Episode 88
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 88
In the center of the sprawling laboratory, a handsome young man with red hair tilted his head. He was fiddling with a pen as he stared at a bubbling liquid.
He had just begun the task of analyzing the components of a fabric scrap stained with Caden Hertz's blood, a request from his ill-tempered junior.
“What about the detection fluid you made last time?”
“It couldn’t identify it. I got a black reaction, which I’ve never seen before. It’s a type of drug I don’t even know.”
Adrian gasped and shook his head frantically.
“What?! How am I supposed to figure out something even you don’t know?!”
“Just find out the components. I’ll take care of the rest… Please.”
He had whined about her demanding such advanced knowledge after showing him a corpse, earning him a look of pity from Elysia, but in truth, a task like this was nothing to him.
The Campbellton estate was equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, and he possessed a high level of knowledge. An analysis like this should have been finished in an hour, but…
“What is this?”
Adrian tossed the paper and pen onto the lab bench and ran a hand through his red hair in confusion. He had tried adding various solutions to check the reactions and identify the components, but…
“These are substances that haven’t even been reported to the academic community.”
With a bewildered expression, Adrian stared down at the bizarre reactions that defied chemical analysis.
*
Upon hearing the news that the woman had woken up, the eldest son of House Sylvester slowly rose to his feet.
Ian descended the stairs with light steps and stopped before the door to the room where the woman lay—the same woman his brother had brought in with a look of someone cherishing a precious treasure.
As soon as his unpleasant conversation with Ian had ended, Evan had sent a man to Minerva to explain why he and the woman would be absent from the academy that day, then immediately dashed out to buy medicinal herbs.
Recalling their frigid exchange, Ian bit his lip lightly and knocked on the door. It seemed he would have to hear this woman’s side of the story if he wanted to properly resume the conversation with his brother.
“Damn it… who is it.”
Just as his fingers touched the wood, the door flew open with a bang, startling him into raising an eyebrow.
The woman, who seemed to have just gotten out of bed and was still half-asleep, casually plucked the fountain pen from his suit's outer pocket, waved a hand, and said, “I’m borrowing your pen. Do you have any paper I can use?”
“…It’s on the desk over there.”
“Ah, thanks. I just woke up.”
Her legs still seemed unsteady as she staggered to the desk, pulled out a blank sheet of paper, and scribbled several letters at an incredible speed—albeit in terrible handwriting—before letting the ink dry.
After pressing the back of her hand against the stationery to confirm the ink was dry, the woman folded the letters haphazardly and held them out to Ian, her request sounding more like a command.
“A letter to Count Linton’s estate.”
Is she serious? Ian looked down at Elysia and realized her eyes were half-glazed over. Though she was walking around, she was practically sleepwalking.
What on earth could be so important that she had to do it the moment she woke up, before she was even fully conscious? His curiosity was piqued, but he didn't commit the rudeness of looking inside the letter.
Ian dutifully summoned a servant and ordered the letter to be sent. When he turned back, he found Elysia already crawling back into bed to sleep and finally wore a dumbfounded expression.
What kind of behavior was this? A complete stranger was ordering him around like one of her own limbs and then immediately falling back asleep?
As if oblivious to the stranger’s bewilderment, the woman, who was about to drift off again, suddenly shot up. She rubbed her eyes and asked.
“…But who are you?”
Finally, the woman was acting like a normal person.
*
A mattress so soft she couldn't tell if this was a dream or reality enveloped her. And she could feel a presence beside her.
Elysia’s eyes flew open. She instantly grabbed the wrist of the maid who was changing the water in the vase by her bed and scowled.
“Eek!”
“Who are you?”
“I-I just work here…!”
“Who do you work for?”
“The, the House of Sylvester…”
As soon as she heard the familiar name, Elysia let go of the arm she was holding and staggered back to sit on the edge of the bed.
The maid glanced at the patient, who was now staring blankly at the ceiling while opening and closing her hand, and then promptly fled. Elysia struggled to focus her blurry vision. Her head wasn't working properly.
