Chapter 10: The Fastest Way to Become a Successful Fan (10)

This was the first time Hades called me by my first name alone, so I was somewhat baffled.

Hades reached out to my left wrist and curled his fingers around it. He began rubbing the hard part of my inner wrist softly with his thumb.

“You need not worry about such things. I’m sure you know this better than anyone, but you can say that there is no one in this empire who can harm me.”

“….”

“That goes for Abel as well. I am his father, and it is my duty to protect him. And if there are those who dare to even think about harming Abel, I will find them, and I will exterminate every single one of them before they could even approach him. But not only that….”

Hades paused briefly, then continued, “It’s also my duty as your husband to protect you from anything and everything. It’s not you who should be offering me help. It’s me, who will ensure that not a hair on your body is harmed.”

The supposedly cold and distant duke’s heartfelt words left me speechless.

“And know that you can count on me. I am strong enough to defend you from all kinds of danger in this world. So what I’m trying to say is that it’s pointless to worry about any hypothetical injuries that would lead to my untimely demise,” said the man fated to die in a year.

‘What a pity,’ I thought. If only the heroine who has awakened her powers was here with us next year, she would be able to prevent Abel’s powers going out of control and nobody would have to die.

Deborah was four years younger than Abel, which meant she was only six years old right now. She was still too young to offer Hades and Abel their much-needed salvation.

“So please, worry only about yourself.”

After my conversation with Hades that day, I finally understood why Abel mourned for his father until the novel’s final act.

Hades Louvremont.

Aside from his narcissistic qualities, he was undeniably a charming man. No one could be more reliable than him.

After being wrought with grief for losing such a father, and the overwhelming guilt he must’ve felt for feeling responsible for his father’s death…, I couldn’t even begin to imagine the degree to which Abel must have suffered, and it made me a little sad.

* * *

“I don’t think I would be of much use to you. I thought about it several times over, and I just can’t see myself as someone worthy of the Louvremont name.”

“If only I was a more useful and resourceful woman… then if Your Grace or Childe Abel were to suffer injuries, I could be at least of some help to you.”

Hades thought about Aisha for a long time, even after she left his room. As expected, Aisha thought she wasn’t cut out for the position of the duchess. She probably never even dreamed of becoming his wife, despite her relentless pursuit and devotion.

Hades found himself wishing Aisha would be a little greedier. He wanted to see her happy. For example, with the title of the duchess that would soon come with her name or with the vast fortune she would earn through their marriage.

But just as Aisha watched Hades for a long time, Hades also spent a lot of time investigating Aisha. And he knew she wasn’t particularly obsessed with extravagance; on the contrary, she’d saved up money so that she could buy Hades an expensive sword as a gift. She never even approached him, as if she was happy just watching him from afar.

It was precisely due to this humble nature that Hades may have felt slightly indebted to Aisha. Even the fact that she’d so willingly accepted Abel, who was known to be his love child, should be a decision that any other noblewomen would not have been able to make.

And what was more, she was genuinely worried about him — the most powerful man in the whole empire — even though she was much weaker and much more fragile.

‘Just what part of me did you fall in love with?’

Countless women from all over the empire pursued him, but Hades never gave them a second glance. He knew their whispers of love were fake. But Aisha was different. He could feel his own body become warm from the frighteningly genuine love that he could tell from a mile away.

Hades leaned back in his chair and covered his eyes with his cold hand. His face suddenly felt burning hot.

* * *

When I arrived at the dining room, I ran into Abel sitting alone at the dining table.

This was my first time meeting Abel here. I glanced at the empty seats, then took the seat next to Abel, pretending to be clueless. Thankfully, he welcomed me.

“May I sit next to you?”

“Huh?! Of course! It would be an honor…,” Abel murmured shyly with flushed cheeks.

To think that the humble me sitting next to my bias is an ‘honor for him’…. Honestly, this second life was too good to be true.

“You seem troubled with something. Or am I mistaken?”

Even before I asked, I knew Abel was distraught with something. I wasn’t the kind of stan who couldn’t recognize the change in her bias’ expression.

