To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 35

Julia couldn’t say anything. She realized she could not lie anymore. But she couldn’t just hand Noah over either.

“You’re about nineteen or twenty years old now.”

“Stay away from him.”

“It’s useless to hide the child. Even moving to stop him from meeting people won’t work.”

“I told you to stay away.”

“Maya. What can you even do with your power sealed away? You are no longer the First-Class Mage you once were. Of course, sealing your magic was a smart choice. You erased your magical traces so perfectly that you could hide completely.”

Julia breathed harshly, already on edge.

“I just wanted to be a mother my child wouldn’t be ashamed of. If I lived as a mage, my past would be exposed…”

“Someone who feels shame wouldn’t hide like this. They would have accepted their punishment. But it doesn’t matter anymore. For the sake of the child, your past must stay buried forever. Only then will Natalia’s—”

“Enough!”

Julia shouted, cutting Victor off. She looked terrified, as if facing death itself. Her hysterical voice echoed through the crumbling house.

“Stop! He’s not going back to Natalia! Please, just leave us alone!”

“He carries Natalia’s bloodline.”

“Only half. We don’t even know who the father is.”

“That’s a meaningless lie. Anyway, you have no idea how many people were involved in tracking you and your child down. It took a very long time, moving carefully. And to think, you even changed your eye color to live like this.”

The magic awakening from a fever had been unexpected.

Her seal had reached its limit. After all, it had been hidden for twenty years — it was only natural for the sealing magic to weaken.

“How… did you find me?”

“It was by chance. We were watching the White family’s movements, and a woman named Julia Ashford showed up. Someone thought you resembled the Maya we knew, so we investigated. And we found out you are indeed Natalia’s war criminal, Maya.”

“…You found me while digging into Scarlet.”

“Yes. When that young White started moving, we thought something big was going to happen. But all he did was get angry at you. Still, thanks to him, we found you and the child, so we are grateful.”

“Please, just leave.”

“Do you know that the Mage Union is looking for you?”

Julia’s eyes widened. She leaned against the wall, feeling dizzy. The wooden boards creaked under her weight.

“What do you think they want? They want to punish you for deceiving the Mage Union and running away. And—”

“They’ll kill the child.”

“Yes. We can help you.”

“Leaving a tiger’s den only to walk into a bear’s den… I need time to think.”

“Alright. I only came to greet you today anyway. Please make your decision quickly.”

Victor nodded slightly to Julia and left the house. Outside, the rain had already stopped. As soon as she confirmed he was gone, Julia quickly wrote a letter.

Dear John White,

I write to you again, as I have not received a reply.
John, the very thing we feared has happened. Victor has found us. Now that he has, it won’t be long before the Mage Union notices too.

Please, have pity on us and help protect us. It was the will of the late Mr. and Mrs. White to protect us.

I ask for a quick reply.

Now that the White couple was dead, John was the only one left whom Julia could rely on.

“Damn economics! Aaron must be crazy. How can anyone find this boring subject fun?”

After her exam, Scarlet kept grumbling to relieve her stress. Even though she had studied hard after getting better, she wasn’t confident she would get good grades on the quiz.

If her grades were bad, she wouldn’t be able to stay at Iodes Academy. That was the last thing she wanted.

She had left Noah because she wanted to continue going to school. Revenge was important too, but living a normal student life like everyone else made her happy. For the first time, she felt truly alive.

“And now there’s a mountain of assignments after the exam. They’re trying to kill us.”

“You’ll finish quickly.”

“That’s not the point. I don’t want to do it.”

Scarlet glanced at Noah.

“I just want to rest for a while. You’ll do it for me, right?”

“You should do it yourself. It’s better for studying.”

“What?”

Her face twisted terribly. Scarlet pinched Noah’s arm as they walked.

“Are you arguing with me?”

“Ow.”

“You think I should study even more? Do you want me to become a study machine?”

“Ow… That’s not what I meant.”

Scarlet’s eyes flashed with anger. But she soon let go of Noah’s arm and crawled through the secret hole first. Noah smiled faintly watching her.

The secret garden they hadn’t visited in a while looked desolate, the flowers fallen.

When Scarlet flopped onto the ground, Noah scolded her.

“You’ll catch a cold lying like that. Use a blanket.”

“Too much trouble.”

“There might be bugs.”

Scarlet jumped up without a word. Only after Noah spread out a blanket did she lie down again. He carefully sat down next to her on the blanket.

Even as winter approached and the flowers withered, Scarlet was in full bloom, tempting him just by existing.

