Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Does Dia Really Hate Ganeghan? (1)
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Dust, and the metallic tang of blood.
Those were the first things Ganeghan sensed upon stepping into Dia's room.
He had tried to push Abera aside to spend more time with Dia, but as expected, Abera was no pushover. Who would have thought she would insist on watching the treatment process herself?
She was a woman who perfectly understood in which situations she needed to act boldly, and she executed it flawlessly. Even with her own naked body on the line as collateral.
She must be desperate too, after all. It was the achievement of a lifetime, so it was only natural for her to fight tooth and nail to protect it.
But the problem lay in how she had built it.
Could trampling her little sister's entire life truly be called the fruit of her efforts?
Even if some nodded in agreement, I absolutely refused to see it that way.
So, I intended to weather this crisis and change everything that could be changed.
Suspicions turn into certainties the moment they're confirmed. And someone's saying that a crisis is the greatest opportunity isn't entirely wrong.
With renewed resolve, he approached the collapsed Dia.
He disinfected her arms, covered in wounds. Since she had passed out, there was no resistance.
Dia de Menesil. What a truly pitiful creature.
For her sleeping face and unconscious form to be her most beautiful—that was some contradiction.
As he meticulously disinfected her wounds, his eyes scanned the state of the room.
The room, much like its owner, was far from pristine. Wads of stuffing from the burst teddy bear were still scattered across the floor.
'As expected, she didn't clean up.'
He had held out a sliver of hope since Dia had gripped his hand so tightly before, but perhaps changing a young lady's habits overnight was too much to ask.
The cotton clumps strewn haphazardly everywhere made him dizzy just looking at them.
'It'll be fine.'
A bitter taste mixed with the dust soured his mouth, but he reassured himself that it would be okay.
"What do we do... She's self-harming again..."
Abera choked up at the sight of her sister, who had fainted from exhaustion after repeated self-harm.
Whose benefit was this act for, anyway? Just as that thought crossed his mind, she addressed him.
"Is Dia's condition serious?"
"No threat to her life."
"But... the blood..."
"No deep wounds. The real issue is withdrawal symptoms. I'll give her an injection now. She should wake up in relatively stable condition."
It was exactly as he said.
As long as he administered the vitality-boosting drug on time, Dia would never self-harm again.
He barely waited for Abera's response before pulling the drug from his coat pocket. Just as he was loading it into the syringe,
A sharp scream pierced from outside the door—kyaaak!—followed by frantic knocking.
"Miss Abera! Miss Abera!"
A woman's voice, likely one of the maids.
"One moment," Abera said, halting him briefly. She cracked the door open just enough to poke her head out and greet the servant.
Dia's room was deathly quiet, so he had no trouble overhearing the conversation.
"Ia-seom? What is it? I'm extremely busy right now."
Abera phrased it diplomatically, implying she should leave unless it was urgent, but the maid called Ia-seom was still frantic.
"Miss, um, well... Hildia collapsed!"
"Collapsed? Hildia?"
Abera's tone rose naturally upon hearing it.
"Yes. She's been looking frail ever since Dia grabbed her by the hair, and now she's finally collapsed!"
"Oh no... We'll need a doctor."
There was only one doctor in this mansion. The young lady turned back and strode toward him.
She urgently grabbed his bag, packing it for him as if taking charge.
Was "versatile" the right word even in a situation like this? Her golden eyes fixed on him as her hands moved busily.
"Mr. Ganeghan, please go to Hildia first. Did you hear? It sounds serious."
"I heard. But first, Miss Dia..."
Before he could finish, Abera cut him off curtly.
"Dia won't wake up for a while anyway! I'll take good care of her. So hurry!"
Even in her fainted state, she was more like sleep now, so checking on Hildia briefly shouldn't be a big issue.
Still, something felt off. That nagging unease refused to fade.
"This isn't the time, Ia-seom! Come here and guide Mr. Ganeghan to Hildia! Hurry!"
"Ah, yes. Yes!"
Abera was pushing him from behind, while Ia-seom urged him on with her eyes from the front.
"If Dia wakes up, I'll call for you right away. So please check on Hildia thoroughly! She's precious too!"
With those final words, Abera shut the door.
"Hoo..."
Once the door was firmly closed, Abera locked it first.
Click. The massive door secured with a heavy sound.
If anyone later asked why she locked it, she could just say it was to keep Dia from bolting out and causing a scene.
Thank goodness Ia-seom's acting hadn't seemed awkward.
Hildia's collapse and Ia-seom rushing over—it was all prearranged by Abera. Or rather, if you looked at it another way, they had wanted it themselves.
The moment she noticed the maids buzzing about Ganeghan, she devised this brilliant plan.
