Memoirs of the Returnee

Chapter 334: Dream (4)

——That night.

Johanna caught onto something. Recently, for various reasons, she had almost completely abandoned her duties. No, she had lost interest and drive, but her instincts were still sharp, and today she had detected an unusual flow of funds.

“…….”

Johanna silently scrutinized the documents. They were cleverly disguised, but suspicious enough to warrant doubt.

A scheme so well hidden that even she couldn't be certain.

Perhaps it was just a desperate attempt by that guy who had once said he simply 'wanted to live.'

Johanna scanned the papers with emotionless eyes.

In the past, she might have been somewhat angry. But now, she was merely intrigued, not feeling betrayed.

Perhaps because the victim was Derek.

“…… lnteresting.”

Derek was a disgrace to Libra. Besides his goddamn overwriting souls antics, he always pursued shortsighted profits and screwed things up more than once.

Hopefully, he wouldn't get caught this time, as he was currently flaunting his face everywhere in the most flamboyant way possible.

Stupidly, wisely, or regrettably, Derek had entrusted Zia with the shares of [Industry] and [Commercial District].

And this was the result.

“Hmm.”

Johanna had quite a few questions. Most of all, it was about the cash reserves.

Zia's operation was, to put it simply, brutishly straightforward. As straightforward as it was difficult to detect, and as straightforward as it required a massive amount of cash…

Well, she could just ask directly.

Johanna clenched the documents and walked out into the hallway. She knocked on Zia's door.

Knock-knock—

At that moment, she wasn't sure what she was thinking.

But when she swung the door open.

Her mind went blank for a moment.

Because of the shocking scene before her.

“…….”

In the middle of the Living room stood Shion.

Zia was tightly embraced against his chest.

Johanna quietly observed the two, who seemed as if they might merge bodies if left alone. The vivid scene was etched into her retina and iris.

Her face hardened. It stiffened as if all moisture had been sucked out of her face.

“……Ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped her. It was a sneer she didn't even realize she had made.

Johanna immediately turned around and closed the door.

Crash—!

Something shattered. It seemed she had broken the door unintentionally, but it didn't matter.

It was better than breaking the bodies of those bastards.

“…….”

Johanna came and went, and in the aftermath, the door was smashed to pieces, with fragments scattered around the room as if an earthquake had occurred.

Meanwhile, Zia was still asleep.

I laid her on the sofa. She seemed to be dreaming peacefully, her face innocent like a child's. I stared intently at her.

Was she really asleep, or just pretending to be?

Either way, I couldn't be sure with her, but time was running short.

In the current situation, there was only one thing I needed to do.

I went outside to chase after Johanna. I ran down the hallway and stopped in front of her room.

——Knock-knock.

I knocked.

There was no response.

——Knock-knock.

I knocked again and spoke.

“Lady Johanna.”

Still, there was no answer.

——Knock-knock.

“May I come in?”

She didn't say anything, but.

“l'm coming in.”

I opened the door on my own.

Creeeak…

Johanna was standing in the middle of her vast bedroom, shrouded in darkness, the air she breathed, sharp.

“Lady Johanna.”

I called out to her. Soon, her piercing blue eyes flashed ominously.

“…Does Zia desire succession?”

It was a rather direct question.

Apparently, Johanna had already grasped Zia's intentions.

“Ha!”

She let out a hollow Laugh.

“But, I really don't understand.”

She looked at me as if analyzing. Her pupils flickered with complex emotions.

“I really don't get it.”

Her voice trembled with a mix of anger, confusion, and sorrow.

“What exactly do you want?”

She seemed to have misunderstood the situation earlier, but making excuses was the most pointless thing to do. It was the very thing she hated, the very thing that should not be done to her.

“What exactly do you want?”

Perhaps she already knew it was a misunderstanding.

Maybe it was just the explosion of some emotions that had been building up over time.

“You claim to love me, yet you stay by Zia's side? You show me such things from her side?”

…Either way, I don't know her now, so I shouldn't make excuses.

“Speak.”

She urged me. Her words were edged like a blade.

It was a crossroads for me.

A wrong choice here could turn all my efforts to dust, and the old Johanna might revive.

Therefore, I must do what 'Johanna' likes best.

I must honestly convey my feelings…

…

Tick-tock— tick-tock—

Only the loud ticking of the clock in the eerily silent room where Zia lay motionless on the sofa, the door completely shattered.

Then outside the door, the rushing air seemed cold, making her curl up like a shrimp. Her brow furrowed slightly.

Tick-tock— tick-tock—

Soon, she settled her breathing with a child-like face.

The ticking of the second hand and the sound of breathing filled the room Like a metronome.

Tick-tock— tick-tock—

Zia lay there, peacefully asleep.

…

Tick-tock— tick-tock—

The room was filled with the sound of a grand clock, ornately decorated with all sorts of jewels, somewhat imposing.

“I just can't understand it. No matter how much I think about it, even if I try to force myself to understand.”

Johanna was furious. Her anger was directed at me, and at herself.

