08. Unexpected Encounter (6)

Translated by: 𝒥𝒶𝓂

Eve looked at the man’s ankle, twisted and swollen in a strange way. It’s not that she feels guilty about what she did, it’s just that it’s bad to touch an unconscious woman. Eve told herself it was self-defense.

The more negative feelings he had for her, the better; the more disgusted and frightened he was by her, the better. It was his fault for her crushing him by any means necessary and drilling her power advantage into his brain with violence.

To be honest, every time she experienced his personality indirectly while playing the game, she fantasized about crushing him like this. The way he’d used his power to oppress Eve and other weaker people.

It was okay to be a lowly man like him, because the feeling of seeing Basilio’s face, tears streaming down his face, embarrassed by the violence that was being unleashed on him, was indescribable.

The problem was the grudge and the backstory this nasty man would hold. She could see his future of becoming a man who would stop at nothing to kill Eve.

She’d smashed the love line and the flag, but she’d gone too far and smashed the man’s ribs and toenails. It’s something she’s always thought about, but she didn’t mean to do it this way.

‘No, just a little bit, just a little bit…… I thought tying him up and hitting him would knock the wind out of him…….’

Even during the final squeeze, Basilio panted and glared fiercely at Eve, his face a mess of tears, snot, and saliva, not very dignified, but she was still satisfied that she had used the tool. For an invention of a genius inventor, the neurologically connected adult toy was pretty darn good.

Eve shuddered slightly as she remembered the soft, silky feel of it inside him, the warmth of it, the movement of his squirming muscles. Her back might be a little stiff, but she felt completely unburdened, and she loved being able to observe the man beneath her with a rational eye.

‘Was it bad enough that he got knocked out, no, but he’s so big and muscular and strong, yet he can’t even last a night without passing out? That’s gym muscle.’

His broad shoulders and well-defined abs showed that he had trained himself, but it was clear that he had been practicing martial arts rather than actually fighting. The head of a long-established underworld organization wouldn’t be expected to actually use his body, which was why the young masters weren’t allowed. In Eve’s mind, Basilio was quickly becoming the equal of Alberic.

Eve sat by the unconscious man’s side, brushing aside a strand of sweat-soaked saccharine hair. His eyes were closed and he was breathing thinly.

For such a strong-looking man, he had a surprising amount of color on his crying face. Men who pretend to be strong like this are bound to melt away after three days and nights of being patted on the back, throwing away all their pride and nerves.

If she’d had more time, she’d have teased him a little longer. Eve curled her lip in faint regret but pushed herself to her feet and prepared to leave. It was too late. Even if she left now, she wouldn’t be able to escape Alberic’s nagging.

She slung her scabbard around her waist one last time, straightened her clothes, said an inaudible goodbye to the man crumpled up like a discarded rag, covered in his own saliva, and left the room.

Descending to the ground floor, which was connected to the pub, Eve left a message for Basilio. She paraphrased it in mild terms, but roughly summarized it as, “If you catch my eye one more time, it won’t end with just this.”

Giggling at the thought of him jumping up and down when he got the message, Eve went outside and wandered around for a while before catching a ride on a small carriage. She was worried because it was late, but she was too scared to call out as the carriage screeched to a halt in front of her. Eve climbed into the carriage, realizing once again the power of money.

Returning to the mansion in the early hours of the morning, just before sunrise, Eve was stung once by the heavy, worried eyes of the butler who opened the door for her, and again by the silent, fierce stare of Alberic, who had come out to greet her as soon as he heard that she had returned.

His skin had grown quite rough as if he had been waiting for her all along, and he stared at her wordlessly for a long time, and under his reprimanding glare, Eve finally gave in and said, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I won’t stay out overnight anymore!” and paid her dues. To them, Eve was an unmarried lady who needed the “protection” of a male chaperone.

“Why didn’t you ……just slept outside and wait until after the sun had risen?”

“No, I didn’t mean to……. I just meant to have one drink…….”

“One drink? Come to think of it, I can smell the alcohol wafting in from somewhere.”

Alberic, who had come down the stairs, seemed to smell the alcohol on Eve’s body for a moment, and then asked with a faint expression.

“What is that, cologne?”

“Ah……. Well, uh…….”

What he smelled was the odor of perfume. Catching the faint scent of roses, whether splashed or smeared on his clothes, Alberic turned to Eve, his usual smirk gone and looking a little puzzled, his face cooling considerably.

“Where the hell did you come from and what were you doing?”