“Ah, that’s… you should know… Countess Gasfelle is supposed to visit us tonight. I’m supposed to be tutored by her, but honestly, I’m just worried. Because I am lacking in many ways….”

“You shouldn’t think like that. Let me assure you that there are no other children as excellent as you, Childe Louvremont.”

“Huh?! N-no, you’re wrong! Even during our stroll, I… to be honest, I don’t really understand why you are so kind towards me. I seem to only cause problems for my father.”

I felt awful looking at Abel’s dim expression. Although I knew about it, Abel’s self-esteem seemed to have been reduced to almost nothing — as low as my magical abilities — because of the constant mocking and humiliation from his surroundings. And I knew from the way little Abel was trembling that Count and Countess Gasfelle were two of the primary perpetrators.

Pity rose within me, and I reached under the table and took Abel’s shaking hand in mine. Abel flinched, then looked up at me.

“Don’t worry too much.”

Abel stared at me, dazed. Soon, he gave a big nod. His tiny fingers wrapped tightly around mine like a drowning person desperately holding onto a lifebuoy. His palm was drenched with sweat.

“Lady Heathcliff. You know, I…,” Abel continued with a faint smile, “I would love it if you could marry my father.”

“Huh?”

“To be honest, I have no interest in receiving my father’s inheritance. And, if I my younger sibling is born between you and father….”

A younger… what?

Startled by the unexpected topic, I continued to listen nonetheless because Abel looked so serious.

“I would most definitely request that Father has my younger sibling to become his successor. So, what I’m trying to say is… please remain here with us,” Abel said with careful eagerness.

“I don’t want my father to live out a lonely life just for my sake. And I know I’m being selfish by burdening you with all of this but, there would be nothing more I could desire in this world than if a kind, sweet, and beautiful person like you were by my father’s side.”

So what Abel really meant by ‘remain here with us’ was, rather than liking me, he was worried about his father dying as an old bachelor.

“…Alright.”

But I didn’t really mind. I was happy either way. Though, I had to admit. I was a bit jealous of Hades, I knew their relationship wasn’t something that I could trump.

For a while, we just sat smiling at each other.

Suddenly, people I hadn’t seen before entered the dining room.

One was a tall, old man with straight posture; the other was a middle-aged woman who exuded pettiness from all over her body, especially her face, that contained deep traces of time. Hades was the last to enter the room.

I was about to stand up when suddenly Abel shouted at the top of his lungs.

“L-long time no see!”

I was startled by Abel’s voice reverberating inside the entire dining room. His body was stiff with tension, like a new army recruit who just got assigned to his station.

As expected, both Count and Countess Gasfelle ignored Abel’s greeting and sat down. It wasn’t until everyone, including Hades, settled down in their seats that I finally mustered up the courage to introduce myself.

“I am Aisha Heathcliff from the Heathcliff barony. It’s an honor to meet you, Count and Countess Gasfelle.”

The couple’s sharp eyes studied me.

I felt more pressured by Countess Gasfelle’s gaze. Her hair, jet black with occasional strands of white hair, was pulled back into a tight bun, and her crimson eyes scanned me like I was some sort of specimen.

She looked like an older, female version of Hades. It was a little unsettling how much they looked alike.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. It seems we’ll be seeing each other more often from now on. I am Mason Gasfelle.”

Although Count Gasfelle did nothing to hide his disapproval, he still spoke to me courteously. The problem was his wife and Hades’ mother-like sister, Countess Gasfelle.

“I am Agatha Gasfelle. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Heathcliff.”

“It’s an honor.”

“I was told you came all the way up to the North all by yourself?”

The countess asked in a surprisingly kind tone, unlike how she looked. It almost fooled me into thinking she might actually be kind and polite, despite what I’d read about her in the novel.

“Yes, that’s….”

But her kindness only lasted for a moment.

“But to think you’d travel all this way to seduce a man, I was quite astonished by your audacity. Because if you were a half-decent lady with a sense of shame, I’m certain that you would have acted with more caution and self-awareness.”

Silence descended upon the room.

My mind went blank with shock. I sat still, blinking sheepishly as I tried to make sense of her words.

Hades quickly intervened, “Agatha, are you out of your mind?”