Chapter 136 – A Possible Accomplice (1)
“Are you two putting on some kind of romantic play in front of me?” Lila looked over to the source of disappointment. “Does that make me an audience then? Really, for heaven’s sake …! I can’t believe I’m forced to watch your play as if you’re not in the least bit worried about someone who was unconscious until a moment ago. Tsk tsk!”
Senior, who had expressed her disgust with over-the-top gestures, pouted her lips as she shook her head. Feeling a little awkward, Lila sheepishly distanced herself from Lacias.
“My apologies, Senior,” she said awkwardly.
“Forget it. Anyway, I got a rough idea of what you just said. But then, what in the world was that thing?” asked Senior as she pointed at where the ring was.
“Let me answer for that”
Senior stared at Lacias blankly who she never expected to respond to her. “Th- thank you.”
When Lila realized that Senior was looking at her in need of help, she came forward and uttered. “I’m very curious about it as well.”
At once, the hard-line on Lacias’s mouth softened, followed by an amiable voice instead of a brusque remark.
“It is merely a guess for now, but I highly suspect that it was a Hole. Most people don’t get repulsed by a Ring. They rather find themselves being drawn to it instead. So the reason you were rather disgusted by it, could be because you were poisoned with some sort of substance which is incompatible with the ring.”
“Sudden exposure to a Hole could have been the reason then.” Completed Lila.
Lacias nodded proudly. “Yes, exactly.”
“Then let’s say, Senior was exposed to a Hole in the middle of the crowded party hall. But what about Hir …?”
Instantly as she asked the question, one of the possibilities crossed her mind. On that day, where she and Hir were shooting at the rings as a kind of a bet, she had discovered a Hole in an armory which was located in a desolate part of the Wipere mansion. She clearly remembered its form as there was something bizarre about it.
The character which appeared at the beginning of the story, that’s right, the rat!
Lila felt that all the pieces of the puzzle were coming together. The rat was a spy, and he was supposed to come as a threat to Lacias according to the original story. However, he was forcibly removed without having to play a role because of her.
It strongly occurred to her that no one else but him could have possibly succeeded in hiding the distorted Hole in somewhere desolate like an abandoned armory. Her mind was soon filled with all kinds of reasonable suspicions.
The Hole was destroyed by Lila as soon as it was discovered. However, if any of the broken pieces remained, Hir might have stumbled upon it. Or perhaps the mastermind who employed the spy could’ve lured Hir with something that would have caught his eye.
But the thought contradicted itself since Hir was a very quiet boy who usually kept to himself. He wouldn’t have engaged in anything dangerous or something that could draw people’s attention on his own. However, he was being unusually playful that day as he almost had fallen into the lake while playing with the water.
So what if there really was a Hole in the lake that day, disguised in some form which Hir could’ve been tempted to reach out for….
Lila made up her mind about the situation. “It will be hard on Hir, but don’t we need to check on him for his sake? We need to find out if he’s still repulsed by it or if it was only a one-time thing.”
“But what if he gets sick and breaks your heart like last time?” Argued Lacias. “Let’s think of a way to find out without really having to see the response with our eyes. We also need to confer with the knights regarding the matter.”
“Ha, Th-”
“If you are going to thank me again, I’ll have to kindly refuse it.” Interrupted Lacias.
Then, with a mischievous look in his eyes, he said, “I wish you would show your gratitude through action rather than just words.”
Before she could get another disgusted look from the Senior, Lila quickly cleared her throat to change the subject.
“We better get out of here now, Senior. I bet everyone is waiting for us outside.”
“Ah, great! I’ve been meaning to leave for so long!”
It was hard to believe that Senior was in a state of unconsciousness just until a moment ago judging from her behavior. It seemed like she was pretending to be alright just to not worry anyone.
*
The party hall was pretty quiet now that Roxanna had sent most of the people back to their homes. The earlier crowds had been dispersed, with only a few people remaining in the hall.
“My worries are creeping over me now that I’ve fully come to my senses. I can’t worry enough about what my father will say about this, ha….” Senior painfully grabbed a handful of hair with her hands as if she was about to pull them off. Then she stroked her arms down as if she was getting goosebumps by just imagining her father’s response.
“He’ll most certainly throw a fit and blame me for ruining the party. Now that I’ve brought disgrace to the family, he wouldn’t listen even if I say it actually was Dawson who’s responsible for the commotion.”
Lila turned to her as they walked in an attempt to calm her. “That won’t happen once we find the evidence. So try not to worry about it.”
“But you just said the evidence had….”
Of course Lila was aware of that. She knew that finding the whereabouts of the evidence itself wouldn’t be an easy job. More so, it would be almost an impossible mission to make the strange boy trust her. But despite all that, she managed to put a smile on her face.
“Well if things really go south, I’ll just take advantage of my power,” said Lila as she looked over to her right with a side glance. Lacias, who was standing close on her right, answered, “It will be my pleasure.”