The Male Lead Is Obsessed With Proposing to Me - Chapter 72

66. 66. The most terrible thing

The piercing cries of crows echoed, jolting Senelia back to reality. 

Instinctively, her body lurched at the reminder of what the bird’s shrieks symbolized. 

Cliff de Helios. 

When he was summoning her. 

Lucalina’s wrath was a result of Clifford testing Senelia, specifically evaluating her effectiveness as a leash for Benelucia.

Giggeek, Giggeek.

If Senelia were a magical contraption, her joints might have made that sound as she moved. 

Her head slowly and cautiously turned towards Benelucia.

“It seems you’ve suffered serious injuries. It seems to be understandable as it was reported that the terrain where Lady Lucalina was located was so treacherous that the priests can’t reach there right now.”

“Does that even make sense?!”

Benelucia, agitated, opposed the messenger’s words, seemingly forgetting Senelia’s presence as they dined together.

Lucalina’s place was in the heart of the battlefield, a place inaccessible to priests who stood behind being protected.

Reaching there would require some manipulation.

“I must go immediately. I’m certain the temple won’t provide a priest just because the royal family is present!” 

Benelucia, currently absorbed in his concern for Lucalina, seemed ready to dash to the battlefield at any moment.

“No, Your Highness! If you rush to the battlefield now, won’t everything you’ve endured so far be in vain?”

Adjutant Arante attempted to dissuade Benelucia, but the plea lacked as Benelucia remained unconvinced. 

Benelucia, a swordmaster, wasn’t easily restrained.

Caw, caw.

A crow cried as if urging Senelia to take action. 

It seemed to remind her of the consequences she would face should she fail. 

In this tense atmosphere, what would happen if I intervened? 

Senelia lacked confidence.

However, she couldn’t disregard Cliff’s orders.

Her heart thumped. 

“Ah.”

Senelia cautiously grasped Benelucia’s arm, hoping he would pause at her small action. 

Yet, he quickly shook her hand away in his state of agitation. 

“Sally?’”

Numbly nursing her hand, Senelia gently hugged it to her chest with her other hand, making Benelucia finally realize her proximity.

At that moment, Senelia found herself rendered speechless.

She knew what would happen if he did not go…

Lucalina, deemed an enemy of Benelucia, would lay in critical condition. 

And yet, Senelia struggled to conceive a means to halt Benelucia’s impending departure.

“Your Highness, just this once— Just this once… Can’t you stay?”

Senelia’s plea emerged feeble, an unprecedented vulnerability presented itself in the trembling of her lips, but Benelucia had no time to ponder this shift in demeanor.

“I’ll be back soon. First—”

“Please, Your Highness.”

In a moment of sickening desperation, Senelia clung to Benelucia’s garments, fearing his departure. 

Like the tic of impending doom lurking in the horizon, the crow continued its ominous cawing at the window. 

Should Benelucia leave, that tyrannical emperor would undoubtedly seek out Senelia.

The mere thought of it constricted Senelia’s breath as panic began to cloud her judgment.

“What are you doing, Sally? Why does your behavior seem different from your norm?”

Despite Benelucia’s sharp words, Senelia suppressed her gasp of reply and instinctively tightened her grip on his sleeves. 

Cliff’s maneuvers had unsettled the Grand Duke, and in his urgent desire for his white moonlight’s safety, his singular focus on Lucalina became abundantly evident. 

Benelucia’s gaze, upon Senelia, became strained.

“I don’t know if it’s because you’ve led a normal, peaceful life, away from war and bloodshed, but… Sally, your actions might endanger Lucalina’s life. Just like this, this brief moment when you’ve restrained me, Lucalina might find herself in another dangerous situation.”

At the male lead’s words, Senelia’s grip on his clothes slackened abruptly, her hands suspended in the air.

She was breathless.

The realization struck her like a splash of cold water. 

She held Benelucia captive in a life-and-death situation, all due to her selfishness. 

Realizing the repercussions her actions could lead to, Senelia loathed herself in that moment.

Yet, the terror persisted, tethering her to him, persistently urging her to not let him go.

Because, in all honesty, Senelia was paralyzed with fear of Cliff.

…I’m sorry.

In her mind, Senelia whispered an apology to Lucalina. She truly meant it. 

Ever since Senelia made the fateful decision to steal Benelucia from Lucalina, she never ceased to entreat Lucalina, even in her prayers. 

Despite her fervent pleas, Senelia found herself compelled to comply with Cliff de Helios’ every command. 

It wasn’t just her own fate that was at stake; her family, territory, citizens and their children, and, if necessary, even friends and acquaintances, were all under the ruthless hand of the emperor.

Should she fail to serve him diligently, she would have to watch as he took them away from her. One by one. 

