Saving The Villainous Monster From The Male Lead-Chapter 35 - 34: Eternal Love

"My lady—" Eleanore stopped her by simply raising her palm in the air.

"Light the candle. Marina." She said, unwilling to listen to her excuses.

Marina’s hands shivered as she repeated the process to light the candle. After a few more tries, the candle finally picked up the fire and started to fill the huge room with its little small light. She carefully picked it up and walked to her master, extending out the torch to hand it over to her.

"You shall remain locked up in your quarters for the next whole week, Marina. You will get food one time a day and you cannot talk or contact with anyone in that period. Do not show me your face for a week." She took away the torch from her hand. " You can do this right? Or do you want death instead?"

"My lady-"

"Marina! Will you do the first or the latter?"

"The first." Marina chooses her confinement instead of death. Of course, although she always suggested she deserved death on her smallest mistake. She didn’t have enough courage to actually accept it.

"Very well. Today will be your first day."

Marina’s face rose at that, in surprise.

"Leave!" Eleanore commands in a threatening tone.

Marina’s body didn’t listen to her brain and started out of the room and then directly to the maid’s quarters. She knew she deserved it and yet wasn’t ready to accept it.

_____

Eleanore had not eaten anything since she had awoken, was all that Caeleastis could think about as he scanned through the documents that needed to be dealt with immediately. He had been sitting in the study, immediately after the bath. For the last five hours, he had made no progress in completing these urgent documents.

His brain just wouldn’t work. The poor document was in his hand for five hours and yet Cealestis hadn’t read a single word.

His thoughts continued to shift to Eleanore.

Is she fine?

Did she eat anything?

What might she be doing right now?

Should I call a doctor for her?

Millions of questions but answers— none. How can he get up from her seat and go see her with his own eyes? Give himself a wave of relief that she was fine?

Just looking at his ugly face would make her face drop again.

He continued circling in his thoughts, when out of nowhere, the door of his study room swung open, revealing Eleanore right in front of his eyes that were waiting to see her.

Never before had he thought about her for so long and yet today, he couldn’t help but think only about her. He wanted to immediately apologise to her for his inhuman action.

However, when she came and stood in front of him, his mouth went shut. He couldn’t understand what to say and where to start. His mind and thoughts were a mess while his body just moved on its own.

He left the seat and started making his way close to her. When he was only a few feet away to reduce this distance between them, Eleanore stopped him.

"Stay there. Don’t come any closer." She said, as if drawing a line, a border that Caelestis might not be able to cross any time soon.

"Eleanore. I am extremely sorry for everything that happened-" His kind words were interrupted by Eleanore’s bitter ones.

"Save it." She began. " I am not here to listen to your excuses and half-hearted apologies. Stella. I am here to talk about Stella."

Stella.

This name itself was enough to send rage down his spine. Everytime Eleanore took her name, his protective mode would turn on and his rage mode would overtake his rationality. Why does this happen? He had no answer to that, for it just always happens.

Yet today, when Eleanore said her name, it didn’t anger him. He didn’t lose his sanity and instead listened to her quietly.

"Set her free. She doesn’t deserve that."

Cealestis sighed then shook his head and finally spoke, " I can’t."

"Why?" Eleanore wanted to understand why Caelestis was doing such evil things to Stella. Why was he being so stupid and irrational?

"She loves me, Eleanor. She just doesn’t say it."

That’s it. That was his explanation. He thinks he can win Stella, if he locks her up in that dark, crappy room. Psycho. This man is a Psychopath. Eleanore knew.

"She doesn’t love you."

"You say that because you are jealous of her."

"No. I am not. My love for you died when you almost choked me to death."

"Eleanore, that-"

"If you love her, you should set her free. Love is devotion. It is freedom. Confinement can only give a lifeless obedient dead human, Duke. Stella’s free soul will die." Eleanore had so much more to say but she just couldn’t put it into words.

Caelestis twisted his face as if he Eleanore had spoken a foreign language. Her words couldn’t make sense to him. "You are just obsessed with me. That’s why—"

"True. I was obsessed with you." The original-owner-of-the-body was, indeed. "But I ended it because under the cover of obsession, I loved you dearly. Letting go is a part of loving someone. I made my love eternal by giving you to Stella. But you. What kind of lover are you, Duke? Are you not obsessed with Stella?"

Caelestis fell silent, having no answer to that question. Although he denied it. Deep down, he knew it. He was obsessed with Stella. It was not necessarily love but rather a kind of competition, where he wanted to have at least one person that would be only his.

"Stella doesn’t love you."

"She does." He denied a fact that even he knew was true.

"If she does—" Eleanore paused for a moment, hesitating to take such a huge responsibility, but having no choice but to take it. " —I will get out of your way."

"That would be good." Caelestis turned, ready to resume his work, but stopped when Eleanore continued the argument.

"But you must prove it." She says, making Caelestis turn again to face her with a puzzled look.

"Love cannot be proved. It just exists." He argues.

"True. But I want to hear from Stella’s mouth that she loves you."

"Rubbish. I know her. She would never accept her love for me."

"When you are in love. You want the whole world to know that you are in love." Eleanore argues again. "I will help you. Stella will confess and marry you but if she doesn’t you will leave her alone."

"I do not need your help."

"Why? Are you scared that you would fail, and I will win?" She pestered him further.

"Is this a game?"

"Probably." She smirks. "Until my brother comes back, prove that Stella loves you. I will help you as well. But. If she doesn’t then let her go like I let you go."

"She will confess. I know it. She loves me."

"Then let her out now." Eleanore turns around. "I will await the good news."

Slamming the door, she left Caelestis completely stunned and confused. He had no idea what had just happened.