Damn! Damn! Chapter 41

Achim explained it to him as patiently as possible, seeing his intense curiosity. As he spoke, his own thoughts got tangled, and the chronological order of events became a jumbled mess. Whenever Linus questioned him with disbelief, Achim would let out a hollow laugh, finding the whole thing absurd himself.

After a considerable amount of time passed and Achim stopped talking, Linus offered a question that sounded more like a personal commentary.

“So, what you’re saying is, that man thinks he’s dating you?”

“…Right.”

“Then in the end, isn’t it just a matter of time?”

At Linus’s words, Achim asked back, “What is?”

Linus pointed at Achim’s neck and said, “There’s no way a dating couple wouldn’t engage in skinship, Achim. He’s already bitten and chewed up your neck. I’m not saying this to tease you, mate. Seriously, what are you going to do if he actually tries to take you from behind?”

It was a valid point, but not one he hadn’t considered. And fortunately, there was a loophole.

— Because I have no hobby of taking people by force.

Besides, hadn’t the man said he wouldn’t touch him unless Achim came to his bedroom on his own accord? If he had intended to do whatever he pleased, he was a man who would have done so already. Therefore, it meant the words the guy spat out weren’t entirely empty promises.

For a psycho, he actually knew how to exercise restraint. That part was surprising. Looking at his disposition, it certainly didn’t suit him.

“You don’t have to worry about that. And before that happens, I just need to find his semen.”

Linus let out a low hum, then rested his crossed forearms on top of the table.

“Do you have a good trick up your sleeve?”

At Linus’s question, Achim glanced sideways as if checking his surroundings before speaking.

“I did… but there’s been a hitch.”

“What kind?”

When Linus asked, Achim let out a sigh drawn from the depths of his abdomen.

— Yvonne, Vanessa is looking for you.

It was early morning, right when he was getting ready to go out.

Watching Anna, who had come to his quarters to deliver the message, Achim tilted his head in confusion. If it were related to work, Greta, who was a step below her, should have been the one calling him according to proper procedure.

What on earth did the housekeeper, the head of all the maids, have to hand down to him directly? Though mystified, Achim immediately moved his feet since he happened to be finished preparing to head out.

— Ah, you’ve arrived.

When he entered the private office, Vanessa had her high-prescription glasses slipped halfway down the bridge of her nose.

— I called you because I have something to convey, Yvonne.

Vanessa stared intently at Achim over her half-lowered, rimless glasses before opening her mouth.

— Do not do any work on the day of the Foundation Anniversary Party.

— …Pardon?

It made no sense. When Achim asked back in surprise, Vanessa adjusted her glasses again and said,

— I mean stay in the dormitory. Don’t come out.

— …

But why? Unable to understand at all, Achim pondered it over and over before asking, which made Vanessa lift her eyes from the documents she had briefly looked down at.

— You do know that currently, Yvonne, you are the most famous person in this mansion after Sir Michael, right?

— …

— On that day, people from political and financial circles, including His Excellency the President, as well as media outlets, will all visit this place. With articles already published, would there not be a single person among them who recognizes you?

Achim couldn’t bring himself to deny it. Michael’s reputation went without saying, and unlike his appearance suggested, he was unmarried and had never even been rumored to be seeing anyone until now. This scandal was perfect for capturing public attention.

On top of that, since he had reached what others considered a marriageable age—though who decided that was a mystery—the Michael Bernhard scandal was, quite literally, the center of supreme focus right now.

Vanessa didn’t seem curious about the truth of the matter; she only stated the facts as they were.

— Staying out of sight would be the better approach for you too, Yvonne.

Achim agreed with that part.

Damn it, of all times to gain as much attention as that guy’s fame when I need to lay low by any means necessary…

At the bad news, Achim tightly clenched his hands behind his back.

He felt that when things went wrong, they really went entirely wrong. He had planned to search the mansion by taking advantage of the chaotic atmosphere on the day of the party. Now that he was unexpectedly going to be stuck in his room, it was only natural that his mind became complicated.

