Ch. 84

The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive

"What will happen if you can't find it?"

The healers remained silent. I looked at Ardion, who pushed the healer aside and grabbed my hand.

"Laila, don't worry. If we can't find it, I'll do anything to find your magical drug."

Tears had welled up in Ardion's green eyes. I felt uneasy. Because of me, he was going through hardship he shouldn’t have to.

If I just disappear, it’ll be fine, I thought, lowering my head. "No. Please don't ask Rowell for help. Anyway, everything will be fine once I die…"

"Laila, why would you say something like that?" Ardion's face hardened instantly.

He sighed and gave a subtle signal to the healers standing nearby. They immediately bowed their heads and left the room. Suddenly, everything around us became quiet.

I stared at the closed door for a moment before speaking. "I don’t want you to keep being dragged around by Rowell. He must have used this method because he knows you care about me."

"Laila, you've broken my heart twice already." His voice was unusually low.

I sighed. "Ardion, please, just leave me alone."

His hand tightened around mine. "Are you crazy? How could I leave you alone? Don’t say things like that."

"But if you don’t give up on me, Rowell will keep trapping you."

Rowell had completely lost his mind. The more Ardion confronted him, the more extreme actions he took to stop him. He had planted a magical drug inside my body. That was something I had never expected. In the end, Rowell would probably want Ardion’s life.

So now, if I just disappeared, the problem would be easily solved. In a way, I was just an extra who was supposed to die, and it was nothing short of a miracle that I had survived this long. My life was more like a gift from Ardion.

Ardion’s grip on my hand trembled. Slowly, he raised his gaze to meet mine, his green eyes filled with tears, yet he smiled and shook his head. "Rowell won't stop until I’m dead."

"But Your Highness can't die."

"It’s okay, as long as I can save you."

"Please don’t say that. The only one who can kill Rowell is you."

Up until now, Rowell had done so much harm to Ardion. He must have tormented Ardion for a much longer time than what I had experienced. Rowell had been tormenting Ardion since childhood.

"Is it really me you’re talking about?"

I nodded. Then I briefly glanced at Ardion’s hand. His large hand was still holding mine tightly. I gazed at him and said, "Ardion, it’s only you."

His eyes shimmered faintly, and his face slowly drew closer to mine.

"Laila, do you trust me?" His voice, low and heavy, rang in my ears.

I looked up and saw his wet eyes completely capturing me. "Yes, I trust you."

"Even if I do anything? Even if my love for you is different from what it should be?"

Ardeon seemed somewhat lost in thought. His green eyes appeared infinitely dark. It was almost as though I could see obsessive cruelty in his gaze as he stared at me.

I was startled and opened my mouth. "Ardion?"

In an instant, Ardion was on top of me. I had no time to avoid him. He grabbed my arm and looked down at me, completely pinning me down. His face neared mine, close to my lips. "Laila, trust me. No matter what I do, say that you love me."

"Do you mean no matter what you do?"

His words sounded strange to me. As I blinked in confusion, his lips hovered close to mine. He raised his gaze and said in a pleading voice, "Say you love me, Laila. No matter what I do, say that you love me."

Love.

It was something Ardion had always wanted from me. I hesitated before speaking, but before I could, he completely claimed my lips. I didn’t have the chance to respond. He seemed in a rush, pushing his tongue into my mouth.

I turned my head and pushed against his shoulder, yet Ardion lowered his head and claimed my lips once more.

"Hhmpp, Ardion!" I pushed against his shoulder again.

Only then did he stop. His gaze was too intense.

I had an ominous feeling creeping up on me. "You're not planning to lock me away from everyone, are you?"

"…" Ardion didn’t respond. He neither explained nor said anything else.

"Is that how you see it?" His eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Laila, I want you by my side, always. Don’t give up on me. I won’t let Rowell torment you anymore."

"But I still…"

Before I could finish, Ardion kissed me again. I bit his tongue, and he hesitated, locking eyes with me. I quickly moved up toward the head of the bed as he watched me sternly.

