Cassel — POV
[This girl…]
[How does she know this name? Who is she? She never appeared in my life before.]
"Ah—Cassel, I— I mean, thank you for saving me. What about Robin?"
I looked at the girl who felt lighter than a feather. Her eyes were a deep, beautiful black—not frightening like mine, nor lifeless and joyless like my brother's.
The darkness in them shone as if with an inner light. I wasn't sure whether it was a reflection, but her eyes seemed incredibly gentle, able to awaken tenderness and warmth in anyone who met them.
Those curled lashes, the pale skin, the slope of her nose, and the shape of her mouth… everything was exquisitely beautiful.
But the wilder the beauty, the deeper the inner rot.
I had learned that appearances deceive—that beauty is fleeting and corrupted.
I would not make the same mistake again in this life—
"Boss, we killed almost all the zombies that had surrounded us, but the noise drew the nearby ones. I'm afraid we're being encircled again. We need to move." Henry arrived, carrying a device that constantly whispered alarms. His clothes were filthy, smeared with blood that—thank God—wasn't his own, yet his face remained handsome and clean.
He glanced at the girl in my arms and shook his head. "If only she could use her power without touching anyone. We could have driven away without trouble."
"Stop whining. Gather the men—we're leaving."
"Don't speak about me in the third person while I'm right here," the girl snapped at Henry, baring her teeth; her face flushed. She really seemed to hate him. For some reason, Henry kept provoking her.
"Oh, I didn't notice you, little rabbit." He stopped, leaned close to her face, and feigned astonishment: "Wow— I didn't realize you were so beautiful."
"Cut it out."
"Alright, boss. I'll prepare the withdrawal."
Henry fled faster than the rabbit he'd mocked.
The girl looked like she might start crying again for reasons I couldn't understand.
Since she'd appeared she'd been giving me all kinds of looks. I could parse her expressions and the feelings behind them—but what baffled me was how someone I'd never seen in either of my lives could stir so many different emotions in me: pity, sadness, worry, joy, reproach… and… love?
Who are you, really, Rosalia? I wanted to ask her outright, but this was not the time. Until I understood why she was clinging to me, I wouldn't act.
Her cherry lips parted and, in a trembling voice, she said, "Cassel—Robin—"
"He's fine. He's being treated in one of the trucks at the back. We've got equipment and medics, plus a few people. He won't die soon."
For some reason, when I looked at her small, trembling frame and those sorrowful eyes, I felt more moved than I thought I should.
"Thank God. I'm so glad to hear that." The girl smiled weakly and closed her eyes as if she'd fallen asleep. I supposed the stress and the fight had been more than her small body could bear.
I stared at her face, unaware of what I was thinking, until a soft, gentle voice came from nearby.
"Sir… sir, thank you for saving us. What's your name?" She was dressed in white—her dress unsoiled except at the hem, as though she had not been in a brutal battle minutes before. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and looked at me with shy, frightened eyes; her cheeks were flushed.
This act—she never changed. She still used the same filthy tricks.
Because of this girl and her wicked plans, I had suffered greatly in my past life…
[You didn't come to settle old scores with me, and now you've come back? Lucky me.]
I had never been someone ruled by his emotions.
I planned every move carefully and watched everything around me.
Even revenge, for me, was never done in haste.
Who said revenge must be served hot?
I preferred to lift someone to the heights so they would believe they had succeeded; let them bask in the thrill of triumph—then, when they least expected it, I would plunge them beneath seven layers of earth and make them suffer tenfold.
The higher the ascent, the more agonizing the fall.
And now, having overcome that strange force that once rendered me powerless—made me watch my friends die and wait for my own death—now is the time to repay the debt.
But I was not in a hurry.
"Sir… sir, can you hear me?"
I came back to myself and saw the girl trying to approach. I took two steps back.
Then, I noticed the man lying on the ground, his hand in an awkward position, looking at me with fear and worry.
"You're not entitled to my name," I said, "but your boyfriend tried to kill my men. Instead of asking for my name, you can beg for mercy, for me to not kill you both, or throw you to the zombies over there."
I tilted my head toward the distant road from which the zombies were crawling, inching forward.
The girl hadn't expected such a reply; her expression shifted from calm to shock to fear and hatred.
What a bad actress.
"I—I didn't do anything. He's the one who tried to kill people. What's it to me? And he's not my boyfriend."
George turned and looked at Mary in disgust.
It makes sense, in a bitter way: love so easily curdles into hate. When the girl you sheltered through rain and fire turns away to save herself, what else can follow?
But I didn't care.
I was about to turn and lift the girl into my arms to carry her to the truck for a check-up, when a voice cracked behind me.
"Maaarry."
"Mary—is that really you, Mary?"
My worthless brother came barreling over, trying not to trip on zombies or step in the blood.
The girl's features opened into a radiant smile and she ran into his arms, hugging him tightly, as if she hadn't been flirting with me moments before.
What a suitable pair for one another.
I had known Mary long before the end of the world; reports about this cheap son and his equally cheap father had been sent to me. This girl was a real gold digger: she had learned everything about Cecil's background. She'd targeted him from the start because he was a member of the famous, wealthy Zancroft family.
Ask me my name? What poor acting.
Of course, she knew who I was—my face was everywhere as head of the family and CEO of its subsidiaries.
Just trying to secure a spare wheel to use when necessary.
Seeing their disgusting embrace, I tightened my grip on the warm handle at my side so I wouldn't lose my temper and slit both their throats with my sword.
"Liz, is everything ready?"
"Yes, boss, the vehicles and drivers are in place. We only have a few people holding the line against the zombies to buy us time so we can get in."
Liz glanced at pale, sleeping Rosalia and asked anxiously, "Boss, is she okay? I can help carry her—give her to me."
I looked at Liz, then at the girl, but I didn't hand over the body in my arms. Instead, I gave an order.
"Move—everyone to the trucks. We leave now."
Before I could go I turned to the man on the ground.
I felt no compassion or guilt when I said,
"This one is not coming with us. As for that girl—"
When I looked at Mary in Cecil the idiot's arms, he blurted loudly and insistently, "Of course, Mary, my love—she'll come with me. She'll ride in my truck."
"Oh, then let's go."
Take her, why not take her?
How else would I stage my play without its heroine?
This time, everyone who harmed me or my people would pay many times over.
Without the world's old rules that controlled me and killed me, I would see how they survived.
Heaven's chosen ones. Right?
We will see about that.
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Erato-san has something to say:
Hello, my little angels!
This is your beloved author, Erato-san.
Thank you—truly, truly—for all your love and support. I was so touched by the golden tickets you sent me; you have no idea how happy they made me!
Meansister: Thanks for the golden ticket.
Swamp_Rat: Thanks foe both the golden ticket and the message chair ( the gift ). To tell the truth, i was so shocked, like i rubbed my eyes 4 times cause i thought I was hallucinating. Thanks so much.
TinaMaria: Thanks for the golden ticket.
And, well… since I'm a person who actually knows what guilt and embarrassment and shame feel like.
I've decided to do my best and try updating daily from now on.
Honestly, when I saw your gifts and tickets while I was still lazing around doing nothing…
I felt so guilty! I'm really, really sorry.
So from today onward, I'll do my very best to post every day!
I hope you'll enjoy today's chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. ❤️
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