You Know Me, Don't You? -2-
Olivia's cold gaze was fixed on Mikhail. Gone was the peaceful expression she'd worn on the surface; now she stared at Mikhail with icy eyes and spoke in a heavy voice.
"How gracious of you to visit."
"..."
"It's so rare to see your face. I don't even know how to act now that you've come to this humble place..."
Mikhail swallowed dryly. Olivia's expression was the coldest he'd ever seen.
"Isn't that right?"
Olivia looked down at the silent Mikhail as if she might tear him apart at any moment, then smiled faintly and asked again.
"I feel like I know you, but you don't seem to know me."
"You must have the wrong person."
"Heehee..."
Olivia glanced around and said, "Speak freely. No one else is coming in."
"..."
"Ricardo went to cook, so it's just you and me in this room."
"I think there's been a serious misunderstanding..."
Olivia cut him off and muttered to herself. "There are so many things I want to ask. Where should I even start?"
She stabbed an apple on the small table with her fork and took a crisp bite. "First, I should hear your introduction from your own mouth."
"..."
"I'll ask one more time." Olivia wiggled the fork in her hand and smiled with her eyes. Was that killing intent hidden in her gentle smile, or was it just his imagination?
Mikhail swallowed hard and kept his mouth shut. He couldn't be sure yet. He had no intention of giving her any leverage based on a guess. If Olivia was only acting on suspicion, he had to answer even more carefully.
'A thief's feet get cold when they're guilty.' He wanted to avoid this situation at all costs.
But Olivia easily surpassed his expectations. As if she already knew everything.
"You know me, don't you?"
His breath caught. Olivia's cold gaze made the air freeze in his lungs. She smiled and tried to reassure him. Why was he so scared?
"You don't have to hide it."
"...What?"
"Even if you don't know, I do."
"..."
"How long do you think I've been chasing you? You really don't get it?"
Mikhail was certain. He'd been found out. He could feel it in Olivia's eyes as she asked with such conviction. The woman before him saw straight through his identity.
Her voice carried unfathomable anger and disgust, a tangle of emotions. Her expression seemed to say, 'Run if you want. Just know I won't be responsible for what happens at the end.' It was a threat.
"Did you really think I wouldn't know?"
"..."
"Why? Did you think I wouldn't notice? How rare is silver hair in this world... And my eyes don't lie."
Olivia's violet eyes gleamed with an ominous light.
"Well then... I'll ask again."
"..."
"What's your name?"
Mikhail opened his trembling lips. "M...isa."
"Misa?"
-Nod.
"Pfft..."
Olivia's shoulders shook as she covered her mouth with her hand. She muttered "How amusing" and slowly scanned Mikhail's body. Tapping the fork with her fingertip, she half-closed her eyes and said, "Fine. Let's go with that for today."
"..."
"If that's what you want to be called, then that's what we'll use. Right?"
"Thank you."
"Huh? Why are you thanking me?"
Olivia leaned in and looked Mikhail straight in the eye. "Not yet."
"What?"
"I said not yet. It just means I'm playing along with your little role for now. It doesn't mean I'm not going to ask you anything."
"..."
"I've got a mountain of questions. What exactly are you thanking me for?"
At Olivia's icy tone, Mikhail's shoulders flinched. It felt like he might be sucked into those eyes. It wasn't simple anger. It was the terror of staring into an abyss.
Olivia spoke to Mikhail, who had introduced himself as Misa. "Was it fun?"
"..."
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."
"I don't know what you mean."
"You're going to keep this up?"
"..."
"Fine, go ahead. But if you keep running, you won't find it very fun either."
"I really don't know what you're..."
"There are plenty of ways to find out. It'd be troublesome if I heard it from Ricardo instead of you, but I can dig it up somehow."
Olivia asked Mikhail again, who was staring at her with trembling eyes. Like the villainess from a novel.
"Is it fun playing with people's hearts?"
"...No."
At the answer she'd expected, Olivia gave a small smile. "I see."
"..."
"So that's how it was. It wasn't intentional."
-Nod.
Olivia nodded slightly at Mikhail's silent answer and asked, "Then it was like that from the beginning?"
"..."
"You weren't turned into a woman by magic. You've been a woman from the start, haven't you?"
Mikhail nodded heavily. He thought that if he spoke harshly, pointing out Olivia's faults, he could gain the upper hand in this relationship—but he knew he shouldn't. "This is... really fucked up."
If he said the wrong thing to Olivia now, it felt like he'd be dragged into the abyss. Olivia spat out the curse in a low voice, ran a hand through her hair, and asked, "Then Ricardo...?"