'I've heard you girls have been slacking off lately, chatting about Mr. Ganeghan. Instead of scolding you, I'll create a chance for you to see him. But in return, buckle down after this, okay?'
With that casual lure, Ia-seom and Hildia jumped at it with absurd enthusiasm.
The young lady who understood her maids' desires and stepped up personally—Abera must be shining in their eyes right now.
Now, the remaining task was simple: confirm Dia's true feelings.
"Dia."
Abera set two syringes down on the floor as she softly called her sister's name.
One was the syringe of Sao that Abera had brought.
The other was the one Ganeghan had just prepared to inject into Dia. She had slyly pocketed it while pretending to pack his bag.
Staring straight into Ganeghan's eyes to hold his gaze had worked perfectly. She had nearly been caught.
'Still, why was eye contact so tough?'
For some reason, locking eyes with Ganeghan had felt strangely difficult.
No, no. Abera shook her head vigorously. Now wasn't the time for such nonsense.
"Dia?"
The called sister merely slept soundly, emanating the scent of disinfectant, showing no particular response.
Abera's eyebrow twitched once.
She slipped her foot under Dia's torso, lifted it, and flipped her body over so her stomach faced the floor.
"Hey."
She stomped hard on her sister's back with a dull thud.
Ganeghan would return soon, so no heel marks from shoes. She kicked off her footwear and stomped with all her might. As painfully as possible.
Dia's eyes flew wide open from the full-force stomping on her back.
"Ugh, urk?!"
"You worm."
How dare you sleep through me calling you?
With that thought, she kept trampling Dia. She planned to do so until her anger subsided.
"Do you even know who you're putting through this hell because of you? If you'd just died sooner, none of this would have happened!"
"S-Sis? Sister?"
"Trash."
"It hurts! H-Hurts! Ah! Mmph!"
"No different from a whore."
"Hrk... Heok! Uuugh...!"
After repeated stomps on her back, Dia desperately crawled to a spot out of reach.
She pressed her back against the cold wall, panting like a dog, then bowed her head and cautiously crawled back toward Abera.
"Sister... Sisteer... Drug. G-Give me druug..."
"Yeah, I came to give you drugs, but you wouldn't wake up, so I got mad."
Then Dia slammed her forehead against the floor—thunk, thunk.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
"Stop. Enough of that."
To prevent further head-butts, Abera wedged her foot between Dia's forehead and the floor.
Truth be told, she didn't care if her sister's skull cracked, but it was to avoid arousing Ganeghan's suspicions.
"Dia. You'd do anything for drugs, right?"
"Yes. Yes. Yes. Give me drugs. Drugs."
A satisfied smile spread across her sister's face.
"Good. Then from now on, answer sister's questions honestly?"
"Just... give me the drugs!!!"
Suddenly, Dia screamed at full volume and lunged at Abera. But such a move from her was bound to fail.
"Crazy bitch."
Handling her like a disobedient dog, Abera kicked Dia squarely in the stomach. Dia collapsed with a kek, and Abera stomped her again.
Grinding her heel in until tears streamed from Dia's eyes.
"Don't you recognize your master?"
"I-It hurts! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."
Thud, thud, thud—Dia was batted around by Abera's foot.
"Answer me. Who is your master?"
"Sister. Sister... I'll obey sister. Give me drugs. Please. Please..."
Dia flattened herself in submission.
Only then did Abera hold out the two syringes toward her prostrate sister.
"Good. Now, look closely. See this?"
"Drugs. Drruugs... The good kind..."
"Right. This one's the usual drug sister always brings."
Abera placed the Sao-filled syringe to Dia's left.
"And this one... is the one Mr. Ganeghan so carefully prepared. It'll feel twice as good as mine."
She set Ganeghan's syringe to the right. Preparations complete.
It was a lie that Ganeghan's would feel better, but a safeguard in case Dia lied.
"Now, choose. Which drug do you want? Our little Dia."
"Ganeghan... Ganeghan, Ganeghan. Ganeghan."
Dia muttered Ganeghan's name repeatedly.
At this point, Abera was convinced her suspicions were correct.
So, you still have feelings for him, huh.
Ganeghan must have noticed and seduced her... plotting nefarious schemes behind my back.
The rest was simple. The moment Dia picked Ganeghan's syringe, she'd beg Asbidal to kill her on sight.
Pin the murder on Ganeghan afterward. Easy.
With inheritance so close, it was a convenient way to dispose of both headaches at once.
And then, while still flattened, Dia began to move her hand.
"Ganeghan... Hate him. Hate him most. Hope he dies."
She grabbed Abera's syringe. She even flicked Ganeghan's away to the far side.
"......Huh?"
Shock spread across Abera's face.
Cracks were already forming in her perfect theory.