Chapter 6

After Paradis confirmed that Yvonne was asleep, he went back to his room.

He took a quick shower and brushed his wet hair. He took out the diary of Yvonne’s sister that he hid when they got out of her house.

The moment he was attacked, he wasn’t able to return it to Yvonne and just shoved the diary into his arms.

His hair was wavy with characteristically curly hair. He roughly brushed his hair, then pulled Diana’s diary from his robe.

Yvonne had no intention to keep the diary, and he had the spirit to give it back, but he was curious.

Paradis trusted Yvonne. He would accept anything even if she said the sun rose in the west this morning or a miracle happened today.

But Diana didn’t even trust her sister. The naive Yvonne may believe her sister, but Paradis is not as naive as she thinks.

“A prophet or a sick person.” he muttered to himself.

He turned on the lamp and looked at the diary. He quickly read the diary from the front. The start was light.

After an accident while living in a different world, she said that she was a child when she woke up. She only realized it after Yvonne was born. That this place was the last romance novel she was reading before she died.

According to the novel, she was due to die at a young age, and she struggled to change her future. Unfortunately, she could not prevent her illness from coming and she failed to prevent the wagon accident which killed their parents.

“You’re too cruel to Yvonne.” Paradis frowned and flipped through the diary.

It doesn’t matter who’s dating who. As long as Yvonne’s misfortune had nothing to do with the novel, it was out of his interest.

He opened it up and read it again from the second half. “735 years. The spring of the year when the original work began.” he continued to read.

“In winter, the empire’s grain prices are rising due to the burning of the grain ships coming to… It also the start of a series of red-haired murders.” Searching the diary, it turns out that the red-haired serial murder case is the story of the Crown Prince solving the case, earning the trust of the imperial people, and confirming his love with the heroine.

It was a gimmick.

“That’s bullshit.” he cussed.

He roughly threw out the diary. ‘Grain transport ships have been specially designed to be resistant to fire, so they have been safe from fire for the past 20 years. Also, it’s a serial killer. That’s nonsense.’ he thought.

Paradis lay flat on the bed, pressing his throbbing temple.

The future, the diary, and if Yvonne is right, he doesn’t know. What matters now is who tried to kill her and why.

‘Are you targeting Yvonne because of me? But we do not know each other outside.’ he kept on.

Even if they knew each other, Laurent Paradis dared to join the empire.

‘Where is the guy who wants to hurt Yvonne?cNot the imperial family.’ Paradis is still deep in thought.

The imperial family wishes for an amicable relationship with Marquis Laurent as the two families’ superpowers were on par. Also, his grandfather was a war hero who supported the country.

“Kiryan Hishleger?” he asked himself.

He has no connection with him.

Eventually, Paradis stopped guessing further, and just stared at the silk wallpaper that is attached on the wall beside the bed and beyond this wall, Yvonne was asleep.

‘Yvonne. If you’re wrong I…’ Paradis’s mind went in circles.

Yvonne was special. She understands him as much as he does. She understood how he thinks.

She was the only person who instinctively knew with her eyes alone, even if he didn’t explain in words.

She loved the things he loved, and he is the same with her too.

She respected the things he wanted to be respected.

She didn’t think that the screenplay he was writing was an unusual hobby of an aristocratic young man.

She knew how much he loved the play and how fascinated he was with the story. He only speaks about the play to her.

That’s why she was a friend before she was of the opposite sex and before anything else, she was his soul mate.

Because she is Yvonne Moore.

***

“Young master.” his butler quietly woke him up.

Paradis yawned and went out of his room. It was already dawn. As he was walking in the hallway.

“If you want to be lazy, you can do it, but I’m sorry.” his butler said.

Unfortunately, he was a very diligent person.

When the moon sets over the horizon and dawn comes he is already awake, working. Every now and then, he would get up and read a book or train his body. Even if he came back from drinking alcohol while running around in the back alleys he still couldn’t shake his routine.

Laurent was Laurent.

“You’re finally awake, young master.”

“I’m afraid I slept so late yesterday but I woke up when the time was right.”

“I still can’t believe how the young master acted differently last time thanks to Miss Yvonne.” his butler teased him.

