Grand Duke, I Like You, But Please Die! - Chapter 31

‘To think all that chaos happens because of this…… I wrote it, but it’s really tragic.’

Just as she took a deep breath and was about to inhale deeply from the dish, a rough hand suddenly snatched the dish away.

“Delia!”

Kaiel, who had been quietly watching her from behind, rushed over in an instant.

“Now…… No, what on earth…….”

He threw the dish onto the desk and glared at Delia. No, more than just glaring, he looked quite flustered.

Delia scratched her head.

She didn’t hear any sound, so when did he follow her here again?

‘I shouldn’t have let Kaiel catch me in this situation…….’

That’s why she openly said she was going to the lab instead of sneaking out at night. She thought he wouldn’t suspect anything if she went out confidently.

Though his following her might not have been entirely out of suspicion, Delia had no time to think about it.

Kaiel grabbed Delia’s shoulders roughly. The strength of his grip made her shoulders ache.

Delia spoke with an awkward expression.

“Kaiel. I’m not doing anything bad.”

Kaiel didn’t respond.

“Um……. Really, I’m not.”

Delia smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“To see the effects of the drug, I have to test it. ……My shoulders hurt, Kaiel.”

He seemed unaware that he was gripping her shoulders so tightly and immediately let go.

After taking a deep breath as if trying to suppress his anger, he spoke.

“Delia.”

She thought she knew why he was so angry. That’s why she tried to avoid his eyes for the experiment.

‘Kaiel has always hated lapocia. He couldn’t help but be angry seeing drugs right in front of him.’

“Delia!”

“Yes.”

She answered with a deliberately cute tone and took a step back.

But he stepped forward even more, continuing to push her back. She had no choice but to retreat.

“Ka, Ka…….”

Until her back hit the desk and she had nowhere else to go, Delia looked up at him with startled eyes.

‘This posture is a bit…….’

Because he was so close, Delia was barely supporting herself with her elbows to keep her waist from bending backward against the desk.

She felt quite uncomfortable. Not because she disliked it, but because she liked it.

‘If this were a romance, this posture would be quite dangerous!’

It was a posture where he could have kissed her roughly, but that was only happening in Delia’s mind.

It was a bit absurd that she was actually being scolded in this posture.

“No…… really, that action was just for the experiment…….”

“Why are you doing it?”

His extremely suppressed low voice resonated.

“I never told you to do that.”

“It was something I wanted to do from the beginning……. Kaiel, step back a bit.”

“That’s crazy, Delia. You’ve completely lost your mind.”

“You didn’t just realize that now, did you?”

The pressure of him standing in front of her was too much, so Delia wriggled and pulled out her hands. Then she lightly pushed against his chest.

But lightly pushing didn’t work, of course.

“Can you listen to me first? ……While we’re both properly seated?”

As she pushed harder with her outstretched hands, she vividly felt his firm chest and quickly withdrew her hands in surprise.

He still didn’t seem to have any intention of stepping back.

In the end, she exaggeratedly whined.

“Oh my, Kaiel! In this posture, any conversation is difficult! Even if you don’t care because you’re not interested in me, I want to hug you right now! Do I have to kiss you to make you step back?”

“……!”

Only then did Kaiel step back.

Straightening her half-bent back, Delia stood up and patted her aching waist.

“Kaiel, you seem to turn into a fool when you’re angry.”

But even such trivial teasing didn’t seem to work. Kaiel ran his hand through his hair as if to cool down.

“The experiment is over. Stop it now.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Anyone who thinks of doing a dangerous experiment on their own body is not needed.”

Delia, now frustrated, shouted.

“Then who will do it……!”

Kaiel spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

“There are already many others addicted to lapocia.”

“Are you going to experiment on them when there might be side effects?”

“Still, it’s better than involving innocent people…….”

“What crime did those people commit to become test subjects?”

He seemed to agree with her and closed his mouth, but then he spoke again.

“Then I will do it.”

With his words, the system notification sound rang.

Ding.

[The system has detected an opportunity.]
[Defeat the villain ‘Kaiel Ceder’ to fulfill the author’s responsibility.]

This damn system even kindly informed her of the timing to kill him.

Delia was momentarily tempted, but unfortunately, she had no intention of doing so right now.

‘It should be fine for now. I’m just delaying it a bit.’

Delia spoke firmly to Kaiel.

“No. If the antidote causes side effects, you could die.”

This time, Kaiel shouted, feeling frustrated.

“Then Delia, you……!”

Kaiel, who had momentarily raised his voice, sighed and asked calmly again.

“Are you saying it’s okay for you to die?”

“I’m fine.”

Delia was telling the truth, but from the listener’s perspective, it was incredibly frustrating.

Kaiel was momentarily at a loss for words. His eyes shook slightly.

For a human, it was impossible to be this indifferent about one’s own life. No matter how much someone wanted to die, when faced with actual danger, they would struggle to survive—that’s human nature.

After a long pause, he asked cautiously.

“Did you receive a terminal diagnosis or something? Or did you follow me with the intention of dying from the start?”

At his words, Delia rolled her eyes and then burst into laughter.

“Of course not.”

She didn’t plan to die. Even though she had a mission to kill the man in front of her, whom she didn’t want to kill even if it meant her own death.

Delia added with a laugh.

“I told you, I won’t die.”

Although she had said it several times before, this time Kaiel’s reaction was subtly different. He slowly approached her after hearing those words.

Unlike earlier when he had aggressively cornered her, now he moved with the tension of a predator stalking its prey.

“Why, why…… why?”

Sensing something ominous, Delia found her feet glued to the floor, unable to move.

At that moment, his large hand settled on her neck.

At first, it rested gently, but as soon as he gripped her neck, the pressure gradually increased.

‘What…… what is this! What’s happening……?’

The pressure intensified to the point where it felt like her neck might actually break.

A painful groan escaped from her mouth.

“Ugh…… Ka, Kaiel…….”

Her voice came out as a scratchy sound due to the lack of air.

Feeling like she might die, Delia’s mind began to blur.

“If I apply just a little more force, I could snap your neck right here.”

What was he talking about, when her neck was already on the verge of breaking!

Delia gritted her teeth and tried to pry his hand off her neck. A warning bell rang in her head, telling her she might actually die.

Even though she knew she wouldn’t die, death was still terrifying.

At that moment, a cheerful notification sound rang in her dizzy head.

Ding.

[The villain ‘Kaiel’ feels anger.]
[Plausibility score increases by 30 points.]

“Delia.”

Finally, he released his grip on her neck.

A red handprint was clearly visible on her neck.

Delia clutched her neck and slumped to the floor.

Her blocked breath burst out in a fit of coughing, causing her lungs to ache.

“Delia.”

Reaching out his hand to her, he hesitated for a moment before withdrawing it.

“Everyone can die. Please…… take care of your body.”

Kaiel’s hand trembled slightly. Of course, Delia was too busy gasping for breath to notice his state.

Kaiel clenched his fist so tightly that the tendons stood out, as if trying to erase the sensation of her hot neck from his hand.

Her neck had been maddeningly soft and fragile. It was so slender that it could have easily snapped.

Even though he had applied as little force as possible, her neck bore red marks.

That fact made him even angrier.

Delia, who was lying on the floor, felt as though she had been hit hard. Not, it was more than just being hit.

‘Did I almost die at Kaiel’s hands just now? Really?’

The system said she wouldn’t die, but she was still worried.

‘If Kaiel had continued to apply force, wouldn’t I have died? Does the system have a way to prevent me from dying at that moment?’