`SYSTEM: Treatment in progress. 1/3 of HP has been recovered.`
`! Drug components remain in the body ! Recovery speed is reduced by 30%.`
`Please wait for treatment.`
As if to prove the status window right, her entire body felt heavy. Elysia collapsed back onto the bed and stared blankly at the white ceiling. She felt better than before, but her mind was still hazy, as if shrouded in smoke.
Her memory was spotty, as she had escaped in a state of delirium. She tried to piece together the fragmented memories. I was attacked in a back alley and collapsed. I lost consciousness, and when I woke up, I met that woman, Alma. And she told me everything about Caden Hertz’s death…
“Son of a bitch… I can’t just lie here.”
Groaning, Elysia forced her uncooperative body to move. Just then, she sensed movement outside the door and immediately threw it open.
As she looked up to see the person’s face, her eyes first landed on the fountain pen tucked into the man’s right breast pocket. She snatched it without thinking and muttered.
“I’m borrowing your pen. Do you have any paper I can use?”
“…It’s on the desk over there.”
“Ah, thanks. I just woke up.”
She stumbled over to the desk the man had pointed to and scribbled everything in her head onto two blank sheets of paper. The annoying status window kept flickering in her vision, but she ignored it.
`Please wait for treatment.`
“Shut up.”
`Please wait for treatment.`
“Like I care.”
Waving her hand to dismiss the status window, Elysia focused on writing the letters.
She wrote down everything—the news that she had found Caden Hertz’s killer, along with the motive for the murder that Alma had told her. Without even registering who she was handing them to, she thrust the letters forward.
“A letter to Count Linton’s estate.”
Perhaps from the strain of moving while ignoring the status window, Elysia felt a wave of dizziness and staggered back to burrow into the bed.
Wow, what is this mattress made of? It’s so soft. How much does this cost? Even the best bed in the shop didn’t feel this good…
Just as she was about to lose consciousness to the sublime comfort, a thought struck her.
Where am I right now? Who the hell is that guy?
She shot up, pressed a hand to her forehead, and stared at the man with a sharp gaze.
“…But who are you?”
An expression that seemed to say, About time you asked, looked back at her. Elysia quickly scanned the man, who was a stranger, yet not entirely unfamiliar.
His black hair was neatly swept back, revealing a handsome forehead. One eye was covered with a black eyepatch, while the other was a calm green.
As she took in the strong, straight line of his nose and the downturned corners of his mouth that gave him a cold impression, Elysia muttered, “Don’t tell me… Ian Sylvester?”
“How do you know me?”
Elysia didn’t answer, simply watching him. Her already jumbled thoughts felt like they were being thrown into even greater disarray.
Why am I here, and why is he here? I thought Evan cut ties with the Sylvesters and ran away as if he’d been kicked out…? Seeing the confusion on her face, Ian, with his stoic expression, easily guessed the unspoken answer.
“My brother must have told you about me.”
“Not much, just once…”
“For him, that’s as good as telling you everything.”
Ian’s casual way of lumping her and Evan together bothered her, but since it wasn’t untrue, it was difficult to respond.
Ian lifted the chair from the desk, placed it in front of the bed, and rested his hands on its back, tapping his fingernails against the wood.
“Good. There’s much I need to hear, and it seems I’ll be able to hear about my brother as well.”
“Hear what…?”
“How should I address you? I realize I haven’t heard your name.”
At that moment, the door flew open with a bang, nearly coming off its hinges. Elysia turned her head to see Evan, his hair a mess as if he had rushed here, and she instinctively stood up.
Seeing her about to step off the bed, Evan gestured for her to sit down as he caught his breath.
“Brother, what is this—”
“I believe I told you I had things to be briefed on.”
“She hasn’t fully recovered yet.”
“Her mind is perfectly sound. I’ve confirmed it myself. There’s no issue with communication.”
“Not now. The effects of the drug are likely still in her system. Please leave.”
Ian raised an eyebrow at Evan’s firm attempt to kick him out, his expression one of disbelief as he suppressed a laugh. He had never seen his younger brother with such a cold glint in his eyes, trying to drive him away.
He stepped back, wondering how their parents, who valued hierarchy above all else, would react to their changed son.
