The Beast's Confession
Canna gripped the doorknob and twisted it up and down.
Click. Click. The metallic clack echoed. As expected, the door remained firmly locked.
“What the hell is this…”
The moment she tried to protest, a shadow that had approached without a sound swallowed her whole.
Canna instinctively held her breath at the sight of that pitch-black figure.
It was different from usual.
That shadow. The presence standing behind her. His breath. The weight of the air surrounding them pressed heavily down on her shoulders.
Then Kallen reached out from behind. He gently pressed down on the back of her hand, which still gripped the knob.
The instant their skin touched, goosebumps erupted from the point of contact and raced across her body.
“Canna.”
His breath fell against the nape of her neck. Canna froze completely.
Kallen wrapped his fingers around hers and pulled her hand away from the knob. Then he let out a sigh-like laugh.
“Does he call you that as well?”
Thump. Kallen’s chin came to rest on top of her head.
He leaned against her as if seeking support, or perhaps embracing her—or maybe in a posture that was neither—transferring his weight onto her.
“For the three hours that man stayed in your bedroom, I was out of my mind.”
“……”
“I kept wondering what the two of you were doing.”
“……”
“What you might be doing.”
Canna’s throat closed up.
It felt as if thorns had sprouted in the air; every breath stung her lungs.
She couldn’t believe what Kallen was saying right now.
No—she couldn’t bring herself to believe it. She didn’t want to believe it.
“Did that bastard touch you? This soft hair… this dazzling skin…”
Kallen’s fingertips traveled up her wrist. Like a spider, they crawled along her arm, brushed her shoulder, and reached the nape of her neck.
“You’re tense.”
He looked down at her. Canna had gone completely rigid, even her breathing halted.
Kallen let out a soft chuckle.
“Don’t be nervous.”
“You…”
Canna’s voice trembled.
She had faced countless hardships, yet she had never shaken even in the face of death.
“Just what the hell are you…”
But now it was so horrifying that it felt truly terrifying.
Canna’s face turned deathly pale. Cold sweat beaded in her palms.
“What are you even saying?”
“I wonder. What does it sound like I’m saying?”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“If you ask me that, I can only give the obvious answer—that I’ve gone mad for you.”
For a moment, her vision went white. Her legs buckled.
Canna braced herself against the wall.
She felt like she was going to vomit.
Kallen… looking at me.
Looking at me with those eyes.
“Ugh!”
She couldn’t hold back the nausea.
When Canna doubled over, Kallen gently stroked her back. The touch sent a chill racing through her.
“Don’t touch me!”
Canna violently shook off his hand. A revulsion far different from anything she had felt before surged through her.
“It’s disgusting.”
She pressed herself flat against the wall and glared at him.
“Kallen Addis, how dare you look at me that way…!”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
Kallen cut her off sharply.
“I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t.”
His face was eerily calm. That serene expression was almost impossible to believe.
As he stepped closer, Canna backed away. But there was nowhere left to retreat.
“Don’t come near me.”
“Do you treat that priest the same way? Do you keep him from getting close as well?”
Though his tone was calm, Kallen’s eyes flickered with jealousy.
“In that small bedroom, you couldn’t have stayed that far apart for several hours.”
Her back hit the door. Canna clenched her fists. A fierce conflict raged inside her.
Should I kill him?
The ring on her finger.
It was the ring that concealed the poisoned needle she had used to kill Crescent.
If Kallen tried anything—
No.
Canna gritted her teeth. Not here. Not right now. It would blow everything out of proportion. It would ruin everything.
If she killed Kallen, what then?
The knights outside? Claude?
The countless servants?
Her carefully prepared escape plan would be completely destroyed. Utterly.
No. I can’t ruin the plan.
So she had to endure for now. She needed to calm Kallen down first…
No. I can’t.
She simply couldn’t hold it in. In the end, Canna spat out her true feelings.
“You’re insane.”
“Is that what you think?”
“Yes. Don’t lay a single finger on my body, you filthy beast.”
Kallen smiled again. He didn’t even flinch at her raw condemnation.
“If loving you makes me a beast, then I don’t mind being one.”
It seemed no words from her could wound him anymore. He simply smiled with clear, bright eyes and stepped closer.
“You don’t like it? This is your sister’s handiwork. She made me this way.”
One step. Another step.
“You turned me into a beast without morals or reason.”
The next moment, he pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket. In one swift motion, he pressed it over Canna’s mouth.
While pinning down her struggling body, Kallen whispered into her ear.
