To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 58

Night always came early at the White mansion. With two children living there, everyone’s schedule was centered around them.

The only ones awake late at night were the guards, some servants who couldn’t finish their work in time, and Susan, who often had papers left to check.

But even later than them, there was someone who quietly entered the White mansion — John.

John arrived at the mansion just before midnight. He had been tied up for days dealing with Scott, so he could only come home after night had fully set in.

“Keep sleeping.”

John kissed his sleeping wife, Amanda, lightly and changed his clothes in the dark. After washing up, he quietly went next door to check on his daughter, Abigail, before sleeping.

Opening the door without a sound and stepping quietly inside, he saw a familiar figure in the dim hallway light. Startled by the unexpected sight, John froze.

“Scarlett.”

In the darkness, Scarlett was gently stroking Abigail’s hair with a tender hand.

“It’s late.”

“You’re the one coming home so late,” she replied.

Her voice was hoarse. John instinctively realized that Scarlett had learned the truth. Taking a deep breath, he slowly closed his eyes.

Scott had wanted to tell Scarlett everything. He believed that was the greatest love he could give her.

There was no right answer when it came to love. At least, that’s what John thought.

“Hey, John. Could you give up Abigail for the greater good?”

“…No. I’m not Mother or Father.”

“Right? To parents, their child is the greatest good, isn’t it?”

“…Scarlett…”

What words could comfort her? No matter what he said, it would just be meaningless to Scarlett.

“You couldn’t give up Abigail for the sake of some child you don’t even know, could you?”

Even though her voice was rough, it carried the coldness of an autumn breeze. John felt a chill run down his spine. He was about to tell her to step away from Abigail when Scarlett spoke again.

“Abigail is lucky. She has both a father and a mother.”

Then her slender fingers reached out to Abigail’s neck.

She felt her niece’s heartbeat with her small hand — a strong heartbeat, like a baby bird struggling to live. So different from her own.

Feeling a sudden fear, John turned on the light. The magic orb lit up the room. Under the light, Scarlett was silently crying. Transparent tears dripped to the floor.

In her gray eyes, a chilling hatred grew. Seeing her face, full of anger and sorrow, John felt his heart sink. Thankfully, Abigail stayed asleep through it all.

Scarlett gritted her teeth and spoke each word with pain.

“You know how much I suffered. You remember it all. When other kids were growing up and dreaming of their futures, I was preparing for death. Without even knowing why I was sick, without knowing why my life had to be sacrificed like that!”

“Keep your voice down. Let’s move somewhere else—”

Scarlett, full of emotion, cut him off and shouted.

“What was I to you?!”

Her tears hit the floor one after another. Her loud scream made lights turn on throughout the White mansion.

John felt a giant wave crashing toward him. If it hit him, he would drown — in guilt, sorrow, and helpless pity so thick it would suffocate him.

“How could you, a father yourself, agree to such a decision? Didn’t you feel sorry for me? How could you treat me like nothing? When you watched me dying, what did you think? Didn’t you feel sorry for me?”

“…”

“I craved love because I didn’t know parental love! I cried for parents I didn’t even remember! You saw me dying without parents and didn’t pity me? Or did you? Did you even think of me as your sister? Did you ever really love me as a sister? Did you feel guilty? If you had truly cared for me, if you had pitied me, you couldn’t have let me die like that! You betrayed me! Even you abandoned me!”

Scarlett’s scream was the heartbreaking cry of someone who had lost everything. She had lost the very ground she stood on. She was falling into a bottomless pit, trapped in endless betrayal.

At that moment, she thought death would be better than this life.

At that same time, Noah, who had learned the full truth, encountered attackers.

Victor instantly stood up and pulled a sword from his cane. But before Victor could even swing, Noah’s eyes glowed violet, and the attackers with swords were slammed into the walls without him lifting a finger. Victor was speechless.

“…You’re a mage.”

“I only found out recently myself.”

“I see. It makes sense. If your magic power was sealed along with your mother’s when you were in the womb, your abilities would have been sealed too.”

The seal Julia placed had broken when Noah had grown up enough. His desperate will to survive and his talent, which even surpassed Julia’s, had shattered the seal. That was why his natural talent bloomed once more.

Some of the attackers got back up.

An invisible force dragged them into a heap. Struggling, some of them shot at Noah. The first bullet grazed Noah’s cheek, and the second flew toward his chest. Victor didn’t have time to block it.