“lf its about succession, it could be me instead of Zia.”

She was as subdued as ashes.

“No, perhaps it would be better for both you and me if it were me.”

With those words, she glared at me.

“lf you really love me.”

…

I met her gaze head-on, not avoiding it at all. It was an anger that should not be avoided.

“You talk about your father's legacy, but to me, it feels like an excuse.”

Johanna let out a long breath. Her fists were clenched tight.

“So tell me. Your heart.”

At her command, I took a step forward.

“Yes.”

I bowed my head slightly in guilt, then raised it again to look at her.

“I will confess now.”

There was only one purpose.

Her ambition must not be revived. She must be thoroughly broken down, reduced to an ordinary person.

“I do not wish for Lady Johanna to become the successor.”

It was a belated honesty.

Johanna's eyes sharpened, and magic surged beside her shoulders. She felt betrayed.

“Why?”

I stepped towards her. She was within ten paces of me.

“The position of head of the family. Lady Johanna, ascending to that isolated pinnacle…”

One step.

Another step.

I moved closer to her.

“lt seems lonely. You, at the apex of Libra.”

At that moment, Johanna's body shook violently.

The way one addresses another can change emotions. The title 'you' might be a greater act of courage for both her and me than calling her by name.

I calmly continued.

“T00 lonely.”

Then, Johanna's feet, which had seemed rooted to the floor, lifted.

I moved towards her, but she stepped back.

Perhaps, an act she had never performed in her Life as Johanna.

“Because it seems unhappy.”

However, her steps back were slower than my steps forward, making it easy for me to follow, to catch up.

“I wish for you to be ordinary.”

I conveyed my honesty right in front of her, our breaths mingling.

“Ordinary.”

She murmured. Her faint breath touched my chest.

“Yes.”

At times, I had asked myself this question. It was a self-mocking inquiry.

I wondered how much of myself I could sell for my revenge.

Perhaps, everything.

“l'm sorry.”

That's why I apologized to her. I needed to apologize for what I had done.

“I couldn't bear it any longer.”

I placed my hands on her cheeks. My palms gently enveloped her face, slowly pulling her closer to me.

Our lips met.

In the Aerial Garden, the moonlight seeped through the window. The pale light illuminated her.

“…1”

Her eyes widened suddenly. Her trembling transmitted to me. The pounding of her heart felt like it would burst through her entire body.

I mimicked that too.

Johanna is inherently a person of faint emotions. After a fiery passion sweeps through her, she might doubt my normal heartbeat.

So, I made my heart beat too.

“…”

My trembling seemed to calm her, and she quietly closed her eyes. She exhaled deeply and let her arms fall.

I focused on this moment.

It wasn't difficult.

Just Like expressing love to a Loved one, just like conveying Love to a Loved one.

All it took was acting.

…How long had it been?

The ticking of the clock sounded dozens of times, and as the moonlight shifted away.

I detached my lips. I looked at her with eyes full of sin. Johanna looked back at me similarly. Her eyes were profoundly sorrowful.

I gave her a sad smile.

“l'm really sorry.”

I apologized once more. I moved again. I stretched out my arms and embraced her. A breathless sound escaped Johanna's lips.

However, I couldn't give her myself all at once.

Even if I were to sell my soul, it would be more effective to do it in parts.

Now, another act was needed.

In fact, it hardly needed to be called acting.

From a certain point, pain was growing inside my body, and by focusing on that pain, that was all it took.

I closed my eyes.

“Ugh.”

I let out a rough groan and closed my eyes. Before Johanna could even express her confusion, I had lost consciousness. I leaned my entire body against her as I embraced her.

“…Shion?”

She called my name in a bewildered voice, but my vision was already pitch black.

I couldn't see anything.

The best way to fake fainting is to actually fainting.

…

Outside, faint noises could be heard. Someone whispered urgently to fix the door. Soon, the same door was reattached to her room, and the slight breeze that had been coming in stopped.

Had the 'incident' concluded?

“…”

Even then, Zia, who had been Lying on the sofa, slowly opened her eyes.

She carefully sat up. She looked around the room and poured herself a cup of water.

Chrrrr.

Just a single sip.

With that, the drunkenness that had overtaken her body vanished, and her flushed cheeks paled.

Zia cleared her throat with a cough and sat down in her office chair. She Lifted her laptop and checked several documents.

Tap-tap. Tap-tap.

She began typing on the keyboard, resuming her work.

Tap-tap. Tap-tap.

There was much to do.

She preferred to communicate her commands through text.

Tap-tap. Tap-ta…

However, at some point, her fingers stopped moving.

A strange curiosity arose. An unnecessary concern occupied her mind.

What had Shion and her sister done? How had Shion chided her sister?

“…”

Zia quickly turned her head. It was a curiosity uncharacteristic of her.

She had left her sister in Shion's hands, and she shouldn't have been curious beyond that.

She moved her fingers again.

Tap-tap. Tap-tap.

In the silent room, only the sound of the keyboard tapping quietly echoed.