âPlanning, Damia? As you know, I only assisted âFatherâ in his business.â
Of course, Cesare was not easily shaken and spoke of her father in a counterattack against her.
âIn the meantime, Iâve talked to Father about your recent behavior. Oh my, Dami, how can you spread your legs to such a promiscuous man?â
ââ¦..â
âFather didnât like it very much,â Cesare added, pretending to be regretful. Damia bit her lips gently.
Her relationship with men, the fact that it entered her fatherâs ear, was awful and embarrassing. Damia did not want to disappoint her father, who was one of her only remaining blood relatives. Cesare knew that and must have been aiming to try and hurt Damia.
âThen I succeeded.â
Damia held her head up high even though she wanted to cry. Cesare was trying to rile her up and distract her from the main point. She didnât fall for provocation and just steadily looked at him.
âDonât talk nonsense. I know everything. About the âthingsâ Brother brought from the temple.â
For a flicker of a second, Cesareâs relaxed face hardened.
âWhat do you mean? All I brought from the Temple is the accounting book. I can show it to you if you want.â
Cesare immediately recovered his poker face and spoke casually, but Damie could tell. Cesareâs eyes, glancing at her face, were unsteady.
âIâm not sure what to say. I donât know what Iâm really talking about.â
Of course, Damia didnât know what thoseâ thingsâ were. She was only pretending to know. Fortunately, she still had more information she had overheard in the locker in her arsenal.
âWhat do you mean, only ledgers? Brother.â
Damia grinned as she looked at his face stained with lies and masks.
âI donât think you can feed my friend accounting books, right?â
Cesareâs expression completely disappeared. Damiaâs last hand was very effective. Even if she used it, without knowing the power, the fact changed.
âLeave Cecil alone âand me, too.â
Confident of victory, Damia warned him for the last time. Cesare was still silent. His face, shadowed by the moonlight, was strangely creepy, and Damia got an ominous feeling.
âIf you have nothing more to say, please leave my bedroom.â
ââ¦and if I donât want to?â
Finally, Cesare spoke. At a shallow glance, it seemed to be a joke with his gentle smile.
But behind that smile, the tension snapped and broke through. Damia instinctively moved away to get away from him. At the same time, she issued an ultimatum at Cesare.
âGet out! Or Iâll scream.â
âYouâre going to scream? Oh dear.â
He grabbed Damiaâs neck like a bolt of lightning. The grip would be able to snap her fragile neck in an instant.
Feeling a sense of crisis, blood drained out of Damiaâs face. Cesare smiled happily, looking down at her face white as a sheet of paper in the dark. Then he groped Damiaâs neck and pressed down on the round vocal cords that looked like peach seeds.
Damia gasped as she felt her throat pressed. Fortunately, she was not being suffocated, but her voice did not come out.
âShh. Donât be afraid, Dami. I canât hurt you. I just want to give you some advice. As your brother, no matter what.â
Cesareâs voice was creepily sweet. It wasnât the voice of a man holding someone elseâs neck. Damia felt an even greater dread of danger when her heart heard it.
âOh, lovely Damia, I donât care who you play with. Just because thereâs some dirt on the jewelry doesnât mean it affects the price. If you brush it off and get rid of it, everything is fine.â
Isnât it? Whispering, Cesare grazed Damiaâs neck with his thumb as if he were ecstatic. Then he kissed her on the back of her hand while clenching her neck. Staring into her eyes as if he wanted to kiss Damia directly but wouldnât dare.
âBut not just Akkard Valerian. Heâs too annoying. You donât know what heâs hiding, do you?â
It was a strange nuance. As if Akkard approached her because he had something to do with her.