Chapter 33. Anger

At those words, filled with clear murderous intent, the surroundings froze over with a chilling silence. It was as if they were trapped in a glacier. Someone’s sigh echoed loudly.

Enoch glanced over while tidying Ellen’s disheveled hair. Helene Lopez was trembling, covering her mouth with both hands.

Cowards are easily frightened. And they betray just as easily.

To Enoch, Helene Lopez was such a person. Her eyes were filled with fear and confusion… and vile relief.

She was an easy woman to read.

Enoch let out a short, mocking laugh and looked down at Ellen again. As he had always thought, she was so small that she fit perfectly into his arms. Her slender frame seemed so fragile that he always hesitated, unsure of how much strength to use.

And her face too. It was so small it could be completely covered by his hand. Of course, he knew his hands were large. But even so, Ellen’s face was smaller than average.

And yet, someone had beaten this face to such a state.

Anger reared its head again. It was pure anger at the violence inflicted on a single, fragile person. And it was anger at someone daring to touch someone he had decided to bring to his side.

Trash that didn’t know their place, filled with nothing but greed.

Enoch glared fiercely at the frozen Anderson and Margot Lopez before closing his eyes and opening them again. He then lowered his gaze to the person in his arms. With eyes containing restrained murderous intent, he looked at Ellen and urged her once more. Tell me, okay?

Her pale blue eyes repeatedly hid under her lashes as she gauged his mood. Her slightly torn, reddish lips moved a few times before slowly parting.

“…This morning,”

Finally, Ellen began to recount everything that had happened to her today without hesitation. Her delivery was concise yet detailed.

Though her voice was lower than usual and steady, Enoch could tell she was exhausted.

There was a faint fatigue evident in her gaze, expression, and voice. And weariness.

She didn’t seem to be greatly shocked by the violence inflicted on her today. At least on the surface. What stood out was her ennui. She was truly tired of this situation. As if she had been harassed far too often for far too long.

Realizing this, Enoch felt his blood run cold.

“…That’s all.”

Ellen finished her story and looked up at him quietly. Enoch erased the cold expression from his face and gave her a gentle smile. Ellen looked at him with curiosity. What is so fascinating?

“You can make an expression like that.”

“What kind of expression?”

Enoch, who had no way to check his own face, asked back. Ellen hesitated a bit before whispering in a small voice.

“It looked like you sincerely pitied me.”

“……”

So, have I been pretending to pity you until now? Enoch looked at Ellen with a slightly annoyed expression. Her sly attempt to avoid his gaze wasn’t entirely unlikable.

“Well… anyway, never mind my expression.”

Enoch leisurely shifted his gaze to finish more important matters. As always, hunting required patience. To accurately hit the vital point of the prey, one had to wait for the right moment.

So today, he intended to go easy.

Just enough to quell this anger…

Enoch gently set Ellen aside. Stay here for a moment. When he whispered soothingly, Ellen nodded slightly. He softly caressed her beautiful face, smiled faintly, and then turned around. He slowly approached Anderson.

And immediately, his servants blocked his path like a pack of dogs. Their faces were pale with fear, unsure of what to do.

Cowards playing the role of loyal dogs. Enoch swallowed a sneer and commanded them.

In the end, the servants, glancing at Anderson, slowly stepped aside. Surely nothing will happen, right? Their faces clearly showed such naive thoughts.

“There are a few things I hate the most…”

He put back on the gloves he had briefly taken off to check Ellen’s condition. As he mumbled and closed the distance, Anderson tensed up and shrank back. The fat old man looked like nothing more than a pig.

“One of them is… human trash that doesn’t know their place.”

Enoch’s fist struck Anderson’s face without warning. With that one blow, Anderson’s mouth split open, blood gushed out, and several of his molars and front teeth flew out. As he staggered and spat out blood and teeth, Margot, who was standing nearby, collapsed with a pale face.

“And another… those who dare covet what’s mine.”

“Guh! Ugh, huff…”

“Marquis Anderson, Your Grace, fits both categories perfectly. How surprising.”

And then the one-sided beating continued.

Hearing the sound of flesh tearing and ripping accumulated, Enoch’s white gloves gradually turned red with blood. Anderson’s face, beaten to a pulp, became unrecognizable.

Anderson begged for his life with a mangled voice. Enoch’s eyes, clearly ignoring him, were already half-crazed. He’s insane, he’s out of his mind—Margot thought, trembling.

As she crawled on the floor trying to escape, her gaze met the Grand Duke’s. Enoch Bayern closed his eyes coldly, then tossed aside the half-dead Anderson and took a step towards Margot. As if he were on a leisurely outing.

A chillingly cruel smile appeared on his lips.

No, don’t come, no, as she screamed silently and fell into a panic, Margot’s eyes rolled back. Foam bubbled up from her mouth.

The moment she fainted, unable to withstand the fear, Melissa, who had been watching from behind a pillar, flinched but did not step forward. Helene also did not move to help her mother.

Thus, Baroness Lopez was left abandoned on the floor without anyone to care for her.

Sneering briefly at the farcical scene, Enoch removed his blood-soaked gloves and threw them aside carelessly.

He turned his back on the tragedy he had created and leisurely approached Ellen. She was observing the situation with a pale face, just like everyone else.

Enoch, who had somehow reached Ellen, tapped her dazed face with his fingertips to bring her back to her senses. She flinched greatly, suddenly startled. Her frightened blue eyes cautiously met his gaze.

Enoch drew a straight smile at the corner of his mouth. ‘Why, are you scared?’ he whispered in her ear. He wrapped one arm around her still trembling shoulders and pulled her close. The situation behind him seemed chaotic, but he didn’t care.

“Ellen, Ellenore.”

The pronunciation of her name flowed from his tongue like a song. The small warmth filling his arms was satisfying. Although it was a bit different from the original plan, this seemed like it would be fun in its own way. Enoch, who had twisted his lips into a crooked smile, continued to whisper.

“I accept that proposal from last time.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he lifted her into his arms.

Ellen gasped. When he hugged her tightly as she struggled in surprise, she soon became quiet. Enoch let a shallow laugh flow into her ear.

“Congratulations on becoming mine, Miss Ellenore.”

And so, Enoch Bayern kidnapped Ellenore Lopez. It was around the time when the noonday sun began to tilt westward.

* * *

It seems I lost consciousness for a moment.

To be honest, I was scared. He looked like he was engulfed in madness as he beat Anderson like dough.

At that moment, I realized anew. The elegant arrogance and boredom that usually surrounded him were just the tip of the iceberg.

He was a war hero. That means he killed countless people in the war. A person who kills as easily as eating cannot be sane. Is that fierce madness a trace of the war, or is it his true nature?

Whatever the truth, one thing was certain. I had fallen into the hands of a man far more dangerous than I had thought.

I wonder if my stepmother has come to her senses? What happened to Marquis Anderson? ……He wouldn’t have died, right? The Lopez estate must be in chaos. By now, Father must have heard the news.

……I didn’t expect Enoch Bayern to go that far. I didn’t expect him to bring me all the way here……

I stared blankly at my bandaged hand. The treatment had just finished, and I had taken painkillers, so it no longer hurt. The maids helped me bathe to avoid getting the wound wet. That is, the maids of this Winter Palace……

“His Highness the Grand Duke has ordered us to take care of you with utmost sincerity. Please let us know if you need anything.”

“Ah, yes, thank you.”

These maids treated me like a porcelain doll. It was so bewildering and hard to adapt to that I was breaking out in a cold sweat.