Chapter 37: Placing the Blame On Temi
Ariel knew that Leandro would take a look at her neck. He was very sensitive to ‘completely owning her. It didn’t matter whether it was an object or a person. He’ll just make it his own. It was Leandro’s perverse possessiveness to keep things he liked whole and intact should he make up his mind to add them to his collection.
Of course, the only exception to this was himself as he could destroy his things as he liked. He just can’t stand anyone touching his property before he’s had the chance to trample on it himself. So facing Ariel, he always scrutinized and examined her whole body from head to toe. Just in case someone broke his shiny new doll while he wasn’t looking.
The fingernail-sized scratch on her ankle was also noticed by the attentive Leandro. He was so dedicated to monitoring Ariel, and it was almost impossible to hide the obvious love bite mark that someone else had laid on her.
There was a reason that all the other servants who threatened Ariel were executed except for Temi. Temi was a person who tried to bully Ariel by constantly manipulating someone else, even though she did not directly harm Ariel. The latter didn’t want to let her die the same as the other maids because she remembered how much of a hard time her ugly jealousy had put Ariel through. That’s what she felt at the moment. This time, she even attacked Ariel with a knife, unlike in the original story, so Ariel was worried about how much more vicious she would become going forward.
So Ariel deliberately left Temi alive and seduced Carlos. She wondered if there was any way she could punish her severely. Because that’s the conclusion that she came out with. Since Leandro was bound to choose the most vicious method to exact punishment for this kind of thing, she thought to borrow his hand and decided to pin the blame on her.
In fact, there were many alternatives besides Carlos. Since he’s a guy who’s got a lot of responsibilities in the palace. But judging from Carlos’ uptight personality, she thought he would never covet Ariel and go until the end without Leandro’s permission. And her prediction hit the mark.
It was a good deal for Ariel, for she could stir up Carlos’ heart, arouse Leandro’s jealousy, and punish Temi.
But the only thing she didn’t expect was the power of Leandro. She thought he would be angry at Ariel, having all kinds of imaginations when he sees the mark on her neck, but she didn’t know he would strangle her so harshly. If she had reached out a little later, if Leandro hadn’t noticed what she meant and had strangled her a little more. He would not eventually kill Ariel, but it occurred to her that she might have really lost her life.
As long as she decided to become Ariel in the novel and change her life by taking the lead, she had to survive somehow from all the dangers that threaten her safety.
Ariel wrapped her sore throat with her hands. Perhaps by tomorrow she’ll have a shriveled bruise on her neck making the shape of Leandro’s hand.
That wasn’t bad either. Whenever he sees the traces he left behind, he’ll feel sorry for Ariel.
In the quiet bedroom Leandro, Carlos, and Ariel, were each preoccupied with their own thoughts.
“Your Majesty, I’ve brought in the criminal.”