In what felt like her final refuge, Senelia bowed her head and whispered, pleadingly. 

“Your Highness, I… What if it hurts?” 

It was a small voice, but one that reached the ears of Benelucia, one of the Empire’s greatest swordmasters.

“Haa…” 

Benelucia sighed, freezing Senelia in place. 

The sound mirrored the sighs he reserved for troublesome ex-lovers. 

The one he gave to them when they overstepped their bounds in their relationship with him. 

Senelia recognized that she had no right to disturb him in the slightest. 

The one thing she prided herself on over Benelucia’s exes was her lack of interference. 

Could Benelucia fathom that my perpetually cold hands were now warmer than usual? Realizing this, Senelia swiftly retreated a step.

Ah… I shouldn’t have bothered His Highness. If I become an annoying hindrance… I’ll be discarded.

Benelucia had already issued enough warnings.

A plea not to complicate an already complex situation. 

Senelia acquiesced obediently.

“I said something pointless. Have a safe journey, Your Highness.”

“I’ll come back and talk to you.” 

It took a moment, but finally, Benelucia responded. 

The moment Senelia released his hand, Benelucia turned his back, departing from the Afron mansion without another word. 

Though he couldn’t immediately rush to Lucalina’s location in the battlefield, he needed to find a way to assist her as she fought their enemies.

To Benelucia, Lucalina was just that kind of person. 

A rational individual who could prompt a cold-hearted man to attack without hesitation at her behest. 

Senelia, more than anyone else, understood this, having lived that reality throughout her time with Benelucia.

That day unfolded like any other, yet it marked a critical test for Senelia at the hands of Cliff.

A test she disastrously failed.

“Ah… miss!”

As everyone left the discarded dining room and followed Benelucia, her personal maid rushed to support the stumbling Senelia. 

Since earlier, Senelia had struggled to catch her breath, and now her weakening body made it challenging to remain upright.

“The physician!… I’ll call the physician!” 

The maid suggested, alarmed by the sudden turn of events.

Caw.

Senelia, however, shook her head weakly, for the crow’s cries indicated that her unforgiving master awaited her. 

A blatant invitation she, having chosen to live as the emperor’s dog, couldn’t decline.

Beep ring. 

The sound of static buzzed in her ears as her breathing remained difficult. 

Despite the maid’s assistance offer, Senelia declined, hastening toward her room.

***

That night, Benelucia abandoned the Grand Duke’s residence, unaware of Cliff’s visit to Senelia’s room.

“Hmm, I must say. I’m disappointed, Sally.”

As was customary, Senelia knelt before Cliff, bowing her head.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I need more—”

Having endured five years of such submission, she believed she had grown accustomed to these solitary endeavors. 

Or so she thought.

“Alberto can at least catch one prey… I never expected my other dog to be this incompetent.” 

Cliff’s ruthless remark abruptly cut her off, lifting Senelia’s chin to compare her to his hound. At that moment, she realized her presumed resignation had been nothing more than arrogance.

Shame surged through Senelia’s entire being, so intense that facing a sword at her neck might have seemed preferable.

“Tell me, Sally. Have I let you off the hook too much?”

As Cliff withdrew his hand, Senelia’s head dropped to the floor.

The emperor exerted pressure on the immobilized Senelia, his disdain palpable.

“If you can’t keep hold of my beloved brother even when he’s unwell, how do you plan to snatch Benelucia from Lucalina?” 

The emperor’s voice carried the weight of his threat.

“Today, Benelucia asked Marquis Petrizio to personally file a complaint at the central temple.”

Marquis Petrizio, a military officer who held Benelucia in high regard, was personally chosen for this task to help Lucalina?

Normally, the Grand Duke avoided getting close to Cliff, fearing that he might prove troublesome.

“I offered you a chance to demonstrate your usefulness, but you failed. Now, everyone knows you tried to manipulate my brother using Lucalina.”

Senelia bore the blame for Cliff’s unchecked actions, yet she couldn’t contest his accusations; to do so would risk her life.

“Apologies, Your Majesty. I failed you.” 

Senelia conceded, bowing her head once again before the man who treated her like a mere dog.

The more she ruminated on the situation, the more Benelucia loomed in her thoughts. 

If only he hadn’t ventured out that day, she wouldn’t be facing Cliff’s wrath now. 

If only she had held a bit more meaning to him, this pitiable predicament could have been avoided.

Such reflections churned within Senelia, unsettling her deeply.

“Tsk, it’s futile.” 

The emperor declared, delivering the final blow.

Senelia shut her eyes tightly, unable to escape the impending consequences. 

And as she thought, Benelucia never returned to the mansion throughout that night.