Chapter 46

“You’re the one who seemed so confident, yet you don’t seem to know Rivera at all. No matter how hurt she is, Rivera’s personality won’t let it slide. She’ll come to confirm it herself. Whether it’s out of anger or to ask why you did such a thing, she’ll come to see you.”

Adrian’s expression was grim. He was uneasy. Not knowing what Antonio might say only made him more anxious.  

Watching Adrian suffer, Antonio once again felt a strange sense of satisfaction.  

“Tell her yourself that you want to break up.”  

“I refuse.”  

“You’ll regret it.”  

“It won’t be me who regrets it, but you. Killing you would solve everything easily, so why should I listen to you? If I kill you here, no one will ever know.”  

“Do you think I didn’t prepare for that? I’ve written my will and left it at the temple just in case. If I die, the temple will find out, and they’ll know you killed me.”  

“Do you think they’ll believe that?”  

“That’s why I’ve written down your secret as well. I also have a letter ready to send to Rivera.”  

“…A letter?”  

“Your filthy secret.”  

Antonio had something he was confident in.  

“What do you think will happen when Rivera finds out the truth? That the man she loves so dearly actually has the ability to read other people’s thoughts?”  

“…How do you know that?”  

Adrian froze, unable to move.  

“They say you learn everything once you climb to a high enough position in the temple.”  

“You’re not even a High Priest yet, so how could you know?”  

Adrian couldn’t believe that such an absolute secret had been revealed.  

“It’s as good as confirmed. There aren’t any other candidates besides me, are there?”  

Adrian bit his lip again.  

“Until now, the world has probably gone the way you wanted it to, but it won’t anymore. Now, you’ll know what it feels like to live a life where you wish you were dead.”  

Antonio stood up, saying he enjoyed the tea, and made his way to the door.  

Bang, bang!  

At that moment, a familiar voice came from outside the door.  

“Adrian, open this door.”  

It was Rivera’s voice.  

***

“Let go of me! Why are you stopping me?”  

After listening to her mother’s advice, Rivera headed to the Bartman Ducal Residence. She intended to settle things with Adrian—resolve what could be resolved and leave behind what needed to be left behind.  

But the knights stopped her. Shaking them off, she headed to his bedroom, but no one was there.  

‘Is he in the study?’  

Thinking it was possible, she went downstairs, only to find even more servants blocking her path.  

“If any of you lay a hand on me, I’ll strip off every last piece of clothing I’m wearing.”  

Everyone gasped. Their backs were drenched in sweat. Since they were all men, they couldn’t recklessly grab Rivera.  

“Adrian is in the study, isn’t he?”  

Seeing their inability to deny it, Rivera was certain of his location.  

If she had known it would be this difficult to meet him, she would have just seen him the first time he came to her. The thought of wasting so much energy made her sigh before she took a tense step toward the study.  

The maids knelt and begged her to leave.  

“Miss, please… You can’t do this.”  

Ignoring their pleas, Rivera grabbed the doorknob.  

Click.  

The door was locked from the inside.  

The maids sighed in relief, clutching their chests as though they had just narrowly avoided disaster.  

Click—  

Rivera turned the doorknob again, repeating the action. Then, she began knocking on the door until someone inside opened it.  

“Adrian, open this door.”  

She was sure he was inside, but he didn’t respond. Rivera knocked on the door, pleading with him. 

“I have something to ask you. Please open this door. I promise I won’t get mad.”  

Could he hear me?  

It didn’t matter. As long as she could resolve the questions that had been tormenting her, she was willing to talk to herself if necessary.  

“I heard something strange. They said the reason I broke up with my boyfriends was because of you. But no matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand. Why would you do something like that?”  

At that moment, footsteps could be heard from inside. The firmly locked door opened, and Adrian, whom she had longed to see, appeared before her.  

Just as she was about to call his name, Adrian, with a hardened expression, spoke.  

“Go back.”  

“What?”  

“Go back, I said.”  

Caught off guard by his unexpected words, Rivera was flustered.  

“You were the one asking to meet me.”  

“Do you think you can see me whenever you want, just because I asked? And you—after refusing to meet me all this time, why are you acting like this now? Do you think I’m a joke?”  

“No, I just wanted to ask you…”  

Adrian let out a deep sigh.  

“Ha… I really can’t take this anymore.”  

Rivera flinched.  

“You came to ask about the breakups with your ex-boyfriends, didn’t you? Am I right?”  

He continued coldly.  

“Yes, it was me.”  

She didn’t want to believe it.  

“Why… Why did you do it?”  

“Just because. I didn’t like seeing anyone by your side. That’s all.”  

As if that was all he had to say, Adrian grabbed the doorknob. But Rivera held the door, stopping him from going back inside.  

