysia carefully chose her words.
“The more our scandal spreads, the further it may push you from the outcome you desire. The more you’re entangled with me, the more those who covet you will withdraw. Naturally, that will put you at a disadvantage.”
“That remains to be seen.”
Elysia felt a mix of emotions toward Andreas, who seemed intent on testing her. Their relationship was like a silent game of tug-of-war.
She refused to be an omega who fell for him too easily. She would not be a tree swaying helplessly in the breeze.
At the very least, she had to protect the feelings she had kept hidden until now.
“If rumors spread that I am utterly devoted to you…”
Andreas’s gaze swept over her languidly.
Elysia could not bring herself to smile.
***
The next morning, after a tumultuous day, Hern glanced at Andreas, who was seated at the dining table, and spoke.
“Did you see her expression?”
“What expression?”
Andreas was glaring at the soft-boiled egg in his cup, as if it had personally offended him. One wrong move and it would be completely crushed.
Hern, having worked himself into a fluster, showed no signs of shutting up.
Whether or not he noticed Andreas’s irritation, he kept rambling on.
“Even to me, she looked like someone in love.”
The image of Elysia, her cheeks flushed from the night before, was still vivid in Andreas’s mind.
The way she had suddenly started avoiding his gaze—it was almost amusing. It felt as if she was trying to deny her own emotions.
What was with that strange expression of hers?
Andreas tapped his spoon against the egg, cracking it open. The contents spilled out messily.
“Ah, Master! When handling eggs, please be as gentle as you would with a lady—”
“And that’s exactly what’s strange.”
“Even as a dominant alpha, you should learn to control your strength!”
Andreas, clearly exhausted by the verbal sparring, averted his gaze and let out a sigh.
Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a pocket watch. The smooth motion of the second hand suddenly seemed far too busy.
Yet even that reminded him of Elysia.
The sharp scent of the perfume that stung his throat, the flush that had bloomed against her pale cheeks—it was those details that made her seem undeniably human.
The warmth that lingered was strangely unsettling, yet at the same time, oddly reassuring.
“Hern. Tell her I want to meet immediately.”
Though he had been chattering nonstop until now, the moment Hern heard this, his hazel eyes widened fully.
“Right now? You mean Lady Brillen?”
Andreas shot him an unimpressed look.
***
A few hours later, a small commotion broke out at House Brillen when they received Andreas’s letter.
The first to get his hands on it was Kian.
As Sei brushed through Elysia’s golden hair with a hairbrush, she informed her that Kian had torn open the letter on the spot.
Reading someone else’s letter was rude, but Elysia understood her brother’s concern.
“The Duke wants to meet.”
The envelope’s seal had already been sliced clean through with a knife.
By the time Kian stormed over to her with the letter in hand, his expression was already menacing.
‘Have I caused another misunderstanding?’
While Elysia sighed over her brother’s reaction, Sei continued braiding her hair into a thick plait and spoke excitedly.
“But why is the Duke suddenly asking to see you, Milady?”
“Who knows? It’s probably about cooperation again.”
Her indifferent gaze flickered briefly with unease.
Seeing this, Sei deliberately shook her head in an exaggerated manner.
“No! Milady, this time, the Duke was the one who reached out first.”
The letter was written in his usual formal style, but his tone was far too gentle—unusually so.
Rather than an official summons, it was undeniably a request for a private meeting.
Realizing this, Sei let out a laugh of relief.
“It seems the Duke is finally opening his heart to you.”
