I Just Needed Someone to Hate - Episode 4.3

Vivienne moved, pushing Cynthia out of Edmund’s sight. Their eyes met, the pistol was slowly lowered, and Cynthia was about to run to her bodyguard in tears when…

Smack! The sound echoed through the street. The bewildered gazes of the onlookers, including Cynthia, all focused on Vivienne’s slender back. Oh, my God. That man had a pistol!

“I.”

Edmund saw Vivienne’s aristocratic lady eyes for the first time that day. The sight was so endearing that he forgave her.

“I told you not to appear before me without permission.”

As Edmund looked down at Vivienne, she looked back up at him with a ‘what’s up’ expression.

“Oh, do you know him?”

Cynthia, whose attitude had become much more polite than before, grabbed Vivienne’s arm and asked.

“What does it look like?”

The Mergoville heiress, who remained consistently noble and arrogant even while wearing the ‘off-the-rack’ clothes that the orange-haired woman had mentioned, said.

“Introduce yourself, he’s my kept man.”

Vivienne’s hand was clearly pointing at him.

At him.

Edmund Hiad Colt himself.

“If you have an eye for clothes, you’ll know. I bought those for him.”

Cynthia’s golden eyes scanned Edmund from head to toe, and then she nodded in agreement…

“Are you going to parade around the streets, trying to keep up appearances even when you’re having an affair, and get your picture taken?”

“…….”

“Unfortunately for me, even if I change my clothes, I still attract a lot of attention.”

Vivienne lowered her eyes and scanned Cynthia’s attire before saying.

“You’ll keep today a secret, right?”

Cynthia glanced at Edmund once and then nodded vigorously.

“…Yes. Of course.”

Then, cautiously, she asked Vivienne.

“Um, um, but doesn’t he look like someone? I’ve seen him somewhere. If I can’t remember all of a sudden, it must be on some wanted poster.”

“Really? I never have to look at things like that…”

Vivienne turned her head towards Edmund and said.

“Since he’s so handsome, well. Maybe he’s some kind of underworld boss.”

“…….”

“Or not? I think that person was caught and imprisoned. I’ll have to think about it a little more.”

While Vivienne’s gaze was directed at Cynthia, Cynthia glanced at Edmund.

“If you coveted my fiancé, then go ahead, why didn’t you take him?”

Cynthia, who had been trembling, finally turned her head towards Vivienne.

“Did you get a stomachache from being greedy for too many things besides that? So you skipped the luncheon.”

With those last words, Vivienne turned her head and continued on her way. When Edmund didn’t follow, she turned around abruptly, annoyed by his lack of promptness.

‘Come quickly.’ Vivienne mouthed, slightly frowning, and Edmund took his eyes off the ground and leisurely began to move. Only then did Cynthia’s face change from pale blue to relieved.

Vivienne didn’t say a word as they moved. Edmund scanned Vivienne. Surprisingly, Vivienne Mergoville’s eyes were red.

Even after winning.

Vivienne walked on and on without saying a word. The glass windows and signs of various stores flashed by in her background.

Edmund tasted the bitter taste in his mouth and thought. Having been slapped for the first time in his life, he understood why that woman had barely eaten anything lately.

When the inside of his mouth was torn, he could taste blood even with the slightest movement of his lips. The stinging must have been quite annoying.

Only after Edmund handed Vivienne an ice cream cone could he walk comfortably. The aristocratic lady looked at him with another dissatisfied expression, but he deliberately ignored her and walked on.

He thought it was a useful alternative since he couldn’t put ice in her mouth, but she didn’t eat it. Then, realizing that the ice cream would melt, the lady, who had been looking for a place to throw it away, began to bite off small pieces from the outside of the cone.

It wasn’t long before Edmund noticed that Vivienne’s steps weren’t heading towards the radio store, which had been their original destination.

“Where are you going?”