“Just that……. Had a few beers and……. and meet some people, you know.”

“People? Who did you meet? Did you know anyone in the capital?”

“No, it was just that……. What, you’re treating people like they’re the dregs of the room, I’ve got my own connections.”

Eve stammered and lied, unable to stop herself from sounding like a wife who’d been out of town and was caught by her husband. Alberic’s eyes narrowed, and he looked at Eve as if he were weighing something.

“I’ll be fooled by you once…… but next time, call ahead if you’re going to be late.”

“Yes…….”

Again, it was a lie that did not work, and he scampered back upstairs. Eve scratched the back of her head for a moment, then followed him up the stairs.

❖

Capo (Branch Leader) Gregorio Salerno, the wolf of Sidus and leader of the First Division, sucked in his breath as he entered his office at the secret summons of his young boss. The boss’s usually neat and tidy office was in shambles, thanks to his uncharacteristically fussy nature. He’d been warned by the boss’s right-hand man, Dominico, before he’d been summoned, that his temper was fierce and that he should just say yes, yes, and no bullshit, but he hadn’t expected it to be this bad.

“Fuck, ugh!”

The sound of the boss’s animalistic snarl and the unpleasant noise of glass shattering assaulted his ears. The antique glass cabinet, which had been made by a famous craftsman a century or so ago, and which Dominico had worked so hard to acquire, was instantly trashed.

“Motherfucker, motherfucker, I’ll kill you!”

Gregorio stood back, silently awaiting his boss’s order, feeling a cold chill of dread in the pit of his stomach. One after another, he heard animal whines, high-pitched curses, and the clattering of utensils.

It wasn’t until his boss, Basilio, gasped for breath and leaned against the only intact piece of wood in the wreckage of his office that he suddenly flinched in discomfort, jumped to his feet with a scream, and kicked at the desk.

“She must have known. How? That bitch, she knew.”

Basilio was muttering to himself, his eyes bloodshot, and Gregorio’s back was damp with a cold sweat. With a sudden snap, Basilio’s face turned toward his man. Gregorio surreptitiously bit his tongue in his mouth, trying to control his expression so as not to show his fright.

“I want you to investigate this Evelyn Vermell without leaving out a single small lead. Keep a close eye on what she’s doing, who she’s seeing. There’s something about her.”

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

“And I want you to find out everything you can about the Viper cubs’ territory, their dealings, whatever. I’m gonna hit them in the head the day after tomorrow.”

“Yes? But…….”

As he hesitated to speak, a thick hardcover book flew towards him with the intimidating face of a burly man. Gregorio, keeping his posture unchanged, tightly closed his eyes and took the hit on his forehead without flinching.

Red blood quickly splashed over his brow, which was stamped in the corner of the book.

“Do I have to tell you twice?”

A low throaty growl rumbled in Basilio’s throat.

The Vipers were an upstart organization that was suddenly coming into its own these days. Their territory often overlapped, and they were a snake group that didn’t get along with wolves, which was a bit of a headache, but they had a different focus, so Sidus had turned a blind eye for now. Of course, if they got bigger, they’d hunt them down relentlessly, but for now, they didn’t need to.

A venerable organization like the Sidus would only hurt its reputation if it showed its hand to a smaller pyramid scheme. Even turf wars were fought with a certain level of respectability. It was incomprehensible to them that the boss would step in and mess with their karma, even if it meant cleaning up after the “soldiers” whenever the occasional scrounger crawled up on them.

But it was what the boss wanted, and Gregorio, ignoring the blood rushing to his face, bowed his head and said a quick yes, then headed out the door to the sound of their other men’s greetings.

In the doorway stood Dominico, his face white as death. The thick door slammed shut, followed by the sound of something breaking from the inside.

“Do you know why…… he is doing that?”

“Ha…….

He doesn’t know where the hell he’s been or what he’s been doing, but he came back with two broken ribs and a crushed ankle joint, and his face was all beaten up. Jesus, what kind of big livered motherfucker beat the shit out of him……!

“Yeah, he got beat up, boss?”

“Yeah, he was beaten to a pulp, and I had to run around sweating my ass off to airlift a healing mage in that early morning.”

“Huh…….”

“Who was that……. He was all worked up about going after a noblewoman, and then he went out and want to know who the hell she’s been seeing and what she’s been doing…….”

Once again, a shout of rage, bordering on a scream came from inside the thick door. The man’s two henchmen looked at each other in disbelief, then sighed and hurried off to fulfill their boss’s orders.