Chapter 84
No Turning Back
“Leon!”
I screamed and ran toward them—but what I saw wasn’t what I expected.
Jeff’s dagger was blocked a third of the way out of its sheath by Leon’s sword.
In the blink of an eye, Leon knocked the dagger away, grabbed Jeff’s arm, and slammed him to the ground.
“You’re an adult—how can you do this to a kid? I was dragged here and used, that’s all!”
“What a noisy brat. And yet you tried to stab someone.”
“I had no choice because I couldn’t trust you! Look at what happened to the circus!”
Leon didn’t reply. Instead, he turned his head.
When he confirmed I was safe, the icy look on his face softened with a faint smile.
“While investigating Inferna, I discovered something quite interesting.”
“What is it?”
“Among the performers who change frequently, there was just one constant—the boy who throws daggers. Last year, the year before that, and even five years ago.”
“Uh…”
“Real name: Glacia Labolas. You’re the head of Inferna, aren’t you?”
Oh, no. I knew he wasn’t an ordinary boy, but…
A cruel smile twisted the boy’s young face, sending chills down my spine.
“Do you know why I ended up like this? It’s all because of this damned country.”
A thin line of blood trailed from Jeff’s lips.
Poison? I vaguely heard Leon mutter something under his breath.
“I’m not the last, you know. There are plenty of people like me—pushed to the edge, with nowhere left to go.”
“…”
“This country is rotten. It should just collapse already…”
Leon’s face went completely blank as he stared down at the dying Glacia Labolas—Jeff.
What was going through his mind?
Guilt? Or a sense of responsibility?
Maybe he was blaming himself. Or maybe he was vowing to build a better country.
I gently grabbed his arm, unable to bear the deep shadows in those blue eyes that didn’t match his hardened jaw and tightly pressed lips.
Leon stayed there until the light fully left Jeff’s eyes. Then, he took my hand that was holding his.
“Let’s go, Sienna.”
“Yes. Ah—kyaa!”
We hadn’t taken more than a few steps when an ear-splitting series of blasts erupted.
The trapeze ropes snapped, the big tent swayed violently, and Leon instinctively pulled me into his arms, shielding me with his body.
The colorful cannon used to shoot performers into the air caught fire—and then everything else did.
The tent quickly went up in flames, and we were engulfed in a sea of fire.
“Don’t worry. This time…”
“Leon?”
Suddenly, he hugged me so tightly I couldn’t move an inch.
“This time, I’ll get you out safely. No matter what.”
But his face was pale, and his voice trembled ever so slightly.
That’s when I realized.
This man was standing in the fire from ten years ago.
The flames had reached into his past—back to the blaze that took his mother and left him scarred.
I carefully cupped his face with both hands, trapped as I was in his ironclad embrace.
“Leon. Look at me.”
“…”
“You’re stronger now than you were back then. You’ve saved me so many times already.”
He froze mid-step, eyes fixed on the flames. Then, slowly, he looked down at me.
And in those deep blue eyes, the raging red inferno began to fade.
“So take me out of here. You can do it. Right?”
“…Of course.”
As the spade in the silver lock glowed blue, his steps grew steady, and his expression cleared.
I leaned into him, trusting him completely as we walked.
“We’re almost there.”
The moment we escaped, the main pole holding up the tent collapsed, scattering black ash as the canvas fell.
Cough, cough!
Smoke and soot stung my eyes, bringing tears, and I broke into a fit of coughing.
Leon practically carried me as he ran farther from the burning site.
The acrid smell of smoke still lingered, but after a while, he finally set me down.
Brushing soot from my tangled pink hair, he asked worriedly:
“Are you okay?”
“Of course. You’re here, aren’t you?”
“…”
“I believed in you. That you’d get me out safely.”
Our eyes met at the same time, and a smile brighter than any before spread across our soot-streaked faces.
But only for a moment—because a system window suddenly popped up.
I thought the missions were done, but it turned out to be a message.
