OBML 06

Chapter 6

“What is this?”

‘Th-This’ to a person? It’s broad daylight, it’s not like he can’t see me, and we clearly made eye contact, and he says ‘this’!

For a moment, anger surged up, but I couldn’t say anything. The instant our eyes met, I realized who this man was.

Neatly fallen black bangs, and slightly upturned eyes visible between them. Within those eyes was a cool blue gaze that brought to mind the Mediterranean Sea.

His black mask was pulled up to just below his eyes, so his whole face wasn’t visible, but I was certain. There was no way I wouldn’t recognize a man with such an intense, raw presence.

Chase von Heinrich. The male lead I had been looking for.

“Um…”

I tried to start a conversation, but perhaps because I had overexerted myself in my agitation just moments ago, my voice wouldn’t come out properly. I cleared my throat with a few dry coughs. Just as I was about to continue speaking, a cold and emotionless low voice cut in.

“Get rid of her.”

Huh?

“Yes! Understood!”

At his words, two knights immediately answered and quickly walked over from the other side, grabbing my arms in an instant. Meanwhile, Chase, as if this commotion displeased him, stepped a few paces away and lightly shook his sword, flicking off the black liquid.

“W-Wait a moment! I’m from the Grace family!”

Dragged up from the ground by the knights, I hurriedly blurted out my words. My voice was small, and it even cracked midway, but that didn’t matter. Letting them know who I was came first. Fortunately, there was a reaction.

“Grace?”

“Don’t tell me that Grace?”

The knights who heard my words stopped moving and looked at each other. Chase’s movements also came to an abrupt halt. Leaning crookedly with one leg braced, he had been looking down at the sword in his hand, but his head slowly lifted toward me.

“Again.”

It was just a casual word, yet in that instant, the air around us changed.

Behind his black hair swaying in the wind, it felt as if I could see an illusion of the sharp fangs of a predator at the top of the food chain. The pressure was so immense that my entire body trembled.

To calm my wildly pounding heart, I swallowed hard with my parched throat.

His cold, piercing gaze made it feel as if my blood might freeze, but I couldn’t avoid it. I poured strength into both legs and stood my ground.

“Who did you say you were? Say it again.”

Chase ordered, fixing me with a gaze so cold it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I felt a chill.

But don’t be intimidated. I don’t have anywhere to retreat either. And even if he’s like this, according to the original story, he’s actually a gentle man. This is clearly because it’s our first meeting. Maybe he’s just the type who’s bad with strangers.

“I… I’m Nita Grace. I came from the Grace family of the capital.”

The moment I finished speaking in my trembling voice, Chase’s brows furrowed deeply, and he roughly shoved his sword back into its sheath.

“Let her go.”

At his short, weighty command, the knights holding my arms on both sides released me.

Thud, thud.

With his long legs, he closed the distance between us quickly, yet leisurely, like a languid beast. As he drew closer and closer, I felt an inexplicable sense of being strangled. When Chase came right up to me, he was, quite literally, a wall.

Partly because I was short, but also because he was so close, I had to crane my head far back to look up at him.

He was taller than I’d imagined, with a solid build that looked like it wouldn’t budge even in a raging typhoon, and a long cloak draped over his shoulders. Beneath it, a harness belt glinted silver. Jet-black hair and a black shirt as well.

Aside from his sharp blue eyes and pale skin, he was entirely clad in black. Lowering his gaze, Chase examined me meticulously from head to toe, then suddenly bent down. In that instant, the cool scent of a dawn breeze brushed past my nose.

“You’re saying you’re a Grace?”

Yes. I just said that. That I came from the Grace family of the capital. How many times do I have to say it? But thinking calmly, given my appearance, it was only natural for him to find it hard to believe, so I obediently nodded.