Episode 113
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 113
“Are you telling me to marry someone else right now?”
Green eyes filled with a sense of betrayal stared at her. Intimidated by his suddenly sharp expression, Elysia faltered.
“That’s not what I meant. Usually, uh, with a designated partner…”
“My family has a tradition of marrying for love. It doesn’t matter. And even if it did, I’d make it a non-issue.”
“Hmm…? You don’t have arranged marriages or anything like that?”
“The family has stayed out of marriage matters for generations. The idea is that we should focus on our work instead of building animosity by fighting over pointless things.”
A sensible family, huh? Elysia nodded as if mesmerized. A playful look crossed his face as he lightly pinched her cheek and asked.
“I thought it was too soon to talk about things like that, so I didn’t bring it up. Have you already been thinking that far ahead on your own?”
“…Anyway, I don’t think moving into that house is a good idea. It’s completely different from just popping in and out of a dorm room. What are you going to do if rumors start that we’re getting married?”
“I’d be happy with that.”
“Ugh, come on!!!”
Evan burst out laughing at the sight of Elysia shrieking, her face bright red, and he shrugged his shoulders. A handsome face with a gentle smile spoke.
“If I had my way, I’d take you to the mansion right now… but since you don’t want to, I’ll hold back. Still, at least let me post a guard by your room.”
“That would be a great help.”
A trace of disappointment lingered on Evan’s face, along with a worry so immense it was impossible to hide.
After adjusting the pillow that had shifted, Evan helped her lie down. He kissed Elysia as she looked up at him, the blanket pulled up to her chin, and gently closed her eyes for her.
“The break ends tomorrow. I’ll wake you up, so get a good night’s sleep until then.”
“Aren’t you sleeping here, Senior?”
He flinched, his expression hardening for a moment. Hiding his unsmiling face in the darkness, he muttered.
“I’m going to sleep on the sofa.”
Ah. Belatedly sensing the strange shift in the atmosphere, Elysia quietly shut her mouth. He watched her flustered face, then slowly caressed the shell of her ear.
“Please, don’t get any weird ideas. You must have been terrified. I’d be a beast to jump you right now.”
“…”
“Ah, unless a weird idea is what you want?”
“No!!!”
He grinned as she shrieked and burrowed deeper under the covers. He gave her a light kiss and whispered.
“Sleep well. You have to go to school tomorrow.”
Before she could answer, the candle went out. Elysia opened her eyes and watched the man’s face as he lay down on the sofa to sleep.
Truthfully, it wasn’t that she hadn’t been swayed by Evan’s suggestion to move to the mansion. Even she, who seemed to have lost all sense of fear, felt a sense of crisis.
But even if it meant staying in Evan’s room, her reason for not leaving the dormitory, at least for now, wasn’t just because she felt burdened. Her silver eyes glinted like blades.
He’s starting to act out. I need to draw him out more.
Whether for her good or her detriment, the culprit was beginning to waver. Evan was right. To trap the culprit her intuition was pointing to, she needed sufficient evidence.
If it had been one of the guys she’d met in <Panic in the City>, she would have arrested him on the spot the moment she read that letter asking to meet in three days and shaken him down for every speck of dust in his wallet. But the suspect her intuition pointed to was so powerful he could easily cover up the murder of a commoner, and the physical evidence she currently had was scarce.
She suspected he was involved in everything from drug trafficking to serial murder, but she had no proof.
In that case, she had to keep showing weakness, make him let his guard down somehow, and provoke his desire to show off to secure irrefutable evidence that would leave him no room to escape.
So, for now, she would meet him and…
By the way, who the hell is that bastard…?
With that fundamental question in mind, she slowly closed her eyes.
*
Upstairs from the hall that reeked of alcohol and drugs, Alma lit a cigarette, savoring the sounds of the boisterous crowd, the intermittent brawls, and the resulting screams. And in that moment, she saw ‘him.’
Without using any passage, Cain appeared on the balcony as if by magic, then opened the door and walked in as if he owned the place. Instead of being surprised by his demonic ability, she demanded in a growling voice.
“What in the world have you been doing?”
Cain merely offered a quiet smile in response. The impossibly bright moonlight shattered over his platinum blonde hair. It was a beautiful sight, but Alma scoffed and brought the pipe to her lips.
“I heard some madman robbed a store in broad daylight, swinging a knife around. And what he was screaming at the top of his lungs was, ‘This isn’t the real world anyway, so we might as well enjoy it to the fullest before we go,’ wasn’t it?”
Clenching her trembling hands, Alma continued in a strangled voice.
