Episode 128
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 128
“……”
“So don’t die. Please, please…”
The man froze at her brutal yet tender love confession. As she swayed, Evan hurriedly caught her in his arms.
“I’m right here. It’s okay. El, look at me. Hm?”
“Is this how you felt, Senior? When I ran off… did you feel like you were going to lose your mind? But how could you be so calm? If it were me, I would have locked you up. So you could never leave my sight, so no one could ever touch you…”
A storm of savage emotions churned within Elysia’s clouded eyes. The waist of the woman in his arms was trembling uncontrollably. To calm her, he met her gaze and whispered.
“El, you wouldn’t have done that.”
“You think I couldn’t? Should I do it, right now?”
Evan let her tears fall onto him as she spoke those chilling words, gently patting her on the back.
“It’s okay.”
The woman’s trembling subsided as she heard his voice, his lips gently pressing against her cold ear.
It’s okay, it’s okay. As his murmurs soothed her, Elysia burrowed into his embrace like a child seeking comfort.
“It’s okay now… I came back, so you’ll be okay now. As long as I’m by your side…”
Elysia struggled to slow her ragged breathing. The moment she felt Evan’s warmth, the thoughts that had been racing toward extremes snapped, lost their power, and plummeted.
Burying her face in his chest, she tried to calm herself by listening to the sound of his heartbeat.
Who was it? The person who hurt someone as kind as you. Naturally, she reconstructed the scene in her mind. The pale hand of the bastard who must have held the knife with a smirk, his red eyes that must have curved with glee, the moon that must have hung in the sky behind him.
Ah, Cain.
In a mind scorched black with despair, now left with nothing but ash, the flames of rage began to spread.
The bell of a distant clock tower rang twice. Two in the morning. Elysia pushed herself up, her face blazing with fury.
She shoved Evan, who had stood up with her, toward the dorms and muttered through clenched teeth.
“…I’m going to kill him.”
Before Evan could stop her, she bolted.
*
Bang! The doors to the banquet hall were thrown open so violently they nearly shattered.
The commotion drew all eyes to her, the stares pricking at her face, but they were hazy. The people still here at this hour couldn’t possibly be sober. Anyone in their right mind would have gone home long ago.
“What the? Is that… blood?”
“Whoa, she’s really committed to the costume, huh?”
Shoving aside the swaying figures slurring nonsense, Elysia burst through the innermost door of the hall. Panting, she brushed the hair from her forehead.
She growled at the students who were staring dumbfounded at the sudden intruder.
“Where’s Cain.”
“Who do you think you are, looking for a senior like…”
A female student who tried to grab Elysia’s wrist as she strode into the room, frowning, quietly lowered her arm at the chilling, warning glare shot her way.
A male student stepped in front of Elysia, who was frantically searching for Cain with a crazed look in her eyes.
“Elysia Hemming. Has associating with the House of Sylvester made you so arrogant? You don’t have an ounce of decency.”
“Get lost.”
“Get out. This isn’t a place for the likes of you—”
The wrist that reached for Elysia’s shoulder was snatched in an instant, and his vision flipped. With a loud crash, the man’s face was slammed into a table, his arm pinned tightly behind his back.
Holding his arm in a position just shy of breaking, Elysia warned in a business-like tone.
“Move and I’ll break your bones. Where is that bastard.”
“Aargh!”
“Miss Hemming!!! What is the meaning of this out—”
“Looking for me?”
Snap. The commotion died in an instant. Elysia let go of the student’s arm and turned around, biting her lip. She saw a man holding a glass of blood-red wine.
Sitting leisurely on the sofa, he set the glass down on the table and raked his eyes over Elysia’s state from head to toe.
Her once-neat hair was a complete mess, half-covering her face. Her eyes were red and swollen, as if she’d been sobbing. And her dress was, needless to say, a wreck.
He stared silently at the blood smeared on her forehead and cheek, a result of her wiping her face with the back of her bloodstained hand.
Cain couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. Damn it all, her ruined state was dangerously appealing.
At his expression, Elysia’s eyebrows twitched, her face contorting with tremendous rage. Did he just laugh? Something in her head snapped.
Just as she lunged toward him, two pairs of arms grabbed her. The other students, terrified by her murderous intent, had restrained her.
“Hands. Off.”
At Elysia’s growl, the students fell silent, quietly exchanging glances.
Though unintentional, her infamy was quite effective in moments like these. It was the perfect time for a “How dare a commoner” line, but since she was so unpredictable, everyone was playing it safe.
Her silver-grey eyes, completely devoid of reason, narrowed as she warned them again.
“Do you want to die? Let go.”
“Yes, let her go.”
