Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

“Just a moment.”

Eugene turned to Sergei and said.

“Go ahead.”

Sergei answered while slightly sliding his thumb on Eugene’s back as if love were suddenly bubbling up. Although Eugene flinched slightly when his hand first touched her back, he seemed to misunderstand her surprise, even though it was because she was shy in front of Hisha.

However, Eugene headed to the restroom without saying anything. Fortunately, there was no one inside, so she placed her clutch bag on the sink and looked at herself in the mirror.

She couldn’t relax because Hisha was still watching her.

Then Eugene thought in exasperation.

‘How did you find this place?’

It didn’t seem like Selena had brought Hisha here. Given the need to keep Hisha’s identity a secret, it would be unlikely to bring him to such a conspicuous place.

There were so many people around that she couldn’t tell who might be watching Hisha.

‘I need to send him back.’

While she was thinking this, she heard the automatic door open. Turning around, she saw a shadow so imposing that it seemed to fill the space.

Seeing Selena, Eugene was stunned.

“This is the women’s restroom.”

“How do I look?”

Selena calmly asked in response, raising one eyebrow.

“Normally, you use the men’s restroom.”

Despite her appearance, it was not exactly a secret in this field that Selena was actually male.

Selena must have understood from Eugene’s comment that she was monitoring his usual activities, but Selena merely shrugged and started washing his hands at the sink next to her. Eugene decided to walk out without saying more.

“Should I just disappear, then?”

Selena said from behind.

“Then the only place for you to go is next to the young master, right?”

Eugene’s steps toward the door faltered.

Eugene, who had been standing still, turned to look at Selena. Her eyes were impassive.

“Didn’t you dislike me?”

Washing his hands, Selena tilted his head slightly to look at Eugene. Despite his appearance, his gaze remained unflinchingly masculine.

“Well…”

Selena drawled out, starting to dry his hands with a hand towel.

“I’m not fond of your methods, but I want the young master to be happy.”

Then he shrugged.

“If the young master says he dislikes anyone but you, what can I do? I’m just a loyal servant of the Ivanov family.”

Although Selena was not a true vampire of the Ivanov bloodline but merely an adopted member of the clan (a client who received the blood), it was a well-known story that he was loyal to the Ivanov clan. For the Ivanov clan, he would be a faithful hunting dog ready to bring back the enemy’s head.

Eugene looked directly at Selena. His dark brown eyes held a firm light, and his gaze did not waver.

“Fuger-Dulloch is a name that has survived for centuries. Even families of queens and high officials, the Pope’s family who manipulated them, and even the master himself, who has become a vampire and is still alive, have disappeared, but Fuger-Dulloch hasn’t perished.”

“That’s true.”

For a moment, Selena’s expression changed, looking at Eugene with a sense of pity.

“But why does that sound like your scream? Trapped in a decaying prison that hasn’t rotted away for centuries.”

* * *

Eugene turned around in front of the hotel room door.

“Go now.”

Despite her saying it wasn’t necessary, Sergei, who had insisted on accompanying her to the room, leaned in as if he was about to kiss her. Eugene immediately placed her clutch to block the space between them.

“I told you not to even try.”

“Relax. It’s just a goodnight kiss.”

Then Sergei, in a voice that men often use to seduce women, subtly asked.

“Why not give me a chance too? If you’re going to do it anyway, wouldn’t you prefer to be happier than unhappy in a marriage?”

“Aleushin.”

Eugene said without changing her expression.

“Don’t make me explain again. You’re not that lacking in understanding, are you?”

Even with such an insulting comment, Sergei chuckled.

“If you had been born a man, we would have been good friends.”

As he turned and walked away, Eugene muttered.

“Good thing I wasn’t born a man.”

And then she entered the room. She went to the vanity and started removing one of her earrings.

“So in the end, you’re trying to gain power by selling yourself?”

At the sudden voice, Eugene looked up at the mirror. Reflected in the mirror was Hisha leaning against the window, arms crossed, in the same outfit as seen in the hall.

“I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Eugene said as she took off one earring.

“If it helps.”

There was no virus. There never had been.

It was just an act of pretending to make a virus.

The CIA had come to see Eugene last year. With evidence that her father had actively led the Brotherhood 20 years ago.

* * *

Eugene had just finished her lunch.

It was a rare lunch without any appointments, so she enjoyed it alone at her favorite restaurant. Suddenly, an uninvited guest came in and sat down across from her, starting a conversation.

“This is a file of a conversation between your father and Ms. Simon DeMoustier, a vampire who was the secretary of the Brotherhood, hidden in a Liechtenstein bank. Thanks to our agent’s persistent pursuit, it has come to light.”

The man seemed quite pleased, but Eugene showed no expression.

