Chapter 4
***
As Elain shut her eyes tightly, her thick lashes trembled slightly and drooped downward. Beneath her skin, so translucent that the blood vessels were faintly visible, her pupils shifted several times behind her eyelids before she finally regained her composure.
"Deckard."
Her grayish-blue eyes locked onto Deckard’s, and he met her gaze without flinching.
“Speak.”
Elain hesitated no longer. For Deckard, a shortcut—however treacherous—was preferable to a safe return. Besides, she didn’t have much time left. It wouldn’t take the Royal Guard long to comb this place from top to bottom.
“I’m in a pretty bad spot right now.”
“I know. If it were any other noblewoman, her legs would have given out and she would have collapsed long ago.”
Elain pressed her weight firmly into her buckling knees. Did he say that because he knew how hard it was for her to even stand still? Either way, his intuition was uncanny.
“So, is that why you came to ask for my help?”
“No.”
“What?”
When Elain shook her head, Deckard let out a faint chuckle and asked again.
“Are you trying to save face even in a situation like this? Ellie. Snap out of it.”
“It’s not about saving face; I just want to make sure I’m clear on what I need.”
Deckard’s thick eyebrows arched skeptically. He was waiting for her to continue. Elain looked at him, took a deep breath, and blurted out,
“Honestly, asking you for help would be too much for my conscience to handle.”
Deckard chuckled. Not a bad reaction. He was intrigued by her words.
“So?”
“Let’s make a deal, Deckard.”
At that moment, Deckard’s Adam’s apple bobbed audibly. With a personality that couldn’t resist a bet or a gamble, his blood must have boiled the instant he heard the word “deal.”
“Interesting. Go on.”
Just as expected. Elain clenched and unclenched her fist once as she watched Deckard’s golden eyes sparkle with excitement. Before offering something that would appeal to someone who hated boredom and dullness more than anything else in the world, it was better to present the terms she wanted first. It was also to prevent him from changing his mind later.
“What I want is your mansion in Mudrow.”
“Ah.”
“Help me hide there. Just for six months. Just until I clear my family’s name of this ridiculous treason charge.”
“Ah… So that’s why you were so desperate earlier?”
Deckard burst out laughing and blinked.
“You were afraid I’d lose the house in a bet.”
“You can laugh all you want. I need a safe place to hide.”
“You do realize that house is the only inheritance my mother left me, don’t you?”
Deckard asked her back, looking utterly baffled. His gaze seemed to say, “How dare you even ask for that?” Elain maintained a blank expression, pushing aside the memories of the past that were forcing their way into her mind.
“Wouldn’t it be better to invest in something sure, rather than lose that one and only inheritance at the gambling table? I’ll make sure you’re well compensated.”
“Hahaha.”
Deckard laughed heartily, his throat rumbling. The end of his laughter stretched out into a sigh that sounded almost like a groan.
“You’ve gotten better at bluffing.”
“…”
“What do you expect me to invest in—a family that’s gone completely bust, Elain?”
“…”
“Are you planning some kind of ‘water ghost’ scheme? Or do you just think I’m an idiot?”
Elain swallowed hard, feeling her heart pound violently. She had hesitated and agonized over many things on her way here to meet Deckard. But she was certain of what he wanted.
“I’ll make sure you can claim the name Helkaiser.”
“Well. Isn’t Helkaiser my surname already?”
He’s gotten even more cocky since then. Elain spoke clearly to him, who was pursing his lips, making sure he couldn’t pretend not to understand anymore.
“So that you, not your brother, can inherit the family name.”
“….”
“I’m saying I’ll make you the next Duke of Helkaiser.”
Deckard finally pulled himself away from the wall and slowly crossed the room. Elain didn’t take her eyes off him as he walked toward her with the deliberate pace of a predator closing in on its prey. After all, she was the one who had come to hunt him.
“You want that too, don’t you, Deckard?”
Standing tall before her at last, Deckard stared at her for a moment with an inscrutable expression. His silence felt strange—he was the one who never wasted a single moment provoking her. She had no idea what he was thinking. Elain tensed, and seeing her like that, Deckard finally smiled faintly. And then.
Click. Bang!