“It doesn’t go away.” he shrugged at his butler’s taunt. “Please, forget about it. At that time, I was a little bit excited, that’s all.” he added.

The butler let it go. “Young master, please come down at mealtime today and have breakfast. Aren’t you worried about skipping every day?” he asked instead. His expression was full of worry.

“Okay, okay.” Paradis quickly answered. “Oh yeah. Yvonne knows our breakfast is early, right? She must have been very surprised yesterday, so prepare something light and then give it to me.” he added.

“Yes. Don’t worry.” his butler assured him.

“And I think you should give it to me.” Paradis reaches for the newspaper on the butler’s hand.

“Yesterday’s event was not published.” the butler said while handing the newspaper. “A gangster broke into the house of an heiress, who lives alone.” the headline says. “And if I say that Laurent’s successor was there at that time, how much more will the media chew and rip it off? Not because of Miss Yvonne.” the butler gruntled.

Mumbling anxiously, Paradis handed back the newspaper to the butler.

Yvonne heard everything in the press at the young age of 14. Since she has no family to protect her, they misunderstood everything about her. It’s okay to tell Yvonne’s acquaintances, but Yvonne is exposed to the media for good or bad that is why Paradis was reluctant to do so.

“I’m worried because you’re too soft on her.” his butler reminded him.

“It’s okay because I’m already tainted. I just have to fill in what she lacks.” Paradis, who replied bluntly, went outside and skimmed through the newspaper stands as he walked down the street.

Fortunately, yesterday seemed to be completely buried.

Then his footsteps stopped in the middle of the hallway.

“This…what?” A look of surprise spread across Paradis’s face.

He grabbed the newspaper he saw on the road, quickly turned and headed to Yvonne’s house.

His footsteps got faster and faster, almost jumping. Upon returning to the room, he opened Diana’s diary then he took turns checking the newspaper and the diary.

“The murder case of Lady Ginger…burnt grain line…” he muttered.

The newspaper carried the incident Diana was talking about. It was too dreadful for a coincidence. He compared the journal to the newspaper again with a pale complexion. It was the same no matter how many times he compared it.

After some time passed, he quickly admitted without any further doubts. Whether this was a fictional world or Diana was a visionary prophet, she foretold the future. Paradis sat down helplessly and shut his eyes.

He let out a short sigh.

He opened Diana’s diary again. Then, from beginning to end, he read through it thoroughly without missing a single word.

It was as if the criminal who tried to kill Yvonne had written everything on it.

***

“Hmmm.” Paradis pinched Yvonne’s exposed ankle.

Yvonne, waking up from her sleep, screamed in surprise to find Paradis sitting cross-legged by the bed.

“Ouch! Paradis, what is it? You surprised me!” Yvonne shouted at him.

Paradis told Yvonne, who almost fell out of bed, the things he thought about what Yvonne said to him yesterday and he said without even giving her a second.

“First, Selena Waltz can’t work in the Imperial Palace at all. It certainly twists the future. Next, we’ll mess up her relationship with the Crown Prince and so they’ll hate each other. Lastly, let us absolutely make sure that Kiryan Hschlegger toss Selena Waltz.” he said with conviction.

“What a terrible thing to say. Wait a minute, I woke up… What is it?” Yvonne, still puzzled by the sudden instructions Paradis was saying.

“It’s going as written in your sister’s diary. So there’s nothing wrong with being careful, right?” Paradis said.

“So how many times?” Yvonne asked.

“Only once.”

She nodded.

“Great. Drop Selena Waltz from the Imperial Palace Examination. I’ll put my hand on it to help you.” Paradis continued with his plan.

“Do you believe what I said?”

“I always believed you. Come on.” He shuffled Yvonne’s frizzy blonde hair. His long, thick knuckles gently stroked her hair. Yvonne is used to his touch.

Paradis believed her.

“The future has already changed. What we have to watch out for is that the illegitimate child destroys the world, not your unhappy future.” Paradis said.

“Stop making it so sad.” she grumbled.

“Yes, it is. But I feel uncomfortable because I feel like I am shaking someone’s fate at will.”

