Chapter 10
His distorted face was still handsome, but the aura pouring out from him was not something to dismiss lightly.
He was approaching with the ferocity of someone who truly meant to kill me.
Wait, wait—this couldn’t be how I died, right?
“No, no. I have no intention of killing Aria….”
“Don’t lie. You expect me to believe you?”
“…….”
I was at a loss for words. To convince him to trust me here, I needed proof.
Here’s the thing: was Charlize the type of person who could provide any?
‘No.’
My speechlessness didn’t lead anywhere good.
“I’ve endured endlessly until now. Yes, I had no choice but to endure. Whether you wreaked havoc, tormented my maids, dragged my knights into that wretched banquet, or even insulted my ancestors and humiliated Aria!”
Uh, excuse me, fiancé? I really do understand your anger.
I get it, but….
“How much more must I endure before you’re satisfied? Unable to break that vile habit of yours, did you finally go after my little sister’s life?!”
I’m not that person. The soul inside isn’t hers…!
My mouth opened and closed silently inside, but no sound came out.
‘My mouth… it won’t move….’
Without thinking, I tried to say I wasn’t that person.
But for some reason, my lips wouldn’t budge, sealed shut like they’d been glued.
Was it blocking me automatically whenever I tried to speak the truth?
This was insane… The more it happened, the more viscerally I felt that the parchment’s words were true—that God had really sent it.
Any lingering shred of doubt, even 1 percent, was gone.
In any case, this handsome fiancé, oblivious to who truly inhabited the shell, reined in his rage with heavy breaths—even that looked striking, but….
He let slip words that should never have been voiced.
“Let’s annul the engagement.”
Wait, wait!
It felt like I’d just started the game only to be hit with “Game Over” right away.
Wait, please—just a moment, handsome fiancé? I haven’t done anything yet. Really, nothing!
“Wait, wait a minute.”
“Fine by me. I hadn’t planned to do it face-to-face anyway, but your granduncle refuses to accept it.”
“Wait!”
My desperate outstretched hand finally halted Askin’s words.
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry for barging in without permission.”
“…What?”
A flicker of bewilderment crept into his gaze at my words.
“But please—just this one thing. Won’t you hear me out?”
“…….”
“I didn’t do anything to Aria.”
Ah, wrong move. The thought hit me the instant the words left my mouth.
Just hearing her name wiped the bewilderment from Askin’s face, turning it icy in a heartbeat.
Yet words utterly at odds with that cold expression spilled out.
My pleased upward gaze lasted only a moment.
“Fine, I don’t believe you.”
“…Really?”
“Not today, but you must have planned to kill her eventually.”
“…….”
Oh, Charlize. What on earth did you do to make this man so convinced? How was I supposed to salvage this?!
“I’ll submit the formal annulment soon. The Imperial Family will hear of it too.”
“Wait… Fine. Fine, so….”
“I have nothing more to say. Return to your mansion at once.”
I pulled a pitiful expression. How was I supposed to unravel this mess and win him over again?
For now, let’s bide my time. Him bringing up annulment meant…
‘What about the debt Altizeit holds over him?’
Annul first, then re-engage—could that work?
That was exactly when it hit.
A sharp pang stabbed through my heart.
“Ugh…!”
Clutching my chest as I crumpled, I grabbed Askin’s sleeve without realizing.
Looking up, I saw his furrowed brow.
“What’s this trick now?”
“…Trick, ugh, no….”
The pain was too intense for clear speech.
What was this? Why did it hurt?!
In that instant, a whisper echoed in my mind.
[If the engagement is annulled, you will die!]
[~From a God who forgot an important detail~]
Die if it went through?
What? There’d been no mention of that.
I gripped my heart tightly. Did this pain mean annulment loomed? That he truly meant to end it?
I pressed my lips together.
Invisible to me, but my face must have gone deathly pale with agony.
“…I’m not, haa, here to hurt you. Not today.”
