The Young Male Protagonist Who is Destined for Ruin Fell for Me - Chapter 62

The heated breaths between their lips mingled deeply. Amel caressed the back of Kyle’s head, pulling him closer as their kiss deepened.
Kyle’s thoughts, filled with fiery desire and longing for her, only intensified the heat between them.

Amel planned to extract a small favor from him and then bring all those wicked thoughts swirling in his mind to life.
“You do know the ball is tomorrow, right?”
She tilted her chin toward the dress hanging on the wall. Kyle’s gaze flickered to the garment, quickly taking in its design. The exposed arms, shoulders, and neckline caught his attention.
“There are far too many areas I’ll have to resist staring at.”
“If you think you can’t control yourself, you’d better stop here.”

“…”

Though he enjoyed kissing the sensitive curve of her neck and hearing her soft gasps, Kyle decided to hold back tonight.

With a playful laugh, he scooped Amel into his arms. Her hair fanned out like a halo on the bed, releasing a soothing, familiar scent.
“Why are you smiling?”

“Because I’m happy. Now, hurry up and come closer so I can devour you.”

Amel teased, tugging at the collar of Kyle’s shirt. Even as their kiss continued, her nimble fingers undid his perfectly tied necktie.

Just as she managed to loosen it, a sudden knock interrupted the moment, echoing through the room.

“…”

“…”

The situation felt all too familiar. Amel and Kyle exchanged quick glances before springing into action.

Amel adjusted her dress, retying her ribbons as she headed toward the door. Meanwhile, Kyle dove into the large wardrobe, vanishing completely.
“Oh my, Princess Nadia? What brings you here at this hour?”
The unexpected visitor was none other than Princess Nadia. Amel cast a quick glance toward the wardrobe before stepping aside to invite the princess in.

“Apologies, Lady Diane. My thoughts are in disarray… May I trouble you for a conversation?”
Kyle had disappeared into the wardrobe without leaving a trace—not even a stray strand of hair. Amel subtly signaled her understanding before instructing her maid to prepare tea for the princess.

“Is something troubling you? You seem rather distressed.”
Amel couldn’t bring herself to dismiss Princess Nadia, even though her fiancé, brimming with unspent longing, was cooling off inside the wardrobe.

“I came here representing the imperial family, but it feels like you’re the one doing all the work. I can’t help but feel guilty.”

“Oh, not at all. We’re here as the delegation of the Hail Empire. Without Your Highness, we’d only invite ridicule.”

Their conversation continued for quite some time.
Meanwhile, inside the wardrobe, Kyle was feeling oddly proud of himself.

Unlike the last time when Countess Diane had caught him, this time he had managed to hide properly, jacket and all. The renowned adaptability of the Chaield family had elevated his clandestine escapades to a whole new level.
As he adjusted the tie Amel had undone, Kyle glanced through the wardrobe’s crack, watching her with a hint of satisfaction. However, he suddenly sensed an unsettling gaze and turned his head.

“Pfft… Oh, my apologies.”

“…”

One crucial detail he had overlooked in his haste—someone else was already hiding in the wardrobe. It was Vanessa Maybrante. Kyle’s face twisted into a scowl.

“What are you doing here?”

Kyle mouthed the words silently, his annoyance evident. Vanessa responded in a similarly muted tone.

“I was tending to the fur Lady Diane plans to wear tomorrow when someone entered. The atmosphere turned… well, intimate. I panicked and hid. Turns out it was you, Your Grace.”
“…”
Kyle silently finished fixing his tie, suppressing his irritation. Vanessa struggled to contain her laughter.
The sight of the great Duke Chaield darting into a wardrobe with the agility of an Arete artist was amusing enough. But the pride he took in having saved his jacket? That was priceless.
“Didn’t he mention getting caught by Countess Diane before?”

There was no doubt about it: the Duke was completely infatuated with Amel Diane. Vanessa had no intention of prolonging her interaction with a man so thoroughly smitten.
Kyle felt the same. He shrugged his jacket back on, carefully adjusting it. Just then, something slipped from his pocket and fell.

Before it could hit the ground and make a noise, Vanessa deftly caught it.
“What’s this? It’s not some strange potion, is it? Lady Diane already struggles to keep up with your stamina, Your Grace…”

“…”

Kyle took a moment to register the object. It was the small vial of “restorative” that Princess Lien had given him earlier.
“Restorative, my foot.”

Kyle could easily guess how Princess Lien had acquired it and why she had given it to him.
“I don’t know what’s in it, but I have no intention of drinking it. Dispose of it discreetly without leaving a trace.”

“Understood. Though… this…”

Vanessa tilted the vial, letting the faint light filtering through the wardrobe’s crack illuminate the shimmering liquid. It sparkled like a fragment of the galaxy.

“Why does this look so familiar? I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before…”

Around the same time, in the study of the Chaield family’s ducal estate in the Hail Empire, Claire Chaield paused as she unfolded a newspaper. Her gaze shifted to the window, staring out into the night.

