Looking at the groaning Lady Malleta Berengaria on the cold hard ground, gasping for air, yet trying to reach out for Eganius Cline, Titania realized that the relationship between the two was not ordinary at all.

At this moment, Titania was suddenly reminded of a rhyme from her previous life, 'Tick tock, toxic lover, your talk is cheap and it's time I crossed you off my list.'

Yes. The relationship between Eganius Cline and Malleta Berengaria seemed very in sync with these particular words. Egan was like the toxic lover of Malleta that would drive her crazy in every sense of the word. He was like a bad medication, yet as addictive as a potent drug. Hence, as much as she tried, she could never get rid of this obsession for the guy. And the person in question did not even seem to care. Yes, the classic definition of a love/hate toxic relationship.

"Your Majesty!!" Malleta Berengaria shrieked at the top of her lungs, even if it sounded rather choked than a cry of desperation.

Eganius Cline however, did not stop and continued walking down the road to his destination.

"Your Majesty! We had a pact. Are you, a monarch, going back on your word now?" Malleta almost could not keep her calm. She was not like her usual poised and dignified self, she looked rather unkempt and down-at-heel. But she did not seem to care about her appearance at all at this moment.

Titania was suddenly curious about this pact between the Berengarias and Eganius Cline, but she did not know how to ask this taciturn guy about it. Not to mention that she got her own set of troubles to resolve with Eganius Cline. Hence, no matter how curious she might be, she did not think it right to ask him of this matter. Besides, she was going to break up with this guy anyway. 'So let's not get any more involved in his problems.' Was what she thought.

Eganius Cline was an unfeeling monster with no heart to boost, so he could hardly empathize with anyone or anything at all. However, there were certain things that still riled him to this day. It was when someone threatened his authority.

He slowly turned on his heels and looked at the pitiful woman writhing in the ground with a cold gaze, ".... Are you threatening me right now?"

Malleta Berengaria instinctually felt as if she had just stepped on a landmine. Being around Eganius Cline for this long, she was well aware of his bipolar personality and the taboos that Eganius Cline never tolerated. He could never tolerate someone challenging his authority or coursing him to act against his will. She knew it all, but due to a moment of emotional misjudgment and clouded state of mind, she caused a huge blunder.

Malleta Berengaria was literally shaking in her boots as the pressure on her soul grew more and more intense. It was like he was merely trying to crush her with his aura alone. It was too suffocating to even bare and Malleta knew inherently that if she did not act now, she would not survive to see the next sunrise.

"Y-Your Majesty, p..please! Mercy!" She wanted to grovel on the floor and beg for mercy but she could hardly speak. She could not even beg for mercy. She felt the sweet metallic taste of fresh blood that was about to spill out of her mouth and she was choked on it.

Right when she thought that she would not survive the next seconds of her life, she heard a groggy sweet voice from within the embrace of Eganius Cline, "Ugh...! P-Please stop." The girl muttered in a small stifled tone.

When Egan unleashed his deadly aura to overwhelm Malleta Berengaria, he for an instant, forgot about Titania and the fact that she was only a 2nd tier mage in her already weakened state. So, his vast amount of dense aura was like a catalyst that further aggravated the miasma inside of Titania's body. Making it all the more worse for her.

When she grabbed hold onto Eganius Cline's robes to stop him, it was already her final effort to fight against death.

With gritted teeth she garbled, "I hope to arrive to my death late, in love and a little drunk. So... spare me this time, will you?"

Before Titania lost consciousness, she could see the weirded out look on Eganius Cline's face that screamed 'Really? Seriously!?' and she had the sudden urge to bite the guy. But, she knew no matter how aggressive her mind gets, there was no way in hell that she could bite Eganius Cline and get away with it. And Titania was a sensible individual who treasured her life above all else. After all, what was self-esteem and self-worth if you are not even able to keep your life intact in the end. She could only hope that this lunatic guy calmed down enough to understand that gravity of her condition before it was too late.

On the other hand, Eganius Cline who was going rather rampant, abruptly calmed down when he saw that Titania's condition did not seem optimistic at all.

He suddenly felt flustered and disconcerted, as if he had no idea what suddenly went wrong with her.

This was a first for Egan, no one, not even he had seen himself being anxious over anything or anyone since the past thousand years. It was true that he could not feel emotions, but for some weird twisted reason when he was around this young girl he had the illusion that he could suddenly feel emotions.

At first, it was not very apparent; however, slowly but surely, he could feel emotions like sadness, joy, surprise and anger. He hardly had any conception of what those emotions would feel like, but as if imprinted in the back of his mind, he could instinctually tell what kind of emotion he was experiencing the moment he felt that kind of feeling. It was baffling to him and it left him disturbed and speechless but he understood his body spontaneously knew that he wanted to feel more of these emotional ups and downs.

For the first time in a thousand years Eganius Cline wanted something like never before. And that 'want' left him bemused and fascinated.

My dear readers, I have noticed that many of you were arguing over the matter of Egan's prior fiancée Lady Malleta.

In this regard, I totally understand the point of view of you guys. After all, this book in and itself is not about the glory of the main leads, rather about the toils and turnovers of the villain and side characters. But in the case of Lady Malleta, granted she seems like a victim of circumstance, but I totally agree that does not give her the right to hurt another for her own gains.

Yes she was greedy and selfish and she fought for her own gains, for there was no other way out for her. Her family sold her out so blatantly and she did not know who to rely on in her times of dispair except for a taciturn Egan. And over time, that feeling of dependence became something more to her.

So her being selfish was totally a justifiable fact, hence I really do not know how to judge her. But humans in real life are not strictly good or bad. Circumstances and situations really determine on which side they stand.

Lady Malleta was a pure example of a desperate person who did not have enough means or power to turn over or counterattack. Even though some of the situations were not her fault, but against pure strength, a weak individual is often rendered powerless. Specially if he or she is reckless is all I can say 🥲

Have a great day ahead guys. Love one and all. Ciao! ❤️