Darius didn't speak. He merely turned to look at Fraser, who felt cold all over when Darius' gaze landed on him. He could only stare blankly as Darius approached him, and his breathing sped up—it was a sign of nervousness. He parted his lips to say something, but before he could, he'd already been sent flying despite Darius barely having moved. Then, Darius sighed and turned to look at Edward. "I've never been one to show my emotions because there was nothing to show—life bored me."Edward tensed, looking pale as he ducked his head. He didn't have the courage to meet Darius' eyes. Darius went on like he didn't sense Edward's anxiety. "You're the same as me, of course, and I'm happy to see that." He turned to face Fraser again, who was now facedown on the ground. His expression turned mocking as he said, "Anyway, Edward, I think you should know that our relationship isn't just between a bodyguard and his employer—we're also friends." Darius bent down to turn Fraser's head to face him
"Since I've suffered a defeat at your hands, I'll bear the consequences—even if it means I'll lose my life." Fraser looked Darius in the eye and continued, "This is like the story you told me, isn't it?" He looked pleased as he spoke, positive that Pearl would help him out. She wouldn't stand by and watch someone die before her very eyes!To his surprise, Pearl said firmly, "Darius, don't bother about what he says—do what you need to." She looked at Darius tenderly, making Darius smile.He looked down at Fraser with a scornful expression. "Did you hear that? You and the money in your account mean nothing to us."Fraser's eyes widened. No one had ever insulted him so badly, and he clenched his fists tightly. He refused to die just like this! He turned to Edward and said, "How much are you being paid now, Edward? I'll offer you three times as much. Now, I want you to protect me! Either that or end the lives of these two people!"Darius frowned at his words. He'd wasted too much time on
"This sounds obnoxious, but rejecting men is a regular part of my day. I remember he had the biggest reaction out of them all, though. When I rejected him, he burst into hysterical tears, which continued for a long time. He kept it up till it was time for bed; the other students in the dorm couldn't stand it anymore and came to me. I had no choice but to go downstairs to speak to him, but his reaction surprised me. For some reason, he got it into his head that I was agreeing to be his girlfriend by heading downstairs to shoo him away." Pearl looked troubled. "I'm sure you know that would never happen, and so did he. I repeatedly tried to make things clear to him, but he would scream in rage whenever I opened my mouth to speak. There was nothing I could do when he straight-out refused to talk to me." She sighed.Darius' lips twitched. He'd read about this from the intel gathered on Mordred, but the side of the story he'd read was Mordred's. Darius raised an eyebrow, looking mocking. "
This was Pearl's first time seeing Darius act so seriously with her. She put her hands in her pockets to hide that she was balling them into fists; she didn't know the right way for her to react. After a while, her eyes turned red, and she said hoarsely, "You want me to tell you exactly what he did, huh? How about him trying to break into my house to install cameras there? How about him trying to take photos of me in the shower, whether at my dorm or my home?" She trembled violently.Darius' jaw dropped. He hadn't expected Mordred to be so overboard, and he couldn't help frowning. He looked at Pearl and said, "I wanted to know whether his death has anything to do with you. You may seem innocent, but I find it hard to believe it has nothing to do with you. As you said, the Chamberlain family is wealthy; Mordred's family is relatively average." He put his hands into his pockets and leaned against the fence. "I'm sorry to say this, but I'd be an idiot not to link his death to you."This
Darius' gaze traveled up the slender hand holding onto his sleeve to find it belonged to Pearl. "I'm surprised to see you here; I didn't think you'd return. You look nervous about being before me again, though."She nodded. "Yes, I'm unbelievably nervous right now. I think it's best for us to head to the scene of the accident. It might not be such an accident."Darius frowned, then nodded. "Yes, let's." He strode toward the scene without a look back. He was quick enough that the accident had yet to be thoroughly cleaned up, and he gazed around his surroundings. Then, he smiled coldly.Edward hurried to join him, then looked lost when he saw what was happening. "Sir, I can tell you aren't in a good mood, but I don't know the problem."Darius snorted. "Why don't you look around? There's plenty to see. None of the people cleaning up the scene are from the authorities—look, there are even janitors. Why would a janitor be on the scene of an accident? They must be cleaning up now that the e
Edward didn't follow him immediately. He was still processing what Darius had said about the perpetrator looking "gentle and harmless". Didn't this mean he already knew who was behind this? He hadn't expected Darius to figure out who the mastermind was after only taking a few glances at the scene of the accident; no one had even helped him! He obviously didn't want to waste time on this anymore, though. He made a beeline for the landfill.Pearl followed him silently. Darius sighed when he saw how anxious she was and patted her on the shoulder. "You're the third most popular woman at Kingston University; it's not like you to act like this. You used to be confident and proud; in the past, if you had any questions, you'd ask me straightaway instead of hesitating here and there."Pearl smiled wanly but didn't say anything. Darius sighed again. After going through so much together, he didn't think of Pearl as a mere acquaintance anymore—she was also a friend. He didn't want to see his fri
Edward heard someone following him. As an enlightened martial artist, he didn't need to turn around to know it was Darius. He could even go so far as to say he could sense Darius' emotions. However, he continued marching ahead without faltering, taking a deep breath when he reached the correct spot. Then, he turned to face Darius with a grimace. "Sir, this is it." Though he was glad they were finally getting down to business, there was no changing the fact that they were in the middle of a landfill. As an enlightened martial artist, the stench was even more potent because of his enhanced senses, and he quickly bent down to start digging through the trash.Darius' lips twitched at this. He approached Edward and slowly raised a hand, making Edward stop. Edward didn't know what Darius was up to but straightened up anyway, looking confused. Darius said, "We're enlightened martial artists." Edward nodded, still looking puzzled. Darius sighed without saying anything else, merely tugging E
They're all from wealthy families, and their reputations mean everything to them," Darius said. Edward nodded, understanding what he meant. Darius didn't pay him much attention, saying, "Now, go through the trash like I'm doing it—it's much faster than digging through countless piles." The moment his words fell, his eyes lit up, and he reached out to catch a folder falling from the sky. He tucked it into his coat, then continued looking for the other one. Darius was honestly surprised to see the folder was still in pristine condition, and he smiled, feeling much more optimistic about the matter. He sped up his search.Edward smiled at this and joined him, finding the second folder shortly after that. They sighed in relief as Edward reached out to catch the folder. Then, he handed it to Darius with both hands, who skimmed through it to see whether anything was missing. Then, he smiled and tucked it together with the earlier folder.Now that they'd found the records, Darius turned to l