How Lilies turn Black Chapter 30 - The Rabble of West Peal (4)

As she applied a pale powder to her lifeless face, the fatigue and worries that had filled her expression gradually faded away. Her lips, still devoid of color, remained the same, prompting her to pull out a bright red lipstick.

 

“You’re here.”

 

A polite greeting came from outside the door.

 

Her calm eyes wavered for a moment, and the lipstick slipped, veering off the line of her lips.

 

“…!”

 

She didn’t need to look outside to know. Theodoro Benedetti had arrived.

 

Liliana hastily rubbed away the smudged lipstick and tried to calm her anxious heart. 

 

She always strived to maintain her composure, but whenever she heard him coming, her breath would inevitably tighten.

 

Had I been caught? Had he noticed something suspicious? 

 

Despite her resolve not to show it, the sudden fear and anxiety were overwhelming.

 

If she could, she would have stayed holed up in this waiting room until the end of her shift.

 

‘But that’s not possible.’

 

The clock on the wall reflected in the mirror already pointed to 7, and the time to take the stage was approaching. She pushed aside her weakening resolve and began to tidy up. 

 

By the time she finished organizing her makeup table, familiar voices mingled outside the door.

 

‘Hmm?’

 

Liliana’s eyes narrowed slightly.

 

Even if she strained her ears, she couldn’t make out the conversation. 

 

But one thing was certain—the voices belonged to Silvano and Theodoro.

 

‘Silvano… this man is really something.’

 

Her thin, thread-like eyebrows sharply rose. She didn’t need to see to know. He was probably teasing Theodoro with unnecessary remarks, just to mess with her.

 

Honestly, he was the kind of person who had no sense of seriousness, no matter how you looked at him.

 

It all started a few days ago, during a negotiation with the Goth gang.

 

On the way back after successfully concluding the talks, Silvano suddenly asked,

 

“About what you said to the Goths earlier, did Theo really allow that? He didn’t seem to show any sign of it—or was it just me who missed it?”

 

Her heart sank at the sharp, unexpected question.

 

It wasn’t that she hadn’t anticipated the question. It wasn’t that she had desperately tried to hide the fact that she had acted on her own from Silvano.

 

Not only that, but it was just that she had hesitated to bring it up, and when he suddenly confronted her, she couldn’t help but panic.

 

Instead of making a flimsy excuse, Liliana answered in a curt, high-handed tone.

 

“…Keep it quiet. We’re on the same side, aren’t we?”

 

“What, so it was a bluff? How could you lie so effortlessly?”

 

“…”

 

“You know if this gets out, whether it’s to Theo or the Goth gang, those brutish guys, you’re as good as dead, right?”

 

“That’s why I’m asking you. You need to live too, don’t you?”

 

“Wow, dragging me into this…”

 

Silvano swept his bangs back with an exasperated expression. Then, he finally let out a hollow laugh and added,

 

“You’re really something, huh?”

 

Yes, that’s when it started. Every time he ran into Theodoro, he would whisper something secretive.

 

Fortunately, it seemed to be nothing more than a mischievous prank, as Theodoro showed no signs of catching on to Liliana’s schemes.

 

Occasionally, he would gaze at her as if trying to figure out what she was thinking, but that was it.

 

He never pressed her further.

 

‘But you never know. Who knows what nonsense Silvano might spout?’

 

Of course, that wretched man probably expected her to think this way. 

 

Just like always, it was likely another one of his obvious pranks.

 

Still, she couldn’t shake the unease in her heart. Liliana didn’t hesitate and quickly moved.

 

After taking a deep breath, she pushed open the waiting room door. In the hall, Silvano, as if waiting for her to come out, cheerfully waved at her.

 

And Liliana, who received his bright smile with her whole body, turned her head away with a face that had lost all appetite.

 

As she avoided Silvano’s gaze and scanned the hall, Theodoro was nowhere to be seen.

 

She couldn’t have misheard that uniquely gloomy and raspy voice—the kind of voice that sounded like it came from smoking three or four packs of cigarettes a day.

 

She turned back to Silvano and silently mouthed, “Theodoro.”

 

“What?”

 

“Where’s Theodoro?”

 

She was asking where the man who had just been chatting with him had gone.

 

Whether he understood or not, Silvano shrugged and pointed at her with his chin.

 

‘Me? Why is he pointing at me?’

 

She barely had time to think that before she instinctively turned around and saw a dark figure standing motionless behind her.

 

There had been no warning, so Liliana let out a startled scream.

 

“Ahh!”

 

Even as her eardrums threatened to burst from the scream, the figure showed no reaction, simply staring down at her.

 

Eyes that seemed to despise the entire world yet could see right through a person’s soul. Those pitch-black pupils.

 

Liliana took a step back, her face pale. But there was no escape from the overwhelming pressure that weighed down her entire body.

