Avoid 19-rated content

Chapter 48

Suddenly, fear overwhelmed me. My eyes and nose stung due to the smoke. Dang, dung, dung... The clock was ringing so regularly that it felt cruel.

I retraced my steps in the chaotic hallway and returned to the room. Then, I closed the door firmly and locked it. My hands were trembling slightly. I had a feeling that this explosion somehow had a connection to the note I had received.

Shortly after, that prediction proved to be accurate.

"If you're hurt, take a rest. Why did you study? That's amazing"

A low and affectionate voice sent shivers down my spine from behind. I turned around as if pricked by a thorn. There stood a man wearing a black cloak, only revealing his eyes. He was sitting on the desk, twisting his waist, and flipping through the magical potion book I had been reading. He lifted his head, and the eyes revealed outside the mask were a beautiful shade of pink.

"...Seems like you're not a real knight."

I wondered how the real Del Narcissus would have responded in this situation. Despite my efforts to casually speak, the unmistakable deep voice came out.

Andrea chuckled at my words. His deep and gentle eyes softened and then found their shape. He pulled down the mask below his chin, revealing his whole face. When I saw his handsome face filled with good energy, even his appearance wrapped in all black felt like a model from a fashion magazine.

The beauty world is no joke. I need to snap out of it.

I gritted my teeth, clenched my fists, and spoke sharply.

"You sent the note and detonated the bomb, right? How did you put that strange capsule in my mouth?"

"Haha. I'm glad you noticed."

He scratched his cheek lightly with his index finger, wearing a shy smile. That gesture was so unsettling.

"Isn't that a compliment?"

He quickly stiffened his expression, suppressing his laughter. That made it even more infuriating. Anger was growing stronger than fear. Why on earth would someone, who used to be so reserved, suddenly become suspicious and carry out stalking and bomb attacks? Is this normal?

The more I thought about it, the more puzzled I became. As my chest rose and fell more prominently, and my breathing became uneven, Andrea pitifully furrowed his eyebrows.

"Whatever you say, I am Del Narcissus. Well, I did I say thank you more politely than before? So what? People can change their ways. Why not! What's it to you!"

Whether the fuse in my head had blown or the unconscious calculation that pushing confidently would make me less suspicious, I found myself speaking loudly. I approached Andrea, held my chin firmly, and sent him a hostile gaze. It was a confident expression that said there was nothing to fear.

Andrea calmly looked at me as I came close to him. His lips as if ready to burst into a broad smile at any moment, slowly parted.

"Like freshly baked bread."

"...What?"

"This was the password Narcissus gave when he came to request Cruel, that was the code."

'Your hand feels like freshly baked bread. Warm and soft."

I remembered Andrea whispering those words in my ear out of the blue in the cabin.

"You didn't understand it at all. Then and now, right?"

Speaking like a teacher patiently explaining to a clueless student, he raised an eyebrow and asked, folding the corner of his eyes.

"Have you remembered who Max is?"