Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Eugene walked past Sergei and sat on her desk.

“Do it.”

“Deborah has been dealt with.”

Sergei responded immediately. Eugene looked at him in surprise, which prompted Sergei to add with a blank expression,

“She won’t ever show up in front of us again.”

Eugene tilted the hard drive she was holding to the side.

“And the children?”

“Surprising. You’re asking about the children.”

Sergei looked genuinely astonished. Eugene shrugged.

“I’m gentle with women and children.”

“You were going to blow them up?”

Eugene sneered.

“I let them off lightly.”

On the other hand, Sergei looked at Eugene for a moment before speaking.

“You surprisingly have some humanity.”

Eugene wanted to ask, “You mean, blowing them up?” but she found it annoying and let it go. Sergei continued,

“I want to start over. I won’t meet another woman again.”

Suddenly, Eugene burst into loud laughter. No one dared to react like that when Sergei Aleushin spoke, so his eyes twitched.

Still laughing, Eugene spoke.

“Aleushin, I know men like you very well. Men who will never be satisfied with just one woman. It’s just in your DNA. Deborah Dexa was probably just a representative of all your many women.”

Her eyes sparkled with laughter, but they also seemed bone-chillingly cold.

“Be honest.”

Then Eugene placed her hands on the desk she was perched on. The sunlight streaming from behind made her body appear translucent, almost showing the blue blood flowing through her veins.

Sergei opened his mouth.

“No, I promise.”

Strangely, he genuinely wanted to start anew.

Sergei realized that this woman was the only one suitable for him—his perfect counterpart.

It was strange why he hadn’t found her attractive until now. Perhaps he hadn’t dared to accept someone who mirrored him so perfectly. Maybe he was too young then. But now, he was fully prepared.

“No, I mean it.”

He made a promise he’d never made to any other woman, but Eugene brushed it off lightly.

“Not that I believe your claim of not meeting other women, but solve your sexual needs elsewhere. I won’t sleep with you. Ever. So don’t even try.”

Sergei asked with a blank face.

“What about an heir?”

“In vitro fertilization.”

Eugene declared firmly.

“Aleushin, I’m not marrying you. We’re making a contract. Don’t confuse the two.”

She tossed an ice cream stick into the trash can.

“Just because my gender happens to be female, we’re using the easy form of marriage. If I need to bear a child as evidence of that contract, I might, but don’t expect me to accept your sperm for that process.”

“Watch your language.”

Eugene did not hide her ridicule.

“Between us?”

Between them-

Indeed, it was. Although Eugene intended to distance herself, her words only confirmed the inseparable bond between them.

Sergei stood up.

“You probably saw the news, but my father collapsed.”

He spoke as if a houseplant had died.

“They say it’s tough to hold on this time. Come to the Moscow hospital by evening.”

Then Sergei left the office. Through the glass, Eugene saw the Russian bodyguards following him.

Watching him go, Eugene suddenly wondered what Hisha was doing. It wasn’t hard to find out what Hisha was doing at that moment, but she didn’t want to. She preferred imagining what Hisha might be doing.

His movements, his blinking eyes, the smile on his lips… That was the most beautiful image she could think of right now.

* * *

Hisha woke up to the sound of the alarm.

“Turn off the alarm…”

[You haven’t gotten up yet.]

The AI said coldly.

“Okay…”

The alarm started ringing again shortly after, and Hisha opened his eyes. He looked blankly at the empty room and then lowered his head.

“Hah… I saw Eugene in my dream.”

Muttering, Hisha brushed his hair back.

Seeing the time, Hisha realized it was time to go to his part-time job. He wasn’t in the mood at all but forced himself to get up, prepare, and head to the living room. There, an unwelcome voice greeted him.

“Just woke up? I thought you were dead.”

It was Ha-yeon, lounging on the living room sofa, watching TV and eating macaroni.

Why doesn’t that bum just leave?

Hisha thought but didn’t feel like responding. He just waved his hand and went to leave. Then he remembered if he had taken his wallet and rummaged through his bag, finding it missing, and returned to his room. Watching his back, Ha-yeon frowned.

“What’s wrong? No fun.”

Ha-yeon thought it was the first time she saw Hisha so deflated. Since childhood, Hisha was always so bright that even if hit on the back of the head out of nowhere, he never got discouraged.

Shaking her head, Ha-yeon picked up her macaroni bowl again.

