Chapter 60.1
Chapter 60.1
Richard’s thoughts continued to resist moving on from the heart and mind. His emotions continued to loop back during that time, thickening and deepening like a swamp.
He knew that clinging to a broken relationship was neither noble nor wise, yet he never ended it—not even for a single moment.
Richard chuckled briefly and buried his face in his hands.
“Da!mn, I feel like sh!t.”
He was no different from a mentally ill person, but she seemed anything but.
When Richard first heard that Jasmine had started dating another man, his eyes widened with realization.
At the time, he was in charge of overseeing the punishment for deserters who had raped civilian women. While a spy whispered a few words in his ear, Richard, sitting in his chair with his chin in his hand, looked as indifferent as a bored king.
No one noticed the emotional shift on his face. And the next moment, without batting an eyelid, he drew the knife from the soldier standing next to him and swiftly slit the deserter’s throat.
The blood from the severed head struck the cheek of another criminal kneeling next to him. The indifferent face of the duke briefly flickered through his horrified eyes. The next moment, decapitated bodies fell one by one to the ground.
The red stains permeated the earth with a putrid smell in an instant. Richard absentmindedly brushed the blood spatter from his eyes and handed the bloodied knife to the stunned soldier.
As the lieutenant wiped the blood from his cheek with the handkerchief handed to him, Richard was lost in thought.
No, at that moment, he was not pondering. Rather, he was consumed by a manic obsession with countless emotions of anger, agony, and expectations—reining them in madly.
What was Jasmine thinking? Did she really move on? Did she forget everything so quickly after breaking up abruptly? Is that so?
But even before, Jasmine had acted the same way. Not long after he was rejected, she began seeing someone named Charles.
Perhaps he really meant nothing to her now. It had barely been two months. No, not even two months had passed. How could this be?
Richard simply couldn’t understand Jasmine. Even with no visible seething anger and contempt, he felt his head would explode with betrayal, inevitable disappointment, and jealousy.
Jealousy? Jealousy, really. It was so absurd that it made him laugh.
Now, he realized the depth of the abyss he fell into. Richard scoffed at himself. He tightly pressed his eyelids then released it. His straight lips twisted.
Now. What to do next?
What should I do about you?
Huh? Jasmine.
He momentarily imagined leaving the army unauthorized, like these contemptible and disgusting vultures that had just died in his hands.
If he grabbed the nearest horse, he estimated it would take three days to reach the capital with minimal food and sleep. He had about a day’s grace before news of his unauthorized departure reached the palace.
In the meantime, he’ll go to Jasmine’s estate, the open-air café she often frequented, the art gallery she liked—anywhere she went.
It won’t take long for a beast to find her.
He had replayed their week together countless times, noticing each little detail, so now he had drawn a rough map of her daily pattern in his mind.
There were plenty of clues to guess. She was an honest person and hadn’t hidden anything from Richard, so Jasmine unconsciously spilled a lot of information.
He suddenly laughed. Even though he was in a shi!ty mood, she was still adorable in his memory.
He knew that people around him might find it strange to see the Duke doing nothing after killing someone, but Richard simply ignored them.
Narrowing his eyes, he calculated the consequences of carrying out this plan and the efforts and losses he would have to bear to resolve them. No, the calculation was quickly done.
It might be cumbersome, but it wasn’t insurmountable.
He pondered how to find her and thought about how he should act when he faced Jasmine’s surprised face.
Speculation was impossible. It would be fortunate if the untethered beast in him didn’t pounce on her at that moment.
He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her passionately. He wanted to smell her scent and get drunk on it. He wanted to roll around together. He wanted to hold her tight and tell her that he liked her… Ah, yes.
That I love you.
What would she say if he whispered such sweet and sincere words into her ear?
But the moment Richard would utter the word “love,” something surged deep inside him, damping his heart and parching his lips.
His heart raced, his head spun, and Jasmine’s smiling face blurred.
Ah, you’re so lovely. The way she called his name innocently, openly showing she liked him, her blushing face.
“Do you love me?”
“Whether you’re a noble or a beggar, it doesn’t matter. If you don’t love me, everything becomes meaningless.”
“…I love you so much that it doesn’t matter if you’re the emperor, a duke, or even a lowly slave in this country
You, who cursed and cried…
His heart rate soared, racing as if it might explode at any moment.
An awesome story 💖💖
Thank you for the translation 💜
You are welcome, Israella!