Chapter 159. I Will Pretend I Didn’t Hear That
She had never imagined it even in her dreams.
By no means, it was a thing she had never even guessed—that Jade would harbor such feelings.
No, moreover, since when on earth did he…….
Complex thoughts tangled and intertwined over her blankly frozen head, but in fact, she couldn’t find any answer whatsoever.
Deborah, who had been remaining with a dazed face, snapped out of it only as more force entered the arms wrapping around and embracing her.
Whether because she realized that escaping with her own strength was impossible, or whether because she had found out what kind of mind the opponent possessed.
The words coming out of her mouth flowed out a level calmer than before.
“First…… let go of this arm, please.”
“…….”
“Jade.”
As if warning toward the opponent who was still remaining just as he was, this time, the tone she spit out became much stronger.
Whether those words were effective was unknown, but after a moment, the force that was constricting her body slowly began to loosen.
The very moment Jade’s arms fell away completely, Deborah quickly drew her body back and escaped from the bed.
As for how cruel such an action of hers could be to the opponent, she had no room to fathom in advance.
There was no way such a thing could exist.
Right now, she was solely filled with the thought that she must escape from this bewildering moment.
But—
The very moment she was just about to turn her body around.
Her steps faltered without her realizing it.
Deborah hesitated for a long while, and in the end, she brought out those words that had been lingering inside her mouth.
“The story you just told…….”
“…….”
“I will pretend I didn’t hear that…….”
Recalling that action he had committed toward her just a moment ago, Deborah thought that a somewhat similar reaction might return.
Asking why she was ignoring the words he was speaking.
Wondering what on earth a person like her was to act like this.
Thinking that with an angry face, he might pour out words that were heavily on edge.
But what was strange was a reaction that was so exceedingly tranquil, to the point of rendering her heavy tension useless.
An appearance that was so exceedingly quiet, to the point that it was even doubtful whether he was breathing.
That incomprehensible silence felt momentarily puzzling, but her thoughts came to an end right there.
“I will tell Mr. Collins…… to come in.”
Ending with those words, Deborah exited the bedroom straight away.
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An afternoon hour when the heat of midday had not yet faded away.
Bang—!
At the roaring sound that suddenly reached their ears, the bodies of the people inside the bookstore flinched simultaneously.
Sitting on the floor, or standing in front of the bookshelves. Those who were enjoying reading in their respective manners all turned toward the doorway with startled faces.
The person who entered was a face that the regulars all knew well too.
‘Lea Parker.’
She, who was in an old friendship with the bookstore owner, Jade Wilkins, was to the extent that there was no one among the regulars visiting this place who didn’t know her.
The people glanced with eyes full of curiosity at Lea traversing inside the bookstore with a heavily hardened face.
As for on earth what matter had made her so thoroughly angry, that curiosity was resolved only after her footsteps came to a halt in front of someone.
‘Of course.’
‘It looks like Roderick said some thoughtless words again.’
The people, who shook their heads from side to side, soon turned their heads and began to focus back on the books they were reading.
“Roderick.”
“Ah, ugh, yes?”
A face where tightly suppressed anger was entirely evident.
A voice that had settled down chillingly.
At the appearance that was unordinary even at a single glance, Roderick also came to think the exact same thing as the surrounding people.
Wondering if he had perhaps made a slip of the tongue again, during a time he himself didn’t know.
But no matter how much he retraced his memory, there was absolutely nothing that came to mind.
Just when he was merely scanning the atmosphere slowly because he didn’t know the reason.
“Did you happen to be together with Jade yesterday?”
Within those words asked as if demanding an explanation, Roderick could find that answer.
‘Ah, because of yesterday’s matter…….’
Roderick’s gaze, nodding his head, suddenly drifted to someone visible toward that rear side.
To the face of Deborah, the person who was watching this way intently with an anxious gaze.
“Why is there no answer? I asked if you were together with Jade last night.”
At the sharp, nervous tone re-emphasizing word by word, Roderick’s gaze hurriedly returned to her front.
“Ah, yes, right, right. We were together. I mean.”
“Then, tell me in detail what on earth happened last night.”
Roderick’s gaze, faltering for an instant, shifted glancingly toward that rear once again.
An action that came out without him realizing it.
