Transmigrated Into a Cannon Fodder Phoenix, Stuck With the Ice Dragon-Chapter 70: Nothing Makes Sense

"Lucian..." I glared at him, trying to tug my hand free. "My palm is sweating. Can you let go of my hand?"

He didn’t even glance at me, his icy profile as calm and stubborn as ever.

"I’m not letting go," he said evenly, eyes fixed on the maid and butler who were still moving about the room, checking every corner, every surface, making sure there wasn’t a single thing left I could use to hurt myself.

The cold in his voice didn’t match the warmth of his grip. It was firm, grounding... and somehow even more frustrating.

"Lucian," I hissed under my breath, leaning closer. "You’re acting like I’m about to launch myself out the window."

His gaze finally flicked toward me, pale eyes unreadable.

"Don’t you ever dare..." he said, voice low with a warning that made my stomach twist.

Then he turned to one of the butlers and asked, completely seriously,

"Is there any way to seal the windows?"

"Lucian!" I almost choked, my voice shooting up half an octave. "Are you insane?!"

He didn’t even flinch. Not a twitch.

"You should ask yourself that," he said flatly, "after you almost stabbed your own neck with a knife."

He turned back to the window, inspecting it like it had personally betrayed him.

"Do you really think I can be calm after that?"

I blinked at him, speechless.

"Lucian, I wasn’t—"

He cut me a sharp look. "You were."

"I just... wanted to see—"

"My reaction?" he finished for me, the words edged with frustration. He let out a hard sigh, running a hand through his hair. "So are you satisfied now? Did you find what you wanted?"

The room fell quiet again.

Too quiet.

I opened my mouth, then closed it, because honestly? I didn’t know what I wanted.

His fingers tightened around mine, not harsh or painful, just firm enough to make my heart ache.

"You almost died," he continued, voice lower, rougher. "Just to test me."

I looked away. "Well... if I died, I can respawn back—"

Lucian whipped his head toward me so fast I flinched.

"Does that sound easy to you?" he snapped, his voice cracking on the edges. "Do you know how crazy I went trying to find you the other day when you died?"

I froze.

His words tore something open inside me.

He stepped closer, and this time there was no calm and control, just a storm barely held together.

"You think I just... sat there?" His voice shook, anger tangled with something painfully raw. His hands suddenly cupped my face, cold fingers trembling against my skin.

"I tore apart the whole manor looking for you," he said, breath unsteady, "every corridor, every room, every damn corner—"

His voice dropped lower, cracking.

"Just because I thought you were gone."

I stared at him, stunned, as his grip tightened ever so slightly.

"So don’t you dare," he whispered, and this time the anger slipped, revealing the hurt underneath, "treat your life like it’s something you can throw away just because you’re a phoenix."

His throat bobbed and his brows pulled together.

"You scared the hell out of me," he said, voice thick and rough. "Do you understand that?"

And in his eyes, I saw cold, pale, fear...

I finally saw it.

The fear.

The ache.

And the anger that came from both.

My lips suddenly trembled, and before I knew it, I pouted and I’m sure I looked hell pathetic and shaky.

"Do you think I’m happy doing that?"

Lucian’s brows pulled low, his expression twisting with anger he wasn’t even trying to hide.

"It looked like you loved the fact you can respawn back... no?"

His tone cut sharp, almost bitter.

I gasped, offended, "Loved it?!"

He shot back instantly, "Then what was this? A hobby? A pastime? A morning exercise?!"

My one free hand flailed wildly. "It was a test!"

"Using your life?! Seriously?!"

His shout slammed into the walls, echoing so sharply that every maid and butler froze mid-movement.

Actually... from the moment we started arguing, they had already been ’inching’ toward the door.

But Lucian Drake yelling?

Yeah, that fear glued them in place like furniture.

One maid holding a vase went stiff as a statue.

Another butler pretended to fix the same curtain tie for the fifth time, sweating bullets.

Someone else dropped a fork but didn’t dare bend to pick it up.

Meanwhile, Lucian still had both hands on my cheeks, holding me in place like I was an unstable bomb.

"You used your life for a test?!" he repeated, eyebrows actually moving, which meant he was furious.

"I didn’t know what else to do!" I protested, my one free hand waving helplessly in the air while his palms were still clamped on my cheeks.

"Talk!" he shouted, frustration bursting out of him like a storm. "You can talk, Seraphina!"

"Oh, really?" I shot back. "And say what, Lucian? ’Hey, by the way, do you actually care about me or is it just my flame you want?’ Yeah, that would’ve gone great!"

His grip on my cheeks tightened just a fraction, not enough to hurt, but enough to show he was seconds away from losing his mind.

"I would’ve answered you," he bit out.

"You would’ve lied!"

"You wouldn’t even allow me to!" Lucian shot back, his voice sharp enough to slice through the air.

His fingers tightened on my cheeks with a frustration that felt almost helpless, a kind of desperation he wasn’t even trying to hide anymore.

"I tried—God, Seraphina, I tried to explain so many times, but you always snap back, or twist what I say—"

"I twist what you say because nothing makes sense!" I yelled back, my frown deepening as I stared straight into his icy blue eyes and then he snapped.

"GET OUT, ALL OF YOU!"

His roar crashed through the room like a shockwave.

Every maid, every butler, who had been pretending to not exist, jolted like they’d been struck by lightning.

Within seconds they scrambled out the door so fast the air practically whooshed behind them, someone even forgetting to bow properly in the panic.

The door slammed shut on their heels, leaving just the two of us in the sudden, suffocating silence.

Lucian didn’t look away from me once.

His chest rose and fell sharply.

His hands were still on my cheeks.

And the anger, the fear, the hurt... all of it was right there in his eyes.

"Now," he said, his voice lower, rougher, "you and I are going to finish this."