I Just Needed Someone to Hate - Episode 5.1

Boundary Line

“How does it take three days for a letter reply to arrive? Did you write that it was urgent?”

Three days later. Cynthia held onto her father’s arm, hurrying to keep up.

Her voice was lower than usual because she found the gazes of the boys directed at her from outside the wide school windows annoying.

It was indeed an all-boys school with no girls.

“You requested an interview with the proud Headmaster of Hamilton School. He’s not someone you can see whenever you want.”

“Still, we requested the interview for a reason, Father. That shameless villain, posing as the Prime Minister’s son, is seducing my poor friend. To return our Vivianne to her fiancé’s arms, we need to find out the truth as soon as possible.”

“Our Cynthia is so kind. It’s not easy to step up for a friend like this.”

“How can I be indifferent when she’s the daughter of Minister Mergoville, who is your friend?”

Cynthia gave her father a gentle smile and moved on.

She briefly recalled the moment when she returned to the mansion three days ago, her head cleared of the fear that had turned her hair white. A brilliant idea flashed through her mind.

‘No wonder he looked familiar!’

The man she saw on the street that day looked exactly like the Prime Minister’s son. He wasn’t a celebrity, but she knew him as someone who occasionally made headlines for his appearance.

In terms of that kind of reputation, the man seemed more real than the real thing.

‘Ha, seeing how confident he is, he must have lied to Vivianne about his identity.’

Something was up. Why did Vivianne run away in the middle of the night? How did that man lure Vivianne to his house?

Is the truth really as Vivianne said?

Edmund Colt was Vivianne Mergoville’s hidden lover.

Spreading such a scandal would only elevate her image.

Everyone would ignore the affair and focus on the fact that the great Miss Mergoville’s partner was the most handsome man in the empire.

It would be interesting to ask Vivianne directly about the truth when that expectation was at its peak, but that was only a valid option if Cynthia’s guess was correct.

Now, Cynthia was at Edmund Colt’s former school. If she looked through the yearbook, she might be able to see his face. The few times his face appeared in tabloid newspapers weren’t enough. It could be fake, just like the man’s identity.

If she was rejected here, she would have to go all the way down to Alfred Royal University, which was close to the Senovick Ducal Residence.

Not wanting to go through such trouble, Cynthia hoped to find the truth she was so curious about here.

“Thank you for your time, Headmaster. I know it’s a rude and sudden request, but my Cynthia insists that someone resembling the Prime Minister’s son was carrying a firearm on the outskirts of the city,”

The interview began with the words of Senator Eastwell. The headmaster replied in a polite tone.

“Someone resembling him? I don’t know if that’s possible.”

He implied that it was impossible for there to be two people exactly like Edmund Colt. The reason was revealed in his next words.

“Count Edmund Colt was always at the top of his class during his time here. He had good relationships with his classmates and excelled in sports. Everyone thought it was natural when Colt was accepted into Alfred Royal University. Of course, the Prime Minister seemed to be considering sending his son to military academy but the student himself was so adamant.”

He expressed indirectly that it would be hard to find another student as outstanding as him in the empire. Senator Eastwell quickly steered the conversation back to the original topic.

“Of course, of course. But it’s hard to believe that my daughter would lie to me, isn’t it? If a skilled imposter is impersonating the Prime Minister’s son and tarnishing his good name, we must take immediate action.”

Senator Eastwell turned to look at his daughter. A woman who appeared to be a Hamilton staff member was handing her the yearbook.

He didn’t want to get involved with the Prime Minister’s side, which was trying to weaken the power of the Senate, but he couldn’t just stand by and watch his daughter’s friend associate with a bad man.

Now, he would confirm the facts and fulfill his duty by reporting his findings to the Central Metropolitan Police Agency.

Then this uncomfortable situation would be over. The problem was that his daughter was too righteous and willing to stand up for her friends.

His daughter’s hand, turning the pages of the yearbook, grew faster and faster, then stopped at a certain point. She seemed to have found something.

As Senator Eastwell stood up, the heavy yearbook fell to the floor. Father and daughter’s eyes met in the air.

“…It’s him.”

Cynthia murmured.

“There’s no doubt it’s the same person….”

Senator Eastwell, who was about to say something, closed his mouth.

That’s right. Was it three days ago?

Senate President Rex had inquired about a man who appeared at the Mergoville mansion’s New Year’s party.

‘He asked the Kellerhill staff whether the man at the ball was the Prime Minister’s son.’

There couldn’t be three people in the empire with that handsome face, so the man at the ball and the man his daughter was talking about must be the same person.

