Chapter 147: “…Mr. Lakis?”
Translated by: Miss Ruby
* * *
“…Mr. Lakis?”
I couldn’t help but doubt my eyes.
The lights were off, making the house was dark. So the only thing lighting up the darkness was the light seeping through the window.
A man stood there, as big as life, under the soft moonlight glow.
Lakis looked like he had just opened the window and stepped inside.
“…Ms. Yuri!”
But for some reason, when Lakis saw me, he looked like he was also doubting his eyes. His light-blue eyes gradually widened incredibly, and they looked as if they would roll down with a little poke.
He stood, solidified, staring at me with wide eyes, then his feet swiftly began to move like he had come to his senses.
“Is it really you?”
The moment I saw him rushing up to me with an outstretched hand, a flash of doubt suddenly went through my mind.
‘Wait. This isn’t another fake that looks the same, right?’
Since I had already been burned once, I suddenly grew vigilant. And I almost took a step back unconsciously.
However, Lakis’ hand reached me first.
“How come you’re here? No, I mean, I came here hoping for that but…forget that, are you, are you hurt?”
A voice that rambled on, which was somehow unlike Lakis, reverberated in my eardrums.
Lakis cupped my cheeks in his hands and examined my face from side to side. As he did so, my body was pushed back little by little till my lower-half was leaning on the table against the wall.
While my head was being turned back and forth by Lakis, I also examined the person opposite me.
Blonde hair with a lustrous glow from the window light, and light-blue eyes akin to glass. Straight eyebrows which were lined beautifully under the bangs of his hair, a prominent nose, and nicely-shaped lips…
With all of that and more, the man in front of me, at least appearance-wise, looked exactly like Lakis.
Even his eye-level was exactly as I remember.[1] Unlike the fake who sounded strangely foreign, his voice, tone, and manner of speaking were exactly like the Lakis I knew.
Although because he was wearing gloves, my emotions did not fluctuate like before even though his hand was on my face…
Whether it was the heated eyes gazing at me, or the worry that filled those eyes, it was all obviously familiar to me.
“That crazy bastard dared to utter that bullsh*t…if I see a single scratch on you, he won’t get off easy.”
Now, Lakis was looking me up and down while cussing up a storm. His blazing eyes glowed fiercely in the darkness.
‘Ah, it’s Lakis.’
The man in front of me right now was definitely Lakis.
The moment I was finally convinced of that, it felt like the stone lodged in my chest had flown away.
“Mr. Lakis.”
When I called his name, Lakis looked up immediately and met my eyes again.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
He looked into my eyes and spoke hurriedly like he wanted me to know I could tell him everything.
Perhaps because it was all so unexpected, I still couldn’t tell what was what.
From what Lakis said when he was talking to himself just now, somehow he seemed to have a rough idea of what happened to me but…
How is that possible?
Then perhaps, did Lakis meet the man who looked exactly like him? Or did he already know the man? And who exactly is that person…
There were many things I wanted to ask but as I looked into Lakis’ eyes, somehow I felt like it wasn’t that important right now.
The finger caressing my cheek was exceedingly gentle and soft, making me feel ticklish inside. It had been a long time since I felt like this but for some reason, I wanted to indulge in it and act spoiled.
Of course, I wasn’t drunk nor was I out of my mind, so I wasn’t really going to do that, but it was still a little strange…
I was a lot happier than I expected, wasn’t I?
I lifted my hand and stroked Lakis’ face like he was doing to mine. Lakis paused; perhaps my actions were unexpected to him. I didn’t care and just enjoyed the warmth transmitted to my skin.
Once I touched Lakis, a familiar sense of satisfaction began to fill my heart. It felt like my breath was getting filled with sweetness. Like I was exposed to the warm spring sun instead of the cold moonlight.
As expected, the only one who could make me feel this kind of emotion was Lakis. But somehow, the feeling was a little lacking.
“Mr. Lakis, take off your gloves.”
