Saving The Villainous Monster From The Male Lead-Chapter 37 - 36: Challenge Accepted

||Countdown: 0 Days

Before Stella Loses Her Pride!!

00:45:09 ||

The night breeze gushed in as Eleanore opened the window door of her balcony. She felt shivers down her spine, when the cold wind brushed through her skin but her eyes remained fixed on the countdown window.

"45 minutes. That’s all I have left." Eleanore whispered to herself.

"My Lady!" She heard a maid’s voice from outside her door. "May I come in?" She asked.

"Yes." Eleanore replied, confused by this maid’s odd behaviour.

The maid came in with a large trolly, containing the tea she had ordered. She started preparing the tea on the small table outside, in the balcony, like Eleanore had asked. She sat on her chair, as the warm tea was poured in front of her, sending a hint of warmth in this cold weather.

"Are you new?’ Eleanore asked.

"No. My lady." The maid replied.

"Then, why did you call me out, when you could simply knock?" She asked, picking up the delicate cup from the saucer. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"I knocked. Many times. My Lady." The maid said, stunned by how Eleanore was acting.

"You did?"

Eleanore took a sip, realising that she was so focused on counting down the time of her death that she heard nothing around her.

"Mary asked if she should prepare dinner for you, My Lady." The maid hesitantly asked.

"I am not hungry. You may leave." Eleanore had lost her appetite, unless she could see Caelestis coming from that door and accepting her challenge, there was no way any food could pass through her neck.

The maid left and Eleanore looked back up at the countdown window. It was different from the notification window. This one was rectangular and small and it didn’t move along with her eyeballs. Just remained fixed on her forehead. ’Whose countdown is this? Mine or Stella’s?’

||Countdown: 0 Days

Before Stella Loses Her Pride!!

00:30:28 ||

"Looks like he is not coming." Eleanore sighed, finishing her tea and placing the cup back in its place.

Just then the door to her room swung open, revealing Caelestis standing there in his night dress.

Eleanore got out of her seat and walked out of the balcony, while Caelestis covered the rest of the distance between them.

His nightdress was made out of a rather thin fabric, his skin barely covered and his chest stood wide open, revealing his muscular chest.

Eleanore froze, her eyes fixed on his bare chest and the small pendant that tangled down his neck, tied in a thin, black thread.

"I accept your challenge." Caelestis said, but got no answer in return.

So he moved closer, until there was barely any space left between them and raised her chin lightly, by his index finger. He looked into her crimson eyes and repeated his words again. "I accept your challenge. Lady Eleanore."

Her breath was almost blocked in her throat, she couldn’t breathe as her eyes fell on his handsome face catching the dim light of the candles nearby. She bit her lip, wanting to get back to sense but nothing worked in front of his flawless face, until the system window popped open with a notification.

|| You have completed Task 1: Convince Caelestis

Reward: You Have Earned Coins: +100000

Total Reputation: -200000

Total Coins: 310100 ||

Her eyes lit up with sudden joy and her hand flew over his chest. "Good." She says, pushing him away from her. "I will help you well grand duke, but—" She hesitates before completing or rather finding words to complete that sentence. Her mind had gone blank ever since Caelestis had entered the room in that distracting outfit.

"But?" Caelestis asked, his patience dying.

"But— If Stella doesn’t confess, then you must let her go and get married." Eleanore’s mouth ran without her brain commanding it to.

"To you?" He asked, hardly surprised by her words.

"What?" Eleanore was puzzled.

Caelestis rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Should I marry you then, Lady Eleanore?"

"NO-no." She stammered. His question helped her shut down brain to wake up. "Anyone but you must."

"Nonsense. That’s not going to happen." He sighed. "I’d rather stay single all my life."

"We’ll see about that later, but right now, you must get Stella out, this instant." It was less of a request and more of an order from Eleanore’s side.

"Fine." Caelestis sighs, as he leaves the room.

Half way toward the staircase, he notices that Eleanore had been following him all along.He stopped and turned around, unaware of her intentions. "Why are you following me?" He asked.

"I am coming along." Eleanore replied, as if it was an obvious thing.

"Why?" Caelestis folded his hands around his chest.

"I want to see you releasing her with my own eyes. I don’t believe you."

"No!" He didn’t want her to come and take away his importance from Stella’s life again.

"I won’t hurt her." Eleanore assured him and then started descending the stairs.

Caelestis said nothing more and simply followed her. Soon they were walking through the greenhouse. At night, the greenhouse looked like a forest, with sparkling white roses in the cluster of red ones.

Eleanore could now understand the reason behind the late grand duchess’ decision to grow them like that. They looked extremely mesmerising and surprisingly heartwarming but fearsome at the same time.

As her foot traced the volcanic tiles of the greenhouse, she remembered that man she met that day and her forwarding feet stopped. Caelestis crashed into her, then quickly moved back, feeling strange from touching her slender body.

"Have you changed your mind? Are you no longer coming?" Caelestis asked, frustrated by how Eleanore was making him dance on the tip of her finger as she pleased.

"Have you appointed a gardener here?" She asked, looking narrowly down the path where she had seen that strange man.

"Are you dumb or perhaps have you lost your memory? The head maid takes care of this place, personally." He replies, snatching away the torch from Eleanore’s hand, regretting that he ever even gave it in her hand.