"Ricardo...?"
"Did he know you were a woman?"
"No. He probably found out recently."
"That's a relief, at least."
Olivia nodded heavily and closed her eyes. "Honestly, my head is a complete mess right now."
"..."
"The guy I liked showed up as a woman... and realizing what I did was completely pointless... it feels like my head's about to explode..."
"Sorry, heh..."
"Shut up. You have no idea how humiliated I feel right now. Don't say another word."
After a long silence, Olivia finally steadied herself and let out a deep sigh. "You know... at first, I thought if you appeared again, I'd apologize. Because I was in the wrong."
"..."
"But as time passed, I realized just how terrible of a person I was. Only after time went by did I understand why Ricardo tried so hard to stop me."
"..."
"Still, I was angry. Why did you ignore me like that? You didn't have to treat me so coldly."
"..."
"Honestly, I couldn't understand you. I thought it didn't make sense for you to reject me."
"..."
"I'll admit it—my personality is pretty twisted. But being rejected... it just made me more stubborn. God, but... fuck."
Crunch. Olivia popped another piece of apple into her mouth and sighed again. "Now I get it a little."
"I understand why you did what you did."
"You must've thought it was ridiculous too. Having some crazy bitch go nuts saying she likes you—how disgusting must that have felt, right?"
Olivia's hand slowly reached toward Mikhail's neck as he lay there. "Haa..."
Instead of grabbing his throat, she seized him by the collar. Her hands trembled as she looked at him. "Was it fun?"
"..."
"It was so fun you thought you'd go crazy, wasn't it?"
"...Let go."
"Why?"
Olivia's trembling eyes were fixed on Mikhail's, as if she wanted to kill him. "If you'd just told me earlier, none of this would've happened."
"..."
"If it weren't for you, Ricardo wouldn't have had to go through that."
At the mention of "Ricardo," Mikhail's eyes shook violently. He hadn't expected someone else to be caught up in what he'd thought was only between him and Olivia.
"What do you mean by Ricardo?"
"You don't need to know."
"What are you talking about?"
"Shut up. I don't want to explain to someone wearing a mask. Just shut up and listen."
"...Tell me."
"Hey..."
Olivia gave a bitter smile. "I'm holding back a lot right now."
"..."
"If it were up to me, I'd tear you to pieces."
"..."
"Your circumstances? I don't give a damn about that. I can't hear any of it."
"Tell me."
"Shut up. Honestly, if it weren't for Ricardo, I would've killed you already."
"..."
Olivia, filled with rage, said, "I'm enduring it."
"..."
"Because Ricardo wouldn't like it."
"..."
"The old me wouldn't have even said this much. So for now, just nod your head."
Mikhail squeezed his eyes shut at her words. He'd been completely drawn in. Olivia gritted her teeth as she watched him silently nod. She knew that no matter how much more they talked, nothing good would come out of her mouth. She needed to stay calm. Even though anger boiled inside her, she had done wrong. To properly settle the debt between them, they still needed a beginning.
So Olivia held back her rising fury and said, "If you're going to apologize, do it properly and come find me."
"..."
"Come as the person I knew... with that proud name of yours, and talk to me properly."
"No. That name is something I've already..."
"Who decided that?"
Olivia grabbed Mikhail's collar roughly and looked him straight in the eye. "Who decided you could throw that name away?"
"..."
"I don't accept running away."
Just as a denial was about to leave Mikhail's cold lips—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
-My lady. It's your incredibly handsome butler. May I come in?
Ricardo's voice came from beyond the door along with the knocking. Olivia roughly released Mikhail's collar and spoke toward the empty air. "You can leave now."
-Nod.
Hans, who had been hired without Ricardo's knowledge, dispelled the silence magic at Olivia's command. Feeling the mana fade, Olivia said to Mikhail, "Come find me properly."
"..."
"I'll apologize properly then, too."
After whispering into Mikhail's ear, Olivia squeezed her eyes shut and spoke calmly toward the door. "Come in."
-Creaaak!
"Hmm..."
Ricardo entered carrying a tray full of refreshments and made an awkward face. "Did you two fight?"
"No."
"Then why does the atmosphere feel so bad? If you're going to fight, you should include me too. I'm hurt."
"If Ricardo gets involved, you'll die."
"...That's scary. In that case, strategic retreat."
Ricardo was afraid of Olivia. Mikhail thought that he needed to apologize for his mistakes. Only then... "Haa..." would he be able to take that first step, he believed.