The Obsessive Maniac Is Trying To Confine Me Chapter 242 - Side Story Chapter 32

“Yeah. Having rare minerals would be nice.”

“……”

“It’s not a bad offer.”

Argen spoke quietly as he looked down at the bluish cliff below.

“But I think it’s not enough to make me release the guy locked underground.”

…Not enough?

He had originally come here under an imperial order.

To take Richard back.

But he was completely ignoring the imperial will with his own actions.

It’s not like I didn’t know that.

“From your position, it’s not a lacking deal. Rare minerals are key resources for developing powerful weapons.”

“The card you bring out to me is just filling up Evantes’ armory. How admirable.”

Even though he knew it wasn’t just about one or two weapons, Argen still looked uninterested.

“Think about it logically. It’s a deal where neither you nor I lose anything.”

Right now, Argen controlled everything.

But sooner or later, even he would reach his limits.

If he kept delaying Richard’s transfer after receiving an imperial order, he wouldn’t be able to avoid the empire’s suspicion.

So this wasn’t a good situation for him either.

“So, Marquis, accept my deal. It’s better for both of us—”

“Rosie.”

Argen cut me off and slowly stepped closer.

His deep green eyes looking down at me held no greed or interest.

Only intense displeasure toward this situation.

“No matter what value that land has, it doesn’t matter to me. You always choose the wrong answer.”

That couldn’t be.

The Argen Evantes I knew valued worth more than anyone and calculated everything carefully.

Right now, he was being completely irrational.

“If I’m wrong… then you should tell me what the right answer is.”

I didn’t back down and looked straight at him.

Because in the end, the key to this situation was in his hands.

Argen’s perfectly shaped smile slowly twisted into something strange.

“You want me to tell you?”

“Yes.”

“…Alright, Rosie.”

Those arrogant green eyes I knew had always seemed unbreakable.

But now, cracks began to form in them.

“You’re thinking about it the wrong way. Instead of thinking about what has value, you should’ve thought about what I want.”

Of course I had thought about what he wanted dozens of times.

I parted my lips to argue back.

“If you did think about that, then you simply misjudged.”

I misjudged?

“Why do you think I came all the way to the Piet territory myself?”

That’s…

“You know the reason.”

“……”

“And yet you still chose the wrong answer…”

His voice was calm, but the end of it was unstable.

“You just don’t want to lose anything.”

“……”

We stared at each other in heavy silence.

Even the strong night wind couldn’t break through the tension between us.

I swallowed hard and finally said the worst possibility I didn’t want to admit.

“…You’re not saying that what you want is me, right?”

A slow, strange smile formed on Argen’s cold lips.

“You finally got the right answer. It was such an easy one.”

“……”

I couldn’t say anything.

It felt like my heart dropped straight down.

I stepped back without realizing it, but Argen stepped forward instead, never taking his eyes off me.

His large shadow fell heavily over me.

“You know that’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

He asked calmly.

But inside his green eyes, there was a dangerous, obsessive hunger.

“I don’t love you.”

After a short silence, a cold laugh slipped from his lips.

He suddenly reached out and gently brushed my stiff cheek.

“It’s funny hearing you talk about love, Rosie.”

“…What do you mean?”

“You’re not someone who cares about love.”

Argen slowly stepped closer.

I tried to step back again, but his hand grabbed my cheek faster.

Through the cold leather glove, his burning heat felt unsettling.

The way he looked at me was like he couldn’t understand… or like he felt deeply wronged.

“You act like you can control other people’s hearts.”

“When did I ever control yours—”

His grip on my cheek tightened.

“You’re doing it right now. Trying to manipulate me all day with that cheap kindness, just to save him.”

Holding me completely in place, he leaned in close to my ear.

His rough breath brushed against my neck.

The pride he had carefully built up with logic collapsed, and the raw desire underneath finally showed itself.

“Can’t I try controlling your heart too?”

At that moment, even the sound of the sharp night wind disappeared.

A cold chill crawled up my spine like a snake.

And I finally realized it clearly.

None of my logical offers, no matter how reasonable, no matter how valuable…

would ever work on this madman.

Argen Evantes would use any means necessary to take hold of me.

“This is your fault, Rosie. You’re the one who made me choose all those irrational things I used to mock.”

 

 

****

 

 

 

On the way back, I had to endure a suffocating silence with Argen in the carriage.

I couldn’t even clearly remember how we got back to Piet Castle.

As soon as I entered my room, I collapsed onto the bed without even taking off my coat.

…I was tired.

<Good thing you finally realized what I want, Rosie.>

His whisper from when we parted lingered in my ears.

…Crazy bastard.

I already knew Argen wanted me.

I had guessed it to some extent…

but I never imagined his feelings would be this obvious and intense.

Was he seriously thinking about marriage?

If that was what he wanted, I had no intention of accepting it—even if it took a lifetime.

…At this point, I had to change my plan.

There was no way to gently persuade Argen.

Unlike Yurtha, he was not someone who would obediently give in just because I played along.

If anything, my shallow kindness only fueled his need for control.

With a cold, clear mind, I made a decision.

‘First, I need to find Richard in the castle.’

And no matter what it takes—

I’ll escape this place with him.