“That’s exactly what you said… It was you, wasn’t it? You lunatic, what the hell are you thinking…?”
Cain ignored her with his usual indifference, his gaze fixed on the empty air as he lost himself in thought. Presently, a smirk pooled on his lips like stagnant water.
Alma froze, surprised that his smile wasn’t its usual arrogant one. The man’s face, as he let out a laugh he could no longer contain, resembled that of a boy seeing his first love.
Could that monster even make such a human expression…?
She gritted her teeth and said firmly.
“I’m out.”
“So easily? I’m disappointed.”
“I can’t be in the same boat as a lunatic who spouts nonsense about the authenticity of the world. Let me go quietly. I won’t breathe a word about Duke Ror’s family.”
“This is… rather amusing.”
A look of displeasure crossed the man’s face. He strode toward her, his face still holding a smile, but the one from before was long gone. All that remained was a sneer that looked down on everyone.
“What are you threatening me with? I never received any monetary compensation from you. All I gave you was a little knowledge. So there are no receipts, no checks, no evidence of any kind. How do you plan to do it?”
“Don’t come any closer.”
With a click-clack, the barrel of a loaded rifle touched his head. Cain took a step back. The expression on his face, like a child disappointed he couldn’t play anymore, frightened Alma. As Cain sighed dramatically and shrugged, Alma spoke.
“I’m going to have to give that woman a warning, just to make sure you don’t follow me anymore.”
His red eyes, bloodshot with killing intent, stared her down.
“If you’re even thinking of killing her, I’ll rip you to shreds with my own hands.”
“You psycho… I have no intention of throwing my life away, so shut up. I’m just going to give her a warning not to follow me.”
Alma thought of the two painters. She had long since confirmed that on the day her portrait was moved to the Sylvester estate, Elysia had been with two artists.
Viciously, she decided not to bother figuring out which of the two had painted her portrait. Her heavily made-up eyes curved into a leisurely arc.
“I suppose it wouldn’t matter if I killed her friend, right?”
“…”
“A selfish bastard like you wouldn’t care about her acquaintances.”
The young master of House Violante was too much trouble to kill. But a woman from Lune, from a humble family with no money who came to Alea… she was far too easy a target.
What’s more, she was close to Elysia Hemming, whom Alma couldn’t touch herself. If she could deal a severe blow to that woman with such an easy murder, there was nothing more convenient.
Cain, sensing Alma’s intentions, fell into deep thought. Kill the one who’s closer, huh?
“Wow, I like that. If that’s your line of thinking, I think it would be fine to kill the second son of House Sylvester.”
How could I possibly touch House Sylvester? Unlike Alma, who scowled, Cain beamed, his expression far too bright for someone plotting a murder.
“Because that man is her weakness.”
*
“Hello, Senior.”
“Did you have a good break?”
What could cause a bigger stir than a beggar striking it rich overnight? The return of the prodigal son, perhaps.
That was Elysia’s first thought as the fall semester began. Unlike before, Evan was swarmed by people. Men and women alike clung to him, trying to get a word in.
Feeling burdened by their fervent gazes, Elysia tried to slip away, but he grabbed her wrist, and she was forced to stay by his side. The reason she had to be there was…
“I was dating someone over the break.”
The man, who had cut off the people around him with a firm attitude, went on his way without a hint of hesitation.
He smiled at a stammering Elysia, who was glancing back and forth between the hand gripping hers and his face, after he had shut everyone down so mercilessly it was embarrassing.
“…What was that?”
“What? It’s true.”
“Well, yes, it’s true, but… just because it’s true doesn’t mean it’s right to say it!”
He felt sorry for Elysia, who clearly wanted to run away, but what he was doing was a way of staking his claim.
To lessen the impact of the backlash Elysia would face for what she was about to do, he needed to be a little conspicuous. That was why he had deliberately made a show of them being together.
It was a way of saying, Don’t you dare treat her carelessly just because she’s a commoner of unknown origin. House Sylvester has this woman’s back.
Elysia stopped Evan as he escaped the crowd, excusing himself with an attitude that drew a line but wasn’t rude. She frowned and muttered.
“I’m going to pretend I don’t know you at school from now on.”
“That’s harsh.”
He’d done it knowing people would call him dramatic, so what could he do? Smiling with his eyes, he lightly bumped his forehead against hers, then his expression turned to one of surprise at her next words.
“By the way, did you do something to get on people’s bad side, Senior?”
“Hm?”
“There are a lot of people trying to get on your good side, but there’s a lot of hostility, too.”
Ah, that. He smiled bitterly.