The people desperately holding Elysia back couldn’t believe their ears. The words had come from the man sitting cross-legged on the sofa. A gentle smile on his face, Cain’s eyes swept over her as he continued.
“Shouldn’t we find out what on earth she wants to do, barging in here like this?”
“You son of a bitch—”
“By the way, Elysia.”
Leaning back against the sofa, he openly scanned her from head to toe. He had expected her to be angry, but the reality of her fury was beyond any of his most stimulating fantasies.
He bit his lip, unaware he was even doing it. To hide his craving, he deliberately taunted her.
“What in the world happened to you? Did a war break out or something?”
Recognizing the mockery in his words, the woman’s dark eyebrows trembled.
She let out a hollow laugh and shook off the hands that were awkwardly holding her. Then, she snatched a half-empty bottle of wine from the table. Before anyone could stop her, a crimson liquid poured down over Cain’s head.
A wet, splashing sound filled the room, followed by a chilling silence. The only sound was the soft drip-drip of the viscous liquid hitting the floor.
The man’s white hair, and his equally white shirt, were stained red. The strong scent of wine stung the air.
Looking down at the man, now as drenched in red as she was in blood, Elysia smiled coldly and dropped the empty bottle. With a sharp crack, shards of glass scattered.
“Now we’re equally ruined.”
Cain licked the wine that trickled down his cheek and into his mouth, then chuckled as if he found it all amusing. A flash of ecstasy crossed his eyes, as red as the blood on her dress, as red as the wine she had poured.
Ah, you never fail to entertain me. He turned his head toward the others, who were frozen, staring at the insane spectacle. In a low voice, he commanded.
“Get out.”
“What…? But—”
“Didn’t you hear me? Get the hell out.”
Hearing Cain’s harsh tone for the first time, the students flinched and scrambled out of the room.
The moment the door closed, Elysia grabbed Cain by the collar. Their breaths mingled in the air. Savoring her scent as she seethed, he asked.
“So, what brings you here?”
“To kill you.”
“Why are you always so angry with me? It hurts my feelings.”
Flames ignited in the woman’s eyes at his mocking tone. He watched the fire he had started with satisfaction.
“You crazy bastard, you’re enjoying this, aren’t you…?”
“You didn’t know? I go wild whenever I get your attention.”
“Why the hell would I know that?”
“Ah, unrequited love is a bitch, isn’t it.”
With a sharp crack, his head snapped to the side. Red wine splattered, and at the same time, his lip split, blood trickling down his chin.
Cain burst out laughing, savoring the refreshing pain. For a moment, Elysia lost her senses and almost strangled him with both hands. Barely stopping herself from squeezing, she snarled.
“Go on, mess with me all you want! I’m already fucking used to people trying to kill me, you know that?!”
Cain tilted his head, looking up at her with interest. With that expression, with those hands, he had murdered the man she loved. She wanted to kill him in the exact same way.
In contrast to her grey eyes, which burned and shook with murderous intent, her cool voice trembled.
“But if you touch what’s mine again… you’d better be prepared to die. Understand?”
“Wow, really?”
The man smiled, his eyes curving, and grabbed the hand that was clutching his collar. Elysia let out a soft gasp at the force, a grip so strong it felt like her bones would shatter. Even for her, who was not easily overpowered, the strength was shocking.
A vicious smile played on his lips, never ceasing.
“Then who should be next? The youngest son of Campbellton, the one who sticks to you like a dog?”
“You crazy—”
“Ah, and there was that painter you’re so protective of. Should I cut off his hands and give them to you as a gift? That sounds like fun.”
“What?”
Her expression instantly hardened. He deliberately intertwined his fingers with hers as she struggled in his grasp and spoke in a gentle tone.
“So weak, with nothing to your name, what are you so serious about, hm? You have too much empathy for beings that aren’t even real, Elysia. Don’t you get it yet? I proved it to you by killing him myself. Besides us, they’re all nothing.”
“Die…”
“Why don’t you kill me yourself. If you can.”
He loved the way her face turned deathly pale at his provocation. He wanted her to turn pale like this, then flush crimson again, to corner him with her murderous rage.
Until he couldn’t breathe, or until his breath stopped for good. Pull me out of this wretched boredom. I want you to burn with hatred while looking at me and me alone. I must be the only one who can set you ablaze.
Losing the last thread of sanity she’d been clinging to, the woman placed her hands on his neck. The feeling of his airway tightening wasn’t unpleasant.
The man, who had been smiling with his mouth agape, frowned as he spotted someone who had suddenly appeared.
“El, it’s okay.”
A man with calm, green eyes under jet-black hair pulled her away.