Her red hair spread out on the blanket, her white skin, and her fingers reaching into the air as if to touch the autumn breeze — Scarlet was painfully beautiful.

Because she was a flower, he was the butterfly and the bee.

Because she was fragrant, he circled her like a follower.

“Lie down too.”

At her permission, he lay down. Scarlet even moved over to make room for him.

Noah didn’t refuse. Lying right next to her, hearing her breathing, he felt his heart race until it was hard to breathe.

“Are you cold?”

“I’m fine.”

She was already wearing her winter clothes. Scarlet reached out and played with Noah’s hair. His body stiffened, and her eyes softened.

Her slender fingers stroked his hair as if he were a doll. His fine blond hair fluttered lightly in the wind. It was just hair, but every nerve in his body focused on it.

“Have you ever thought about it?”

“Thought about what?”

“What if we weren’t real siblings?”

Noah’s gaze shook hard. Scarlet kept stroking his hair with a teasing smile hidden behind her eyes.

“Why would you think about that?”

“No reason.”

Scarlet’s trick worked. The moment Noah heard her question, he felt shaken to the core.

Her little joke gave him hope — hope that maybe she shared the same feelings, even just a little.

“No reason…?”

“We don’t look alike at all.”

Scarlet answered casually and sighed. Noah looked serious, which should’ve been funny, but it made her chest tighten instead.

‘Annoying.’

She was tired of thinking about Noah and finding meaning in her small life.

“Forget it. I shouldn’t have said it.”

“No, it’s fine. But… can I ask why you thought about it?”

“I told you. We don’t look alike.”

“Do you want us not to be real siblings?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“Yeah. I don’t know. What difference does it make now? My head hurts. Stop asking.”

“No, wait… Scarlet, I—”

“I said stop.”

Her firm voice drew a line between them. She turned her back to him. Noah sat up and looked at her, asking with a trembling voice.

“Is it that important to you?”

“That’s a stupid question. Of course it’s important.”

Looking at his innocent face made her feel like a villain. Feeling dirty, she decided she had to find out the truth.

She thought she should ask Scott about her mother’s will.

“Let’s go. I need to rest at home.”

“Yeah, okay.”

They crawled through the secret hole together and headed to catch a carriage.

Noah struggled to calm his pounding heart while walking beside Scarlet. If he didn’t, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to hide his feelings anymore.

Excitement mixed with fear — fear that this small hope might only end in despair. The emotions cycled again and again, until he suddenly felt eyes on them.

“Scarlet, wait.”

He stopped and held her back, looking behind them. Students had been glancing at them.

“Something feels weird.”

“What does?”

“Maybe I’m just being paranoid.”

“You’re so jumpy.”

But even after walking more, the feeling didn’t go away. He kept feeling watched, and his nerves stayed sharp.

Finally, Noah pulled Scarlet closer with his arm as if to protect her. Scarlet checked the hidden medicine in his pocket.

Far away, they saw Wilhelm. He was looking around nervously, as if searching for someone. When he spotted them, he ran toward them, sweating.

“I knew you’d be at school…”

“What’s going on?”

“You two need to go home. Now.”

“Why?”

“Let’s talk in the carriage first.”

“…Is someone after me? Like a mafia or something?”

Scarlet joked, but Wilhelm looked genuinely worried.

“Scarlet. Please.”

“Just tell me. I can handle it.”

“Then take a calming pill first.”

Wilhelm looked very anxious. Noah narrowed his eyes.

Wilhelm checked both their faces carefully. After seeing Scarlet swallow a pill, he finally spoke.

“Grisham got a scholarship. He was picked as the top student among first-years.”

“You didn’t make this much fuss just to say that, right?”

“Just listen.”

“They checked his bank account and ID for the scholarship. I don’t know how, but…”

“No way.”

Scarlet bit her lower lip. Her hands started to shake.

“Theo Grisham. It was revealed that you are actually Noah Ashford — Scarlet’s half-brother. There are reporters at the school right now. You have to go home. And stay with your bodyguards.”

Scarlet’s eyebrows shot up sharply, as they did when she was nervous. She scanned the people around them.

Her heart tightened. Her breath caught. It was a shame she didn’t want anyone to see. A deep scar had been exposed to the world. A secret she wanted to hide was out.

“Scarlet! Breathe! Scarlet!”

Noah shouted. Scarlet’s breathing grew uneven.

“Scarlet!”

Who had leaked it?
Her legs gave out, and she grabbed Noah’s arm, thinking:

I’ll find that rat… and make them pay.

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