I asked Lakis in a soft whisper, and he slowly let out a low breath. The warmth in the eyes fixed unwaveringly on my face seemed a little hotter than before.
I’ve thought this before, but it was fascinating that his blue eyes looked so cold, like the winter sky yet they could feel so warm.
Not long after, Lakis slowly moved his hand. The gloves that were pressing against my skin were bitten and pulled off. His deeply lowered lashes lifted up again and the blue eyes that emerged underneath stared straight into my eyes again.
The sight of that made me feel a little heated inside. Is it because it’s been a while since I saw it…
No, technically speaking, I saw the fake’s face about 30 hours ago, so it hadn’t been that long since I saw this face itself. But still, it had been a while since I saw the real Lakis so maybe that was why I felt like I was adapting to his beauty all over again.
When Lakis touched me again after taking off his gloves, a tingle went down my spine, like static electricity.
As if he read my mind and knew what I wanted, Lakis caressed my face with his bare hand. The moment his hand touched me fully, an intense wave of satisfaction rushed into me. It was like a small firecracker was going off in my head.
Yes, this is it. This is the feeling.
It felt like someone was whispering those words in my ears.
“Mr. Lakis, why did you come so late…”
Unconsciously, I pressed my face deeper into Lakis’ palm. I couldn’t control the flood of satisfaction and rubbed my face on his hand like a pet.
“I was waiting.”
I had acted like this to Lakis a couple of times in the past and after I came to my senses, it would usually hit me hard. But as it has always been, while I was touching Lakis, that kind of thing didn’t matter.
“You were waiting?”
Lakis’ blue eyes deepened as he gazed at me. His hand stroking my cheek seemed to slow down a little. A voice much lower than before flowed into my ears.
“I’m sorry, I should have come sooner.”
All the sensations flowing into me from the person facing me left a sweet after-taste.
I felt pleasantly languid like I was soaking in a bathtub full of soft bubbles and fragrant flowers. I felt like I could stay like this forever without getting tired of it.
Then I suddenly remembered something and asked Lakis.
“Mr. Lakis…have you finished everything you left to do?”
After all, he left to deal with the person who betrayed him. Honestly, I should have asked as soon as I saw him, but my mind kept flying elsewhere so I only remembered now.
Then, for a very brief moment, an inexplicable emotion flitted past Lakis’ face. But it disappeared very quickly and a smile that seemed drawn from the moonlight took its place.
“Definitely.”
Lakis’ hand slowly slid down my face till his fingers stroked my neck, making it feel ticklish.
The fretful feeling made me shrink back a little, unconsciously. Lakis’ face shone white in the moonlight as his face drew closer than ever.
“Ms. Yuri, I still have a lot of things I want to tell you…”
His breath mixed with his low voice flowed into my ears. His slightly parted lips were so close that it seemed like they would touch at any moment.
“But I’m a little…”
However, the place Lakis’ head fell to was my shoulder.
“…sleepy.”
The hand tickling my neck slid down and fell on my shoulder, then it dropped down my arm like it was falling.
“Ms. Yuri…”
The whisper echoing in my ears slowly grew softer and softer. At that moment, I had a strange foreboding.
“Sorry…”
Suddenly, a heavy weight fell completely on my body. I subconsciously caught Lakis’ tilting body and held him up.
“Huh?”
And the wet feeling sinking into my hand the next moment made me hold my breath in surprise.
I removed one of my hands from Lakis to check and the liquid smeared all over my hand was clear to my eyes even in the darkness.
The smell of blood, which I hadn’t noticed because I was too focused on Lakis, struck my nose after the fact.
I felt like all the blood in my body had drained away.
I hurriedly looked down at Lakis who had collapsed on my shoulder, and unconsciously, my voice went high as I called his name.
“Mr. Lakis…!”
Translator’s Corner:
[1] Just in case: this is just referring to the literal eye-level. Like, how she remembers looking at him when they are standing face to face and vice-versa.