How Lilies turn Black Chapter 39 - The Rabble of West Peal (13)  

Liliana fumbled as she pushed and pulled the gun to reload the bullets. Then, she fired again.  

 

Bang!

 

A long time ago, Wayne had once gifted her a small handgun. Memories of that time—when he sat her down and taught her how to handle a firearm—flooded back vividly.  

 

— “When I can’t protect you, Liliana, you’ll have to protect yourself.”

 

Back then, Wayne must have been thinking of justifiable self-defense in unavoidable situations. He would never have taught her to shoot and kill someone unless her life was truly in danger.  

 

‘I’m sorry.’  

 

Using what he had taught her, she now aimed at Antonio.  

 

‘But I have to protect you and Angelo.’  

 

Bang!

 

A third deafening gunshot rang out in succession.  

 

At some point, her entire body grew numb, as if all sensation had faded away.  

 

Yet the world within her sight remained sharp, and Liliana could see Theodoro standing in the first-floor hall, glaring at her with furious eyes.  

 

Good. He was watching her clearly.  

 

Reckless arrogance, greed, and pride. He was right. Perhaps she had only ever been that much.  

 

That was why she realized she had to become truly bold from now on. She also understood that she had to shatter every last remnant of the noble life she had upheld until now.  

 

All to keep the resolution she had made upon returning to this life.  

 

Her lips twisted bitterly.  

 

After that, Liliana pulled the trigger several more times. Even when no bullets remained, and only empty clicks echoed, she didn’t stop. She had long abandoned reason.  

 

Her trembling arms clung to the gun as she fired into the air—  

 

“Miss Moretti…!” 

 

“Liliana!”  

 

—until Paul and Silvano rushed over and wrestled the gun away from her.  

 

And when Silvano lifted her into his arms,  

 

Liliana lost consciousness, enveloped in spreading warmth.

 

✨

 

Heavy breathing. Flushed, burning cheeks.  

 

Even in her drowsy state, Liliana faintly winced at the feverish heat of 39 degrees. The person tending to her replaced the cloth on her forehead with a worried expression.  

 

“Ugh…”  

 

A weak moan escaped at the touch of the cold compress. Tossing restlessly, Liliana struggled to lift her eyelids.  

 

Blink. Blink—

 

The blurry ceiling above looked both familiar and strange.  

 

The yellowed, mold-speckled surface was nothing like the sight she had grown used to waking up to lately.  

 

Liliana jolted upright in shock.  

 

“…Hah!”  

 

This was East Pearl Apartments, Unit 207.  

 

That’s right. The moment she opened her eyes here, her first thought was, ‘Have I returned to the starting point again?’

  

But it didn’t take long for her to realize that thought was a mistake.  

 

All because of the two people who leaned in, pouring out a mix of worry and relief.  

 

“Huh?! She’s awake!”  

 

“Let me see, let me see!”  

 

“Are you okay?”  

 

“Move, woman. I was here first! Lili, Lili, are you alright?”  

 

Ignoring the barrage of questions ringing in her ears…  

 

What on earth were these two doing together?  

 

“Why… are both of you here?”  

 

Liliana blinked sluggishly, her vision still unfocused.  

 

Enya and Silvano? What possible reason could these two, who had no connection, have for being together?  

 

“Oho… jealous that I’m with another woman? How embarrassing~”  

 

“You, shut up for a second. Liliana, lean back against this first. You shouldn’t be sitting up so suddenly yet.”  

 

Enya pulled her down. Before she knew it, Liliana was half-lying against the headboard, still stammering in confusion.  

 

“What… what happened…? Where is this…?”  

 

“What do you mean? *I* brought you here, boss. Couldn’t just leave you with that Theo bastard.”  

 

“Ah…”  

 

“That woman insisted on coming to take care of you. Said she’d handle it—and surprisingly, she did okay.”

 

In place of Silvano, who had explained, Enya winked with one eye.  

 

“You know me. I’m good at taking care of people. Remember how I even gave you a bath when we first met?”  

 

Remember? Of course…  

 

Back when she could barely move her body, she had lain there like a baby and let her bathe her.  

 

But Silvano wouldn’t know those details, so he flared up in anger and snapped.  

 

“What? Why did this woman wash you?”  

 

“There was a reason—”  

 

“Then what about me?”  

