How to Run Away from Obsessed Men

Episode 75

“Now what, Marquis?”

Crain glared at Flute, who fidgeted restlessly beside him.

Flute was too anxious to settle down, gnawing at his fingernails in agitation.

‘Pathetic fool. It’s painful to even watch.’

Crain imagined how different things would be if this fool before him were Princess Rebecca instead.

She certainly wouldn’t be acting like a fool in this situation.

She’d be trying her best to navigate through this predicament.

Crain’s eyes darkened.

He felt a brief pang of regret, but it was too late to change things now.

He had no choice but to deal with the current situation with this fool by his side.

“Do you have any ideas?” Flute asked anxiously.

“You know as well as I do that I’ve handled everything properly.”

It was Crain who cleaned up the mess left by Flute’s actions in the Asen Empire.

‘He sure caused a lot of trouble.’

Flute had meddled with many women there, captivated by the unique allure of the women of Asen Empire, different from those of the Rohan Empire.

He even entangled himself with a few low-ranking noblewomen, making it difficult to handle the aftermath.

Having dealt with all the fallout himself, Crain found it hard to trust Kalia’s words.

“What should I do, Marquis? If my father finds out, he won’t let this go.”

“Calm yourself.”

“And what about my sister, Rebecca? She’ll try to bring me down at any cost. She’d tear into me with glee.”

Crain shook his head. Recently, the relationship between Prince Flute and Princess Rebecca had deteriorated beyond repair.

‘Why did he have to provoke Princess Rebecca?’

At the very least, he should have waited until his position was secure before challenging her, but Flute lacked even that basic common sense.

As soon as he gained power, he couldn’t resist taunting Princess Rebecca.

“It’ll be fine. We just need to act before the Duke of Riken makes a move.”

“How?”

“We need to eliminate it. Get rid of the evidence before she can proceed with the paternity test.”

A dangerous glint flashed in Crain’s eyes. To conduct the test at the temple, Kalia would inevitably need to move the illegitimate child.

He understood why Kalia had brought it up. She was proposing a direct confrontation.

Since the child’s existence would inevitably come to light for the test, there was no longer any need to hide it.

Realizing this, Crain knew he needed to act quickly.

‘Kalia has always been a woman with too much compassion.’

Crain recalled Roana, the cleric currently residing in his house. Kalia and Roana seemed to share a close relationship.

During the entire banquet, Kalia’s son, Heis, had stayed protectively by Roana’s side.

‘Perhaps she’s someone Heis holds dear.’

Although Roana, as a member of the delegation, should be untouchable, Crain knew that in the worst-case scenario, he might have no choice.

With Lindsey gone, he needed someone to threaten Kalia in her place.

He didn’t know why Kalia had sent Roana to him, but he certainly wasn’t going to let her dictate the terms.

‘There’s plenty of time to prepare.’

As these thoughts crossed his mind, he spotted Kalia entering the banquet hall. Next to her was a small boy.

Crain’s face turned pale.

Kalia Riken was a woman of swift action, not one to give warnings or time for her enemies to prepare.

⋆★⋆

Raysis furrowed his brow.

‘What is the relationship between Roana and Kenyan?’

He couldn’t seem to calm himself. Ever since Roana and Kenyan had left together, a strange unease gnawed at him.

The more he recalled Crain’s recent words, the more unsettled he felt.

“There’s an illegitimate child of Prince Flute. Investigate Roana thoroughly. She might be of use someday.”

It wasn’t surprising for someone like Prince Flute to cause such trouble.

If the child truly existed, Crain would be caught in a deeper mess as well.

Raysis found it hard to trust Crain’s claim. Kalia had served Crain’s interests like a loyal subordinate for over a decade.

‘If the illegitimate child is real, the Marquisate would suffer greatly. Their influence would diminish.’

Yet, Raysis had no interest in such matters. Whether the Kesion Marquisate thrived or fell was no longer his concern.

He’d only been diligent in his duties to earn Crain’s trust. In fact, it would be better if they crumbled.

What truly troubled him was Roana.

‘Something’s off. Roana is from the Asen Empire, so how does she know Kenyan?’

The two seemed unusually close. Kenyan, who had shown no interest in anyone since Lindsey’s death, was now showing interest in her.

That could only mean one thing: Kenyan had moved on from Lindsey.

Raysis felt a deep sense of unease. Kenyan should continue to suffer.

He couldn’t accept the thought of Kenyan forgetting Lindsey and loving another woman.

If Kenyan truly had fallen for Roana…

‘I can’t let that happen.’

With this thought, Raysis rose to his feet, noticing Roana entering the banquet hall again.

He quickly made his way over to her. Kenyan was nowhere to be seen.

“How do you know Kenyan Radian? What is your relationship with him?”

“…?”

“I asked what your relationship is with Kenyan.”

“Why are you spouting nonsense again…?”

Roana let out a deep sigh. After a moment of contemplation, she raised her head.

“And what will you do about it?”

Raysis caught a glimpse of Lindsey in her expression.

He felt a surge of confusion. Roana was someone who had no connection to Lindsey.

Yet, every time he looked at her, Lindsey’s image resurfaced, and he couldn’t understand why.

Roana was a completely different person, but her every gesture and expression reminded him of Lindsey.

‘Maybe she’s someone my father sent.’

The close relationship between the Duke of Riken and Crain was well-known throughout the empire.

It was hard to imagine that she would suddenly betray Crain.

Perhaps Crain, knowing that he still hadn’t let go of Lindsey, was playing some kind of trick.

As his thoughts reached that point, Raysis frowned.

“Why are you imitating Lindsey? Are you trying to seduce Kenyan or something?”

“What?”

“Your behavior, I mean. Did you think I wouldn’t notice? You’re imitating Lindsey.”

“And who might that be?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

Raysis glared at Roana as he spoke.

“If you’re trying to imitate Lindsey, you’d better stop.”

“Oh, sure, I’ll stop. Not that I knew who she was or that I was copying her in the first place.”

“……”

“But, you know, making such wild assumptions about people is truly the worst. You think I’m trying to seduce Sir Kenyan? What a terrible misunderstanding.”

Roana shrugged her shoulders as she spoke.

“Besides, is this really the time for you to be having this conversation with me?”

At Roana’s words, Raysis turned around.

The banquet hall was in an uproar at the appearance of a boy who bore an uncanny resemblance to Flute.

The attendees stared at the boy with shock written all over their faces.

The boy clung to Kalia’s hand, his expression filled with unease.

Raysis understood at that moment. It was clear that Kalia had become Crain’s enemy.

She had truly brought Flute’s illegitimate child.

This meant that Roana wasn’t following Crain’s orders, nor was she imitating Lindsey.

Roana smirked at Raysis, lifting one corner of her mouth.

It was an unmistakable gesture of mockery.

Yet, instead of feeling anger, Raysis’s heart began to race.

She was a woman who resembled Lindsey.

And, more than that, she was someone he suspected Kenyan might have feelings for. A person he would ultimately need to eliminate.

“Such a pity, isn’t it? It looks like your family is in quite a difficult situation.”

But why?

Why was it that he couldn’t treat this insolent woman harshly?

As a strange and inexplicable tickling sensation stirred in his chest, Raysis moved closer to Roana.

TL/N: Hello!! i have a good news to share.. this novel is near the end rn we surpassed chap 70 it only had 92 chaps and no side stories hopefully ill be able to this novel before Aprill