However, of all things, that suspicious movement caught right in Lea’s gaze.
With a face fiercely furrowed, Lea looked back toward that rear.
And…….
“What is it? By any chance…… does Deborah know too? Who the human is that made Jade into that state?”
The moment their gazes met, seeing the opponent who flinched in surprise, Lea felt a peculiar unpleasantness.
As if everyone, except for only herself, knew all of the story regarding Jade.
At the interrogation where uncomfortable feelings were vividly evident, Deborah hurriedly shook her head.
“No, Lea. I…… don’t know who it is yet either.”
“…….”
Slowly, she tried giving an answer calmly, but the eyes of suspicion did not ease easily.
But it wasn’t a lie, it was truly something she didn’t know.
Was it around when noon had passed— around that time, Roderick had opened the bookstore door and walked in, but in fact, she hadn’t even been able to think of asking.
Until just a moment ago, right before Lea asked.
If it weren’t for that matter of yesterday, she herself might have asked exactly the same as Lea the moment she saw Roderick today.
No, she definitely would have done so.
Because last night, that terrible face she had seen beneath the dim light was an appearance that was unmistakably beaten soundly by someone.
But unfortunately today, no, what had filled Deborah’s mind heavily since last night was not such a thing.
How she was supposed to look at Jade’s face in the future.
Since she now knew the opponent’s mind even at this late stage, the thought that she must not receive his help any longer.
If so, it meant that she had to leave that mansion, as well as this bookstore, but in a situation where she wasn’t prepared yet, how she was supposed to do that as well…….
Her head was on the verge of exploding from the thoughts that continuously carried on, catching tail after tail.
Therefore, it was natural that she could by no means form any other thoughts.
Fortunately, whether the suspicion toward her was withdrawn around that point, Lea’s gaze, which had been staring intently for a long while, returned back to how it originally was.
“If you were together, you definitely must have seen! Who did that!”
At the words snapped out sharply, suddenly, Deborah began to grow curious as well.
Who on earth the person was that made Jade into that state, and also for what reason they had made a person into such a terrible appearance.
“I, I don’t know!”
“What do you mean you don’t know. No, does that make sense?!”
“At any rate, I don’t know, so if you’re curious, go and ask the person himself.”
Saying that would be the most accurate, at Roderick’s action of shaking his hands from side to side, Lea’s face turned red and blue.
“Are you teasing someone right now? Since Jade won’t speak, that’s why I chased all the way here!”
At Lea’s anger-filled words asking if he was feigning ignorance while knowing full well, Deborah’s brow narrowed.
‘He won’t speak……? Why on earth?’
An inquiry that once surfaced immediately carried on continuously into another inquiry.
‘For what on earth is he shielding the person who made him like that?’
Come to think of it, something was strange.
Startled by the sudden confession, she hadn’t been able to think of it, but if she thought about it carefully, yesterday’s matter was entirely full of strange things.
Since when Jade had possessed such a mind could not be known accurately, but still, it wouldn’t be a matter of just a day or two.
Then, it meant that although he had opportunities to speak several times in the meantime, he hadn’t spoken…….
—Deborah. By any chance, just by any chance. If I…… if—
—That is, if I, toward Deborah—
Just when she was pondering and retracing her thoughts.
Those words she had heard a few days ago flashed through her mind in an instant.
Something, lips that hesitated several times as if there were words he wanted to say to her.
And what he had said at the end of that, Deborah recollected the memory of that time step by step.
—No…… it’s nothing. Later, later.
—Later when an appropriate time comes, I’ll tell you again then. Not now.
“…….”
Only then, finally, the broken pieces began to be pieced together one by one.
What was strange was that once she knew what the words he had intended to say were, yesterday’s action became even more incomprehensible.
Words he had hesitated over so much, words he had even deliberately cut off himself saying he would do so later…… why on earth had he brought them out in such a manner.
Why had he done so at such a moment of all times.
If.
If that strange action of yesterday shown by Jade was by any chance related to the matter with someone that occurred right before he entered…….
—I, I don’t know!
—Are you teasing someone right now? Since Jade won’t speak, that’s why I chased all the way here!
No way…… No way…….
Thump—! Thump—!
At someone’s face that surfaced inside her head, Deborah’s heart began to beat fast at a fearsome speed.
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