The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 11
On the table, glasses were already prepared.
The glasses, adorned with rubies and diamonds, were dazzling. Not only were they embellished with jewels, but also intricately engraved with the serpent motif of the duke’s crest.
As I momentarily admired the glasses, I noticed a bottle placed beside them.
‘The duke said that if I open the mouth of this bottle and place it against my skin, it will automatically draw blood,’
This couldn’t have been prepared in just half a day… Perhaps the duke had everything ready in anticipation of finding someone like me.
That’s how desperate he seemed.
The size of the bottle was adjusted to the amount that a day’s worth of Hedonia should drink.
As I opened the bottle cap, I pondered where to place the opening, then gently pressed it against the back of my hand.
‘Ooh…’
Even though there was no injury on the back of my hand, blood began to drip into the bottle.
I had expected it to hurt, but thankfully there was not much pain.
Drip, drip.
The speed at which the bottle filled was as slow as a small faucet on a water purifier, but I had no complaints. If it were any faster, I might have been in agony.
Of course, the slow speed seemed to be not for my benefit, but rather a limitation of this remarkable technology.
Although I’ve lived here for a long time, this invention is the first of its kind I’ve seen.
“I’ll see you every evening,”
Huh? Where did that scary phrase come from?
I casually accepted the words.
“Hm, I should naturally give you my blood. I’ll make sure to offer it from tomorrow onwards.”
“I don’t like it.”
Hedonia replied firmly.
‘…I thought you were determined.’
With a slight hesitation, I shrugged my shoulders and carefully placed the bottle back.
Now the bottle was half full.
“Just a moment.”
Hedonia, leaning against the bedside ornament, stared at me intently.
“Tell me again to live.”
His expression was as enigmatic as his atmosphere, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.
It was a statement that wasn’t easily understood. Why would he want to hear such words from me?
“…No one in this mansion wishes for Hedonia to die.”
In response to my words, Hedonia tilted his head slightly.
“No one has ever said to live for revenge.”
Hedonia, who suddenly rose and approached me, grabbed my wrist.
More than the abrupt contact, it was his expression that startled me.
His face, like a meticulously crafted sculpture, devoid of any semblance of reality. I forgot to breathe.
“You don’t even flinch.”
It’s a relief not to get caught. But it’s not like I’m not trembling. It’s just not visible on the surface.
“Seeing your poker face makes me wonder if you’ve lost your marbles.”
I managed my expression, but I couldn’t help but be astonished, causing my mouth to slightly gape. Hedonia, noticing this, chuckled satisfactorily.
“Why are you afraid of the lunatic heir of the ducal house?”
His slightly narrowed eyes and the platinum hair that shimmered like sunlight in the darkness were dazzling.
In that moment, a sense of defiance crept in.
I didn’t want to respond to him like I’ve been meeting maids all my life.
A moment of mischief escaped.
“No.”
“…Hm.”
“If I die here, Hedonia, you won’t be able to escape this situation either.”
Hedonia’s face twisted, reminiscent of when I first entered, then he blinked at me.
“That’s right.”
His eyes scrutinized me.
For a moment, Hedonia stared at me as if he were about to devour me, then he swiftly grabbed the bottle of blood and downed it in an instant.
The rise and fall of his Adam’s apple felt like a scene from a movie.
Hedonia wiped his mouth with my wrist and let out a satisfied sigh.
“I have had my fill of blood for today, let’s meet again tomorrow.”
I rose from my seat as if acknowledging his words and bowed my head.
“Please take care of me from now on!”
Of course, Hedonia turned away from me without acknowledging me.
Closing the door behind me as I stepped outside, I passed judgment on our first encounter.
‘Let’s consider myself a butler.’
As cantankerous as a cat-person might be, but considering his looks, it works. Anyway, he was subtly cooperative and didn’t outright ignore my words.
…Of course, the first impression seems to have been a disaster!
‘I’ll make it work somehow from now on!’
I worked hard to maintain a positive mindset, convincing myself that as long as I played as a stand-in well for the rest of the time, everything would be fine.
That was the first night at the dukedom.
* * *
Hedonia welcomed a comfortable night without any headaches for the first time in a very long time.
However, it wasn’t as if he slept well.
He spent the night wide awake.
What woke him up, as if he had taken a dose of a stimulant, was Karina’s words from yesterday.
‘Revenge.’
Finally, a ray of sunlight broke through the ongoing night.
‘The despair tasted in the final moments.’
Becoming the guiding figure to continue the lineage of the family had always been Robert’s dream, an unprecedented figure.
Despite being an S-rank guide, Robert’s matchmaking success rate wasn’t particularly high.
His childhood dream of becoming an extraordinary guide who would lead everyone and become a real influencer didn’t come true easily.
That’s why Robert projected himself onto Hedonia.
He wagered everything on the possibility that there was untapped potential in why Hedonia hadn’t awakened as a guide yet.
Robert controlled everything about Hedonia.