Chapter 168 - Playing Dirty (1) (1/2)

“Would you like a drink?”

Carlisle, stunned by the offer, approached Elena and sat in front of her. He cast a sidelong glance at the empty bottles before speaking.

“When did you start drinking?”

“I was only going to drink when you came, but you didn’t show up, so I ended up drinking a little.”

Elena handed Carlisle a full glass of wine. Carlisle wordlessly accepted it without a word and downed it in one gulp.

“Don’t you think that’s more than a little??”

He wouldn’t call that quantity just a little. Elena looked at the offending bottles on the table.

“I’m just… I’m feeling rather upset today. Did you hear what happened at the party?”

“Just about.”

“You warned me many times to watch out for her, but I was too confident.”

She refilled her glass as she spoke.

“I kept an eye on the maid Asabe. It’s ridiculous that a Vanera plant came from her room. I don’t know if she really had it.”

“…”

“At the order of the Empress, the Vanera plant was discovered by a guard. Now Asabe that has been executed, we can no longer uncover anything about the incident.”

Carlisle quietly listened to Elena as she more freely spoke her mind.

“I was probably playing into the Empress’ hand in the beginning. I only ended up revealing myself to the enemy.”

Elena gave a defeated sigh. She looked up at Carlisle, and he noticed that her eyes were glazed and bloodshot.

“I look like a fool, don’t I?”

Last time she asked Carlisle to believe in her, and now she was upset that she hadn’t lived up to his expectations. She should have been more cautious…

Carlisle, who had been sitting quietly so far, finally answered in a soft voice.

“I don’t know if this is comforting, but what you’ve been through today, I’ve already experienced countless times because of the Empress.”

Elena’s eyes widened at Carlisle’s unexpected confession.

“If you are a fool, then I’m even more of a fool. You don’t have to blame yourself. Your plan sounded good to my ears, and the only miscalculation was not realizing why the Empress sent twin plants.”

“Because of that, Asabe was executed today.”

“She was a spy the Empress planted anyway. We would still have to get rid of her, but this way there’s no blood on our hands.”

Carlisle’s words eased Elena’s mind. She had been tremendously burdened by the knowledge that her family may die if she failed in her mission, but when she suffered defeat by the Empress, her fears became crushing. What if she couldn’t change the future no matter how hard she tried? How much more cunning was Paveluc to win against the Empress?

Elena’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. The blame she placed on herself was so heavy that she even drank alcohol, which she rarely ever touched. However, in the end, it was not the drink that quelled her anxiety, but Carlisle. His words seem to say to her, “It’s alright.”

Elena gave an unfocused smile at Carlisle.

“You’re so sweet…that I dislike it.”

For the first time, she considered that she would be be jealous if Carlisle’s affection turned to another woman. For him, he was simply consoling Elena as a partner walking on the same path, but for her, she was alarmed that her personal feelings were growing.

‘I thought I could stop my heart, but….’

Elena smiled disappointingly as she gazed at Carlisle’s handsome face, which appeared blurrier than usual.

‘….I won’t let this man stop me.’