<MESSAGE>
Hello, valued customer. This is Love & Cash.
We will now inform you of your loan status.
You have borrowed a total of 100,000,000G.
A loan? What loan?
The auction was canceled, so I don’t need the money anymore.
They can just take it back.
<MESSAGE>
Oh dear, customer. Borrowing is easy—but paying back is another story.
Once played, the card cannot be taken back.
No turning back.
(No turning back: Once you put down your card, you can’t take it back.)
Meaning: Loan cancellation is impossible.
But don’t worry. We’ll give you plenty of time to repay.
Still, since you borrowed money, you’ll need to pay interest.
From now on, 2% of one male lead’s affection will be deducted each week as interest.
The target will be chosen at random.
How can they pull something so shady without a second thought?
I’ve dealt with plenty of absurd situations so far, but this one was right up there.
Still, Love & Cash mercilessly flashed another status screen before my eyes.
<MESSAGE>
This week’s deduction target is: Nox Green.
Nox Green’s affection: 55% → 53%
Damian Ortiz’s affection remains unchanged at 57%.
Leon/Aiden’s affection remains unchanged at 41%.
Hyperion’s affection remains unchanged at 45%.
Loan sharks!
Isn’t this illegal? Forcing me into a loan without proper explanation is illegal, right?
They didn’t even explain the terms!
I screamed all sorts of protests in my head, but it was useless.
Nox’s affection had already been deducted as interest, and there was nothing I could do.
“…”
I had just escaped the flames, but now it felt like my feet were on fire.
If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve spent that 10% affection boost on Nox.
Regret hit me like a wave—but there was no taking it back.
This was what no turning back really meant.
* * *
The next morning, I stood dazed in the kitchen.
I’d slept well, but my head was still foggy, and my whole body ached.
After all those frantic escapes and nerve-wracking moments yesterday, I was completely wiped out.
On top of that, crawling through ventilation ducts and falling in that birdcage had left my knees, arms, and legs covered in bruises.
“What should I eat…”
I was alive, so of course I was hungry.
But I had no appetite, and the thought of cooking made me feel exhausted.
“Hmm?”
The front door rattled, and then Leon walked in.
He closed the door like it was his own home, then strolled into the kitchen and set a bunch of food on the table.
“…How do you keep getting in here?”
“You gave me the key, remember?”
Oh. Right.
When I started going to Nox’s office, I was worried about leaving Leonardo alone.
So Leon offered to check in from time to time and took the spare key.
Thanks to that, whenever I came home after work, Leonardo was pleasantly worn out from playing with Leon, making evenings much easier.
Of course, we still had to take a walk after dinner to make sure he slept well.
“Sit down. You’re hungry, right?”
“You came this early just to feed me?”
“I figured you’d want to know how things were handled yesterday, too.”
Leon smiled as he picked up a newspaper.
We each grabbed a paper and began breakfast.
The smell of freshly baked bread and fragrant coffee was tempting, but I still had no appetite, so I ate just enough to take the edge off my hunger.
“Want some more?”
“No, thanks. So… what about the slush funds?”
“Recovered. That woman Mia really has a sharp sense of direction.”
“And the rescued residents—are they safe?”
Unfortunately, the newspapers didn’t have much to say.
Not a single line in the aristocrats’ papers, and the commoners’ papers only mentioned the fire.
So I asked, and Leon handed me a different paper.
“They’ve returned to their original homes. I’ve sent a few men to patrol, just in case.”
“Must be tough living there.”
Loreto Street was almost destroyed by the fire.
It would need to be torn down and rebuilt—or at least heavily repaired.
But the residents didn’t have the money for that.
Even if someone offered to do the repairs, they had nowhere to stay in the meantime.
“What about redeveloping that neighborhood? It used to be a famous shopping street, and most of the residents are craftsmen. We could turn it into a specialty district.”
“That’s a good idea. If we leave it as it is, life will stay hard for them.”
“I’m thinking of talking to Nox about making it a project.”
“With that guy? Why bother?”
