Chapter 103
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Scene 103 Interrogation
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...For me to have, the princess is far too beautiful and noble beyond my station.
Dmitri swore an oath before Isabella.
Hmm... I thought you were just a foolish man, but you do have an eye for beauty.
A ring adorned Isabellas stubby hand.
Evidence of the oath.
Evidence that Isabella had become Dmitris partner.
Very well. I shall graciously accept your proposal.
As Isabella gave her consent, Dmitri pressed his lips to hers.
Bella watched the scene with a bashful smile.
Hee hee hee hee... Oh, Dmitri.
Her expression all dreamy, Bella embraced Dmitri and rolled around on the bed.
Shed struggled to hide her upturned lips all the way back to the mansion.
At first, it had been simple self-indulgence.
A way to vent her anger at Tristan, who had forced the engagement to bind her.
Shed wanted to embarrass him.
Shed wanted to see him flustered.
In the end, he had accepted her petty revenge.
In the privacy of the office, with just the two of them, he had proposed.
Even knowing it was a fake proposal, Bella had thrown herself into the moment more than shed ever expected.
...You really can do it when you try.
Slipping under the covers, Bella mulled over the words Tristan had whispered to her.
She savored his voice.
She savored his heated gaze.
Bella had planned to reject him outright if he spouted empty flattery or gave a half-hearted proposal.
But she couldnt.
Everything had felt so vivid.
His obsidian-black hair.
His refined features.
And in his decadent eyes, her reflection captured without a single gap.
It was the proposal shed dreamed of, imagined in her fantasiesexactly that.
Bella suddenly recalled his kiss.
Her face flushed hot, and she couldnt hold it back.
Such a rascal...
Curled up under the blankets, Bella caressed her bare white foot.
Where do you kiss, anyway...
The sensation of his lips on the top of her foot lingered vividly.
At first, it had embarrassed her to death, but shed gradually grown accustomed to his kisses.
It felt as if her feets sensations were being conquered by him.
Noperhaps hed intended that from the start.
With eyes that vowed to claim her from head to toe, he had explored her feet.
Remembering that moment, Bella shivered.
Shed kept up her haughty act, but shed nearly given in to him completely.
Tristan had caressed even her most intimate, secret places as if they were precious.
And before she knew it, Bella had found herself craving his kisses.
Shed sworn never to get engaged, hating his possessiveness so much.
Yet now, ironically, she yearned for his bonds once more.
Bella pulled out the bear doll from her arms.
The battered bear dollDmitri.
Patched up so many times, its stuffing had leaked out, leaving it thin and gaunt, reminiscent of someone.
Hmph. What are you looking at?
It was the first gift Tristan had ever given her.
Just a cheap bear doll, but she treasured it.
Because he had been her first love.
...You think looking at me like that will really make me fall for you?
Bella glared at Dmitri as if locked in a staring contest.
Staring at his expressionless face, she amusingly recalled the cold-featured boy shed fallen for at first sight.
......This is the last time, got it.
Closing her eyes, Bella carefully pressed her lips to Dmitris.
It was a clumsy kiss, but she lingered there for a long time.
Then she remembered the moment shed kissed Tristans mouth.
If only her lips had been a little longer, could she have claimed his?
Would she have been satisfied with just claiming his lips?
Even now, just imagining his lips made her heart feel like it would overflow, impossible to contain.
If shed kissed his lips back then, would he have accepted her?
At last, Bellas lips parted from his, leaving a lingering regret.
Sleepiness crept in.
The kind where she could plunge into dreams of her feet at any moment.
She felt like she could drift into sweet dreams while holding onto this happiness.
Bella hugged Dmitri tightly, as if he were something precious.
And she murmured blankly.
Goodnight, my first love...
Late at night.
At Aslans headquarters, not far from the Ruelverta mansion.
The sharp click of high heels echoed through the halls.
A massive man, dozing in a chair while reading the newspaper with sleepy eyes, spotted the source of the sound and yawned as he spoke.
Mm... Its been a while, Helga.
Captain Wiley.
Aslans captain, Wiley Bibes, stretched.
Looks like youre on duty tonight? Heh heh... With me gone, the captain himself has to pull night shifts?
Ha ha ha! Dutys just boring as hell. Howve you been?
Great. Better than ever.
Helga flashed a bright smile.
Even as vice-captain, her beauty had drawn plenty of admirers among the members.
But if they saw her now, theyd be stunned.
The scars that once covered her body were gone, and aside from the military coat, she wore ordinary girlish clothes.
