Episode 80
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 80
Using the lounge table as a springboard, Elysia launched herself at Blair and grabbed him by the collar. Stunned from the sudden blow to his face, he swayed helplessly as she shook him.
She didn't check to see if the man was dizzy, nor did she feel the need to. Her eyes had already gone past the point of caring.
“Just drop it? Let it go? We’re so close, I’ve almost got him. And now what? Put a muzzle on it, you son of a bitch!”
“If we keep digging, rumors are bound to spread! You want to drag us all through the mud?”
“So what if they do!!!”
“Unaccept—”
“So what if they do….”
Both of them were hoarse from shouting. Blair’s face twisted in disgust, as if he couldn’t comprehend the anguish in Elysia’s voice. He growled.
“It’s disgusting… This isn’t the kind of spectacle I asked for—”
“What, were you expecting a field of pretty flowers?! I know your cousin was a piece of shit, but did you really think his death would be noble?”
As the man reached out to push her off by the shoulders, she reflexively twisted his wrist with a blank expression, biting her lip as she raised her other hand. Her fist, clenched so tightly, trembled with the force.
Just as she was about to drive it into his solar plexus, Elysia flinched and froze. Evan’s words from some time ago echoed in her mind.
“Stay calm, and breathe. Refrain from violence.”
That was her last line. Endure it, endure it, you really have to endure it. I’m in a situation that requires resocialization, I have to make an effort…
“Stop acting so presumptuous. Know your place and end this now.”
“…You may not want to admit it, but this is the truth, so accept it and—”
“Who in their right mind would accept that?! Anyone who would must be insane! Haha, ha… Or just too stupid to weigh the pros and cons.”
She could have held back until then. Right before he started taunting her like that.
An image flashed through her mind: the face of a man who had accepted the truth through bone-grinding agony. A man who had lived alone, shouldering immense loneliness and dishonor as the price for that truth.
Elysia’s face went pale. He’s not someone you can describe with words like that. He wasn’t stupid, nor did he make an emotional judgment. So who the hell are you to dare?
She thought she heard a snapping sound. She couldn’t even tell if it was the sound of something she had broken herself without realizing it. She bit her lip so hard a vein throbbed in her neck. No, she really couldn’t take it anymore.
But Senior had told her not to hit people.
Torn, Elysia finally grabbed a cushion from the sofa and began to thoroughly beat Blair with it.
“You immature bastard! Did you think murderers only go around killing innocent people? You want me to stop chasing the killer just because of this one thing? You think that’s what Hertz would have wanted?!”
“You have no idea what I’m going through, so don’t you dare run your mouth!!!”
Catching the cushion flying at his face and body with one hand, Blair threw it aside and grabbed her shoulders, his eyes bloodshot. His grip was so strong it hurt enough to make her grimace.
With a loud clatter, she was pushed back onto the table. She ended up in a position that looked like he was pinning her down, but she barely registered it. Not until this insane bullshit popped up.
♥ SYSTEM: His reasoning is clouded by intense emotions >ㅁ< Now’s your chance to capture his heart! ♥
Wow, isn’t this game just insane? She no longer had the energy to get angry at every little thing. She could only marvel at the system’s determination to find romance even in a situation like this. Trying to do its job even when everything has gone to hell, is that it? Now that’s some tear-jerking professionalism.
But what the hell do I care?
Gritting her teeth, she started to push herself up, ready to kick him in the shin, when a cool voice came from behind her.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Startled by Evan’s ice-cold tone, which she had never heard before, Elysia turned around. A chilling frost seemed to emanate from his face.
The man strode over and roughly tore Blair’s hands off her body. His grip must have been incredibly strong, because Blair, who had been about to protest, collapsed to the floor with a cry of pain.
“Causing such a scene in a wide-open space. I know you’re not in your right mind because of your cousin’s death, but there’s a line.”
“Ah, ugh, let go—”
“You shouldn’t have crossed it.”
The icy voice delivered its warning and then cleanly let go. Elysia froze when she saw the bright red bruise already forming on Blair’s wrist from just that brief grasp.
Wh-what is this? I mean, I knew he’d been to the battlefield and he’s well-built, so I didn’t think he’d be weak, but what in the world…?
Elysia stared blankly as Evan swiftly took Blair’s jacket, which had been precariously draped over his shoulders as if about to fall, and wrapped it around her.
The icy killing intent vanished, replaced by a gentle gaze that poured down on her.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Uh, Senior, it wasn’t a one-sided attack. Actually, I threw the first punch…”
Thinking there might have been a misunderstanding, she started to explain, but his reply was unexpected.
“I know. You would have. Good job.”
“…Huh?”
What is he talking about? she asked, dumbfounded. Evan answered with a stoic gaze.
“As long as you weren’t the one getting hit, that’s all that matters.”
“Uh… No, but still.”
“Still, what?”
Elysia stared at Evan’s face. Normally, he would have shown at least a hint of displeasure, but now, there was nothing.
He, who always maintained a fundamentally rational demeanor, had always played the role of taming Elysia’s impulsive side. But not today.
What’s gotten into him all of a sudden?