“Wait, I’m not done talking.”  

Why was he acting like this?  

“That’s all? You’re just going to leave it at that? What’s wrong with you? You weren’t like this before.”  

“If you’re unhappy, then break it off. If you’re so angry and upset, let’s break up! I’ll do as you ask.”  

Bang!  

The door slammed shut with such force that Rivera was left stunned.  

She felt as if this wasn’t the Adrian she knew. Unless someone else had taken over his body, there was no way he could act like this.  

He had never treated her this way before. What had happened to him?  

***

Antonio, standing by the door, watched as Adrian pushed Rivera away. He clapped softly, making sure no sound escaped outside the room. Satisfied, he spoke in a low voice.  

“Impressive. I didn’t expect you to act so perfectly.”  

“Is it over now?”  

“Of course not. My revenge has only just begun.”  

A murderous glint appeared in Adrian’s eyes.  

“Do you want me to kill you that badly?”  

“You know me well.”  

“Then why are you doing this? Isn’t my misery what you want?”  

“You said it yourself—that she’s your heart.”  

Adrian’s expression twisted.  

“How does it feel to have your heart ripped out?”  

Antonio wanted Adrian to suffer more. Compared to the pain Antonio had endured for the past eight years, this was nothing.  

But Adrian wasn’t one to back down in a verbal battle.  

“Don’t think that doing this will let you get back together with Rivera. I may have deceived her, but you used her. You tried to turn what should have been her happiest moment into a stepping stone for your own success. What right do you have to feel wronged? Do you even deserve to be here?”  

Antonio’s eyebrows twitched.  

“If you wanted to rip my heart out, you should’ve won Rivera’s heart back and made her your girlfriend again. That would’ve been perfect. Oh, but I guess that wasn’t possible. After all, you don’t have anything to offer.”  

“…Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”  

Antonio shouted furiously.  

“What do you know?! If you had helped me when I asked, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad!”  

“You’re blaming me for not helping you? Why didn’t you stop your mother from gambling? What were you doing when your father was stealing family funds to give to his mistress? Why didn’t you stop it from getting this far?”  

“I had my own circumstances!”  

“Circumstances? You mean the dream you’ve given up on now?”  

Antonio was at a loss for words.  

“Look at your hands.”  

Adrian grabbed Antonio’s wrist. His movements were so quick they were almost invisible.  

Antonio tried to pull away, but Adrian’s grip didn’t budge. Adrian looked at Antonio’s hand.  

“Look at this. It’s been years since you’ve wielded a sword. It’s obvious you haven’t touched one in ages.”  

“What do you know?!”  

“Why? Did you have some reason you couldn’t hold a sword after becoming a priest? Or did you just want to avoid hard, exhausting work now that you’ve found an easier path?”  

Antonio shook off Adrian’s grip and pushed him away.  

“You’ve lived a life of luxury with the wealth and honor of the Bartman family, so you don’t know anything. If you’ve never hit rock bottom like I have, you’ll never understand!”  

Antonio, his voice filled with rage, glared at Adrian with bloodshot eyes before leaving the room.  

“End the engagement within a week. Announce it on the front page of the Empire’s newspaper. If you don’t, I’ll reveal your secret to the world.”  

Bang—!  

After Antonio stormed out, Adrian sat in the now quiet room, feeling the weight of exhaustion. Rivera’s face flashed in his mind.  

[You… Why are you doing this? You promised not to hurt me.]  

The thought of her, hurt because of him, made his chest ache as if it were being torn apart.  

His body felt completely drained. He had promised not to hurt her, but he had done it again.  

Adrian sat motionless, tears slipping from his closed eyes.  

Moments later, worried knights entered the room, asking if he was okay. But he didn’t respond.  

As they were about to leave, thinking he wanted to be alone, Marcus, one of the knights, noticed something strange and approached him.  

When he lightly tapped Adrian’s shoulder, Adrian’s unconscious body slumped to the side.  

“Your Grace!!”  

***

After leaving through the main gate, Antonio ran a hand through his hair, his face twisted in frustration.  

“D*mn it!!”  

He was furious. Even in that situation, Adrian seemed to genuinely care about Rivera. That’s why it felt like he had lost.  

“Why is it that even in moments like this, you refuse to become ugly?”  

Though the mansion was now far behind him and out of sight, Antonio thought of Adrian, who was still inside, and clenched his fists.  

‘What makes you so pure? What makes you so different from me?’  

He couldn’t accept it or understand it.  

Was it because Adrian had grown up in a different environment that he could maintain his dignity until the end?  

It didn’t matter. Adrian was now a cornered rat. He had nowhere to run and no way to escape.  

Grinding his teeth, Antonio burned with a desire for revenge.