Chapter 107
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 107
'If I fall from here, I'm dead!'
If I fell like this, it would be instant death. Even as I fought against the command, a scream rose to the tip of my throat.
We didn't fall—instead, we landed on a nearby branch.
My eyes flew wide open as I gasped for breath, and there on the adjacent branch stood a figure in black clothing. It was one of The Ravens, concealing their form.
"Don't move. Just watch."
Crown Prince Kiaros issued the command in a low voice.
Nestled in his embrace, I breathed heavily, my eyes blinking in confusion. Simultaneously, the man beside us made a bird's call.
'Watch? What does that mean?'
From the context, that bird call seemed to be a signal among The Ravens meaning 'don't move.'
I blinked, bewildered. As my eyes darted about, Crown Prince Kiaros whispered.
"Miss Namia Loapi, you haven't witnessed many crime scenes like this, so you may not realize it, but people moving stealthily don't usually walk so slowly. They don't carry their target in plain sight either."
Ah, practical experience.
I couldn't compete with someone who had that. It wasn't something in books, nor could it be studied separately.
Now that I thought about it, Anastasia hadn't brought the beaker she intended to swap in her hands.
I'd assumed she'd hidden it somewhere before entering, which meant she'd have to hide it again when leaving.
"We can watch a bit longer. At this rate, she won't get far anyway. Fortunately, the liquid is in a cup with the lid still open, so there's no possibility of someone suddenly snatching it or ambushing and killing her to take it."
I was amazed at how much he'd deduced in such a short time. Moreover, even though we could simply observe in silence, his whispered explanation felt tender.
"However..."
He examined my face as he continued.
"I don't understand why Anastasia would do such a thing."
In any case, we watched Anastasia's retreating figure from high in the tree. She had already left the office building and was walking toward the adjacent garden.
Indeed, her gait was leisurely. There was not the slightest hint that she was engaged in something secretive.
And in one corner of the garden toward which she headed...
"Here."
Anastasia handed the beaker to Victor.
"Is it done? Are you finished?"
* * *
Anastasia had been leaving work latest these days. Though even that was only 6:30 PM.
The reason she left thirty minutes late was simple: the book she'd placed in the office recently, "The End of Obsession Is Escape," was far too engaging.
'Should I just take this home? No, I should read my home books at home separately. I brought this to read during lunch or break time at the office.'
Since "The Doomed Flee" which she was currently devouring at home was also an excellent work, she could barely manage to stand from her desk by 6:30 PM.
Just as she was preparing to leave the empty office.
"Anastasia? You're still here?"
Victor, whom she thought had already left, re-entered the office. Anastasia tilted her head as she slung her bag over her shoulder.
"What, do you need something?"
"Huh? Why are you talking like that?"
"I, I'm leaving around this time, and you, you know that well, don't you?"
"Ah... your intuition is too sharp, Anastasia."
"It's, it's something everyone in the office knows, so..."
Anastasia shrugged her shoulders. Victor was devastatingly handsome and had been famous at the Academy as a charming man, but she didn't particularly like him.
It was clear he harbored feelings for Namia Loapi, yet he kept prodding at her from different angles—precisely the type she despised most.
"Actually... I just got a request."
"What is it?"
"I ran into the Minister earlier, and he asked me to bring him a beaker containing Imperial Servants' blood. He said he'd be conducting experiments in his room starting tonight. Apparently, he's not feeling well."
Anastasia nodded readily.
Honestly, she'd been puzzled why he came to the Production Workshop at all when it was an experiment that could be done with just a desk and scroll paper.
"He said to bring it anytime today. You know I have a lot of appointments, so I actually have an evening engagement."
Victor spoke with a slight smirk.
"But thinking about it, this seems like an opportunity for the Minister and me to be alone together."
"Uh, what?"
"I'm going to confess."
Anastasia's eyes widened instantly, her interests having been struck perfectly.
"While handing this over... I'm going to confess. That I've liked him all along, and I've hesitated for so long, but now I simply can't hold back anymore."
"W-w-w-wait. A confession isn't something you just charge into."
Anastasia offered her sincere advice.
"A confession should be like a Christmas gift a child receives—that's how it succeeds."
"Huh? You mean I need to put such pure feelings into it?"
"No, no. I mean doing it when the other person is already eagerly anticipating receiving a gift. Like, if they don't get it, they'd be upset and bewildered."
Victor's brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't object and continued speaking.
"I'm going to do it anyway. Otherwise, Crown Prince Kiaros will steal him away."
"Ah... because of Crown Prince Kiaros..."
Everyone in the Scroll Department knew that Crown Prince Kiaros was showing affection toward Namia Loapi by even drawing her blood. Honestly, it was already common knowledge throughout the civil service.
Anastasia nodded.
"Y-yes... Then do your best. And prepare yourself for the rejection route..."
"But the thing is, I have an evening appointment, so I decided to deliver it at night, and there's a problem."
"What problem?"
"I'm easily frightened... I really don't have the confidence to cross through a dark Corridor. But I also don't want to miss this chance to be alone with him, and yet bringing it with me to my appointment location feels awkward too..."
He made his request with an earnest expression.
"Could you bring it to me tonight? Only Team Leader-level personnel can enter the Production Workshop anyway. If you just bring it, I'll handle the delivery."
Truth be told, if things continued this way, there was a high probability he'd never confess at all.
After all, confessing to the Crown Prince's lover would cost him his life.
"O-okay. But I have a condition."
Anastasia would never return to work after clocking out under normal circumstances. But this request aligned far too perfectly with her interests.
"H-how it goes, I'm curious. Y-you have to tell me the aftermath. Every detail. Remember all the dialogue."
"... Why do you assume I'll be rejected? Do you really think Namia Loapi will go to Crown Prince Kiaros?"
"No."
Anastasia shook her head.
"A-actually... I think Kibon has a higher chance."
"... Why on earth?"
In that moment, a shadow fell across Victor's face. Anastasia, observing that unmistakable expression, became certain of his feelings toward Namia Loapi.
He truly did care for her. Yet it was subtly different from what she had anticipated.
'I thought he might be following the regret route—unwilling to keep her himself, yet reluctant to let her go to another. But this... this thick, murky emotion? It's almost compelling.'
Victor turned to the slightly bewildered Anastasia and questioned her pointedly.
"She's merely a foreign intern."
"Huh? What?"
"She's not as handsome as Crown Prince Kiaros, and when I looked up her address, she's not particularly wealthy either. She doesn't have a proper job, and her bloodline is unremarkable."
"You... you actually looked up her address? You're darker than I thought, aren't you? How unsettling..."
"She's inferior to Namia Loapi in every conceivable way. So why?"
A hint of madness flickered in Victor's eyes.
"I failed as Student Council President, failed as a workplace superior, failed as a marquis's son—so why does she succeed?"
"That is... well..."
Anastasia blinked as she spoke.
"Why don't you ask her when you confess? How would I know the Minister's heart?"
Yet inwardly, she thought: 'I think I understand.'
There was no reason to refuse his request anyway.
"There."
It wasn't particularly difficult.
"Is that... enough?"
Victor, seated on the bench, smiled faintly and nodded.
"Yes. Thank you."
Victor rose slowly and walked toward her. He took the beaker from her hands and carefully set it on the bench.
"You've worked hard, Anastasia. Truly."
It was then that Anastasia sensed a sudden surge of killing intent directed at her.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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