A gun... was there? Elain hadn’t even realized where the long gun had come from or when he’d drawn it. As a bullet struck the mirror hanging on the wall behind Elain, the glass shattered into a thousand pieces, scattering in all directions, and Deckard swiftly swept her into his arms.
Thud! Thud! Elain couldn’t tell if the wild pounding of her heart was her own or Deckard’s, pressed against her. She gasped for breath as she stared intently at him.
“What… what are you doing?”
“Elain. Do you really think I want that?”
Elain wanted to ask him why not. All your eccentricities and reckless behavior, which have only grown worse since you were a child—isn’t that precisely because you aren’t being treated in a manner befitting your abilities? She wanted to scream that it all started with a desire for revenge born from the humiliation you’ve endured as the Duke’s illegitimate son. If she’d had the time, she certainly would have. She could have shattered his bones with words, not a gun. Damn it, if only she’d had the time.
“What’s going on, Lord Helkaiser!”
She heard the shouts of those who had rushed in, startled by the gunshot outside the door. Then, staring straight at Elain, Deckard raised his voice.
“The traitor Berlois is hiding here. Clear the area immediately and contact the Guard.”
Elain’s body, which had been trembling like a quaking aspen, froze in shock.
What did he say...?
“Yes? Yes...!”
A different kind of commotion followed from outside the door. Indeed, Deckard had revealed her location to the crowd that had packed the room.
Her shoulders, already pale but now turning ashen, were seized by Deckard. He whispered into her ear as he shoved her toward the window.
“You’d better run away before the guards storm in, Miss Elain Berlois.”
“…”
“Climb out the window and head right. Run until you see a large willow tree, and you’ll come to a stream where sewage collects... The forest north of that stream is where the gypsies camp. If you hide there, you’ll be safe for a day—no, half a day at least. Well then, good luck.”
Tap, tap. Deckard’s hand tapping her shoulder even felt lighthearted for a moment. Elain turned her head, her eyes frozen.
“You… why go to such lengths…?”
Even though she clearly had the option to refuse his help, Deckard answered by revealing her location to everyone.
“I told you. I’m the Knight Commander.”
“…Don’t talk nonsense.”
“If it were me, I’d make a quick getaway instead of standing here.”
He was right. Soon, the Mudrow would be swarming with the Royal Guard. Deckard’s large hand cupped Elain’s face, which had grown as cold as if all the blood had drained to her toes. The warm heat radiating from his rough hands made every hair on Elain’s body stand on end.
With a meaningful expression, he smiled.
“If you take off your clothes and lie quietly in my bed, I might be able to hide you for a night or so.”
Whoosh.
The sound of a whistle—clearly belonging to the Royal Guard—echoed from the distance. They had truly pursued her right to the very edge.
“Think carefully. There’s no one in this kingdom brave enough to pull back Deckard Helkaiser’s covers.”
Elain glared at him with her blue eyes and spat out the words in a trembling voice.
“You… find this amusing, don’t you?”
“Yeah. Of all the past three years, this is the most fun I’ve had, Ellie.”
Deckard watched with delight as Elain’s shocked face contorted. Even the sight of her biting her lip tightly and gasping for breath.
Smack!
Elain shoved him aside as he turned his face away and spun around. The view from the second floor was more dizzying than she’d expected. But she’d checked before entering the motel; the building itself wasn’t that tall. So this was just her fear playing tricks on her. Elain clenched her teeth and leaped out the window.
Thud.
Her old cloak fluttered, gently enveloping her body as she fell. Her feet stung, but the landing was a success. Her neck wasn’t broken, nor were her ankles.
“Ha….!”
Something she’d never done in her life. As Elain leaped through the window and sprinted into the darkness, Deckard’s cheerful laughter echoed long in her ears.
“Hahaha!”
“Haa… haa…!”
Elain ran until she was gasping for breath, thinking to herself. She didn’t have to go far to realize that this whole mess was her own fault for trusting a guy like him and coming here. Deckard Helkaiser had always been a reckless scoundrel who defied her expectations. She was the fool for coming all the way here just to try to talk to a person like that.
Come to think of it, their relationship had been a bad omen from the very first time they met.
A womanizer who treated everything in the world like a game—someone she should have cut out of her life long ago.
***
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