And the biggest change was on her face.
Seeing that eye of yours gets to me...
Wiley nodded as he gazed at Helgas face, now free of her eyepatch.
The eye once hidden beneath it wasnt hideous.
It gleamed instead. A black pupil, different from her original eye color, sparkled with life.
It was none other than the eye of her master, Tristan.
Its more precious to me than my own body.
Shouldnt you treasure your body more, since I gave it to you?
Oh, as expected of the captain. You get it. Heh heh...
Helga smiled shyly, like any girl her age.
Wiley couldnt help but marvel at the smile hed never seen from her before.
Youve changed so much, Helga.
Have I?
Yeah. I thought youd roam battlefields forever, but seeing you now... I was dead wrong.
Battlefields arent bad. The constant tension makes you feel alive. But... being by my loved ones side, I realized something. All that time, Id been dead inside.
Helga continued softly.
Maybe as I roamed the battlefields, slaughtering enemies one by one, the person I was had been dying bit by bit. But when I started serving the Count up close, leaving that life behind... the parts of me that had died began coming back to life, one by one.
She caressed her left eye as she spoke.
The Count is my light. The light that filled this eye, drowned in darkness, with new life.
The woman before Wiley wore the unmistakable expression of a girl in love.
Watching her, Wiley said with satisfaction.
Looks good on you. I kept the vice-captain spot open after you left, but seems I dont need to.
Heh heh... Thanks, but pass it to another member. Ill be by the Counts side forever.
What are you talking about? This is the Counts order.
...Pardon?
Helgas eyes widened at the unexpected words.
The Count said to leave the vice-captain position vacant only on paper. Your first title is guard knight, but your second is still Aslans vice-captain.
Im still the vice-captain?
Yeah. Probably recognizing the achievements you built up in Aslan. Its a nominal title, but you have the same authority as before to command soldiers at your discretion. You just wont handle the duties.
Its such a baffling decision. Why would the Count go to such unnecessary lengths...?
What else? It means he trusts you enough to grant you this transcendent authority.
I see... The Count...
Only then did Helga understand Tristans intent, and her eyes reddened.
Seeing it, Wiley realized his mistake.
Ah, damn. The Count told me not to say a word...
Hee hee... Your mouths as loose as ever, Captain.
Helga spoke in a voice tinged with tears.
Ha ha ha ha! Id never crack under tortureI only open my own mouth. Oh, right.
Wiley spoke as if hed just remembered.
Got caught up talking. Follow me.
Creak.
Wiley opened the iron door to the basement.
It led to the stairs down to Aslan headquarters interrogation room.
Descending into the pitch-black underground, they reached the interrogation room door.
The guy you handed over doesnt seem like the loose-lipped type like me.
This was why Helga had visited Aslans headquarters in the dead of night.
Captain, you didnt lay a hand on him, did you?
Ha ha ha. Of course not. You know if I touched him, hed die too easily.
True...
Wiley chuckled and opened the interrogation room door.
Inside was a shabby table and chair.
And on the chair...
Turn me over to the Security Bureau!
Sat the man Helga had captured at the tavern.
His face had some bruises, but he looked fine otherwise.
This is the Security Bureau.
Dont lie!
Yes, of course its a lie.
Helga sat naturally in the chair opposite him.
The man bellowed.
Whats the point of this?! Even for Aslan, this is unlawful detention!
My, my. Smarter than you look. You even know the law.
Shut up and hand me over to the Security Bureau already!
Thats a problem. We still dont know who you are.
I told you! Im a thief! If Id known you were real Aslan, I wouldnt have impersonated them!
Thats not all, is it?
What?!
In that instant, Helga grabbed the mans collar and yanked.
Gah?!
The mans head slammed hard into the table.
Helga pointed at the torn collar from the impact.
More precisely, at the large birthmark hidden beneath it.
Whats this?
Shit... Cant you tell? Its a burnaaaagh!
Helga smashed the mans previously broken fingers with her fist.
Whats this?
Aaagh! Tattoo...! Its a tattoo! An old one!
Just as I thought. But this tattoofaded as it islooks just like the one I saw as a child.
W-what?
Helga released his collar and sat back in her chair.
Crossing her long legs, she said.
A wolf tattoo holding lightning in its jaws.
...?!
The symbol of the Imperial Navy Special Forces. Only the liveliest soldiers under the navys strongest man, that guy, could get it.
The mans face twisted in disbelief at her words.
Helga quietly uttered the name.
You... served under my father... no, under Viscount Gale Wolfbert, didnt you?