“It’s all because of you. You’ve completely captured everything that I am.”
His voice was thick with dark ecstasy.
“If you’ve captured me, then you should rule over me.”
Canna opened her eyes. Her entire body felt heavy.
“Ugh…”
So dizzy. I feel like I’m going to throw up.
Canna clutched her head, suffering from a terrible bout of vertigo, then forced herself upright.
The moment she did, the soft texture beneath her hand made her flinch.
…This is.
A bed.
What happened?
Enduring the headache, Canna looked around.
This was a bedroom. The room given to her in the mansion on Riben Island.
“You’re awake?”
Canna spun around in alarm. Her eyes widened in shock.
“…Leah.”
The maid Leah was standing there.
But how? Shouldn’t she be at the mansion in the capital?
“Lord Kallen ordered me to serve you with the utmost care, my lady.”
Kallen. The name acted like a trigger, flooding her with memories.
She had eaten with him, couldn’t hold back when he spoke of Raphael and stormed out of her seat, and then…
Ah.
She had heard that bastard’s disgusting confession.
And then she had lost consciousness.
Canna realized the cause of her dizziness. The handkerchief Kallen had pressed over her mouth must have been drugged.
“I changed your clothes for you.”
“…”
“If there is anything uncomfortable, please let me know, my lady.”
Canna stared up at Leah.
Leah. The capable maid Kallen had assigned to her.
She had known from the beginning that Leah was Kallen’s person. Strangely enough, she felt no sense of betrayal now. Only bitter amusement.
“My lady?”
Canna let out a dry laugh and muttered.
“You stood by while Kallen pulled this kind of stunt, and now you call me ‘my lady’?”
“How would you like your meal prepared?”
“Get out.”
“If you need anything, please call me anytime.”
As if she had expected the rebuke, Leah’s expression didn’t change at all.
Once the maid left, Canna collapsed back onto the bed.
Her stomach churned. Every inch of her body ached; there wasn’t a single spot that didn’t hurt. The sleeping drug used here was quite potent, and the aftereffects were severe.
Canna clutched the blanket tightly.
It was horrific. All of it.
The thought that Kallen had been looking at her with those eyes made nausea rise again.
It hadn’t been long since she learned they weren’t truly siblings.
The same was true for both Kallen and her.
Until just recently, they had lived their entire lives believing they were family.
And yet something like this was happening?
That bastard has completely lost his mind.
No matter how poorly they had treated each other, they had still lived thinking of one another as family.
How was I supposed to know that kind of filth was hiding in his heart? The very idea is abnormal!
Unable to contain her rage, Canna slammed her fist into the pillow.
That son of a bitch!
He was interfering until the very end!
Until the bitter end!
No. He won’t ruin my plans. I won’t let him. Never.
Canna suppressed her fury. She quickly regained her composure, sat up, and checked her belongings.
As expected, all her alchemical tools and defensive medicines had been taken. He had forcibly knocked her out and made his move.
Canna let out a hollow laugh.
“You’ve really made up your mind, Kallen Addis.”
Though her efforts had been in vain, the most important items had been left untouched. The alchemical ink made by mixing mana stones with blood had been overlooked. And the glass bottle filled with star candies remained as well.
To anyone else, they would look like cheap sweets, but they were actually the medicine that changed her hair and eye color.
She had disguised them this way as a precaution for unforeseen situations, making them appear worthless so no one would bother taking them.
Still, I never imagined Kallen would do this.
The enemies in her mind had been the Empress, the Emperor, Claude, or their spies.
Not a younger brother consumed by lust for her, eyes rolled back in madness!
Still, thanks to her thorough preparations, there would be no hindrance to carrying out her plan.
But what if Kallen tries to imprison me in this mansion by force?
Canna looked down at her ring.
Kallen was the heir to the Addis family.
Killing him would be an incident on a completely different scale from her escape. If things went wrong, her entire plan could fall apart.
That is something I must avoid at all costs.
But if Kallen continued to stand in her way until the end…
There’s no other choice.
Right before her escape, she would lure him to a quiet, secluded place where no one could see.
And then she would kill Kallen Addis.
Kallen was filled with a sense of satiety.
A profound satisfaction swelled in his chest. He felt as though he wouldn’t need to eat for several days.
Canna was on his island.
She would no longer meet that man named Raphael.
At last, he felt like he could live again.
Of course, he knew the feeling was only temporary, but he still savored this happiness.
When dawn broke and he received word that Canna had woken up, he headed straight to her.
“Sister, I’m coming in.”