The Devil's Betrothed-Chapter 736: You Rejected Me

"What did you feel, Erin?" he asked again.

"O-Of course, I feel worried..." she replied weakly, feeling the pressure under his intense gaze and the diminishing space between them.

Hearing her response, his gaze softened slightly, giving her a brief sense of relief—only for it to vanish when he spoke again. "Don’t marry Aaron."

She frowned in disbelief. "You’re starting this again? First of all, you shouldn’t be in my chamber at this hour. So, you better leave."

He didn’t move. "When you saw me here, you didn’t question why I was in your chamber this late—you asked where I was. That means you care about me, and you don’t mind me being here like this."

She stared at him, taken aback. "What kind of logic is that? I was worried about you, so of course I asked where you had gone."

Without warning, he stepped forward, closing the distance between them entirely and trapping her between himself and the bed.

"Lucian?" she gasped, stumbling slightly, but before she could fall back onto the bed, his large hand wrapped around her slender waist, steadying her and pulling her close.

Despite her thick winter clothes, the heat of his touch seeped through, making her heart race. The closeness left her stunned, her mind blank, and no words came to her lips.

"You can’t marry Aaron," he declared firmly, his gaze fixed on her flushed face.

She tried to push him away, but her effort was too feeble to even make him budge. Frustrated, she locked eyes with him. "After rejecting me, what right do you have to stop me from marrying someone else?"

Lucian’s expression shifted, puzzled. "I rejected you?"

Erin missed the surprise flickering in his eyes. "And just because you rejected me, you think I’m unworthy of marrying your brother? Don’t be so full of yourself. I can marry whoever I want—even if it’s not you. You can go ahead and marry that woman you claimed to like."

The bitterness and hurt in her cold words struck him, but Lucian didn’t let go. His hands stayed steady on her, his gaze intent, as if trying to see through her words and into her heart.

"Let me go," she demanded, her voice sharp and commanding. "Don’t insult my dignity as a lady by behaving like this. Just because you were once my bodyguard doesn’t give you the right to overstep your boundaries with me."

Lucian’s hands slowly released her, though his gaze never wavered from her face.

The moment his warmth left her, she felt a sudden chill sink in. Being near him had been so comforting—but it wasn’t meant to be.

Lucian turned and walked toward the window. Just as he reached it, he glanced back at her one last time. "Just remember, Erin—you can’t marry Aaron. I won’t allow it."

Before she could respond, he leapt out of the window.

Erin gasped and rushed to the window, leaning out to search for him. But the courtyard below was empty, not a soul in sight. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

"He jumped from this high and vanished... Is he even human?" she whispered to herself, still staring into the night as if hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but he was nowhere as if disappeared into thin air.

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Inside the drawing room, the men were enjoying fine wine and conversation by the crackling fireplace, but two of them were preoccupied with Lucian’s absence.

"I’m going to look for Lucian," Aaron said, setting his wine glass down. "It’s late already."

"I’ll come with you," Imbert added as he rose from his seat. Rafal stood up as well. "Count me in."

Rowan sighed, swirling the wine in his glass. "You three never give yourselves a break. Just wait a bit longer—it’s barely midnight."

But Aaron ignored him and headed for the door.

SLAM!

The door to the drawing room burst open, and Lucian strode inside.

"I told you he’d show up," Rowan said smugly, leaning back in his chair. "You lot worry too much. The leash that binds him is still here, in this residence."

No one paid attention to Rowan’s cryptic comment; all they cared about was Lucian’s sudden arrival.

Aaron was the first to step forward. "Where were you? We’ve all been worried—"

"When did I reject marrying Erin?" Lucian’s voice was loud and clear, cutting through the room like a blade. His words left everyone stunned.

He scanned their faces. "When was I asked to marry Erin? And why is she saying that I rejected her?"

"You didn’t?" Rowan asked, setting his glass aside and standing to meet Lucian’s gaze. His demeanor turned serious. "After hurting my sister, now you’re pretending you don’t remember?"

Lucian didn’t flinch, locking eyes with Rowan. His voice was unwavering. "I never rejected marrying her. How could I, when no one ever asked me if I wanted to marry her?"

Rowan’s expression darkened. "So, you’re saying that the king—His Majesty, King Ailwin—is lying?" His voice was cold, heavy with meaning.

The room fell into tense silence as the others exchanged uneasy glances.

"His Majesty never mentioned Erin. He only asked me what I thought about marriage and said he had a good proposal in mind. I told him I wanted to focus on developing my territory and had no plans to marry—at least not for a few years. I’m still young. But at no point did he mention Erin or a proposal from the Ahrens family."

Everyone stared at Lucian in disbelief.

"So... all of this was a misunderstanding?" Rafal asked, stunned. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"There’s no reason for me to lie," Lucian replied firmly. "If I had rejected her, I would have admitted it. I prefer to own my actions."

"Wait," Rowan’s cold voice cut through the room. His icy gaze remained fixed on Lucian. "If His Majesty had told you that the proposal was about Erin, what would you have done? Would you have accepted it?"

"No," Lucian answered without hesitation. "I wouldn’t have said yes."