Chapter 483: "What Are You Trying to Do!

It was late at night.

In the still-candlelit banquet hall, servants cleared the post-dinner tableware, the clinking of cutlery occasionally breaking the silence.

The night felt even more desolate than usual after everyone had left.

Everything was quiet.

Only Sean, trailing behind Daeli on the lawn like a child who had done something wrong, knew it was an illusion.

All of it.

Including the harmonious, friendly atmosphere of the two families laughing and chatting during the latter half of the banquet—it was all just the calm before the storm.

The banquet hall wasn’t far from the Guest Castle, but to Sean, this walk felt longer than his entire life.

Watching Daeli’s silent back ahead of him, Sean found himself recalling many things from the past.

This should have been a good thing.

Everyone is different because they possess their own consciousness and perception, and memories are a part of what constitutes that. For a Reshaper or someone with amnesia, each recovered memory makes them more whole, gradually returning them to their former self.

The same was true for Sean.

From the first time he met Daeli, the beautiful young lady of the Blazing Angel Family, to getting to know her, and then falling in love—the entire process was undeniably sweet. If it were adapted into a TV drama, it would be guaranteed to make a bunch of tough guys grin like fools.

But Sean couldn’t bring himself to smile.

‘To him, right now, these weren’t memories. They were more like his life flashing before his eyes…’

Daeli didn’t say a word the entire way.

‘Either erupt in silence or perish in it.’

‘And it was obvious Daeli wasn’t going to be the one perishing. That would be him.’

Things had progressed to this point; there was no running away. Sean could only brace himself and follow.

「Back at the Guest Castle.」

“Talk.”

Daeli spoke the moment they entered the room.

Sean noticed she locked the door, then flicked her fingers to conjure a small Magic Array that enveloped the entire room.

‘He recognized that Magic Array. It didn’t just block sound, but also sight. Screaming his lungs out would be useless now. There was no escape.’

“When did it start between you and Eli?” Daeli asked.

As she spoke, she poured Sean a glass of water. He had drunk a lot for her today; she still had to take care of him where it was due.

In truth, Sean was already sober. He had a high tolerance and hadn’t been drunk in the first place. Plus, the shock of hearing Elvire say “Sean” had instantly cleared his head. He could have easily moved on to another round of drinking without issue.

‘The problem was how to survive long enough to get to that next round.’

Sean pretended not to hear Daeli. As she handed him the glass, he seized the opportunity to grasp her hand. His gaze was so tender it looked like it could drip water as he said, “Darling, you’re so good to me.”

Daeli pursed her lips. “Am I?”

Sean nodded like a chicken pecking at grain. “Yes. In my heart, you’ve always been the best.”

“Oh,” Daeli said. “So I’m the best, am I…”

“Mm-hm!”

“Then why did you go looking for another woman?”

Sean: “…”

“And she’s my sister.”

“My own sister.”

Sean: “…”

‘Attempt to change the subject: failed.’

Sean prepared to implement Plan B.

He suddenly stood up and moved to hug Daeli.

“Darling, I haven’t seen you in so many years. You’ve gotten thinner…”

‘If verbal language doesn’t work, add body language.’

But Daeli had anticipated this. She cut him off before he could finish and dodged Sean’s sugar-coated embrace.

“Even if I were skin and bones, it would have nothing to do with you making a move on my sister.”

“Or are you saying that because I’m thinner, I’m not as pretty, and you don’t like me anymore, so you transferred your love for me onto Eli?”

Sean: “…”

Daeli’s voice turned chilly. “Sit back down. And keep your hands to yourself.”

“Oh.” Sean put on a wronged expression.

This was another one of his classic tactics. Daeli pretended not to see it.

No one in this world knew Sean better than she did.

Every time this man made a mistake, it was the same routine. First move: change the subject. Second move: appeal to emotion. Then came appealing to reason—only his “reason” wasn’t logic, but sophistry. Sean was a philosopher, a master of fallacious arguments, often spewing nonsense with righteous confidence. And if he couldn’t argue his way out and knew he was in the wrong, he would start acting cute, trying to get by on charm.

Daeli knew she had little resistance to Sean’s embraces and his contrasting behavior, so she wasn’t going to give him the chance.

She had Sean sit on the sofa while she sat opposite him, maintaining a safe distance—one that would allow her to react even to a sneak attack.

“Answer my question. When did it start between you and Eli?” Daeli asked again.

This showed how much she cared about it.

Otherwise, with her personality, she wouldn’t have kept pressing the issue.

Seeing that there was truly no way out, Sean lowered his head, peeking at Daeli as he whispered, “Last year.”

“How far has it gone?” Daeli asked.

Sean said weakly, “W-we just held hands…”

Daeli sneered. “Are you sure it was just holding hands?”

Sean buried his head even lower. “We also… kissed…”

Daeli: “Which lips?”

Sean: “…”

“The ones on my face.”

“So you haven’t slept together?” Daeli asked.

Sean answered with a modicum of emotional intelligence, “Eli is a very reserved and innocent girl.”

“Yes, Eli is very innocent.” Daeli looked Sean in the eye, her tone profound. “But her brother-in-law isn’t.”

Sean felt the need to make a clarification. “You should be able to tell that my memory hasn’t fully returned.”

Daeli: “And?”

Sean: “If I said that I fell for her before I remembered she was my sister-in-law, would you believe me?”

Daeli: “No.”

Sean: “…”

Daeli looked at him and said, “Not only do I not believe you, I’m now starting to suspect that you disappeared for so long just to wait for an opportunity when I wasn’t by Eli’s side, so you could make your move on her.”