My Villain Became An Obsessive Man

ot distracted by Archduke Russlo.
But after he left the room, I finally took notice of the place I was in.
The room, hallway, and temporary dining room I was in were not gaudy but more vintage and neat.

Clatter

The light sound of a fork hitting the plate echoed.

The room was small and had a table in it.

The Archduke was considerate to have a table prepared for us to eat.

More importantly, the rope around my wrists was removed.

How nice of him.

My man was a ten out of ten.
No part of him was unsatisfactory.

My admiration for him grew exponentially.

The Archduke didn’t lift his head, as if there was something on his face that would give away what he was thinking.

Acting as if he wasn’t aware of how shameless I was staring at him, he continued to eat his food.

It was a pity that I could not see his ocean-blue eyes.
However, I could still watch his glorious image to my heart’s content.

Wow! Such long, thick lashes he has.
They were like curtains shrouding his eyes.
Being with him and having a free pass to stare at him, I already felt full without even tasting the food.

“Lady Eileen.”

“Yes?”

Suddenly, Archduke Russlo called my attention.

However, this abrupt change in addressing me had me confuse.

Why the sudden change in attitude? Were you intimidated by what I did and wanted to quit already?

“Are you not going to eat it?”

Seeing that I wasn’t eating and was only staring at him, he couldn’t help but ask.
Perhaps he was starting to get conscious of my burning gaze.

“I’m eating… This mushroom dish is very delicious.”

I forked the small plump mushroom and put it into my mouth.
I felt a bit bad because I was staring at him too much.
While chewing, Archduke Russlo was now looking at me this time.

“Do you like mushrooms?”

“Yes, I like it.
What is the name of this mushroom?”

“Malkan mushrooms.”

“Oh, just like it’s name, it’s soft.
It’s really good.”

When he noticed how I kept eating the mushrooms, the Archduke called a maid and said,

“Bring me another plate of mushrooms.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

After a while, a plate with a lot of mushrooms appeared.

It was impossible for me to find this dish unpalatable.
It was deep-fried and coated with a savory sauce.

While I happily enjoyed my meal, I could feel the gentle look he was giving me.
I looked up and asked him.

“Does the Archduke like mushrooms too?”

“I tend to enjoy it.”

“Then have another one.”

When I discovered that there were no longer fried mushrooms left on his plate, I took some of mine and held them out to him.
It was obvious I was using my own fork.

“….”

Archduke Russlo quietly stared at the offered mushrooms then shook his head.

“It’s alright.
I’ll eat it myself.”

It was so close.
But it didn’t work.

When my wish for an indirect kiss failed, my eyebrows drooped down in disappointment.

So an indirect kiss was too much from the start.
A kiss on the lips was extreme too.
Then, looking at him should be enough. 

Resting my chin on my hand, I went back to staring at his face.

It must be because of my reaction, but somehow, the pace of his eating became a little faster.

Once done eating, we moved to the terrace for dessert.

This was the result of my desperate act to hold on to him, inviting him to have dessert when he was about to leave.

Luckily, the Archduke yielded after a moment of hesitation.

Yes! Time extended!

We sat face to face at the terrace table with the rustic scenery as our backdrop.
The warm sun and cold wind reminded me of Spring.
On days like this, I would always feel sleepy after a good meal.
But right now, I was wide awake.

It wasn’t because of the delectable chocolate cake the maid brought out or its wonderful addicting scent.
It was because of the man sitting opposite me, Raymond Russlo, who made everything a dream come true, adding beauty to the mood and the dessert.

After a sip of tea, the Archduke gazed at the distant view.
Those blue eyes of his were a bottomless ocean that I wanted to immerse myself into.

He put down his cup and turned his head toward me.

Since I was staring at him, my eyes immediately met his.
But I didn’t mind.
On the other hand, his earlobes turned slightly red, perhaps because he was bothered.

“You look calm even though you’ve been kidnapped.”

“That’s because Archduke Russlo is taking good care of me.”

“….”

I was only telling the truth.
But his expression, however, looked complicated.

It was like he wanted to say: I didn’t bring you here to be nice, but I also don’t want to bully a young lady.

After reading the original web novel [I Tamed the Mad Emperor], I was certain of the Archduke’s thought process that I knew what he was thinking right now.

Archduke Raymond Russlo seemed to have already given up halfway.

Just like in the original.

The Archduke, who was originally not a bad person, did not do anything sinister to the arrogant Eileen.

Of course, Archduke Russlo only kidnapped Eileen to torment the Emperor.
In spite of that, he wasn’t planning to do anything to her.

That was how it was in the original story.
He kept her captive for a while and sent her back afterward.

When the wind became strong, the temperature suddenly dropped.
And the sun hid behind the clouds.
It started to get chilly as if it was going to rain soon.

“It’s starting to get colder.”

Muttering to himself, Archduke Russlo went inside for a moment and brought back a shawl with him.
Soon after, he handed it to me.