No matter how closely she looked, his expression was calm, without the slightest change. No, if anything, he seemed even more composed than usual… Ah, Elysia felt a cold sweat run down her back.
So this is what he’s like when he’s truly pissed off. What she thought was a calm expression was, on second look, frozen solid with cold fury. It had only softened because he was in front of her.
After carefully examining Elysia’s complexion, he turned to survey the chaotic scene. He was silent for a moment before he spoke.
“So.”
“…”
“What exactly is the situation here?”
Gulp. Blair and Elysia swallowed dryly at the same time. The two, who had been at each other’s throats just moments before, were now cautiously watching Evan together.
Elysia met Evan’s piercing gaze once, then felt the need to speak on behalf of Blair, who seemed to have lost all his nerve.
“…He wants me to stop the investigation. He says what Hertz did was so dishonorable that it’s better for everyone if it stays buried.”
“It’s not just because of the dishonor.”
“Don’t give me that shit!!! Is your tongue a deck of cards? Flipping it over whenever you feel like it?”
Blair glared at Elysia, who was jabbing a finger at him and yelling, then hesitated before answering with a reluctant look.
“...‘The more you dig into my death, the more dishonorable it will become. Please ask nothing and seal it.’”
It was a line from a part of Hertz’s will. Blair collapsed onto the sofa and ran a hand over his face, his voice weary as he continued.
“Anyway, that’s what Caden wrote in his will.”
Speechless for a moment, Elysia ran her hands through her hair, trying to sort out her thoughts. Right, now that she thought about it, that line was in the will. It was something a person preparing for suicide might write, and given how sordid his past had turned out to be during the investigation, it wasn’t strange at all.
But all the evidence and circumstances pointed to murder. Why? And how? Anger surged, but an equally strong curiosity stirred in a corner of her mind.
Seeing Elysia’s troubled, subdued expression, Blair finally began to plead.
“I’m… begging you. Please, just stop… please…”
Seeing the arrogant young master, whose nose was always in the air, use the word ‘please’ to a commoner he so despised, Elysia bit her lip lightly.
Dammit, I was so close. The killer is right within reach. And that killer is Alma Heron, the very person I’ve been targeting…
“El, what do you want to do?”
Lost in thought, Elysia was startled by Evan’s voice and looked up. The man’s expression was docile, as if awaiting her judgment, a complete contrast to how he had dealt with Blair moments ago.
Elysia was a little dumbfounded. No, Senior… you looked like you were about to kill a man just now… A small suspicion bloomed in her mind—had she been deceived all this time?
Evan leaned down to meet her eyes and whispered.
“You decide.”
Her confused eyes wavered.
Really? You want me to back down? Seriously? After all my efforts have come to nothing, when I’m dying of curiosity about the rest of the story, you want me to just stop? No, I can’t do that. My whole life has been about digging up the truth, how could I…
Just as she was about to coldly refuse Blair, Elysia saw the empty eyes of a man who had lost his family and squeezed her own eyes shut.
“Crazy, no fucking way, do you know how much I…”
Shaking her head in frustration, she shut her eyes tightly again and spat out a single curse.
“Goddammit.”
Reaching into her inventory, Elysia pulled out a rustling piece of paper and shoved it hard into Blair’s chest with a thud.
SYSTEM: Case request has been canceled.
Client: Blair Linton
Request: Uncover the truth behind Caden Hertz’s death.
Reason for Cancellation: Per client’s request.
Having received Hertz’s will and letter back, Blair looked up with a dumbfounded expression, only to freeze when he met Elysia’s furious gaze.
His lips moved, and he managed to utter a word of thanks.
“Thank… you. I’ll be sure to pay you for your trouble—”
“Forget it. Get lost. If I see you again, I’ll fucking kill you.”
Swallowing the rage that surged up her throat, Elysia immediately turned and disappeared into the dormitory. Blair looked down at the traces of Hertz clutched in his hand.
As Evan watched Elysia’s retreating back, he spoke in a cold tone.
“You’ve just declared to the killer that they’re free to mess with the people of Linton and Hertz as they please.”
“Dammit, dammit…! I know, but—”
“I wasn’t going to say this, seeing how much you’re struggling, but I’m not in the mood to hold back today, so I’ll just say it.”
Blair looked up at the man born and raised in the House of Sylvester, the greatest of Löwe’s martial families.
The man who always fled from people to quiet places now stood with his back to a window pouring with brilliant sunlight. The light was so blindingly intense that his expression was hidden, but the heightened sense of pressure crushed him.
Evan Sylvester’s low voice fell like a sentence.
“That was the worst possible choice.”
Having said his piece, Evan turned and walked in the direction Elysia had disappeared. Blair shot to his feet and shouted in a choked voice.
“And you? You think you could have done differently? It’s easy when it’s someone else’s problem! Try going through it yourself before you talk!!!”
He didn’t bother to answer, simply walking forward. A bitter smile hung on his lips. What would you have done when faced with a truth you didn’t want to accept, when you had to risk dishonor?
I already have.
That was why he could say it. Choosing ignorance is the worst choice of all.