“What’s so good about that woman to make him act like that?”

Just then, the phone rang, and Ha-yeon answered.

“Yeah.”

[Remember the information Hisha got from Knox Genomics?]

Myung-jin said abruptly.

[I dug into it a bit and found something fascinating. It’s about Baumann-Kraus disease.]

Ha-yeon looked puzzled.

“The disease the gardener’s son has?”

[Knox Genomics is the company that developed the only drug known to delay the symptoms of this incurable disease.]

“Isn’t that old news?”

Ha-yeon said, taking another bite of macaroni.

[The important part is next. Pharmaceutical companies often run projects to develop drugs for rare diseases as a form of social service. But it seems Eugene Fuger-Dulloch led the selection of Baumann-Kraus disease for Knox Genomics’ rare disease drug development project. That’s what internal documents said.]

Myung-jin continued.

[The company people didn’t find it strange that their executive director was pushing to develop a drug for Baumann-Kraus disease because they didn’t know that Eugene and the gardener’s son were half-siblings.]

“Wasn’t it profitable to develop the drug?”

[Baumann-Kraus is an extremely rare disease with a probability of one in 100,000. The project almost got scrapped because the company wanted to develop drugs for diseases with more patients.]

The conversation seemed to head in an incomprehensible direction, and Ha-yeon frowned with a fork in one hand. Meanwhile, Myung-jin continued.

[But the drug developed by Knox Genomics only delays the symptoms. It’s not a fundamental cure. Baumann-Kraus is an incurable disease.]

“So, what are you getting at?”

Finally, Myung-jin got to the point.

[Wasn’t Eugene trying to save her half-brother? Using the Luax virus.]

Ha-yeon smirked.

“Why would she?”

[Isn’t it simple? He’s her brother.]

Myung-jin stated plainly. Ha-yeon, incredulous, waved her fork in the air and asked.

“You think she considers the gardener’s son her brother? Fuger-Dulloch?”

[Think beyond her being a Fuger-Dulloch.]

Myung-jin said.

[Her half-siblings have a history of conflict, but she treats Leah Mavrogiotis, who sided with her, like a sister. Why wouldn’t she do the same for the gardener’s son? He’s young and not a threat to her.]

“……”

For a moment, Ha-yeon was at a loss for words.

[She’s not a monster.]

With the fork still in hand, Ha-yeon frowned and fell into thought.

Had she been prejudiced against Eugene?

Of course, she had. Because she was a Fuger-Dulloch, she thought she couldn’t have human emotions.

“If you eat too much of that, you’ll spend forever in a hospital bed with an IV.”

At that moment, Hisha passed by, saying this.

“See you later.”

Startled by Hisha’s sudden appearance, Ha-yeon tried to hide her surprise by replying, making Hisha look at her strangely. However, not wanting to bother with small matters, she simply went up the stairs.

“Hang up. I have somewhere to be.”

Ha-yeon told Myung-jin and got up from the sofa.

* * *

<Mirsi Pierlu>

Ha-yeon looked at the sign in front of her and peeked inside the hospital room. Pierlu was alone, cleaning the room. His son was nowhere to be seen.

Pierlu was coming out with bed sheets in his arms when he encountered Ha-yeon.

“I’m sorry.”

Not recognizing Ha-yeon, Pierlu apologized and tried to pass by, but then looked back at her and recognized her.

“You’re from before…”

At that moment, Ha-yeon bowed her head slightly in greeting.

“Hello.”

“It’s a coincidence to meet you here.”

Pierlu said but then thought it might not be a coincidence and looked at Ha-yeon again.

“Are you Young-soo’s sister?”

“Cousin.”

“You look a lot alike.”

Not just cousins, they looked almost like fraternal twins. Young-soo had a milder impression, but Ha-yeon’s personality didn’t show much outwardly either.

“Our mothers are twins.”

At Ha-yeon’s explanation, Pierlu nodded in understanding. Then Ha-yeon nodded towards the room and asked.

“The hospital bills must be high. Are you getting any support?”

A question that should have felt intrusive, but Pierlu, accustomed to dealing with unusual people, answered without much reaction.

“Yes, from the Charlie Gard Foundation that supports rare diseases…”

Before he could finish, Ha-yeon raised her hand.

“Just a moment.”

Then she turned around and unexpectedly made a phone call somewhere.