“…….”
I wanted to clear the misunderstanding first, but Askin’s rigid face showed no sign of softening.
No helping it. I had to keep this man here somehow.
“I’ll do it. Annulment.”
“…Pardon?”
Disbelief clouded his icy features.
Even agreeing to it, and he still couldn’t trust me?
Amid the pain, the absurdity nearly drew a laugh.
To hold him, I’d need to strike one key point.
I’d hoped to avoid this low blow.
“I’ll annul it—so pay up now. All that money you borrowed from my family thanks to our engagement. Pay it off, and I’ll annul right away and leave.”
The pain vanished in that instant.
Lifting my head, oh… A handsome face stared down at me in utter loathing.
They said the handsome looked good doing anything—even this cold glare wasn’t off-putting.
‘Did the annulment recede?’
No heart pain suggested as much.
The briefest flinch of surprise crossed Askin’s face.
“…Soon. Now go.”
His voice was frigid, laced with barely contained fury like a beast’s snarl.
“No—if I don’t get the money, I’m not budging.”
“What?”
“Money. Money. Now. Hurry.”
I sank straight to the ground.
Looking up, his expression went beyond bewilderment to outright absurdity, laced with dismay.
I flashed a sweet smile.
“No money, no annulment. I stay put.”
For now, it was my only play.
Askin’s elegant brows twitched as he opened his mouth to retort.
“Duke!”
A voice called from afar. Glancing over, it was his aide, Ben.
He gave my seated form a strange look before speaking quickly.
“Miss Aria is awake!”
“Ha….”
“She has no serious injuries. A doctor’s been summoned….”
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Askin started to hurry off but paused, our eyes meeting.
“No money, I don’t move.”
“…Do as you please. It won’t go your way regardless.”
“Got it.”
I called after his retreating back.
“I want to get along with you. I mean it.”
Whatever nonsense I spouted, he’d keep going.
I gave an awkward inner smile.
‘Should I apologize for everything Charlize did, on her behalf?’
Not my fault. But I knew how much they’d suffered.
Still, it felt unfair from my side. Why this body of all things?
‘…I know an apology won’t fix it.’
Not my karma. But it seemed I’d bear the weight going forward.
Did wearing her shell mean I had to atone?
I gently shut my eyes.
* * *
Only after exiting the garden did Askin exhale audibly.
‘What scheme is she hatching?’
His head throbbed from the bizarre antics of his fiancée—the soon-to-be ex.
Charlize Altizeit was no woman to underestimate.
Ben’s words rang true today: she wasn’t herself. She was different.
Yet it could be a ploy to drop his guard for a backstab.
As he walked, he expected her face to fade, but oddly, that irritating visage lingered longer than usual today.
Sisterly worry soon shoved it to a mind’s corner.
“Oppa!”
His sister Aria called as he opened the door.
Askin rushed straight to her.
“Aria.”
Unlike the main house, his sister Aria resided in a separate building.
Loving gardens as she did, he’d given her one perfect for outings, pouring spare funds into repairs and security.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, ahaha….”
Askin lightly gripped her shoulders, fussing over her awkward smile, inspecting every inch.
“Aria, be honest. What did that woman do this time? Try to lop off your finger for good? Or collect your hair again under some pretense? Or… don’t tell me she insulted you over your clothes….”
“Oppa, oppa. Calm down.”
Aria tugged and shook his sleeve as he rattled on breathlessly.
Her brother was always cool-headed, righteous, rational—save for one thing: matters involving her. There, reason fled.
She understood his hypersensitivity to her alone was unavoidable.
“Tell me. What outrage did that woman unleash this time?”
It was all Charlize Altizeit’s comeuppance. The scars she’d left on the siblings ran deep.
But….
“No, no, oppa.”
Aria shook her head.
“I bumped into the Duchess in the hall by chance… got so startled I fell. She did nothing wrong.”
