Chapter 12: 8.1

A Clever Man (1)

Joshua has a gentle disposition, and his subjects admire him for it.

When the people around him saw how excellent his manners were, they already expected him to rule the empire well in the future.

His kindness wasn’t just a facade because he was naturally intelligent and clever.

Yet, it was only natural for Joshua to be seen as calm and laid-back if he regarded every one with respect.

Those who had no idea how crafty he could only know his good side.

“I heard Ariad wasn’t feeling well, so I brought some fruits.”

The following day, Joshua visited Sohee’s bedroom.

She lay down on her bed while someone groveled behind her.

The Marquis of Bandelli was one of the men who got poorly burned by Joshua’s shrewdness.

Since Joshua knew of Bandelli’s weakness, the latter had spied on his every move daily to find some confidential information he could use against him.

When the spy heard that Joshua would take care of Ariad, he quickly hid.

“I’ll cut the fruit for you and serve it with toppings.”

When Joshua lifted the knife and bent his back for about ninety degrees to start cutting, So-hee vigorously shook her head in refusal when she caught sight of Bandelli.

“Oh. No. No. No. Your Grace. I don’t need it.”

“Tell me what you need.”

If she asked him to pick a star in the night sky, would he go to outer space?

Bandelli glanced at Joshua sitting next to Ariad.

When their eyes met, he bowed his head in fear.

“Bandelli,” Joshua called darkly.

“Yes. Yes.” Bandelli replied in haste.

“I do need something from you.” He said in a deep baritone.

“What is it? I’m going to—-”

“Get out.”

“What?”

“Don’t make a scene this early. Just get out of here.”

Bandelli broke a sweat when his archenemy’s indifferent gaze rested on his face.

He couldn’t even bring himself to respond.

He crouched as if that would keep him hidden from plain sight and simply stepped out of the room.

Joshua resumed cutting the fruits on the table and put a few slices in her mouth.

“Why are you so angry this morning?”  So-hee asked, mumbling.

“I want to be alone with you, but  there’s just too much noise.”

What?

She must have turned into the female lead in her web novel.

As expected, having sex with Joshua was the best choice.

So-hee was deeply moved about this, but her anxiety grew every time their eyes met.

His eerie blood-red gaze felt like it came from a child’s strong desire to possess a doll.

She shivered nervously as if a cold breeze had blown on the expanse of her skin.

Joshua stared at her lips and caressed them with his thumb.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you want to f*ck me.”

“What? What did you say?”

So-hee’s face had turned red from his strange assumption.

Yesterday, the air around them had crackled with excitement.

Now, the atmosphere had burned with that same heat.

Joshua smirked at her blushing ears.

“Pervert.”

“I can’t refute that fact.” He said with nonchalance.

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After throwing that verbal grenade, So-hee burst into anger.

“You’re not a beast but a human being, Joshua! Learn to rein it in.”

So-hee recognized who he was when he told her that he only had sexual desire left for Ariad.

Joshua was nothing but a beast.

“Well, if you’re a beast and not a human being—-”

“What?”

“Will we have sexual relations again today?”

She was officially insane if she thought it wasn’t that bad.

Scandalized at the flow of her own thoughts, So-hee slapped her cheek with her right hand.

Wake up, b*tch.

But, the idea wasn’t truly that bad.

“What are you doing, Ariad?”

Joshua’s brows furrowed when he saw her slap herself.

His hand caressed her swollen cheek in gentle strokes.

“Ariad, don’t mess with your body anymore.”

The way he spoke to her sounded very sweet, as if he had already forgotten what he told her.

That he would love to watch her face contort in pain as he tied her up and punished her.

That all he wanted to do was destroy her as she did him.

Did he still remember that dark promise… or was he pretending not to know?

So-hee examined him in silence.

When  Joshua met her gaze, he flashed her a grin before peeling another fruit.

She continued to scan his handsome face carefully.

Despite his innocent charisma, she should never dismiss this man as an easy target.

Bandelli, who had groveled in front of her earlier, siphoned money from the royal family and placed them into her back pocket for a long time.

Joshua knew about it like a ghost and even mentioned it to her.

Afterward, that stupid Bandelli ordered someone to tail Joshua just to please him.

Joshua shouldn’t have been aware of that, but he was.

He allowed that spy to fixate on him for a while without letting him know he was aware of his presence so that someday he could use him whenever he needed him.

This way, Joshua could cut Bandelli’s head off anytime he preferred by using his spy as evidence of treason.

It was stupid of Bandelli to try assassinating the Crown Prince.

Did Joshua want to kill Bandelli?

No, he’s just a chess piece.

To kill Deon and Ariad.

“You’re scary, Joshua.”

Even though he was a character she made, meeting him in person had caused her a lot of discomforts.

If this was real, she would choose to stay away from him.

Joshua was just a sociopath who was only kind to the female lead.

Kelly.

She would have avoided him like the plague if she had no personal mission to become this webnovel’s female lead.

Joshua fed another slice of fruit into her mouth.

“Ariad.” His low voice disturbed her. “You better stop looking at me.”

“Your gaze can’t leave my eyes at will, either.”

Groaning, Joshua pushed her backward as his large body climbed onto the bed.

“Then, keep looking. Don’t stop.”

“What? Hey! What are you doing?”

Before she knew it, Joshua was already glancing down at her.

His thick arms firmly blocked both sides of her so that she could not escape.

“You know what I’m trying to do, Ariad.”

Joshua lowered his head towards Ariad’s luscious lips.

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