This was even more convincing considering that Miss Mergoville had disappeared since the dawn of the New Year’s celebration. And that ‘fake’ looked exactly like the ‘real’ one.

Even his daughter Cynthia could see that it was obvious, but he heard that the police officers said that the man at the ball and the Prime Minister’s son were ‘different people.’

‘It can’t be my daughter who’s lying, so it must be them.’

Was there a huge secret that required the bad man who was with Vivianne Mergoville to not be the Prime Minister’s son? So much so that some police officers had to conspire to cover it up?

‘I should ask the Criminal Intelligence Bureau.’

The Criminal Intelligence Bureau was a direct agency of the Prime Minister, so this was a way to bring the matter to the Prime Minister’s attention while preventing him from officially concealing the raised questions.

The answers to the conflicting statements might be there.

❖ ❖ ❖

It was cold, and the villa’s fireplace was useless.

Vivianne, who had changed into a day dress neatly folded in her room as soon as she woke up, put on the shawl that the man had given her as a birthday present and walked into the living room.

A chill ran through her feet in the slippers. Since then, the man had been away from this ‘house’ for three days. Fortunately, he had left a pistol and some money on the table, which Vivianne used to buy simple ingredients and safely fill her stomach.

She only ate bread and canned food, but that was enough. Thanks to her frugality, she was able to save much more money than the man had given her.

There was a note stuck to the bills that said ‘life money,’ but Vivianne wasn’t used to relying on the kindness of others.

Maybe she didn’t want to get used to it.

Just a few seconds after that thought, Vivianne felt a strange sense of relief at the sight of the man’s back in the living room.

The balcony door, which took up one wall of the living room, was open, and Edmund was smoking a cigarette while looking outside.

The radio, which she remembered turning off after dinner yesterday, was broadcasting Daatro Broadcast News. Unlike the first time she turned it on, this time it was live.

Vivianne wasn’t used to greeting people, so she went to the armchair and sat down. Since their last time in the park, she felt even more uncomfortable with him.

“Aren’t you cold?”

At Vivianne’s words, the man turned to look at her.

“Are you awake?”

Vivianne quickly averted her gaze, as if she hadn’t expected it.

“As you can see.”

The conversation stopped. Vivianne wasn’t comfortable being in the same space as the man she hadn’t seen in three days, but she was also glad, so she quickly brought up another topic.

“Sorry I didn’t clean up the canned goods. I was going to wipe them down, but the water was too cold. I was going to throw them all away someday.”

She had put them in a paper bag and put them in the corner, but it didn’t smell because it was winter. Vivianne glanced at the corner she was talking about.

“…It’s not there anymore. Thank you.”

The man nodded and turned back. A snowflake brushed past the man and entered the room. Just as silence was about to fill the room, filled only with the sound of the radio, Vivianne carefully got up and walked towards Edmund.

It was the first snow. She wanted to see if the snow was piling up on the streets. When the man looked down at Vivianne standing next to him, she tucked her long hair that was naturally falling down behind her ear.

It was still scary to stand next to the man, but somehow he felt a little different. It was strange. It had been like that since the day they listened to the radio together.

“That thing you have to take care of. I thought it was all my business.”

Vivianne said, touching the cold balcony railing.

“You’ve been busy.”

“Were you waiting?”

“Who was waiting for who?”

She looked defiantly into his blue eyes, then lowered her gaze to scan his perfect face. The scar on his cheek was almost gone. If there was a flaw, it was the faint bruise that remained from when she hit him a little hard on the street.

Instead of answering, Vivianne carefully reached out and touched the man’s cheek.

“It’s still not healed here.”

“I just got scratched on the way here.”

“Let me see.”

Ignoring the feeling of her heart sinking, Vivianne moved closer to him.

‘He got scratched on the way here.’

What if he was already being chased by Don Becallone’s people?

Now that he was getting hurt because of her, she couldn’t help but worry.

“It’s because the hunt didn’t go as planned.”

Edmund took Vivianne’s hand away and said again.

“You don’t have to worry about it, Lady.”

As the man finished speaking and gritted his teeth, Vivianne was looking at her captured hand.

Edmund’s hand was as warm as fire. She was the one who had been buried in the blanket all along. Sadly, his big, manly hand quickly left hers.

“You said you were being hunted.”

He didn’t say it exactly like that, but Vivianne interpreted Edmund’s words as she pleased.

“…Do you regret getting involved with me? Is that why you’ve been like this for three days….”

It wasn’t hard to know that the hunt he was talking about wasn’t the classic kind of hunt that was popular 20 years ago.

The man had experienced an assassination attempt on the street.

“I’ll think about answering if you answer the question I asked first.”

