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Chapter 92
Bread Thirteen. The Tower Built Over the Swamp (12)
It was the day they were leaving Demian’s villa.
Demian seated Ellie and told her what would happen next.
“As long as you go back to Roso, your father’s influence won’t disappear. He’s the sort of face that makes you want to say ‘it isn’t my father,’ but that’s not important right now — tuck your lip in.”
“…….”
“That man is timid and suspicious. He’s naïve in the way a beast believes that if it hides its head, no one will see it….”
“Excuse me? Naïve?”
“I mean stupid. Why are you glaring like that?”
“I wasn’t glaring. I just lowered my eyes.”
“You’ll succeed within a year at the latest.”
“A year.”
“I’m giving you time because you look frightened of me. That’s a very rare consideration from me. I can’t understand why anyone would be afraid of someone as handsome and kind as me, though.”
“Ha, hahaha.”
“Within a year you either succeed and move into Yan, or you quit everything and come to me yourself.”
Anyway, that meant he wouldn’t give her more than a year’s grace.
“If I quit halfway, wouldn’t that count as failure?”
“I’ll count it neither as success nor failure. I simply want to test my toy as soon as possible. If you can save me time, I wouldn’t mind ignoring it once or twice.”
He was calling her a toy to her face.
At the time, Ellie thought she could withstand any hardship, so she believed she would never walk over to Demian of her own accord.
But looking back now, Demian had left a sly opening for Duke McClure to manipulate him, and he must have known exactly how Maurice, Van, and Edmund would each move — as if he’d been watching the palms of their hands.
He knew what conclusion Ellie would reach after all this.
“Then I’ll come to fetch you tomorrow morning.”
“Good.”
The worst part was that he watched all of it and even sent escorts so Ellie wouldn’t return home alone.
When they reached the alley entrance where the shop was, the escorts gave a salute and disappeared.
Because of that, she didn’t have to walk the dark street alone, but Ellie shivered all the more at the thought that someone planted by Demian might be watching her from somewhere. From now on, she resolved never to lie or deceive Demian.
‘Completely obsessive, an obsessive male type….’
Add in an arrogant ruler and a scheming mastermind, and she might as well be heading straight for a captivity ending. He was fickle and ill-tempered — a character who, no matter what she did, would step on a landmine and never reach a happy ending.
Ellie hoped Demian would never have romance in his life, regardless of gender.
That type, even if he captured one person, wouldn’t be purified and contribute to world peace like other protagonists; whether he attained romance or not, he was a harmful type.
Ellie opened the door. Dawn was still about five hours away; she planned to lie down and rest for a bit.
But someone was leaning in front of the shop counter on the gloomy first floor.
Ellie nearly screamed, startled, but soon realized it was Maurice. He was looking at her quietly without making a sound.
“W-what are you doing there? You nearly made my heart fall out!”
“…….”
“If you’re here you could at least light a lamp….”
“Where have you been? Ellie.”
His voice lowered unusually; Ellie flinched.
“Uh, I just went out for a bit.”
“This early in the morning?”
“Uh, just for a moment….”
“Where did you go?”
“Just around here.”
“To see whom?”
“…Are you interrogating me now?”
Ellie, who had lied to conceal her visit to the McClure mansion, watched Maurice with a wary feeling.
Maurice, staring at Ellie with an expressionless face, suddenly smiled faintly.
“Interrogate? Don’t be upset. I’m worried.”
“That’s a lie. You’re angry.”
“…….”
“If you’re like that, go. We’ll talk later.”
“Why did you go to the McClure mansion?”
“…….”
“And why is your neck like that?”
Ellie swallowed and touched her neck with her hand. She hadn’t looked into a mirror, so she didn’t know how bad it was.
“Don’t hide it. Show me.”
Maurice’s large hand covered the back of Ellie’s hand. Seeing his face close up, she swallowed unconsciously. His pale brown eyes without any smile showed how angry he was and how tightly he was restraining that anger.
Maurice carefully peeled Ellie’s hand away, checked the mark on her neck, and his face contorted angrily. Ellie fumbled an excuse.
“I, uh, it was nothing major.”
“Is getting strangled ‘nothing major’? Then what is major to you?”
“Maurice. Don’t be angry.”
“Is me being angry considered nothing?”
“Maurice.”
“I’m not a dog. Calling my name won’t scare me, Ellie. Why did you go to the McClure mansion? No—why did you go alone?”
“…Explaining it would take too long.”
“I thought we had no secrets between us.”
Ellie let out a forced laugh.
“I thought so too.”
“Shop matters aren’t necessarily all your fault. That’s truly nothing to worry about.”
“Then what is a big deal? The person who said money is the best is about to have his business collapse — that’s nothing?”
“Ellie.”
“I’m not a dog either; calling my name doesn’t make me scared!”
