Intentional Approach

Asha was a member of a secret organization tracking down Yergev, a vast syndicate that’s corrupting the Empire from within.

Her current mission was to infiltrate the academy and gather intelligence on a young lord who appeared to have ties to Yergef.

As her mission neared completion, she followed the young lord to a masquerade ball, only to fall victim to a curse.

And just then, as the scene erupted into chaos, she came face to face with the sheriff, Entesha.

—

I asked Entesha for his help, and he agreed without hesitation. Even that much was already a little more than mortifying, but I believed things might somehow work out.

If only, in the midst of frantically accepting his help, I hadn’t noticed the mark on the back of his hand…

But the memory of that night was hazy, as though blurred by the circumstances.

I couldn’t be certain if the mark was truly Yergef’s. All I had was a gnawing suspicion I couldn’t shake.

Was he part of Yergef, or wasn’t he?

To find out, I approached Entesha, claiming, with a reason so absurd it was laughable even at a glance, that I had fallen for him at first sight.

—

“There’s a thing you should know, Darling. In this world, you’ll meet all kinds of absolute bastards. Far more than you’d think.”

He reached out, brushed aside the hair from my face, and cupped both my cheeks in his gloved hands. The cold touch of the leather against my skin sent a shiver through me.

Then, deliberately bending down to meet my gaze, he rested his forehead against mine, the tenderness of the gesture leaving not the faintest gap between us.

And the moment his thumb grazed my earlobe, he murmured, low and slow.

Ah… Darling.

“Don’t you think… you’ve gotten yourself caught up with the wrong bastard this time?”