"Ardion, I think this idea of yours is wrong."

"Laila, the knights are already searching for you and the people you left with."

"…"

"You won’t be able to go outside for a while."

"But still, that doesn’t…"

"And I can’t kill Rowell."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean it literally. If I kill Rowell, you’ll die with him, so I can’t do that."

My mind went blank.

Once Rowell lost his life, I would also die.

He had gone too far, really.

"Then the magical drug in me is like a time bomb?"

"No, it’s not that. It’s just that you and Rowell are connected. If Rowell dies, your body will react in the same way."

The more I thought about it, the more revolting it became. Having a magical drug implanted in me like that… What was worse was I didn’t even know where the drug was. My mana had been lacking lately, and I felt an odd, sharp pain in my head like a hammer striking my temples.

I sighed in exasperation. Was there really nothing we could do about Rowell? Suddenly, a thought struck me like a lightning bolt.

"Then, if I die, Rowell will die too, right?"

"Laila, don’t say things like that." Ardion came closer to me.

I immediately shook my head. "But that’s the only way."

"No, there must be another way. You don’t have to die…"

"There is no other way. As long as Rowell exists, Your Highness will eventually die."

"You’ve broken my heart again, Laila." His voice was excessively low, his eyes were moist, and his gaze had turned intense, filled with passion.

In desperation, I shouted, "But you can’t die either!”

"…"

Ardion stared at me silently as tears filled my eyes. Since childhood, he had been humiliated and oppressed by Rowell. And even now, nothing had changed. Whether it was then or now, nothing had been different.

If Ardion didn’t love me, he would have been much better off now. In the original story, he had easily killed Rowell, and there weren’t many obstacles, especially since Serina helped him by calming his mana when it overflowed.

But me? I was just a hindrance in Ardion’s life. He didn’t need to go through all of this.

I looked at him. "All you have to do is give up on me. Just… me."

It would definitely be simpler if I died now.

After all, I was just an extra who had died early in the original story. Yet somehow, I had survived this long, prolonging my life through Ardion’s intervention.

But now, with the realization that if Rowell died, I would too… I was beginning to understand that perhaps I was never meant to live.

Maybe my fate had finally become clear.

Tears fell from my eyes and splattered on the floor.

Ardion gently touched my cheek, softly wiped away the tears, and embraced me. "Laila, even if you say that, I won’t give up."

"Then there’s no solution," I lamented.

Ardion laughed. "Laila, you’re finally speaking to me informally."

Startled, I didn’t know what to say, but Ardion hugged me tighter.

"I’ll forgive you for calling me 'Your Highness' earlier. From now on, just call me that. It feels like we’re getting closer now." Ardion’s voice carried a hint of amusement.

I sighed. His overflowing love was beginning to feel like a burden in my heart. I should have distanced myself from him long ago…

After a moment, I finally managed to speak. "I want to be alone."

"…" Ardion fell silent.

"I want to see Derol too."

Only then did he let go of me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked at me intently. I turned my face away from him, yet his gaze lingered.

"I’ll bring Derol in. Is there anything else you need?"

I shook my head. The bed lightened as Ardion stood up. Then I felt his hand on my ankle. I looked down and saw him gently caressing it. A prickling discomfort lingered but faded quickly.

"What did you do?" I asked in surprise.

Ardion casually looked back at me. "Laila, you can’t leave this room for a while."

"What?"

"I’m just worried. If I’m not here, you might try to leave."

"But this is…"

"You can only move around in this room. Even if you try to jump out of the window, your legs won’t move."

“Ardion!”

“I shouldn’t have told you about Rowell’s trick.”

“…”

“I only have you.”

Ardion’s eyes shook slightly. My heart ached for a moment, but I turned my head and hugged my knees.

“I’ll bring Derol.”

He quickly left the room. Soon after, I heard the sound of the door closing, and the surroundings became quiet. Suddenly, I jumped off the bed, went to open the window, and tried to climb up it, but my feet wouldn’t move properly.

Ch. 84

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