“Fine. I’ll receive my report when the patient has stabilized.”
He studied his brother’s expression, which seemed surprised at how easily he was backing down, then pulled a watch from his jacket to check the time. Noticing Ian’s attire, which suggested he was about to go out, Evan tilted his head slightly and asked.
“Are you going somewhere?”
“A mess was made in the Sylvester name. I have to clean it up.”
Ian’s face was once again a perfect mask, as if he had never been amused, looking as though he wouldn’t flinch even if pricked by a needle. He stepped out of the room.
Before closing the door, he narrowed his eyes, his gaze shifting between his brother, whose face was simmering with emotion, and the woman leaning against the bed. He opened his mouth.
“This may be needless worry, but…”
“It’s not like that.”
Evan, anticipating what he was about to say, quickly shut the door and locked it.
Ian stared at the door that had been slammed in his face without a hint of displeasure, shrugged, and thought, Ever since he left the army, insubordination has become his daily routine.
After one last check of his appearance in the mirror on the wall, he walked out of the mansion.
To the servant who naturally fell in step beside him, asking if he should prepare the horses, he replied.
“I’ll have a companion, so bring the carriage.”
“Will you be accompanying the young lady?”
“Yes. She said she wanted to come along.”
A faint smile touched the man’s cold face as he spoke of his companion.
*
The moment the door closed, Evan strode over as if in a rage and pulled her into a tight embrace.
Blinking twice in surprise, Elysia gently patted his shoulder. The clean scent of soap filled her nose. His body, holding her tightly, was trembling.
“Don’t ever do that again.”
“Do what?”
“A single bullet is a survivable injury for me. But not for you.”
“Ah…”
“Do you know how much I…”
His voice trailed off, thick with emotion. Only then did Elysia pull her last memory to the surface. She had seen the gun aimed at Evan as he ran with her in his arms, and without a moment’s thought, she had wrapped her arm around him and taken the bullet for him.
Held in his awkward embrace, she froze as the memories that followed came flooding back.
The memory of his soft lips pressing down warmly on hers, and how she had naturally parted her own in response. His gaze, as hot as the heat that had passed between them, looking down at her. And his face, filled with conviction, as if he had sensed something.
“If you keep thinking about it, you’ll eventually come to me. Just like I came to you.”
Evan noticed Elysia’s body, which had been leaning comfortably against him, suddenly stiffen as if she had become self-conscious. He smiled faintly and met her eyes.
Unable to look at him directly, Elysia’s gaze darted around. Evan cupped her face with both hands, unable to hold back a grin. Trapped by his gaze, her eyes wavered.
“By the way, don’t you have some explaining to do?”
Oh, damn it. Her face flushed crimson, and she bit her lip, unable to answer. The memories were pouring into her head like a rising tide. Evan watched her with an amused expression before letting her go, adding.
“You have to explain… why you said that back then.”
“…”
“Hm?”
The hand that had been cupping her cheek now gently caressed it.
She squeezed her eyes shut without realizing it. I don’t know. What was I thinking back then? I wanted to touch him. What was the reason? Was it simply because I was cold? No, it was something deeper.
She had thought she would give anything in return just to be able to keep looking at that face. She just desperately wanted him. She wanted to have this man all to myself, to share him with no one else. Which means…
Reaching the end of that thought, Elysia froze. He quietly observed the woman, who was now fidgeting, no longer able to simply lean against him, and burst out laughing. Elysia glared at him and shouted.
“Stop laughing!”
“Alright, alright. Need more time to think?”
“Ugh, seriously!!!”
He stepped away cleanly and held up his hands as if in surrender. Her heart pounded in her chest at the sight of him smiling, his eyes curving as if he already knew everything.
Even though his hand was no longer on her cheek, even though he had already taken a few steps away and was organizing the medicinal herbs he’d brought, her skin still felt hot where he had touched it. With a beet-red face, Elysia watched Evan’s back as he moved about diligently.
Senior, what’s with that confidence, acting like you already know the conclusion and are just waiting for me to catch up? Unconsciously, Elysia traced her lips with a fingertip, then let out a groan and buried her face in the pillow.