While chewing over Vanessa’s words, a question suddenly crossed Achim’s mind, and he spoke it aloud.

— Excuse me, do I absolutely have to stay in the dormitory? I was wondering if it would be possible to move my day off forward instead.

It wasn’t a prison without bars. He thought it would be better to leave the mansion altogether rather than being hopelessly cooped up in a room. Moreover, it wasn’t like he was asking to just slack off; he was asking to use his day off in advance, which seemed like a fairly reasonable alternative even to him.

— Mmm, no.

However, Vanessa shook her head. She set the documents down on the desk and rested her chin on her overlapping hands.

— There was a message from Sir Michael. Not to let you leave the mansion.

— …

— So that won’t be possible, Yvonne.

That son of a bitch. Did he know about this in advance?

Recalling the man who had undoubtedly received reports on everything already, Achim clicked his tongue inwardly. They saw each other every day, so why did he bother making him hear it from someone else instead of telling him directly? He was a strange bastard through and through.

Besides, why forbid him from leaving the mansion…

Haa. When Achim let out a sigh without realizing it, Vanessa looked up. Noticing her gaze, Achim had to hurriedly shake his head.

“Well, that’s unfortunate news.”

At Linus’s words, Achim roughly wiped the beer running down the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and nodded.

“About that man.”

At the reference to Michael, Achim’s throat went dry again, and he gripped his beer glass tightly.

“He must really like you, Achim.”

“What?”

Hit by the sudden remark before he could form a defense, Achim, who was tilting the beer glass toward his mouth, snapped back irritably. Suddenly feeling a tight squeeze near his solar plexus, he thought one could actually get indigestion from drinking beer.

Linus crossed his arms over his chest and asked in a voice that turned serious in an instant.

“Will you be okay?”

“With what?”

When Achim countered in an annoyed tone once again, Linus tilted his head slightly askew and said,

“I mean after you find the semen.”

“…”

“Won’t that man look for you when you suddenly vanish?”

Achim slammed his beer glass down on the table with a loud thud.

“Linus, why are you stating the obvious? I’ll probably become more of a celebrity than I am now. Posters with my face on them will be pasted all over the place.”

After spitting out the words, Achim lifted his glass again and drained the liquid inside completely.

The guy had always been one to spout nonsense from time to time, but Achim didn’t know why he was bringing up something so obvious. Hadn’t he entered the mansion with that exact risk in mind from the start? Even if Michael himself didn’t step up, the government and even Interpol might get involved, so why was he acting like it was brand new information so late in the game?

Unable to understand, Achim stared at him with wide eyes before shaking his head.

“That’s not what I mean, Achim.”

“…”

“I’m asking if you can really run away.”

“…What?”

“I know your escape skills are nothing to doubt, but…”

Linus scratched his short-cropped sideburns with his index finger.

“Mmm, for some reason, the more I hear the story from you, the more that thought keeps crossing my mind.”

“…”

Achim scowled deeply at the unlucky words disguised as worry. Just as he was about to snap back, Linus added more words to beat him to the punch.

“You must feel it too, Achim.”

“…”

“That man, mmm… somehow I get the feeling he might be more dangerous than we think. Based on what I looked up, there wasn’t anything unusual, but…”

As Achim glared at him, Linus said with his usual foolish, hearty laugh,

“Anyway, just be careful, mate.”

🖤🥀

Achim adjusted his wig before getting out of the taxi. Only after checking his appearance on the back of his junk phone did he step out of the cab and head toward the main gate.

Because Linus’s words had lingered in his mind the entire time on his way back to the mansion, Achim shook his head violently as if trying to shake off the thoughts.

Would being careful at this point even mean anything? Just as Linus said, he would play it reasonably safe, but nothing would change.

Find Michael Bernhard’s hidden semen and escape this mansion.

Before entering the mansion, Achim once again reminded himself of the resolve to execute the task exactly as he had initially intended and to absolutely achieve his goal.