“CIA?”

The man shrugged but didn’t answer, which was answer enough.

Eugene looked at the chips the man had pushed onto the table.

They were probably kept in the Liechtenstein bank as insurance by Simon DeMoustier. To drag Eugene’s father down along with it if things went wrong.

Simon DeMoustier’s death by accident was forgotten by many, but it seemed some did not forget. It wasn’t surprising that there were still government agents digging into the Brotherhood, given the significant number of victims involved.

The agent spoke.

“The reason your father survived the massacre of the Brotherhood is that Simon DeMoustier fell out with your father and proceeded with the operation without involving him. It wasn’t because your father was innocent.”

Eugene skimmed through the documents the agent had presented on the table and looked back at him.

“At first glance, there seems to be no evidence linking my father to the Brotherhood .”

The agent nodded as if he had expected this reaction.

“That’s right.”

Then, with a face as if suppressing pleasure, he began to speak with a dramatic pause.

“You mentioned your father has pancreatic cancer. Since the defendant has serious health issues, he won’t be detained, but enduring media scrutiny and trial with his condition will be very painful.”

He smiled slightly and tapped one of the documents.

“Shall we start with the illegal money laundering?”

For Eugene, there was no escaping now, with such clear evidence in front of her.

Though she maintained her unchanging expression, she had no choice but to ask.

“What do you want?”

The fact that they came to her and not her father implied they had a specific goal.

The agent responded as if he had been waiting for this.

“Cooperation.”

He gestured firmly yet lightly over the documents.

“We need cooperation from someone who doesn’t seem like they would cooperate at all. We want to deliver a blow so hard that even those who think they can understand the will of the gods will be rattled.”

* * *

Although Eugene found the intention somewhat agreeable, there were three things she didn’t trust: men, coincidences, and government agencies, especially intelligence agencies. Their actions, while disguised as heroic, were often not much different from those of villains, depending on the legal interpretation.

However, to prevent her father from dying in prison, Eugene had no choice but to cooperate. For a businessman, tax evasion was often more fatal than murder, if not directly committed.

When her father made a will to leave all his assets to the person who created the virus, the CIA thought it was a golden opportunity to eradicate those targeting the virus. Thus, Eugene pretended to have almost completed the virus.

As she thought about this, Eugene took out one earring and placed it on the vanity, reaching for the remaining earring.

It seemed there was a misunderstanding that she wanted to develop the virus to save Mirsi because she was pushing for the development of the Baumann-Kraus treatment. However, the drug was indeed made for Mirsi. It was the only thing she could do for her deceased mother.

Even if she had developed the virus, she would never give it to Mirsi. The moment Mirsi was exposed to it, he would undoubtedly be in grave danger. Many would stop at nothing to obtain a virus that entered his body.

Clink…

Eugene placed the remaining earring on the vanity and then spoke.

“Don’t just stand there; could you unzip me?”

Hisha looked slightly taken aback by the unexpected request but then relaxed his arms and approached. He removed the hairpin that was holding up her hair, letting the thick, wavy hair cascade down.

Seeing Eugene’s hair fall, as if questioning why she had let it down, Hisha brushed the shiny strands aside.

“Your hair looks better down.”

As he unzipped her dress, he took a deep breath, savoring the scent of her hair. Eugene observed him.

Hisha’s presence did not help carry out the mission. He was the biggest variable in this situation.

In reality, neither Eugene nor the CIA had anticipated that Hisha Ivanov would come into the picture. ISLE hadn’t known either.

If Eugene were to send Hisha back home, there was a high chance that sharp-eyed individuals would realize it was a trap and flee. Thus, if Eugene was indeed trying to develop the Luax virus, she had no choice but to act in a way that would make it seem plausible.

It would have been easier if she could straightforwardly tell Hisha that this was a mission and to step aside, but she couldn’t do that, so she kept pushing him away.

However, none of the things she had said to Hisha were outright lies. Even if it weren’t for the mission, she truly had no time for idle romantic games. Not only did the Ivanov and Fuger-Dulloch families not mix, but there was still a long way to go in developing the medicine for Mirsi.

Even if this young man was much younger than her, Eugene had no intention of falling in love with him.

At that moment, Hisha slid his hand down her exposed back through the unzipped dress and reached deep enough to touch her chest. Eugene’s skin tingled, but she kept her composure and slightly turned her head to say.

“I only asked you to unzip me.”

Hisha kissed her exposed shoulder.

“Feigning modesty doesn’t suit you.”

“You know I can still scream, right?”

Suddenly, Hisha pushed her firmly against the vanity, causing it to rattle and items to fall over. Eugene was startled and braced herself against the vanity.

“Then scream.”