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☾ thirteen ☾

Coming to the conclusion that the woman was actually scared but was covering it up by bluffing, he responded with a sneer.

"No, I came to the right place."

He had expected her to be going down on her knees and begging for her life, but her reaction was quite different from his expectations.

"Is that so? How about you change your mind? I think you'll regret it if you don't."

The woman quickly moved to sit up on her bed.

The moonlight streamed from the large windows, penetrating the room and revealing an ethereal face.

Though there was an air of exhaustion present, it still fit well with the woman's overall laid-back atmosphere.

Despite her poor reputation, she was still the envy of many due to her well-known beauty.

Nevertheless, Max wasn't very impressed.

If you took away her exceptional beauty, she didn't look like she'd be of any use in his eyes.

'She's nothing special.'

When he heard her sigh, Max unconsciously fixed his gaze on the woman's face.

Not too long after, her lips, which were as red as pomegranate seeds, parted slightly.

"I still have a year left before I'm supposed to die."

She muttered in an extremely dry and chilling tone that did not match her face.

The words were spoken quietly, as if talking to herself, but he could clearly feel the coldness behind it.

'Does she not understand what's going on?'

It irked him.

She was foolish to the point where she did not even grasp the situation she was in – being so relaxed and even getting up and stretching her body without fear.

Max furrowed his brows as an uncomfortable pounding started in his chest.

'Well, she's just bluffing.'

He recalled all those who had ever acted conceitedly in front of him.

A look of murderous intent flashed over his face.

'I'm sure that act of hers will crumble once her life is threatened.'

Max planned on threatening the foolish woman but stopped when he saw her move to light the candle on her bedside table.

'How dare...'

He was about to blow the candle and knock the woman down but froze when the candlelight revealed a clearer view of her face.

She had a delicate and beautiful appearance like a doll, but it was her eyes that caught his attention.

'You...'

Max unknowingly took a step forward.

He thought he was seeing things when, at that moment, her doll-like face suddenly lightened up.

"Oh, Father's apprentice."

He had fully intended on inducing fear, but that plan was forgotten as he stared at the smiling face of the woman before him.

< Well, you see...the thing you're trying to buy is actually what I was looking for. >

The woman whom he had run into only briefly yet had constantly appeared in his thoughts, bothering him to no end.