How to Deal with a Shady Guy 101

Horrified, Eli remained as still as a statue while Noah kept on rambling about his torture plan, a sunny smile gracing his features all the while.

Though she already knew how this congenial and ebullient person could turn a one hundred eighty in a matter of milliseconds, and facing his disputatious side was a common scenario by now, she still never imagined this part of him nor did she expect his vehement drive to inflict pain. Sure, he can be sharp-tongued at times, but not to the point he'd actually voice out his intention to kill someone. He's all threats, but he never went as far as making them into reality. That's why she's all befuddled at the moment.

"Woah~ Your eyes... They remind me of a kitty. Are you a cat, Mister? I'm not really fond of it, but I do like their eyes. Can I have yours?"

On second thought, she should probably call the police.

Noah was still pinning Wes down with his weight, sitting on his back

and pointing his dagger at his face. The third-year was visibly appalled at this, but even then, he didn't look that petrified. They've been playing cat-and-mouse for a while now, and even though Eli had no idea what kind of evil spirit was possessing the blonde this time, she was still able to scrutinize their upperclassman's reaction. Wes may be the embodiment of suspicion, but she could see that he meant no harm. If he's scheming to pull a dirty trick, he could've done it ages ago, especially now that his life's in peril.

"I see you're no innocent puppy. You had everybody fooled with that charming smile of yours while in reality, you're just this sick, bratty psycho all along. People like you are really rotten to the core," Wes mocked out of nowhere, which only made Noah's grin wider.

"Now you're talking... Should I gouge your mouth out as well?" the blonde taunted to which he just snorted.

"What? Did my words stung you?"

"Not really~ Actions speak louder than words, after all! Shall we test it out?"

Perturbed by their disturbing word play, Eli's eyes went wide as saucers, mouth slightly agape. Two appaling facts seemed to stand out in this situation. For one, things were about to go downhill while the other was that Noah was dead serious. The sharp, fatal edge of his weapon was now a single inch away before it came into contact with flesh. Noah was about to bury his dagger to his skin, expression still playfully malicious. Wes could only freeze at the faint, yet erratic puff of wind his blade had cut through the moment it scraped his neck. Then, as all of these flashed before her eyes, Eli finally mustered her resolve. She immediately rushed towards their direction and gathered all her strength to pull Noah by his arm, catching both of them off guard.

"Stop it, Noah! Don't kill him!"

He then jolted in surprise, the hand with the dagger suddenly stiffening. She trembled a little at the enigmatic look he threw at her when he turned around to face her. At that moment, she thought for sure that she had dug her own grave, but even then, she didn't regret doing what she did. That's because no matter how she looked at this situation, or despite the fact that she couldn't come up with a single, good judgement at that point, killing was simply out of the question.

"He may be an enemy, but I won't go as far as letting your hands get bloodied just to stop him. So, please, drop the knife already," Eli pleaded, voice firm and silvery.

At this, Noah finally lowered his dagger and rose on his feet again, expression obscure. She didn't expect he'd just comply that easily, but was still relieved that he finally settled down. Wes sat upright as soon as he freed him, body aching from being pinned down for quite some time. He and Eli were then taken aback upon seeing Noah panting heavily, face flushed and visibly heating up.

"M-Mother..." the blonde called weakly, struggling to breathe.

"Noah?"

Then, all of the sudden, he collapsed on the floor. Panic-stricken, Eli hurried to him and checked his temperature. True to her guess, he's having a high fever. He looked as if he's holding for dear life when he tugged on the hem of her vest. Seeing him already on the verge of losing consciousness, she decided to use her lap as a pillow for now and gently placed his head on it. At this gesture, Noah heaved a sigh of relief, eyebrows no longer furrowed and face slowly softening. He appeared to be very much at ease the moment he spared one last glance at her face before eventually falling asleep.

"Dummy... Why do you have to do all that when you're actually this tired?" she mumbled, concern laced in her voice.

"Are you stupid?" Wes suddenly cut in, making her swivel her head to his direction in surprise.

"Oh, you're still here. Thought you already scurried away after all that... Anyway, are you okay?"