 

At the sudden question, both women furrowed their brows.  

 

“What about you?”  

 

“No, I mean, she’s never done that for me. Why’d she do it for you first?”  

 

A brief silence fell. Liliana’s head throbbed at this man’s absurd point of frustration.  

 

“Haah…”  

 

She closed her eyes as if about to faint. But that didn’t mean she could escape Silvano’s relentless questioning.  

 

“Huh? Answer me.”  

 

“…”  

 

“Huh? What about me?”  

 

Unable to take it anymore, Liliana sharply raised her eyes and pinched his lips shut with two fingers.  

 

“…Mmph! Mmph!”  

 

“Silvano Giacone. Stop talking nonsense. My head’s about to split.”  

 

At her murderous warning, the big puppy tucked his tail and folded his ears back.  

 

With the annoying voice finally gone, the air became bearable again. Liliana sighed and brought up the most important matter.  

 

“This isn’t the time for that. What happened… to that place?”  

 

Right. The most crucial thing was what had become of the Laura Club after she collapsed.  

 

“Well, Theo’s handling it. Don’t worry.”  

 

“Don’t worry?”  

 

“It means everything’s been resolved as planned.”  

 

As if his earlier tantrum had never happened, Silvano shrugged and answered smoothly. Beside him, Enya cautiously added,  

 

“But earlier… the mood didn’t seem right. Are you sure everything’s okay?”  

 

“Ah…”  

 

Liliana swallowed dryly.  

 

Well. The tension between Theodoro and her over Antonio—anyone with eyes would’ve noticed.  

 

Since their exchange had been quiet enough that only they could hear, no one would know what was said.  

 

“…It was just a minor clash while working through things. Nothing to worry about.”  

 

“If that’s all, then that’s a relief. We were worried because we didn’t know what was going on.”  

 

Relief? If anything, Liliana was the one who should be relieved.

 

It was now clear that the Goth Gang hadn’t caught on to the whole incident or suspected her.  

 

Just as Liliana was secretly sighing in relief, Enya’s voice continued.  

 

“I didn’t get a chance to say it earlier, but thank you. I’ll say it on behalf of everyone.”  

 

“…”  

 

“And… thank you for keeping that promise we made. I thought it was all over since nothing else happened. I was a little bitter, to be honest…”  

 

She stared blankly into the air, as if reflecting on the past few weeks. Then, a faint smile appeared.  

 

“I had no idea something this big would happen. I don’t know if I should say this, but… you were really amazing back there. More than anyone I’ve ever seen.”  

 

But as those words left Enya’s mouth, all color drained from Liliana’s face.  

 

Thump–  

 

Thump— 

 

“I’m not good with words… I don’t even know what to say. Anyway—”  

 

Her voice faded into nothingness. And then, scenes she had briefly forgotten came rushing back.  

 

Buzz—  

 

The ringing in her ears flooded the world again. Her heart pounded as if it would burst any second.  

 

Liliana lifted her slender, trembling hand.  

 

Right. I killed someone. With this hand. How could I forget that and act like nothing happened?  

 

A wave of agony crashed over her mind. The pain was so intense it felt like her head would split in two.  

 

“Aaaagh…! Ugh!”  

 

Liliana clutched her head and curled into herself.  

 

“Liliana!”  

 

At that moment, Silvano seemed to rush over, and harsh words flew above her head—  

 

“What the hell kind of bullshit are you—”  

 

“No, that’s not what I—”  

 

“Just get the hell out, you fucking—! You goddamn—”  

 

None of it properly reached her ears.  

 

“Hah… ah… aghh…”  

 

In the darkness swallowing the world, only her ragged breaths sounded loud and clear.  

 

She couldn’t understand—how could killing someone ever be considered amazing? If she kept rolling deeper into this life, would she eventually start thinking that way, too?  

 

And then, after some time, would she come to see it as nothing special—neither impressive nor something to be proud of, just another mundane part of life?  

 

Fear for the future, something she hadn’t considered when pulling the trigger, crashed over her without warning.  

 

But what terrified her most was the thought of Wayne and Angelo possibly turning away from her.  

 

Wasn’t all of this for the sake of our future together?  

 

But what if they rejected me for losing morality and conscience?  

 

What would I have left to live for then?  

 

It felt like the ground beneath her feet was endlessly sinking into the abyss, four thousand meters below the sea.