 

Theodoro, his face still filled with weariness, stepped forward as she retreated.

 

“Did you commit a sin?”

 

“What?!”

 

He didn’t ask again. Instead, he simply stared at Liliana with an intensity that seemed to pierce through her, then suddenly grabbed her chin.

 

“…Huh!”

 

Had he just come back from the restroom behind the waiting room? His hand, which cupped her chin and brushed across her cheeks, was damp with moisture. 

 

Liliana shrank back at the unfamiliar sensation.

 

“Why… are you doing this?”

 

“I asked you if you’ve committed a sin. Why are you so nervous around me?”

 

“It’s not that… I was just startled because you were standing there all of a sudden…”

 

She wanted to look away, but doing so might reveal that she was hiding something. 

 

Liliana blinked her dewy eyes and looked up at him.

 

At that moment, she felt as though she had been preserved in the depths of his unfathomably dark eyes. 

 

A cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck.

 

“L-Let me go.”

 

“…”

 

Her earnest plea changed nothing.

 

His gaze lingered in her transparent green eyes for a long while before slowly drifting downward.

 

It stopped at her lips, painted a vivid red. She knew there was no desire in his eyes.

 

Theodoro was as dry and unemotional as ever, his body temperature neutralized by the cold dampness, leaving only a lukewarm sensation.

 

That’s why Liliana couldn’t understand it. 

 

Why did his plain, unadorned gaze feel more lascivious than one filled with desire?

 

“Why… are you doing this…?”

 

As Liliana twisted her captured chin and furrowed her brow, his thumb, resting on the edge of her chin, began to move slowly.

 

His fingers gently traced upward along her delicate skin. Her entire body froze, but where his fingertips brushed, it felt as though flames were spreading.

 

“…!”

 

The moment she opened her tightly scrunched eyes,

 

“You’re quite the spectacle. Full of arrogance, yet so timid and clumsy.”

 

The hand that had touched her lips left her without hesitation.

 

But the warmth he left behind lingered like an afterimage, leaving Liliana momentarily wide-eyed and speechless.

 

Her slightly parted lips trembled like tender leaves. Along with the warmth, an indescribably strange and unpleasant sensation rippled through her.

 

Belatedly regaining her senses, Liliana vigorously rubbed her lips.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Theodoro didn’t offer any explanation. Instead, he pulled a handkerchief from his jacket pocket.

 

As he wiped his thumb forcefully, the white handkerchief was stained with a reddish hue.

 

She didn’t need to think deeply about the cause—her entire face flushed bright red.

 

‘I thought I wiped it off…!’

 

Thankfully, Theodoro didn’t add any unnecessary comments and simply walked away.

 

The sound of his footsteps blended with the soft music coming from the hall.

 

Click, click—his polished shoes passed by her, step by step, growing farther away.

 

Only then did Liliana, covering her burning cheeks, try to make sense of the situation…

 

“Ah.”

 

Theodoro, who had been walking steadily, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

 

“I had something to say to you.”

 

There was no time to catch her breath. Her heart, which had just begun to settle, shrank once more.

 

“What… is it?”

 

“You’ve been doing well lately.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Seems like you’ve learned how to behave. That’s commendable. Keep it up.”

 

Liliana, who had been desperately trying to hide her flushed cheeks, suddenly lifted her head. She stared blankly at the man who had maintained an expressionless face throughout.

 

‘What did he just say…?’

 

Perhaps that was all he had to say, as Theodoro turned his back and walked out of the hallway. The one left behind was engulfed in utter confusion, frozen in place.

 

‘A compliment? From Theodoro…?’

 

Her ears were too sharp to have misheard.

 

Yet, Liliana couldn’t accept it as reality and fumbled over the lips he had touched.

 

‘Is this a dream? It must be a dream.’

 

No, no. It can’t be a dream. All my senses are so vivid. But does this make any sense?

 

Her mind spun in circles several times.

 

Only at some point did her rationality begin to return to its place… and along with it came an overwhelming sense of fear.

 

Her complexion turned pale.

 

Soon, tomorrow, Theodoro would realize that he had been completely fooled by Liliana.

 

How would he react then?

 

‘Ah…’

 

Liliana couldn’t be sure if she would survive his wrath.

 

This was the same man who had shown her kindness and even praised her recent good behavior. 

 

If he were to get angry at her deception, she wouldn’t even have the right to protest if he pulled out a gun.

 

She gazed across the hall.

 

His sturdy, tall figure, which seemed unshakable even in the fiercest storm. Theodoro’s solid presence filled her vision.

 

When he turned his back, she could almost imagine the dark shadow and ferocious eyes that would engulf her.

 

There was only one thing she could hope for now.

 

That the countless words she had prepared would somehow serve as a solution to appease his anger.