Episode 132
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 132
Chapter 11: Case 4: The Wave, Swept Away
Ting-a-ling.
With the jingle of a bell, a young man and woman stepped out of the shop. Behind them, servants followed, carrying an enormous number of boxes filled to the brim with art supplies, including paints and brushes.
Siene glanced at the scene, touching her cheek with an awkward expression.
“...Did I buy too much?”
“I definitely tried to stop you.”
Did I overspend...? Seeing Siene seriously start to count on her fingers in response to his teasing remark, Lucian cleared his throat and quickly corrected himself.
“It’s not like having too much is a bad thing.”
“Hey, you know.”
Siene suddenly stopped him and glanced around. The servants carrying the boxes deliberately pretended not to notice the young couple. They knew that if they were caught listening in, a certain something that was supposed to progress might not.
After a moment of hesitation, she mumbled in a voice barely louder than a whisper.
“Thanks for your hel—”
Lucian stood still, as if waiting for Siene to finish her trailing sentence. Clenching her fists and ducking her head to overcome her embarrassment, she looked up and finally spat out the words with a determined voice.
“Thank... you.”
Lucian’s ears turned red as if he’d just heard a love confession. The servants barely suppressed their pleased smiles. Siene, mortified, whipped her head away.
The amount of sponsorship money she received each month was substantial. At first, Elysia had told her to just ask if she needed anything, but as she got busier, she changed her method to simply tossing an enormous sum of money at her at the beginning of each month.
It was suspicious where Elysia got that kind of money, especially since she herself often looked more destitute than a street artist.
However, Elysia Hemming was surprisingly the type of person who detested illegal activities, so Siene never bothered to press the issue. Anyway, that was that...
Watching the Violante family servants move the items she had purchased, Siene furrowed her brow.
Seriously, does she think throwing money at me solves everything...?!
The mansion where she was staying was currently running on a skeleton crew. That meant it was difficult to spare a few people to help move all this.
She had plenty of money, so she’d suggested hiring some laborers to move her things, but what was it that foul-tempered woman had said?
“Are you crazy? How can you be so careless as to let strangers in when you have no idea what kind of psycho might show up?!”
Elysia, whose eyes had been dark and sunken for the past few days as if she hadn't slept, had snapped at her.
The way she glared with those fierce eyes made Siene wonder why her recently softened demeanor had suddenly reverted to how she was at the beginning. Did she have a falling out with Senior Sylvester? she’d wondered. Of course, Siene hadn't backed down, and after a shouting match, she had turned and left.
It was Lucian who had offered a helping hand while she was fuming. The old Siene would have lifted her nose and refused, but after spending so much time with Elysia, a certain degree of shamelessness had rubbed off on her. Besides, it was an offer from a good friend, so there was no reason to decline.
“In that case, there’s something I want to eat. You can buy me that, too.”
“I save you from drowning, and now you’re demanding my luggage...”
“Say no if you want.”
And to top it off, she had made an even more shameless demand with a prim look on her face.
Lucian tapped the shoulder of Siene, who was staring blankly at the goods being loaded onto a wagon marked with the Violante family crest.
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“You said there was something you wanted to eat.”
Oh, he remembered. Beneath her frilly lace-trimmed hat, her wide pink eyes curved into a smile. Lucian couldn’t even look at her properly and quickly averted his gaze.
The Violante servants who were moving the boxes ducked their heads, holding back their chuckles. It was quite amusing to see the young master, who was usually so headstrong, act so clueless.
Siene casually tapped Lucian’s arm and exclaimed in a cheerful voice.
“Let’s go!”
“...It’ll be okay, right?”
Seeing the troubled look on Lucian’s face, Siene froze. “Ah.”
Elysia had been on edge lately. She’d been practically harassing Lucian, threatening him to increase the mansion’s security, and nagging him to be home before sunset...
The nagging had quickly shifted from the relentlessly hassled Lucian to Siene, who had been clicking her tongue in pity. After enduring it for exactly five minutes, Siene couldn't take it anymore and had covered her ears.
The two of them sighed in frustration and exchanged a look.
“Everyone’s busy moving things...”
“Well... it’s broad daylight, so it should be fine.”
They reached an agreement in an instant. The two of them naturally broke away from the group and walked on, chatting. They were discussing what she planned to paint and what coloring techniques she would use this time when they suddenly noticed the alley had become deserted and stopped in their tracks.