“What, did you miss me?”

“Yes.”

How brazen. Vivianne watched as a few faint snowflakes fell on the cold street and disappeared without a trace.

“Why are you curious?”

“…….”

“Is it not allowed?”

She could miss him as a friend, and she could wait for him as a partner. But when she said it, she didn’t know why she felt so ticklish.

She felt like that when she walked to the grocery store alone, glancing around, and when she stopped in front of the door, wondering if she should go down to throw away the paper bag at night.

She thought of him when she sat in front of the unlit fireplace and stared at it. She thought about the possibility that he would never come back.

“It’s your turn to speak now.”

“Regret is not a consideration in business.”

“…….”

“Whether I like it or not, business is business.”

“Okay.”

Vivianne said without looking at him. She tried hard not to let her tone drop.

It was the first time they had met in three days, and he was being cold again. The chill she felt from her feet wasn’t just because of the sudden wind.

‘He was always like that.’

When she first came here in the saloon. When he sneered at her nobility. Vivianne returned a perfect smile, as she had done in society, and said with a much more comfortable face.

“I think I’ll go to the pharmacy today.”

“…….”

“Helping me with what I want to do is still valid, right?”

If Vivianne’s guess was correct, he was a man who almost died because he was caught up in her business. But what was it about taking a step back that made her prioritize clearing her debt of gratitude?

“I’m sorry about your cheek.”

Vivianne turned her head and walked away. Don’t act like a child. You know you can’t act like you did with your parents with that man.

That’s what the reason left in her head said, but she couldn’t hear it.

What was she expecting from that man? What was she waiting for for three days?

She hears footsteps following her. A man who will achieve his goal and abandon her without hesitation when Don Becallone’s hand reaches her someday.

Yes, according to the contract, that was all he was. That’s what she said herself.

Then her wrist was gently grabbed. It was enough force that she could shake it off if she wanted to. It was the same warmth as when their hands touched.

Vivianne felt like she was holding her breath. She didn’t show it like a lady, but she bit her lower lip tightly.

The man’s hand, which had been stroking her wrist, slid down and grabbed her hand. His calloused fingers pressed against the soft flesh under her thumb.

When he squeezed and released her hand, she felt a strange sensation between her fingers. He slowly intertwined his fingers with Vivianne’s, holding them tightly together.

Her heart was beating like crazy. Could he hear it? He must have heard it. Vivianne squeezed her eyes shut. The hands that had touched each other quickly separated. Vivianne let go of his hand and turned around.

“…I haven’t put on my gloves yet.”

Vivianne said, keeping her eyes level so she couldn’t look at the man’s face.

“If you put them on, can I hold them then?”

He tilted his head and said it in his usual teasing way, but Vivianne felt awkward for some reason.

“I don’t want you to.”

“I see. You don’t need it, do you?”

His indifferent voice was cruel.

“Mixing unnecessary sentiment into business.”

“…….”

“If you don’t act unnecessarily mean, I can treat you just as kindly.”

Only her tone had changed, but he recognized the difference. It was like her senses were sharp. Vivianne turned around and went into the room.

She stared at the hand that had been grabbed, then found the gloves and put them on the small side table. She recalled the cold, cutting voice in her head.

What good is being handsome?

❖ ❖ ❖

Vivianne, who thought the man would willingly take her to the local pharmacy, soon realized that her expectations had been betrayed.

“Why don’t you ever listen to what I say?”

Vivianne said to Edmund in protest. It was when she saw a familiar place through the car window beyond the man, who had been driving silently for a while. It was her fiancé’s hotel.

Salenner. A world-famous hotel and the pride of the empire. As always, the question returned as a question.

“Why didn’t you use all the money I gave you?”

“You’re a secret agent, right? It’s not your money, it’s the country’s money. What’s the answer?”

“I didn’t know you’d be eating canned food when I wasn’t around.”

“So, are you going to give alms there with the money I left behind so you can feel better?”

Or, now that you’ve confirmed my feelings, do you want to use them? Vivianne remembered that he wanted to know if her fiancé was a close aide to the head of the underworld.

The best way to do that would be to take her to that place, the hotel that her fiancé was currently using as a harem.

Of course, he wouldn’t know what kind of humiliation she had suffered there, so it wasn’t malicious.

The Salenner Hotel was the largest business run by her fiancé’s family, the Rex family, but the real owner was ‘Don Becallone,’ known as the boss of the ‘Daatro Family,’ her fiancé’s boss.

If Don Becallone was an extreme person, he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to kidnap her, who had willingly walked into his headquarters.

‘It’ll be okay.’

Support I Just Needed Someone to Hate