Chapter 284: Annual (2)

Chapter 284: Annual (2)

Tick-tocktick-tock

The wall clock ticked away in the room at dawn.

I laid Johanna down on the guest room bed. Her breaths were shallow and mixed with the heavy scent of alcohol.

How many bottles of spirits had she drunk?

She was quietly asleep.

Or at least, she appeared to be.

Thump

I gently placed my hand on her forehead. It was quite hot. Probably not due to a fever, though.

The longer my hand stayed, the hotter it became.

Sigh.

I let out a deliberately soft sigh. While doing so, I tidied her disheveled hair. As if to say, I care for you, but we must part. As if to say, you too must drift away from me.

As if to say we cannot be together

I then got up from the bed.

Thud, thud.

As I was about to leave, I turned back to look at Johanna. My expression was a little sad.

Most of it was calculated acting, but some of it was genuine.

The Johanna before regression had killed countless people. It was probably a world record for a single individual.

That terrible future would be erased because of me.

However, the sins she committed in the present would not just disappear.

She had taken land from countless commoners for her casinos, department stores, for her business, or simply to possess something. She had taken their money, their lives.

She was a clear villain.

Therefore, my revenge was simple.

To change her, to make her face the sins of her past squarely.

To make her aware of her own evil deeds.

To gift Johanna with self-awareness and reflection.

Sleep peacefully.

I bowed to her.

Creeeak

I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

The air was dark and quiet, still tinged with the aura of phantoms.

There was no hostility from the phantoms, which was more puzzling, but I managed to walk safely back to Zias room.

Tap-tap-tap-tap

Zia glanced at me while tapping away at her laptop like an octopus.

Youre back.

Yes. Miss Johanna is fine.

Thats a relief

But.

I asked while standing behind her.

lts strange. Why would phantoms appear here?

I couldn't understand the reason.

Section 0 of Aerial Garden is where the direct descendants of Libra reside. Its the most important and central place, so why would phantoms appear here?

I don't know either Its been like that since Aerial Garden was built

Suddenly, Sheron came to mind. Her Spectrum, [FrequencyJ , might sense something here.

Just then, Zia took her hands off the laptop.

Miss.

Yes?

I asked her.

Do you have any memories of Lord Sherlock, the head of the family?

Sherlock.ReAd latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

The current head of Libra, yet a man whose face is unknown.

I do not know what kind of person he is. Despite my pride in knowing everything about Libra, I was ignorant about him.

Of course, Sherlock is going to die within the next five years, but until then, he would remain thoroughly hidden in the shadows.

Only very little.

Zia spoke with a contemplative look on her face.

Looking at me, he said, You wont live long.

It was an unnecessary imitation, deepening her voice.

He said that to me.

I nodded calmly at Zias words.

Is that so.

Sherlock is a man who is going to die anyway.

Zia will swallow up Libra whole within the next six years, and I will become her second in command. Even though Sherlock is the master of the great evil known as Libra, the timelines will surely not overlap.

Why do I keep worrying about it?

S h i o n

Suddenly, Zia called my name.

Yes.

What kind of man was Shions father?

She asked about my father, whom Libra had killed.

I smiled faintly.

He was a good father.

A person I could not respect, but still love. That's what my father was to me.

Why did he pass away?

He died on duty.

As expected, Soliette was not there.

Ah. Really.

Soliette bit her lip in dissatisfaction, but,

The survival group will enter the passage first, proceed!

There was no time to complain.

Proceed-

All the knight school students not in the rescue group rushed into the passage.

We will now proceed with the ribbon-cutting ceremony-

A clamorous cheer resounded, loud enough to sting the ears. Amidst the popping of firecrackers and the fluttering of confetti, onlookers beamed with joy and clapped their hands.

Johanna gazed at the scissors in her hand.

After a moment of contemplation, she snipped through the ribbon before her

The applause intensified, dozens of times louder than before.

Congratulations, Johanna!

Soon, men dressed in suits approached to shake her hand. Johanna nodded perfunctorily and looked up at the building.

Her thirteenth department store.

A cash cow erected on the most prized land in Edsilla's new city.

Almost every luxury brand on the continent had scrambled to get a spot inside, with the expected net profit running into the hundreds of millions of Ren.

Well done.

Johanna commended her subordinates, patting the shoulders of those involved in the construction.

Yet, the feeling wasnt the same as before.

When she built her first department store, her first casino, she was filled with excitement, a sense of purpose, and a reaffirmation of her lifes meaning

She had thought that she lived for these achievements.

Why does it feel so empty today?

Is it because she has built too many department stores?

Should she have built a taller tower instead?

Lost in thought, she found herself already in the car.

Are you alright?

Vitro asked. Johanna glanced away and retorted.

What do you mean?

Usually you would stay for at least three hours.

That was before. Now, time is too precious. Besides, hand me the tablet.

Yes.

Johanna took the tablet from Vitro. On the screen was a list of men deemed suitable to be her consort.

A catalog, if you will, personally compiled and delivered by the elders.

Most had excellent lineage, had established and managed successful enterprises, and even looked like they were chiseled from stone.

All of them were dozens of times better than Shion Ascal.

However, in Johannas eyes

[End-of-semester exam at Edsilla National Universitys Knight School begins]

An alert popped up at the top of the tablet.

Since Edsilla National University made all exam processes available to businesses or families, Johanna naturally had the right to observe.

It wasnt snooping, per se.

Hmm .

She discreetly glanced at the driver's seat as she pressed to view the alert.

A list of students unfolded before her. Among them, she searched for the name and face of [Shion Ascal].

Flicking through the scroll, she quickly found him.

Tap.

Johanna tapped on his name with her finger. The tablets screen was filled with the drones feed.

There was Shion Ascal, dressed in a rescue teams uniform, advancing through a land indistinguishable between the Arctic or Antarctic.

Johanna saw his face. A sharp, expressionless visage resembling a bird of prey. A jawline like a blade and eyes unwavering.

And then

The way he laid her down on the bed. The touch that caressed her forehead, that gently straightened her hair. The face that looked down at her, seemingly sad and distant.

1

Caught in a trance of memories, Johanna shuddered and quickly set the tablet down.

Vitro.

She urgently called out to Vitro, who was in the passenger seat.

Yes?

Take me to the hospital.

The hospital, you say?

Yes. The hospital.

Johanna pressed her hand to her temple.

Lately, she found herself lacking motivation in everything.

Things that used to be fun no longer amused her, and what she liked no longer held her interest.

Instead, she occasionally felt a sharp pain in her chest, and her restless mind would wake her from sleep.

She started having strange and melancholic dreams.

Libra Medical Center, no

Now, it seemed she had to admit it to herself.

Take me to Spring Water Hospital.

Professor Yu Hains.

It appears, just as you said, I might have fallen in love with that man.