Chapter 5

Returning to the mansion as if running away, Yvonne literally got sick. This is because she was too weak to handle the existence of Kiryan Hishleger.

The sudden appearance and existence of the original character.

The original villain.

Unfortunately, the fact that the villain kept peeking at her despite hiding her face made Yvonne shiver.

‘I bothered him.’

Yvonne’s maid, Beth, asked her in a worried voice. Yvonne looked at her.

“Miss Yvonne, what’s the matter? Did you fight with young master Paradis?”

“No, that’s not it…” answered Yvonne.

“Then what is it?”

“It’s nothing…” Yvonne sighed.

If she told her maid she met the original villain she wouldn’t believe it.

Kiryan Hishleger is one of the few in the royal family that possesses a special ability.

“Even if you make a mistake, you can still apologize.” Beth chided.

“It’s not like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently, one of you made a terrible joke and hurt the other’s feelings, so you fought again. Anyway, you’re like a child even though you’re over 20.” Beth kept on.

Not wanting to hear Beth’s nagging, Yvonne pretended to sleep with her blanket all over her head. Beth clicked her tongue and left the room.

‘Diana. The day when the novel starts is already approaching.’

Yvonne Moore’s unfortunate fate had changed, but the world’s impending doom remained uncertain.

If the world is to be destroyed by Kiryan Hishleger, she must assist Selena Waltz, but she may be killed in the process.

‘I had to come up with ways not to approach Kiryan Hishleger. If I think backwards, I just have to sabotage the connection between Selena Waltz and the male protagonist.’ Yvonne thought.

However, the male protagonist was the Crown Prince.

‘Me interfering with the Crown Prince’s love affair? Nonsense.’

“In the end, Selena and the Crown Prince won’t be able to meet.” she kept muttering.

Yvonne’s head hurts.

‘I didn’t even know what Selena looked like, so I had to find her.’

Of course, she knows the rough appearance of Selena Waltz, the female protagonist. She’s tall, red haired and has a cheerful impression. However, it is not easy to find someone just by that.

Yvonne, exasperated by the thought, didn’t hear that someone came to her room.

“…ne! Yvonne!” a man’s voice called.

While she was deep in thought, someone came to her room. The man came in and took the blanket that was covering her.

“Aahh!” Yvonne shouted.

The man frowned and cupped his ears to shield himself from Yvonne’s scream.

“Why are you so surprised? People might think I hurt you.” the man teasingly said.

“Paradis?” Yvonne was so startled that she wasn’t able to recognize him right away.

“Yes, it’s me.” Paradis smiled at her.

“What brings you here?” Yvonne said while still recovering from the shock of Paradis’s sudden arrival.

When asked, Paradis tilted his head with a face that saw something strange and gave her a finger flick on her forehead.

“Ouch! It hurts!”

“Do I have to get permission to go to your house?”

“It’s not like that…” Yvonne said while rubbing her forehead.

“Beth said you were sick, what’s wrong with you? Body aches?” asked Paradis.

“No, I’m okay.” Yvonne reassured him.

“Don’t lie. You look dead and this alcohol bottle?” Paradis asked while looking at the bottle.

“I didn’t drink yesterday.” Yvonne retorted. “I’m just a little tired.”

“Nini, my Nini.” Paradis said while ruffling her hair. He sat beside her on the edge of the bed.

Paradis looked at Yvonne as if looking at his younger brother. In fact, she was two years younger than him.

It was the unique arrogance, overflowing confidence and full self-esteem that made Yvonne be aloof no matter what problems she has.

“You’re really bad at lying. Tell me the truth.” Paradis nudges Yvonne.

“If I suddenly said that this world is inside a romance novel, would you believe me?” she started saying.

“No matter how much you trust your opponent, if you say such a strange thing, they will think you are making fun of them or be mistaken for being crazy.”

Yvonne closed her mouth.

“That’s right.” she agreed.

When she appeared to have no intention of talking, Paradis stared at her.

Paradis’s dark green eyes seemed to dismantle everything and analyze her thoroughly.

When the light yet tremendous power reached her, Yvonne felt relieved that Paradis was on her side. Unlike her, who is weak, he radiated strength.

