Thought It Was 'The End', Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 17
“I’m really sorry for deceiving you. I didn’t want to do that.”
So stop being a budding criminal and talk. You’re not just a dummy who knows how to use his eyebrows, you know how to speak. You were born with a good voice, you should use it…
“Ha…”
Shane let out a scoff of disbelief.
“I mean it, I’m sorry. So tell me how I can apologize.”
“….”
“Or, I can offer you some compensation… it might be meaningless, but if you ask for it, I’ll find a way to provide….”
Honestly, it was tight.
Five years of living in seclusion, being frugal, had left some emergency funds, but it wouldn’t cover any compensation money Shane Blanchard would expect.
Even inheriting the Bertrand family fortune wouldn’t be enough.
“Anyway, I’ll do whatever I can… so think realistically too.”
“Realistically, huh. Fine.”
Shane ran his large hand through his hair and grinned broadly. The atmosphere softened a bit, and Adeline felt a little relieved.
“You’re right, Adeline.”
Adeline smiled broadly. Finally, a conversation is getting somewhere!
“Realistically, it would be hard to keep you locked up forever. Since I’ve involved Genevieve, I can’t keep her quiet forever either.”
“….”
“It’s possible that even if her husband is reluctant, she might want to save you, given how much she admires you. It might have already reached the emperor’s ears.”
That’s… not what I meant?
‘He really threatened Genevieve using her husband’s life….’
The way he pronounced ‘Genevieve’ carried not a trace of emotion.
It suddenly felt real that the female lead’s husband mentioned in passing actually existed now.
And it was very strange that the man talking about the female lead’s husband was none other than the male lead.
The female has a husband, and that husband is not the male lead.
Shane clicked his tongue.
“So I’ve been thinking, Adeline. Like you said, realistically speaking.”
“W-What…?”
“How exactly I should keep you tied to my side.”
“….”
“How I should handle you, who staged your own death and hid, running away for five years.”
“….”
“If I let you go now, you’ll run away again.”
She couldn’t deny it.
If it hadn’t been for the fake notice of her mother’s death, she wouldn’t have returned to Delmuz even in death. Even if she didn’t regret it, she carried the heavy burden of guilt for what she had abandoned.
Shane quietly watched the unresponsive Adeline and then said,
“I’m going to put you back in your place.”
“…My place?”
“As my fiancée, ‘Adeline Bertrand’.”
“Have you forgotten I’m already considered dead?”
“I know that better than anyone. But we spread word that the Saintess has revived you, it won’t be a problem.”
“….”
“You weren’t dead from the start but were in a coma due to a fatal wound. The Saintess revived you after long prayers. How’s that for a noble and admirable story?”
“Then Genevieve will be in danger!”
Immortality and resurrection were eternal human desires.
If it’s known that the Saintess can not only purify and heal but also revive someone practically dead, the powers of the continent won’t leave her be.
While Adeline turned pale, Shane remained unfazed.
“What, it could be dangerous?”
Shane shrugged his shoulders.
“If you ask me to protect her, I’ll try.”
“Is that what a guardian of the Saintess should say?!”
Shane smiled breezily, a smile that showed he didn’t care about Genevieve’s well-being at all.
“My fiancée, this time you really have to marry me.”
“Shane, you!”
“If you try to run away, Genevieve will be the first one I’ll kill.”
“….”
“Then the Bertrand family will fall, Adeline. I hope you don’t take this as a joke.”
“….”
“I could leave you standing in front of your family’s burnt-down manor if that’s what it takes.”
Adeline tried to find a hint of jest or bravado in his words.
However, his lightly smiling face was filled only with sincerity.
‘This fxcker is really out of his mind….’
He was more than just your regular lunatic.
