CH 81

“…I know n-nothing.”

Dullan bowed his head. He looked like a kid who had done something wrong. He averted his eyes, but Carynne’s hold on him got tighter as she pressed him.

“Don’t make me laugh. It’s impossible that you don’t know anything. There’s no way you’d be so sacrificial for nothing. You can’t just believe! What do you even believe? What the hell are you so sure of?!”

“I-I-I know nothing!”

“Dullan!”

Carynne stood up. The scissors clattered to the floor. She knew that it wouldn’t have posed any threat to Dullan. So, she rushed at Dullan and clung to him. Right then, he looked like he wanted to run away from her. But he couldn’t shake her off.

“What is it that you want? Do you want to sleep with me? Is it my body—do you lust for my body? Okay, let’s do it, however many times you want. No, maybe, is it money? I’ll give you as much money as you want. Okay? Please tell me what you know. Anything at all, please tell me. Even if all you know are just guesses, even if it’s just one thing, please, tell me. If you want, okay, in this iteration, let’s get married. Ah, but maybe the situation won’t permit it? Alright, okay, let me kill Isella. And then you can take me back to the parish. People don’t get arrested when they’re on sacred ground. Bring me there and play with me all you want, that’s good, too. If not that, okay, my dead body. You can go ahead and play with that. Just tell me any—”

“P-Pull yourself together.”

“Do I look like I can?”

Finally, at this moment, the clue that she wanted to hear came up!

“D-Don’t act like a wh…whore. Y-You don’t even lo…love me.”

Carynne’s mouth gaped open as she heard Dullan’s answer. Speechless. Absolutely taken aback. What are you talking about? You said you believe, but what the hell are you talking about right now? When we’re already at this point?

“Dullan, Dullan. Darling. No way… Are you being serious? You, right now. Do you think that you or Raymond or anyone else—do you think that any of you matter to me, truly? Do you think that it’s still important for me to get with some guy? Are you that big of a moron?”

Carynne grabbed Dullan by the collar and tightened her grip.

“Say whatever you want to say. No, I mean, please tell me. I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll get you whatever you want.”

Let me die, please.

Dullan’s expression became distorted. It was like he’s looking at something horrifyingly grotesque. But Carynne noticed. Despite it all, his thing down there was getting excited as their bodies were pressed together. Would you look at that. In the end, your words and your actions are different. It’s like that even in this situation.

Carynne reached down and touched him, then she smiled. If it’s her body he wanted, then that’s a cheap price to pay.

However, Dullan pushed Carynne away.

“D-D-Don’t be like this.”

“Why?”

“T-T-This… This.”

“You want to do it with me though.”

His words were always the direct opposite to what his body wanted. He’d say how contemptible such acts were, but he was a lustful man anyway. He was like this in the past, and he’s still like this in the present. Carynne knew Dullan well. The best way to get through to him was with her body.

“I-I-I do not!”

Dullan pushed Carynne away roughly. The look he had on his face right now was almost akin to a virgin girl who’s getting assaulted. Seeing this, Carynne was dumbfounded.

He scrambled away from Carynne and straightened his clothes. He was panting. It even looked like tears were about to form around his eyes.

“……”

“……”

How annoying.

Carynne pressed down the urge to tear out all of Dullan’s hair. The very first thing she should have done was to torture Dullan to death. In the next life, she now planned to ambush Dullan while he was asleep.

Let’s hold it in right now.

“Y-You don’t love anyone d…do you.”

It was a question that did not seek an answer. Dullan covered his face with his hands.

“I-I-It must be like th…at until n-now.”

“Stop talking about boring things. Take off your clothes. Or do you want to keep them on?”

With his body shaking convulsively, Dullan crossed his arms over himself and held himself. He shuddered and stammered as he spoke.

“I-I-I still don’t kn…ow anything. But if you atone… and come to l-love someone—”

“What?”