Amelia Lake, which should have been shimmering beautifully and brightly, looked dull and gray.
“It’s been raining for days now.”
As if filling in for Kyle Chaield in his absence wasn’t dismal enough, the dreary weather made things worse.

Without the lively and radiant presence of Amelia Diane, who used to brighten the expansive atmosphere of the Chaield estate, everything felt even more unpleasant. Just as Claire propped her chin in her hand absentmindedly, someone approached.

“Lady Claire, the report is ready. Shall we bring them in now?”

One of the agents from the Chaield Intelligence Department bowed as they spoke. The report would undoubtedly be about the incident from a few days ago. Claire’s previously indifferent expression turned cold and sharp.
A few days prior, Claire had mobilized the Chaield Intelligence and Special Forces. Their target was Marabas Lydell, the alchemist who had threatened Amel’s safety in the dead of night.
Luckily, they had already secured the testimony of Vanessa, one of Marabas’s former colleagues, before she left for Keltman. With that information in hand, the mission had been straightforward.

Claire had issued a single order to Chaield’s well-trained hounds: capture the alchemist Marabas Lydell alive.

“Even Chaield can falter, it seems.”
However, the joint operation between the Intelligence and Special Forces had ended in failure. They successfully located Marabas’s residence at the outskirts of the Hail Empire and surrounded it, but when they infiltrated the building, Marabas used alchemical pills and scrolls to escape.

This was the gist of the mission’s failure, as Claire had briefly heard.
“Let’s hear the details now. If there’s any material I need to see, bring it over.”
“We’ve prepared a site sketch based on the testimony of our agents.”

“What’s the current state of the scene?”
“We’ve acquired Marabas’s residence and its surroundings through the proper procedures. The magical scrolls and pills found inside are currently under analysis.”

“I expected better from those trusted by the Duke. Your work seems slower than I anticipated. Continue with your report. What was the situation during the infiltration?”

Bruno, the head of the Chaield Intelligence Department, frowned as he recalled the incident. The bizarre scene still haunted his thoughts.
“Marabas’s residence was a modest, single-story brick house. As soon as we opened the door, the pills dispersed a gas that clouded our minds.”
“If you had been wearing gas masks, such an absurd result as mass incapacitation wouldn’t have occurred.”

“We did enter with gas masks, but… there was a complication.”

“A complication? Did Marabas approach you and remove your masks one by one?”

Bruno swallowed hard before answering. The memory of that moment still sent shivers down his spine.
“Everyone removed their masks with their own hands, as if under a spell… The agents stationed outside tried to intervene, but as soon as they entered the building, they too removed their masks.”

“Are you saying their hands moved on their own?”
“Yes. I have no better explanation to offer. My apologies.”

The elite agents of Chaield, equipped with top-tier protective gear, were not easily subdued by magic. So, the power that had ensnared them must have been…

“Did Marabas wear any particular accessory? It’s likely he possesses an Arete that manipulates minds.”
“Yes. He had a necklace with a large central gemstone.”

Claire shuffled through the sketches in her hand. As Bruno described, Marabas was depicted wearing a necklace adorned with gemstones coiled around his arm.

“It’s the Harmonia Necklace.”
This confirmed her suspicion. Marabas had undoubtedly stolen the Harmonia Necklace through Count Gargoyle’s subordinates and used it to acquire a powerful mental Arete.
A highly potent one, at that.

“If the target had an Arete, I understand why it was difficult. Anything else of note?”
“Before Marabas fled, he took… not an object, but a person.”

“A person?”

When something catastrophic occurs, people tend to secure what’s most important to them. In Claire’s case, it would be her expensive earrings that allowed her to use her Arete.

“In that situation, who would he prioritize? A wife or a lover?”
“It didn’t seem like that. None of us were in our right minds, so I can’t say for certain, but the woman appeared to be an elderly lady.”
“An elderly lady… Marabas chose to save her in a critical moment?”

Claire sighed and considered the possibilities. Perhaps the old woman was a valuable Arete user.
Arete is a power that manifests according to the wielder’s desires, based on their Arete gem. This made preparing for its effects nearly impossible.
“It’s possible her power is related to time or age. If Marabas and the woman target us together, it could be troublesome.”

Alternatively, the old woman could be a subject of Marabas’s research. After all, Marabas was a former Royal Alchemist of Traiha.
Hadn’t he already attacked the Chaield estate once, commanding dolls made from corpses?
“Perhaps now he intends to create a living puppet using that woman.”

If so, it was an utterly repulsive experiment. Claire frowned and posed another question.
“Was the old woman a research subject?”

“It’s difficult to say for sure. However, Marabas’s belongings are being transported to Chaield for analysis. We’ll have results soon.”
“Make no mistakes.”

Claire brushed back her black hair and skimmed through the sketches Bruno had handed over. Her gaze lingered on the relatively accurate portrait of Marabas.

“Report to me immediately if there are any developments. And continue pursuing Marabas Lydell.”

“By pursuit, do you mean…”

“Unlike the Duke, I’m not lenient. Bring him back with his life and his tongue intact. Nothing more.”

Crack. The portrait of Marabas crumpled in her hand.