Edmund asked, his hands stuck in his pockets. The answer came quickly from the aristocratic lady, who was walking with her arms crossed.

“Home.”

“My house isn’t in that direction either.”

“Didn’t you understand? My house. The Mergoville mansion.”

Her voice grew louder. Aware of the gazes of the people drawn to her raised voice, Vivienne lowered her head and walked on.

He would have been annoyed if other bastards had been so rudely loud. But he was bothered by things like her constantly swelling eyes.

“I’ll ask one more time. I thought we had a deal. Am I mistaken?”

“…….”

“Why? Are you thinking about the fiancé you left at home?”

That woman really reacted well to the damn ‘fiancé’ comment. It was funny to just watch, and fun to tease her.

“Were you thinking of going and making up for the ruined luncheon…”

“You’re fake.”

Before he could finish speaking, Vivienne turned her head and glared at Edmund. Fake. Now they were getting to the point. The story he had been curious about had come out, which was welcome, but the precariousness of her, as if she would explode if he touched her, gnawed at his nerves.

He felt like he was losing his mind. He had become uncharacteristically generous, and he wanted to deliberately twist the perfect means to get what he wanted.

“…I’m fake too.”

After speaking, Vivienne looked at him with an almost tearful face, her brow furrowed. Considering what had happened with that orange-haired woman earlier, it wasn’t difficult to understand what she was talking about.

“That oil lighter.”

The name of the object at the center of the incident came from Vivienne’s lips.

“You can buy it for a few coins on the street, right? And judging by the pattern and the way it works, it’s definitely not something that’s distributed through normal channels in this country. Stuffy aristocrats have etiquette even for lighting a lighter, so they don’t use something that works in such a simple way.”

“…….”

That was true. The more elaborate the device, the higher the price. In that sense, the aristocrats’ affectations, which had permeated even smoking, were more delicate than his disguise.

“And that back alley accent, like you crawled out of some gutter.”

Vivienne’s expression grew colder and colder.

“You want to pretend that you were born with the accent of the upper class, but even if you try to hide it, I can see it.”

Ah.

Was this the story she had wanted to tell him on the hotel terrace railing? Should he be pleased that his guess was correct, or should he be bored with the conclusion that it was right to dispose of that woman?

“And come on. Wouldn’t that be insufficient to be considered the publicly acknowledged son of the Prime Minister?”

With just a word, he could make people believe who he was, according to his taste. He could put on the shell of his father’s son and then easily throw it off and walk the streets.

Whether it was against a staff member of the Kellerhill Staff College. Or when dealing with that woman’s damn fiancé. Or anyone in Daatro’s aristocratic society.

But here was a sharp aesthetic eye that his influence could not erode. Eyes that he could never deceive with what he had.

“To use just you as a stand-in for the Prime Minister’s only son, the next Duke of Senovick, His Excellency the Prime Minister must have been quite desperate.”

It was funny. It was interesting.

That she was acting like a small wild animal, hissing when she couldn’t even say such things to his subordinates.

And yet, she was scanning him with wounded eyes. As if it was his fault for believing her, showing a face that the words had scratched not him, but herself.

“Did you know that that child’s father is a member of the Aristocratic Council? That he’s a member of the Imperial Judicial Appeals Committee.”

“Was he?”

Perhaps it was thanks to the evaluation that only this woman, the flower of society, the aristocrat of aristocrats, could make.

Edmund Hiad Colt did not regret his choice to appear before Vivienne directly, instead of the stand-in his father had created. Because he, who had been reigning at the summit with ennui, now had something to achieve.

That was,

First, to take care to distinguish the Prime Minister’s son more clearly from himself, the boss of the underworld.

Second, to test the woman’s security so that his business could be maintained strongly.

Third, to neatly dispose of that woman when the job was done.

She couldn’t go back to the mansion like this. So he had no choice but to tell the lady what she wanted to hear.

“So I’m going to lose.”