“If, if you f-fall in love, t-true love—”

Still covering his face, Dullan stuttered.

“I’ll, I’ll tell you eve, everything I kn-know right, now. You s-seem so t-tired.”

Carynne had to stop the urge to scoff at his face here. Like Catherine, like Carynne’s father, was Dullan still playing along and acting like this was a romance novel? She strode closer to Dullan and spoke.

“Hey, cut the bullshit.”

“……”

“Just hurry up and sleep with me, then tell me what you know. If you want to tell it to me for free, then that’s good, too.”

However, Dullan was still cowering in one corner and covering his face. It almost seemed as though he was crying. His entire body was trembling. Carynne felt dirty, as if she’d become some bloke who’s harassing a halfwit. Who here wronged whom?

“N-N-Not me.”

“Ha.”

“Not… me.”

Dullan took his hands off his face. Contrary to what she previously thought, Dullan didn’t cry. Rather, his expression was stiff—as hard as a corpse.

“D-Don’t forget. You have to fall in love to the extent that it can be acknowledged.”

* * *

Raymond lowered his gun.

Carynne did not kill Dullan. Neither did she kill Isella. This was enough. There’s no reason to kill Carynne now. Raymond recalled his conversation with Dullan.

“S-She has not sinned.”

What must he do here.

Raymond hated the chaotic situation that he found himself in. He just wanted everything to be clear. Once tomorrow would come, they would need to talk more. Carynne was too risky to interrogate. He thought that perhaps it would be better to bring her to a relatively safer place and observe her. But his mansion was too far away. He mulled over where a safe place might be. Which household must he ask a favor from.

“……”

There was no need to kill her. At least, for now.

Raymond unloaded the gun.

* * *

“I dislike complicated things.”

“That’s great. Me, too.”

Carynne rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she greeted Raymond, who knocked on her window ever since dawn. After she talked to Dullan, who ordered but not ordered her to fall in love, her mind became a complicated mess, so she answered like that. She greeted him with a blank expression.

“Pardon me for visiting a lady’s room so early in the morning.”

“I did it to you before as well.”

“That’s true.”

Carynne rubbed her eyes once more and closed the window.

“How is your back?”

“Not so good. Still better than yesterday thought. I drank quite a lot of medicine.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes. I heard that you brought Dullan out when he was still with Mister Verdic. Thank you.”

As she recalled what Donna excitedly told her earlier, Carynne bowed her head.

“Fall in love.”

And, she recalled what Dullan said. But was it possible? She started seeing this timeline’s Raymond under the premise of a mutual endeavor to take revenge against Verdic, but even in the past, she could tell that Raymond approached Carynne intentionally.

No way. Maybe in the past, Raymond never truly loved Carynne, that’s why she was still stuck in this endlessly repeating life?

Once again, Carynne agonized over her complicated thoughts, but Raymond called her name. So, she raised her head.

“Carynne.”

“Yes.”

“I hate complicated things.”

“Yes.”

“That’s why, please just tell it to me straight.”

And so, Carynne decided to ask directly.

“Sir Raymond, do you love me?”

The sight of Raymond’s reaction made Carynne crack a smile.

“Are you mad?”

“Ah, I knew it.”

She’s definitely awake. As Carynne shook her head, she wrapped her quilt around her and sat on the bed. The window was open earlier, so the air had turned chilly for Carynne, who had just woken up.

With a nod, she implored.

“Please say you love me.”

“Why?”

“Just for the sake of it.”

“…I love you, Carynne.”

“Please say that again in front of Dullan.”

“You are a very cruel woman.”

“……”

A curse word was uttered. Raymond’s expression was stained with near abhorrence. As expected, the best ever thing to do was to torture Dullan.

‘Sir Raymond! Please torture Dullan!’

‘Send Carynne Evans to the insane asylum. She is a prime suspect and must be punished severely.’

‘……’

Yeah, that might be how it’d go, right?

What the hell was the best answer.