Emperor's harem: Transmigrated with SSS mana talent
Chapter 91: [Wrong fool]

Chapter 91: [Wrong fool]

"I’m Duke Kael Drenlor. It’s a pleasure, Selina."

He gracefully took a seat across from her, folding his hands calmly on his lap.

"Please, tell me what brings you here," Kael said, his tone polite but measured, every word carefully chosen.

Selina’s eyes gleamed with a mixture of ambition and curiosity as she began to speak.

"I’ve always wanted to meet the Chosen One of the War God’s Temple. The gifted heir. The one who stood beside the Divine General... and now, the youngest Duke in the kingdom."

Kael gave a faint smile, dipping his head slightly.

"You flatter me."

She leaned forward with a soft laugh, the motion deliberate, the neckline of her dress shifting just enough to suggest allure without scandal.

"I only speak the truth."

From the satchel by her side, she drew out a slim glass bottle, dark red and stoppered with wax.

"I brought this for you," she said, presenting it with both hands.

"Crimson Bloom. The rarest wine of the southern provinces. I had to charm, threaten, and bribe my way past three border merchants just to get one bottle."

Kael’s gaze lingered on the bottle a moment. He knew this wine.

Crimson Bloom was potent—not just in strength, but symbolism.

In southern traditions, it was offered between lovers or those hoping to become such.

High in alcohol, sweet with a lingering burn... and intimate by design.

He gave a small nod, carefully accepting the bottle.

"That’s... generous of you," he said lightly.

"Though I wonder what I’ve done to earn such effort."

Selina’s eyes sparkled with coy mischief.

"Is it so wrong to bring a gift for someone you admire?"

She uncorked the wine herself, the scent rich and floral. Then she poured two glasses—small, delicate ones she’d brought with her, designed for slow sipping.

She took hers without hesitation, tilting it to her lips with practiced ease.

Kael hesitated for only a second.

’So that’s the angle.

Alright.

Time to play the fool.’

He put on a sheepish expression, eyes widening just a bit. He lifted the glass with both hands like someone unfamiliar with etiquette and took a quick sip.

He coughed gently.

"Oh... that’s stronger than I thought," he said, his voice cracking slightly.

Selina smiled behind her glass.

"It’s meant to be. Warms the blood. Puts you at ease."

Kael offered a shy chuckle, glancing at his lap.

"I—I’ve never really had wine like this before. Especially with... well, someone like you."

Her lashes fluttered, and she tilted her head sweetly.

"Someone like me?"

"I mean... pretty," Kael mumbled, blushing. "And elegant."

He fidgeted with the glass.

"I don’t really talk to girls much. Not like this."

Selina’s gaze softened with carefully staged affection. She reached out, brushing his sleeve with her fingertips.

"Then I’m honored to be your first."

Kael offered an awkward, bashful smile—one he’d practiced in the mirror long ago for entirely different reasons.

He shifted slightly, pretending to be unsure of where to place his hands. The glass of wine trembled slightly in his fingers.

Selina watched him for a beat, then stood with quiet grace and stepped around the table. Without asking, she sat down beside him on the long bench, their shoulders barely brushing.

Kael stiffened instantly, almost flinching at the closeness.

His heartbeat ’jumped’.

He forced a nervous laugh, looking down at the floor like a bashful boy caught in his first crush.

Selina leaned in, her voice hushed and teasing.

"Is this okay?"

Kael hesitated, eyes darting to her hand resting so casually near his.

"Uh... o-okay, yeah," he murmured, swallowing hard.

She raised an eyebrow, her lips twisting in feigned hurt.

"That’s surprising. I heard you have a beautiful slave... doesn’t she sit beside you like this?"

Kael cursed silently.

Shit. She did her homework.

He kept his face flushed and flustered, eyes widening as he shook his head quickly.

"N-no! She’s just a slave—nothing more, I swear!"

He tried to sound panicked.

Desperate. Like a boy afraid his crush might get the wrong idea.

Selina studied him for a moment, her expression unreadable—then smiled, gently nodding, as if reassured.

"I see... I suppose that’s good to know."

Inside, she was amused.

Is he really this easy? I thought seducing him would be a challenge.

This is almost disappointing.

Kael, still playing the fool, gave her a little grin. Then, in a moment of what he imagined would look like shy boldness, he leaned slightly closer and said, "I—I like your laugh. It’s... kinda cute."

Selina giggled softly, covering her mouth like a proper noble lady—but inside, she was already spinning webs.

And Kael let her think she was the spider.

But Kael was growing bored.

The game was losing its flavor.

Then Selina’s expression changed.

Her playful mask faded into a soft sadness. Her eyes dropped. Shoulders curled inward like a flower folding in on itself.

Kael, sensing the shift, straightened instantly.

Here it comes.

He summoned the perfect expression: brow furrowed with concern, lips parted slightly in empathy, his whole face the image of a noble knight ready to serve a lady in distress.

"Miss Selina," he said gently,

"Is something the matter? Please, if you’re troubled—speak freely."

She hesitated, then looked up at him with a tremble in her voice.

"Duke... I-I actually... ran away from home."

Kael’s eyes widened.

"My mother," she continued, biting her lip, "wants to marry me off to the son of Duke Alaric—the Eastern vulture. But I... I couldn’t let that happen."

Tears sparkled at the edges of her eyes.

"I’ve admired you for so long, Duke Kael. I painted your face from stories. I knew your name before I ever heard my own whispered in court. And now that I’ve met you..." Her voice cracked, trembling hands clutching her skirt.

"I think—I think I’ve fallen in love with you."

She looked down, waiting.

Kael blinked in apparent shock.

His lips parted. His breath hitched.

Externally: stunned, moved, overwhelmed.

Internally?

Honey trap.

Hahahahahaha.

Stupid. Absolutely stupid.

He almost had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop from smirking.

But his performance? Flawless.

He sank to one knee before her like a storybook knight, every movement slow, reverent.

Selina gasped, just as he knew she would.

Eyes wide.

Breath held.

Heart—racing for the wrong reason.

"I..." Kael began, voice trembling with just the right shade of sincerity,

"I think I fell for you the moment you walked in. I’ve never felt this way before."

Internally, he was dying of secondhand embarrassment.

This is nauseating. May the gods strike me if I ever speak these lines again.

Selina covered her mouth, eyes glistening. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

What a fool. This is too easy. He’s already mine.

Kael smiled softly and lifted her right hand—gently, reverently—as if preparing to slip a ring onto her finger.

She closed her eyes, smiling through tears.

Fool. I win.

But what touched her skin next... wasn’t a ring.

It was cold steel.

SHLK!

A clean, brutal sound split the air.

It echoed like a scream held tight in a coffin.

Selina’s eyes snapped open.

There was no ring.

There was nothing.

She gasped.

And looked down—

Only to see a gush of blood spraying from her side.

Her entire right arm, from the shoulder down, was gone—severed at the joint.

The limb lay twitching on the marble floor.

Kael stood over her, face no longer blushing or awkward.

It was blank.

Cold.

Absolute.

Blood dripped from his sword in rhythmic trails as he looked down at her—like a butcher judging flawed meat.

Selina opened her mouth.

She screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!"

It was raw. Full. A sound only made when the body thinks death is seconds away.

She collapsed backward, thrashing in her own blood, staring in frozen disbelief at the stump that had been her arm.

Kael watched without flinching.

Without blinking.

Then, voice ice-calm:

"You picked the wrong fool."

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