Edmund looked at Vivienne and continued.

“Were you going to endure patiently, like when your fiancé’s mistress presumptuously provoked you?”

“…….”

“Don Becallone, the Don of the underworld, who is presumed to be the boss, has been sentenced to three years with probation.”

Of course, he was talking about the fake boss he had put forward. The name of the person who managed external affairs on his behalf, and the front line of the organization.

The three-year sentence was the work of the Imperial ‘Judicial Appeals Committee’ that that woman was talking about. It meant that the Senate, which functioned as the Supreme Court, was playing games. They were all people he controlled.

“I thought you had something to do with meeting Becallone.”

Vivienne put her index finger to her mouth and looked around. Edmund continued to speak without paying attention to his surroundings.

“I’m saying this because I think you’re misunderstanding, but I accepted the lady’s proposal because I thought it was attractive. I accepted it because I had the ability to meet those conditions.”

“…….”

“It’s just as the lady guessed.”

A spy sent by his father’s side.

If she had such an interesting misunderstanding, there was no reason not to use it as an opportunity.

“If they had sent a perfect aristocratic young master, wouldn’t there have been far more restrictions?”

“…….”

“I don’t think there’s any reason why the contract should be broken or changed, no matter what kind of person I am.”

Edmund reached out his hand towards Vivienne and said.

“I believe you didn’t start this to go back like this.”

When Vivienne, who had been silently staring at him, took the hand he had extended as if to shake it, Edmund gently turned her hand over so that the back of her hand was visible and left a small kiss on it.

“…Okay.”

“…….”

“By the way, where did you put your coat?”

Vivienne asked as she changed direction and walked away. She never gave the words ‘I understand’ or ‘thank you’ for free.

“I threw it away.”

Edmund followed her without bothering to mention anything more.

“That? Why.”

Vivienne’s light crimson eyes sparkled in the winter sunlight.

“You must have spent a lot of money to buy that.”

“It’s cumbersome. And there’s no use for it now anyway.”

Vivienne averted her gaze for no reason and lowered her head. She seemed to remember that his coat had only been used to cover her shoulders before he bought those clothes.

Edmund decided to move on to another topic.

“Then how did you know that the orange-haired heiress skipped the luncheon?”

“Orange hair…? Ah.”

She spoke casually, as if she had just remembered.

“That was armed with a purpose. From head to toe. If it’s too much, it stands out, and it’s obvious that it’s not for meeting a man. She’s the type who skips luncheons anyway.”

“Why did you slap her?”

“Wasn’t it my turn to ask questions?”

“It’s the turn of the person who was slapped for no reason to ask questions.”

“Funny.”

Vivienne chuckled.

“Let’s just say it’s the price for my life that you like so much.”

“…….”

A few steps later, Edmund asked.

“Now the Mergoville lady can ask questions.”

“Okay.”

Vivienne replied arrogantly.

“What’s my other wish?”

By the time Vivienne, delayed by the unwelcome guest, gave up on arriving at the radio store in time to sit with the people and listen to the Emperor’s New Year’s address, Edmund had walked into a nearby store and bought a radio.

Looking at the sign on the pole next to the door, it was a shoe repair shop. Vivienne, who had been following Edmund with an absurd expression, soon realized that the Royal Park was not far from there.

Edmund, as if he wasn’t cold, lay down in the winter field, supporting his head with his arms, leaning against the base of a tree.

He even had a dog’s tail grass in his mouth, which he didn’t know where he had gotten. It was brown and ripe.

Vivienne sat huddled on Edmund’s jacket, trying not to look at his firm body revealed through his shirt, and focused on the Daatro Emperor’s New Year’s address being broadcast on the radio.

“The intercontinental war is over, but I know that this silence does not simply mean peace. The threat to Daatro is now the silent gunfire, our Daatro imperial citizens dying coldly in the streets, and the economic encroachment on our proud Daatro…”

Since the speech contained political views, it was likely that the Emperor was simply conveying the decisions of the cabinet, not his own thoughts.