Yvonne exhaled a long shaky breath.

“This is a secret between us. Promise me you won’t speak a word of it to anybody.”

“I’m all ears.” Paradis promised.

“It’s not that serious.” Yvonne said as if trying to escape his intense gaze.

“You think I won’t believe it.” Paradis sounded hurt making Yvonne quiver.

Because lies exist between them, the two of them need to be careful with their words but then again they are close to the point of being siblings.

At the same time, the two knew nothing about each other. The past seven years seem to pass them by like an hour.

It’s enough for the two to be reborn as soulmates.

“Well, I’m not forcing you to talk. It’s not right.” Paradis removed his gaze at her.

“Sorry.” she said.

“No need to apologize. But Nini, you have to keep this in mind.” he looked at her again.

His low voice sounded like a boy somewhere. Yvonne thought that Paradis is really pure-hearted.

When it comes to topics about life, he’s more mature than anyone else.

She truly loved Paradis. Not as a man, but as a human being.

“I will believe in you no matter what.” he stated it as if it’s a matter-of-fact.

“…You’re so sly. If you say that, I can’t stand it without saying it.” Yvonne smiled.

“What can I do? You’re too soft-hearted.” Paradis playfully smiled at her too.

‘This is complicated. This was a story I hadn’t told anyone yet, but it wasn’t technically a secret.’ Yvonne thought to herself.

“You’ll think I’m crazy.” she told Paradis.

“And I’m Tenan’s crazy playwright.”

“For the first time, your faith will be shaken.” Yvonne is still trying to buy her way out of the conversation.

“My faith is that there’s no God in hell the moment I met you.” Paradis said keeping her from changing the topic.

“…wait.” she has given up from trying to divert his attention.

Yvonne got up from her bed and fetched an old diary from the drawer.

“If it’s hard to say, don’t say it.” Paradis said, considering Yvonne’s expression.

She glanced at Paradis.

The things intertwined between them were never weak. The seven-year friendship they shared was dense, thick, and tight.

Yvonne said in a solemn manner after taking a deep breath,

“This is Diana’s diary before she died. Truth is, this diary contains things about the future.” she started.

“Are you saying she was a seer?” Paradis asked.

“No. Diana says this “world” is a fiction.”

Her heart fluttered when Paradis furrowed his brows.

Thinking that he might say she was crazy and push her away, it would be painful as if the world would collapse. So she quickly said it as if she were making excuses.

“Diana remembered her past life. The last novel she read before she died was about this world where we live. And she wants me to support the heroine of this world. To be a supporting role.”

“Keep talking.” Paradis urged her.

“After my parents died and Diana left me, I became an orphan. My aunt covets the inherited property I inherited, and forces me to marry their son, and monopolizes the property. And I was kicked out of my unhappy marriage and continued my miserable life.” She goes on citing what was written in the diary.

Paradis clenched his fist making a crumple on the bed sheet. A thick tendon had sprung up on the back of his hand. Yvonne could not look at him.

“While dying like that, I was picked up by the female protagonist and became her maid. I was loyal to her and died instead because of the villain who tried to kill her.”

“It’s just a novel. The ending of Diana’s novel.” Paradis said not sure what to feel from what he’s hearing.

“That’s right. Because Diana kept the story from flowing into the plot. I can’t believe it completely either because I couldn’t confirm that the future was going the same way. I have to live a miserable life to prove Diana’s words. But what’s clear is that it went to a similar conclusion.”

“Then why did you start to grumble over this?”

“I ran into someone who she said was the villain. He was scarier in real life.” Just thinking of the memory of their encounter made Yvonne shiver.

“Who is he?” he said grimly.

Yvonne was scared of Paradis’s dark expression. She hesitated to answer and opened her mouth with a sad look.

“Kiryan Hishleger.”

“The Duke of Hishleger? That illegitimate child?” Paradis lost his composure.

Yvonne, surprised by the word illegitimate, said nothing in return.

“You can’t call him an illegitimate child even though it’s just the two of us.”

“It’s because you don’t know what kind of person he is. That guy… Anyway, let’s move on. Let’s go to work.”

“Can I see the captain?” she asked Paradis.

“Yes.”