"Oh, please... Who'd be scared with just a scratch?"

"Well, it won't be just that if I did not interfere."

"Why interfere, then? Don't you see me as an enemy?"

At this, Eli only narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance before heaving an exasperated sigh. She then told him it's simply because she couldn't bear to witness any bloodshed or make this grave situation even worse. Still indifferent, Wes just nodded at this in understanding before rummaging something inside the pocket of his jacket and drawing out two small bottles. She eyed them in bafflement while he kept on his aloof expression.

"Anyway, you asked why sunshine boy did all that despite his condition, right? I'll tell you why, but I bet I'd only waste my breath if you're still that skeptical of me. So, I'll just tell you this first..." Wes trailed off, steeling his gaze at her.

"If he continues that way, he'll die."

Eli then found herself at a loss of words, utterly confounded. There's no hint of deceit nor bluffing in his voice, and going by Noah's laborious breathing and previous actions, his words were probably not far from the truth. The urgency of the matter only added roots to his revelation either. At that point, she no longer find it in herself to argue. Seeing her silenced reaction, Wes proceeded to explain the situation, including the hypnotic spell that came along with the poison. He also confessed the kind of dark magic Lord Caspar possesses and his ultimate goal for the poisoning. All the while, Eli just listened and tried to piece the puzzle together.

"But, what's with this desire thingy? I don't believe Noah is fond of torturing people," she blurted out in suspicion to which he only sighed in reply.

"I think you're misunderstanding something. Though it's true that people are not really who they appear to be, I think this incident doesn't apply to that. Sunshine boy has expressed his wish very well... He's calling you mother for some reason. I think that has something to do with it," he answered while scratching the back of his head, a bit annoyed for taking too much time explaining.

"He did... call me that..."

That's when Eli recalled that Venus was Noah's step mother. It's quite befuddling as to why his desire revolved around the same person he had longed to exterminate, but then again, the former Empress was his only family according to the book. Even after he joined forces with her transgressors and mortal enemy, he probably continued holding onto that unceasing yearning for motherly love. The story's ending didn't really dig much deeper into this mother-and-son relationship, though it used to be a huge maneuvering factor of the plot at the beginning of the novel.

"Anyway, I really couldn't bear to last here any longer so let's start the negotiation. You'll be needing these antidotes no matter what while I, on the other hand, could choose whether to give it or not. For you to have this, we have to make a deal..."

Eli honestly thought that she could turn him down depending on the favor he wanted her to do, but she'd be risking Noah's life with that. She couldn't properly compromise in this life-and-death predicament. But then, while thinking about how the situation doesn't leave too much options for her, she suddenly thought of a plan. At this, she silently gulped as she waited for him to continue.

"...I'll give you this under the condition that you and these Champions will stay away from Cosette. I won't entertain any questions as for why, though. Just do it."

At this, Eli gaped in surprise.

That's quite unexpected. She really thought he'd want access to the Forbidden Chamber or something, but at the same time, his condition only gave rise to more mysteries. He probably has some kind of connection with Cosette for him to involve her at the equation. For now, however, she had to focus on curing Noah first. She could just flip over this whole discovery later.

Eli then gently laid Noah down on the floor, draping a blanket over his body and using a soft cushion as his pillow instead of her thighs. Turning to face Wes again, she painstakingly reached for the potions and placed them beside the blonde.

"F-Fine. I'll do that."

Then, Venus emerged.

Without any warning, she pinned him down on the floor and commanded an army of glass shards to surround them. Perplexed, his eyes widened at the sight of the razor-edged fragments and her ominous facade. Wes was utterly bewildered at her last minute call that he couldn't even think of finding a way out. Venus, on the other hand, only flickered her venomous eyes at him before letting him go. At this point, he was cornered by her glass shards while she peered down at him, expression unfeeling.

"If I were you, I'd make use of this chance to entirely patronize the Champions. Sadly, you wasted the opportunity and I now have the antidotes..." she trailed off before leaning towards him with an intimidating scowl.

"...And if these things didn't work the way you said it would, I'll make sure to give you a good stabbing."