Paradis continued to stroke her hair while saying it. “It’s about changing the future that ends with a sad ending, so why are you worrying? Get up and wash now. We have to go to the theater.” he patted her and got up too.

Yvonne didn’t take long to wash off and was ready to go to the theater.

With her long hair tied and wearing a baggy shirt and trousers, she looks like one of the three musketeers that was popular two hundred years ago.

“Phew. If I was just a little bit taller, all the women in the capital would be captivated by me.” Yvonne said while looking proud at her disguise.

“We’re just going to wander around and yeah, you’re still small.” Paradis snorted.

“168 cm is not small.” Yvonne retorted.

“It was small compared to men. If it’s not for those boots that hide your heels, you would have been the real “Little Bastard Franz”. Paradis continued to annoy her.

Yvonne rolled her eyes on Paradis but the man didn’t mind it.

He shouted and chuckled. “Little boy Franz!”

“Stop.” Yvonne scolded him.

“Okay. Okay. Franz with a little chili.” Paradis is still teasing her.

“OOF!”said Paradis as Yvonne rushed to pinch him, Paradis giggled and rushed towards the alley.

They continued to run until they reached the theater. Paradis, who kept on teasing Yvonne halfway through, pinched her cheek that left bare traces.

He put his arm on Yvonne’s still bruised shoulder then he opened the backdoor. As she was about to enter the waiting room, he grabbed her again and pulled her backwards.

The atmosphere in the waiting room was awful. Paradis’s droopy eyes narrowed as he sensed the power emanating from the room.

“What?” Yvonne asked him.

“Ah, here you are, Franz Bernicke.” Inside, it was full of men with thick flesh and thicker muscles. Anyone can see that their kind flocked in the back alley.

Yvonne’s face turned white at the appearance of these guys.

“Hey Boss, won’t you get caught for it?” asked one of the men.

Yvonne instinctively stepped back. Her hand that Paradis was holding behind him wriggled lightly.

It was astonishing. They darted back on the alley.

“Catch the bastards!” a man shouted at the others and started to come at them.

Yvonne as Franz would not normally get caught in this mess.

They ran until they were out of breath. Paradis grabbed Yvonne’s back whenever she stopped running and shrugged.

The reason he didn’t fight was simple. He only uses his powers during real battles. The thugs who chased them were not sent by Kiryan.

They’re the thugs who once had an argument with him at the bar, both in drunken states started a fight with him but he won.

As soon as they arrived at the beach where the abandoned ship was located, they laid down on the sandy beach and burst out laughing for a long time.

“Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!” Both of them laughed with tears in their eyes.

“When I ran over the fence in the alley, I saw their faces.” Paradis said while still laughing.

“Huh? It’s the funniest expression I’ve ever seen.” Yvonne laughed at the memory of it.

Yvonne also said that the sand makes her hair sticky like those of a dog’s. They rolled on the sandy floor like children, and enjoyed the situation itself.

“Oh, but what if we meet again like this next time?” Yvonne jokingly asked.

“That wouldn’t be right.” Paradis answered.

“You have to run again. What to do If you ever get caught…” Yvonne said, grasping for breath from laughing too much.

“Just say, you have a lot of money.” Paradis giggled.

Saying so, he lifted her up and headed to the water.

“Oh, no! Yah! Paradis!” Yvonne shrieked.

“What’s wrong? It’s all right!” Paradis grinning ear to ear while holding Yvonne.

“Ahh!” Yvonne shouted.

Paradis threw her into the water without hesitation. Struggling and coming to her senses, she opened her eyes and tackled him.

In the end, they both ended up near drowning and then went back to the theater.

“Oh come on.” Paradis urged on Yvonne. “Today is the day of the final rehearsal for the new play. I couldn’t miss it.” he continued.

“Let’s see.” Yvonne, still catching her breath from all the running they did that day is looking at Paradis grimly.

“Let’s see.” He imitates her tone and opens the door but they were no thugs.

Yvonne, no, Franz’s complexion turns pale in an instant. Paradis pulls her away with a serious face.

Kiryan Hishleger looked at Franz. It was like he could see through her disguise. Before Franz could even step back, Kiryan Hishleger already came over and hugged her tightly, and said to her.

“You grew up just like that, crybaby Franz.”