This wasn’t what she’d intended.
Ellie didn’t mean to get angry. She hadn’t wanted to act brazenly in front of such a careful touch and that pained expression.
“You couldn’t help it. If I didn’t go myself, he’d keep bothering me!”
“You told me to trust you. I said I would solve it.”
“I trust you. I do. But I had to fix it. We both knew that. You should have said ‘don’t avoid me; go solve it and come back.’ That would have been right.”
“How could I send you knowing you’d end up like this! I almost watched you die the other day!”
Maurice’s voice shot up. But he sighed immediately after and apologized softly. He brushed his hair back with an impatient movement and continued.
“If only there’d been time, it would have been resolved.”
“The shop would have survived somehow. I believed that.”
“…….”
“But Edmund and Van won’t be freed just because time passes.”
“…Those are paths they chose, Ellie.”
“Being threatened because of me is not a choice.”
Ellie panted.
“Do you take me for an idiot? Think that if I’m sheltered and blindfolded, I won’t notice anything? Wouldn’t it have been better to push me into the trap even if it was dangerous? Treating me like I shouldn’t know anything and saying ‘I’ll fix it’ is treating me like a fool!”
“Ellie.”
“Van and Eddie are the same. You say it’s to protect me, but in the end you treat me like a burden!”
This wasn’t her true heart either.
Ellie understood being so attached to someone that you couldn’t move. She knew you might become frozen with fear of hurting them.
Others might call that foolish.
“I’m a coward, but becoming powerless is the worst. I’d rather have Irein. Even if it’s dangerous, asking for help is better.”
“So it was Irein McClure.”
“Yes. Irein summoned me.”
“That neck mark.”
“To get a confession….”
“Ha….”
Maurice sighed. He pressed his fingers against the corner of his eyes, checked her neck again, and bit his lip.
“You said becoming powerless is the worst.”
His careful hand touched Ellie’s neck. As if afraid to press, he skimmed over the skin and then covered the mark with his palm.
“You made me into a powerless, useless bastard, Ellie.”
Rough skin and warm body covered the pulsing vein. Maurice’s hand trembled thinly. Ellie was speechless.
“Couldn’t you have trusted and waited a bit? Did it have to be like this — on your body, with wounds…?”
“This was the most efficient way.”
“You say that nicely in front of the man who likes you.”
“…….”
“Don’t talk about efficiency when it’s about your wound.”
“…….”
“Thinking of how not to hurt you — does that make me a fool?”
Ellie didn’t know what expression to make. The voice thick with self-reproach was nearly choked. All over the mark on her reddened neck.
“I, I….”
Ellie dropped her gaze. She steeled her heart.
She had to detach herself emotionally so she wouldn’t do anything reckless.
“I hate it. I hate anyone losing something because of me.”
“It’s not because of you, Ellie.”
“I don’t want you to lose what you’ve worked hard to gain, to suffer losses helping me.”
“Ellie.”
Maurice had said money was everything. Money made people humane, he said.
The livelihoods of those who worked at the Mammoth Trading Company depended on his money. It wasn’t just his problem.
Maurice was right. Without money people couldn’t live like people. The employees of Mammoth Trading deserved to live as people.
Malina, Hop, Collin — those who had looked after Ellie without complaint should not lose their jobs.
“I wanted to be equal with you. I didn’t want to be someone who was cared for and protected unilaterally. You don’t have reason to do that.”
“Why not? I told you I like you.”
“Is it fitting for you to take losses for just that? Is that something that suits you?”
“What do you think I am…? That loss means nothing. In the long run it’s not a loss.”
“Maybe right now it’s not. But—”
“…If you get hurt, I’ll lose everything.”
The low words were almost a whisper but sounded louder than a shout.
Ellie lowered her head and bit her lip. Maurice watched her for a moment, then slipped his index finger between her tightly pressed lips. He feared her bitten lip might split white from pressure.
“Ellie.”
“…….”
“Ellie.”
“……Ah, why….”
“I’m angry.”
“…….”
Maurice bent at the waist, met the bowed Ellie’s eyes.
Though he said he was angry, his voice coaxed as if to comfort her, and Ellie almost started to cry.
“Even though I’m angry and a little annoyed, seeing how lovable you are makes me lose my mind.”
“…I’m afraid of being out of my mind….”
Tears finally welled.
Ellie trembled, covered her face with her palm, and Maurice pulled her into his arms.
“Alright. Okay. Are you okay? Sorry. I’m sorry I scolded you after your ordeal. It’s all my fault.”
Why are you apologizing…?
Ellie buried her face in Maurice’s consoling embrace and cried. What a foolish fellow. Where had the cold-blooded usurer gone; all that remained was a soft, foolish person.
That made her not happy at all, Maurice.
She wanted to be helpful; she didn’t want to be a ball-and-chain. That was too frightening.
