TMC 01

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Chapter 1 Prologue

“Take my hand.”

Adrian de Castillo.

He was the only man who reached out to Stella when she was at her most desperate.

Perhaps that was why it was only natural for her to give him her heart.

Because of that, she had never imagined it would hurt so much to learn that the man she could not help but love had been deceiving her all along.

“Pull yourself together! He chose the Empress’s side—the very woman who tried to kill you!”

The horrifying words her older brother had once spoken were burned into Stella’s mind as though carved into stone.

She looked at the man standing before her.

His silver hair shimmered as if it had gathered every ray of light in the world, and his features were so flawless they looked sculpted from porcelain.

His deep crimson eyes shone like the sun, fixed on her alone, as though she were the only thing they desired.

Had she never learned the truth, perhaps she would have been looking at him with the very same eyes.

“Did you really deceive me?”

The words escaped Stella like a painful confession.

Even though the truth had already been revealed, merely asking the question tightened around her throat. Her hands trembled, and her body stiffened.

Seeing her like that, he stepped closer.

“Please… tell me it isn’t true.”

The tension was so suffocating that she forgot to breathe.

Adrian’s long fingers gently traced across her lips.

His touch was as tender as ever.

Perhaps that was why she still couldn’t accept that he had twisted the truth and built an entire world of lies around her.

She almost wished everyone else had deceived her instead—as long as he had been sincere.

But by the time she realized everything had been part of the scheme he had orchestrated…

…she had already given him her heart.

“The gentle voice that still lingers in my ears… it can’t all have been a lie, can it?”

The strength finally left her body, and she sagged helplessly.

She loved him and hated him at the same time.

Those two emotions tore at her until she no longer knew which way her heart was falling.

As her heart plunged into a bottomless abyss, the eyes looking back at her grew cold.

“Looks like another rat has shown up.”

“Sir Castillo…”

“Don’t look at anything. Don’t listen to anything. Ignore everyone who tries to shake your resolve. I’ll make sure you can.”

With those words…

Adrian quietly admitted that he had been covering her eyes and ears all along.

“So it’s true… You worked with the Empress and lured me into the Castillo estate.”

She bit down on the soft flesh inside her lip.

Then she raised a hand and gently cupped his cheek.

Adrian leaned into her touch.

“Look only at me.”

Her mouth felt as though it were filled with thorns.

“You want me to live inside your cage?”

Would those unwavering eyes ever falter?

“What if I tell you… I can’t live in a world where you are my entire world?”

It was a simple question.

Yet she knew that if she asked it directly, he would never tell her the truth.

Resolving herself, she placed both hands against his face…

…and captured his soft lips with her own.

“Ha… ah…”

Their ragged breaths warmed the air.

As though he had been waiting for this, his large hand slid around her waist.

Between their barely parted lips, she forced herself to ask,

“If I ignore everything, just as you say…”

His crimson eyes gleamed brilliantly.

Every place his long fingers touched burned as though branded by fire.

The lips that concealed the truth trailed slowly down the curve of her neck.

Each kiss sent heat surging through her body, a tingling ache gathering low in her stomach.

Biting her lip to keep the sounds from escaping, she pressed him further.

“If I neither see nor hear anything from the outside world… what will you give me?”

“What is it that you want?”

His crimson eyes shimmered beautifully with heat.

It should have been a happy moment.

Yet her heart hurt so badly it felt as though it would split apart.

His hand traveled lower, caressing a place he had never touched before.

His careful touch stole her breath.

Her chest rose and fell violently, like a fish gasping after being thrown ashore.

“Can you give me… everything you have?”

She wanted to know just how far he was willing to go to imprison someone inside the hypocrisy of his lies.

A flicker of surprise crossed his face.

“You mean… myself?”

“Yes.”

“If that’s what you want, I’ll give myself to you.”

“Even if that means your life?”

Stella had never believed Adrian would willingly surrender his life.

As he hesitated, she turned away with a bitter smile.

But contrary to her expectations…

he answered without a moment’s pause.

“Gladly.”

For an instant, her mind went blank.

Those unwavering eyes nearly made her believe him again.

No matter how firmly she steeled herself, it was useless.

His crimson gaze, once soft, now burned with naked sincerity.

She couldn’t bear to meet those eyes any longer.

Because if she kept looking…

she would want to believe every word.

“I’m such a fool.”

She closed her eyes.

A moment later…

his lips met hers.

It happened before she could refuse.

Their neatly arranged clothes fell into disarray as his powerful thigh brushed against her soft skin.

She surrendered herself to the solid warmth of his body and wrapped her arms around his back.

Her sharp nails left vivid marks across his smooth skin.

Before long, their breaths mingled together like the heavy rains of summer.

“Ah… hn…”

Their ragged breathing crashed around them like a storm.

She buried her fingers tightly in his soft silver hair.

Calling her name, he kissed her endlessly, never stopping, as though caught in an endless cycle.

As their breaths became one, a different light filled both of their eyes.

At last, the star-shaped amulet fastened to his disheveled uniform caught the light.

Fighting back the tears welling in her eyes, Stella bit down hard…

…on his crimson lips.

When their mouths finally parted—

a single drop of blood fell to the floor.

He gently wiped the blood from her lips, the corners of his eyes softening.

“Your lips are a mess.”

Even though…

it was his blood.

His touch was so unbelievably gentle that, for a brief moment, her resolve wavered again.

But she quickly remembered.

This kindness was exactly what had deceived her until now.

No matter how beautiful or comfortable a birdcage might be…

no bird could spend its entire life trapped inside it.

She pushed his hand away and looked at him quietly.

“Sir Castillo.”

Adrian’s gaze settled on Stella.

Now she knew.

Everything he had done…

had been to keep her from ever escaping this cage.

Her eyes slowly swept across the Castillo estate.

What had he thought…

watching her become a bird imprisoned inside his enormous cage?

After wiping away the blood, Stella curled one corner of her lips into a faint smile.

“Do you know how people tame birds?”

“…”

“They prepare a place where the bird can eat and sleep beside them. Then they blind its eyes and deafen its ears until it believes its owner is the only thing that exists in the world. And when even that isn’t enough… they clip its wings.”

Adrian’s crimson eyes shook violently.

Stella now had every reason to leave.

Today, he had only conspired with the Empress to close off her eyes and ears.

But if she ever stopped obeying him…

one day, he might even try to kill her.

Her hand trembled faintly as it brushed against his cheek.

Though warmth still lingered beneath her fingertips…

her own heart was freezing solid.

“I don’t know how long you’ve been deceiving me…”

“…”

“But I’m not a bird.”

He said nothing.