“...Was the way in this quiet?”
The alley was unnervingly silent. Siene clutched the shawl around her shoulders, suddenly remembering the item she had tucked inside her handbag. At that moment, a chilling presence made her turn around, where she spotted someone’s shadow.
“Lucian, over there.”
In the darkness, a pair of eyes, smiling cruelly, were fixed on her. Siene knew instinctively. The danger Elysia had been so wary of might just be this.
She grabbed Lucian’s hand without thinking. He flinched for a second before gripping her hand back. Her trembling pink eyes scanned the branching paths. Right? Left? Or maybe...
As her mind raced, unable to figure out the way, a single question popped into her head. What would Elysia have done? Probably...
“Are you on a stroll? Who has time to think? Run, now!”
Funnily enough, imagining that voice was enough to unfreeze her legs.
A man slowly rose from the shadows, a long sword in his hand. I’m going to die. If I don’t run, I’m going to die. A cold sweat ran down her back. Gripping a stunned Lucian’s hand tightly, Siene said.
“On the count of three, we run.”
“Where to?”
“Anywhere! One, three!!!”
“Hey, who counts to three like that—”
Whoosh. Lucian was helplessly dragged along as she pulled his hand. They ran as fast as they could, but the footsteps chasing them grew closer with terrifying speed.
Her breath grew ragged, and soon, her vision began to blur. Noticing Siene stumbling, Lucian suddenly changed direction and pushed her back.
“Go on ahead.”
“What?! What about you—”
“I think... I can buy some time.”
Letting go of her hand, Lucian pushed her back again. Just as he was about to say something more, Siene’s pink eyes, welling with tears, contorted as she shrieked.
“Don’t be ridiculous! Stall for time? What stalling! You don’t even have the ability to, hic, who do you think you’re protecting...! You just worry about protecting yourself, you i-idiot, sob...!”
“Hey, no matter what, I can at least—”
“Shut up and get over here, now!!!”
“There you are.”
The two of them froze mid-argument. Sunlight glinted off the long sword, adding to its murderous aura. Siene desperately pushed aside Lucian’s arm as he tried to shield her and stepped in front of him.
Ignoring Lucian as he reached for her with a look that said, Are you crazy?, she tried her best not to lose her composure and tightly gripped the object in her hand.
The man looked down at the delicate woman far below him and sneered.
“Too pretty to kill. It’d be better to sell you off somewhere and make a profit—”
“I don’t know how much you were paid, but I’ll give you double. Let the woman go.”
Ignoring Lucian, who was trying to bargain with the assailant in a frigid voice, Siene’s eyes shot open. She recalled Elysia’s nonchalant, yet surprisingly systematic, explanation.
“Take it out, open the cap, check the wind direction.”
Dry leaves rustled as they skittered across the ground. A northeasterly wind began to blow. With the wind at your back, aim for the opponent’s eyes... Her eyes flew open. Now.
Siene pulled her arm out from under her shawl and began spraying frantically at the man’s face. With a psssshhh sound, the liquid scattered into the air. At the same time, a glint of madness flashed in her pink eyes.
“Agh! Aaargh!!! Die! Aaaah!”
“What is this—Gack, gyaaargh! My eyes!!!”
“Run, quickly!”
After confirming the man was unable to open his eyes, tears and snot streaming down his face, Siene shoved Lucian’s back repeatedly.
Just as they were about to escape together, Siene’s foot caught on the hem of her long dress, and she fell. Hearing the loud crash, the man managed to force open his bloodshot eyes and glare at her.
“You... you damn bitch...”
Siene stared in terror as the assailant staggered toward her, and she squeezed her eyes shut. And in that instant.
Clang!
With a sound that was surprisingly sharp for an impact, the assailant’s head snapped to the side. The whites of his eyes rolled back, and with a heavy thud, the large man collapsed.
Beyond him, Elysia stood leaning on a metal pipe, panting for breath.
The wide sleeves of her blouse fluttered. Clatter. She tossed the pipe aside, spat out a single curse, and firmly planted her foot on the unconscious man’s back. She pulled his thick arms behind him and slapped handcuffs on his wrists, still breathing heavily.
“Hah, hah... Agh, shit... Made it just in time.”
Siene, looking like she was about to cry, shouted in an exasperated voice.
“No, you’re late!”