As soon as she was about to get the diary, the window broke and a sharp rupture filled the room.

Paradis quickly hugged Yvonne and rolled under the bed.

An arrow was embedded in the place where Yvonne was seated earlier. Paradis pushed Yvonne who was still under the bed and was surprised about the commotion.

“Don’t come out until I tell you to.” he whispered.

Tapping the tip of Yvonne’s nose, he stood up without hesitation and meet the assassins.

Yvonne closed her eyes under the bed, so there was no way to know how things were going.

She felt relieved that Paradis was with her but she became concerned at the scream of a stranger and the smell of blood.

“Paradis… Paradis.” she continued muttering.

He was the only successor to the historic Marquis Laurent family and was one of the people with only four talents in the country.

Even after the scream stopped, Paradis did not say to come out. He stacked the dead body in one corner and sent a man to the marquis to give several orders and looked under the bed.

“Yvonne. Did you close your eyes?”

“Yes.”

“Then keep your eyes closed and stay still. I’m going to take you out and move you to another room. Don’t be surprised. Close your eyes tightly. Got it?” he instructed her.

“Okay.” she answered in a shaky voice.

After a while, Paradis reached out to her under the bed. She took his hand and hugged it.

They came out into the hallway and moved to another room, Paradis still grumbling with rage for what happened while still calming Yvonne, who’s scared.

“Move to another room. It was hard to get into your room through the balcony. It doesn’t get much sunlight and it’s small. Do you just want to move house? Come to our house.” Paradis suggested it to Yvonne when she finally calmed down.

“…That’s ridiculous.” Yvonne said.

Her heart was beating so fast but with Paradis by her side, her heart has found its peace.

While patting her hand as usual, Paradis laid Yvonne on the bed in the guest room.

Yvonne finally opened her eyes and Paradis showed his hands to her. It doesn’t have any blood but there’s blood splattered on his clothes.

Yvonne isn’t scared of blood, but it’s on his clothes. She didn’t want to remind herself of the attack through blood.

“Okay, close your eyes and listen to me. There’s an assassin in your house, Ni. The military is aiming for you. Did you know anyone there?” he slowly said to her, making sure she understood him.

“No. There’s no one I know in the capital. But it’s possible that my aunt’s family did that.” Yvonne said while calming her nerves.

“What’s their last name?” Paradis pressed on.

“They’re not so bad that they’re like this.” Yvonne still hasn’t gathered her thoughts as to who wants her killed.

“We’ll find out if we do a background check. Let’s stay together at my house for a while. I’ll tell Beth to pack up, so just take a nap.” Paradis ordered her.

“But Paradis I’m the owner of this house…” said Yvonne, trying to sound unshaken with the event.

“You;re a victim of attempted murder as the owner of this house. So, listen to me. If you can’t sleep, just close your eyes. No. I’ll ask Beth to bring the sedative first. I think it’s better to eat first then sleep. I’ll make a statement of the suspect to the security. Grandpa and I will take care of it. Take a rest.” Paradis doesn’t take a no for an answer this time.

Even if he ran like a fool in the back alley every day, he was the successor of Marquis Laurent and possessed the qualities of a high-ranking aristocrat.

He was a lot more experienced regarding this matter than Yvonne who doesn’t know the world.

He knew better.

“Okay, thank you.” Yvonne finally agreed to his suggestion.

“If you’re grateful then calm down quickly.” Paradis kissed her forehead lightly.

This much was the usual skinship between the two. It’s not because he is a master or a close friend. It’s a sign of affection that shows deep love as a person. It was a red string of fate.

“Your hands are still shaking a lot.” Paradis held her hands because it still doesn’t stop from shaking.

“It’s going to be okay soon.” Yvonne squeezed back.

“That’s a relief.”

Yvonne flashed a nervous smile to Paradis and he took it as cue to leave the room.

“Find out who sent them here. Search every nook and cranny to gather information about them. We’ll hunt them down.” Paradis told his servants.

His commanding voice was colder than ever.

The butler of the Marquis Laurent who came to dispose of the body, looked calm as if he had been in that situation often.

He was Paradis Laurent.

Laurent, who swept the war with this power and became the hero of the country.

The last remaining successor.