Her grandfather used to tell Vivienne that. That the Emperor of the Daatro Empire today was in a position where he could not take anyone’s side.

In other words, he was a person with a voice but without one. The voice of the cabinet, borrowing the Emperor’s voice, discussed the reason why Prime Minister Dalesworth, who had ended the war, had expressed his resignation after the end of the war. It also listed what the change of power to Prime Minister Colt meant.

A focus on domestic security from external security. The weight would shift from the Royal Security Bureau under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Criminal Intelligence Bureau under the control of the Minister of Home Affairs. The main enemies would also change from enemies abroad to domestic economic encroachers.

Listening to it, she could guess why the Prime Minister had used a stand-in to try to access the information he held.

He must have been wondering if the Imperial legal community was colluding with underworld forces.

“By the way.”

At the deep voice, Vivienne turned her head and looked at Edmund. His gaze was fixed on her, as if he had been watching her all along.

“Why does the lady only stand in front of the radio every time? There must be many other things you can do.”

“Ah.”

Vivienne lowered her eyes as if she had realized something.

“Because this is all I’ve been doing.”

She said, looking at the end of the distant field. Since Madison, who would deliver the news, was no longer there, the only clue to what the outside world was like was through the radio.

She was doing the same thing outside that she had been doing familiarly in the mansion.

“Now the lady can ask questions.”

“Okay.”

Vivienne lowered her eyes for a moment and then asked.

“Do you have many lovers too?”

It was just her turn to ask questions, so she asked, but Edmund moved his body and turned towards her, looking at Vivienne. It was as if her words had offended him.

Thinking that she didn’t know why, Vivienne continued.

“…Like my fiancé.”

“I didn’t.”

The answer was quite bland. The man lay back down, facing forward. Then he continued.

“It was all contractual.”

Vivienne’s hand, which was about to touch the radio again for no reason, stopped. Only a few male protagonists in popular novels who only had romance through contracts flashed through her mind. Those were the ones that Madison had boldly obtained for her when she was a girl.

“How many times have you done it, the contract thing.”

Vivienne said as casually as possible. Yes, upper-class men are all like that….

Oh, this man wasn’t, Vivienne realized, and was about to find another basis for justification.

“Once.”

“…….”

“So yesterday at dawn must have been the first time.”

“Don’t expect me to believe that at face value.”

Vivienne turned the knob of the radio for no reason, turned up the volume, and said. The initial purpose of listening to the Emperor’s New Year’s address was already meaningless, but it didn’t matter.

“Like a calculated lie from an agent.”

A low laugh came from the man’s side. A cold wind swept across her flushed cheeks. It was strange that it didn’t hurt anymore.

As soon as the Emperor’s speech ended, she quickly changed the channel. The music from the radio, which had been so loud, was not annoying but rather left a sense of relief. Was it because she could hide this unfamiliar feeling that she was feeling for the first time?

That feeling that tickled her heart was a more stinging stimulus than the skin exposed to the piercing cold. The desolation of the field was a symbol of the season, but the desolation was even more beautiful.

Vivienne, forgetting what she had said when she first entered that man’s villa, was lost in thought. She rested her head on her bent knees.

“I’ll turn on the radio. It’s too quiet.”

She looked at the man’s closed eyes lying next to her and turned down the sound of the radio before turning it off completely.

“Are you afraid of quiet places?”

For some reason, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from this wide-open silence. The reason I can’t savor this moment for long is because the events after that day naturally come to mind.

I remember myself trying to cross the boundaries he had set. I see those young and foolish versions of myself, learning things I shouldn’t have known. Knowing how foolish the expectations I held were…

I didn’t know it then.

How reckless I was, what it meant to risk a life I had thought of so lightly, like a pawn in a game of chess.

Some secrets shatter the world cruelly.