“Argh!”

The bullet hit an invisible shield and fell to the floor. At the same time, the shooter’s arm bent at an unnatural angle. Noah’s violet eyes shimmered coldly. He crushed the fallen attacker’s head under his foot.

“Who sent you?”

Noah asked, though he already had a guess.

“Was it Cravitz?”

The attacker said nothing. Noah pressed his foot harder. Just then, another attacker began to foam at the mouth and tremble violently. Victor frowned.

“They bit down on a poison capsule to kill themselves.”

With a wave of Noah’s hand, the shooter’s other leg twisted sharply. A terrible scream echoed through the parlor. Noah ground his shoe roughly into the attacker’s head.

“I asked if it was Cravitz.”

“Ki-kill me.”

“I can’t kill you until you talk.”

If Scarlett saw Noah like this, she might not even recognize him. She might have thought back to the Noah Ashford who had killed her.

He was more brutal than anyone. Noah had grown up harshly and hadn’t hesitated to kill to survive. It had been only a year since he almost died on a whaling ship.

Without Scarlett nearby, Noah Ashford showed his raw, cruel nature — no less ruthless than Scott. His soul was cold and frozen, reflected in his violet eyes.

“Aaargh! Aaaagh!”

Under Noah’s illusion magic, the attacker twisted in agony and shook all over. Noah withdrew the illusion for a moment and asked again.

“Who sent you?”

“Pl-please, kill me… Aaaagh!”

“Keep going. We have to know who’s behind this.”

Victor didn’t stop Noah. If they went to Natalia, this was the kind of reality they would face again and again.

“Hah…hah…”

“Was it Cravitz? Was it Scott White?”

“N-no… It’s not Scott White… Our master is Cravitz but…”

“Speak.”

“Huff… It, it was Scarlett White… who made the request.”

Noah felt as if his heart dropped out of his chest. It was worse than the day he was dragged onto the whaling ship as a slave.

It felt like the whole world had abandoned him. No — Scarlett was his world.

Gritting his teeth, Noah cast an even more terrifying illusion.

“Aaagh! Aaaagh! S-stop! Stop!”

“Say it! Say that it wasn’t Scarlett! She wouldn’t do that!”

“Pl-please… kill me…”

“I said, talk!”

“It was Scarlett White. Before we left, she came to us…”

“What? What did she say?”

“She asked us… to kill you in one blow, without making you suffer.”

“Aaah… aaah…”

Noah staggered backward in despair, covering his trembling face with his hands. Dark despair swallowed his world. The freedom he had gained through her was now shattered.

“Why… Why…”

He had believed they shared the same feelings. He thought he didn’t have to hold back his love for her anymore. She hadn’t rejected his touch.

But now it was all a lie? She had deceived him?

Scarlett. What is your true heart?

Was it revenge? If so, why? If it was revenge…

“No… No…”

She had found out the truth — how her parents had made their choices because of Noah and his mother, and how they had lived off the White family.

“No.”

He wished it was just revenge. He would rather she hated him.

Noah tried to bury what he had learned. He wanted to stay by Scarlett’s side even if it meant pretending not to know. If she knew he knew, any feelings she had started to have for him would disappear like they never existed.

“Aaaargh!”

Noah suddenly screamed and fell to his knees. His face was pale like a corpse. Covering his face with his large hands, he trembled all over.

Like someone who had to accept the most terrible truth in the world.

Victor gently patted Noah’s back with a bitter face.

“Noah. I think her true feeling is revenge.”

“No. No, it’s not. It’s not!”

If it was revenge, why had she given him freedom? Why had she given him her heart?

Was it all just part of the revenge? If so, he had been completely deceived.

If she had dreamed of revenge after knowing everything, he would be abandoned forever.

“Aaaargh!”

Either way, he could never be with Scarlett. His burning love for her would consume his own heart as fuel, until nothing was left but ashes.

Noah struggled to his feet.

“Scarlett… I have to see Scarlett. I have to…”

He mumbled and staggered. Victor said,

“It’s dangerous to go alone. I’ll take you.”

“I have to see her. If I kneel down and beg for her love… Yes, if it’s her… Damn it! Damn it—!”

He couldn’t deny it anymore.

Scarlett had abandoned him. One way or another, he had been thrown away.

Forever.

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