Thought It Was 'The End', Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 226
Adeline was hiding something.
Shane noticed immediately.
There werenât any obvious signsâjust subtle changes and intuition. A decision she wouldnât normally make, a slight shift in the warmth of her gaze, or a faint expression.
It might have been an overreach to conclude that she was hiding something based on such trivial clues.
But Shane had already learned that when it came to Adeline, even the smallest signs couldnât be ignored.
When Adeline had first started avoiding him for reasons he couldnât fathom, Shane never once doubted that she would eventually return to his side.
Their engagement had been solid, and Adeline didnât truly dislike him. He believed, without question, that she would come back to him in the end.
But why had she changed so suddenly?
Was it just childish stubbornness or a whim? Or had she been influenced by some storybook and decided she wanted to live freely and explore the world?
Even if he had dug deeper, there would have been no way to discover the truthâthat she remembered a past life and that their world was part of a novel.
âA love story about the saintess and the men who adore her,â sheâd said.
The fact that Genevieve was someone so cynical about love was one thing, but Shane couldnât comprehend why anyone would bother reading a story about a man who brazenly cheated on his fiancĂ©e, Adeline, with another woman.
The story featured the devoted duke, the crown prince Edwin, and even the mage Keith, who were all protectors of the saintess.
There was also the twin mage who, after abandoning his twin sister to face punishment, hid in the emperorâs shadow. Unlike his twin, that man was clever and calculating.
He did think that it was strange for someone so cunning to have âdiedâ so easily.
Adeline had taught Shane that deaths should always be questioned.
Jeff had demanded the Brubewein royal family present the body, but the coffin they showed was empty.
âOf course it was.â
The man had judged that the Brubewein Kingdom had no future and aligned himself with the emperor long ago. He had used his twin to shake up the saintess, the crown prince, and the empress. He didnât care if his twin died or if the kingdom collapsed, as long as they inflicted enough damage in the process.
Heâd bided his time beside the emperor, nurturing his ambitions.
Even that mage had originally been destined to fall in love with Genevieve.
Genevieve had found the thought nauseating.
Shane thought he might have felt the same.
Shane tracked the man down through Kaitlyn, who had been kept alive for precisely that purpose.
By interrogating her and uncovering clues in her memoriesâEdwinâs specialtyâthey discovered that the man had already been at the emperorâs side.
From there, things moved quickly.
It took nearly a year due to the manâs proximity to the emperor, but Shane eventually severed the manâs head himself, eliminating any future threats.
That manâs existence had forced Adeline to live in fear of death.
Stories always ended with the villainâs death.
In the novel, the villainous Adeline was fated to be killed early on.
Shane had learned a lesson.
To protect Adeline, even the smallest issues couldnât be dismissed lightly.
Even if it seemed like an overreach, precautions had to be taken. Fortunately, Shaneâs specialty was thoroughness and persistence.
If even Genevieve and Lloyd didnât notice anything⊠could it really mean nothing was happening?
âThat canât be.â
There were changes, subtle as they might be. She woke an hour later than usual and left more than half her meals untouched. She often looked like she wanted to say something but deflected whenever he asked.
Her darkened green eyes were filled with worry.
Shane began formulating a plan to locate Lucian and tighten the security around the estate.
