It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 94
The harsh life in the monastery had worn her thin, her skin dry and her frame frail—nothing like the noble daughter of a prestigious house. But compared to her past life, where she had fallen to her death, she looked far more alive.
Even as they spoke, his heart pounded uncontrollably. He couldn’t understand why.
Still, he succeeded, and Lionel persuaded her to come with him.
His excuse was his half-sister, Vivian’s health.
Serenia had Vaikal. As a sister devoted to her brother, she could understand an older brother’s love for his sister. That must have moved her.
Though things were falling into place, something inside Lionel was falling apart. She was finally within his reach in his domain, so why did he feel so restless whenever they were apart?
Why did work become impossible, his thoughts a mess unless she was near?
Whenever he was with her, those feelings disappeared, but only for his heart to pound so violently it hurt.
And worse… it wasn’t just his heart reacting to her. The moment their skin touched, his body responded like a beast in heat.
‘Have I gone insane?’
It made no sense, so one night, he even tried taking an aphrodisiac suppressant. In the end, it did nothing.
After much deliberation, Lionel reached a conclusion.
He had fallen for Serenia Solen.
There was no other explanation.
‘So this is how first love happens.’
After countless regressions and centuries of life, he had never once felt such an overwhelming tide of emotion.
‘How is this even possible? I barely know her, and we’ve only just met. It has been years since I saw her..’
He couldn’t believe the absurdity of it all, yet, he could see no way out of it.
‘I’m going to regret this.’
Through his endless lives, he had seen and learned many things.
Nothing destroys a person faster than having someone precious to be your weakness.
Count Solen and Vaikal had been ensnared by the Imperial Family the moment they revealed their weakness—Serenia.
And Serenia, in turn, had sacrificed herself without hesitation for her father and brother, submitting completely to the Imperial Family.
‘Of all people…’
A sigh escaped him.
Yet, in the very next breath, his mind conjured an image of her. Small, pale, smiling so sweetly at him.
It felt as if the entire world, the sky, the wind, the very flowers—was screaming at him.
Telling him to love Serenia Solen. That she was his fate. That she was the one key he had been searching for. His salvation from this hell.
And yet, Serenia herself, upon realizing that Vivian was perfectly healthy, had the audacity to say she wanted to return to the monastery. It was enough to drive him insane.
After much deliberation, at last, Lionel made up his mind. He decided to put her in a position where not even the Emperor could touch her.
If Serenia Solen was destined to be his weakness, then anyone who dared to lay a hand on her would learn exactly what it meant to provoke a mad dog.
That night, he drafted a contract. A contract that, across all his lives, was the most unfair document he had ever written.
The weight was entirely one-sided ludicrously, and as he reviewed it, he let out a small, incredulous laugh.
Because for the first time… he was satisfied.
Satisfied that he could offer her everything, because his house was one of the most powerful in the empire. Because lifetimes of accumulated knowledge had granted him immeasurable wealth and influence. And all of it—every last bit, he could offer to Serenia Solen.
He had been called “madman” more times than he could count.
But for the first time, Lionel muttered the words to himself.
“I really must be a madman.”
