Liliana herself had no idea what had possessed her to stand between Theodoro and Luciano.

 

Luciano had expressed surprise, asking Theo if he was finally in a proper relationship… 

 

But no matter how surprised he was, he couldn’t have been more shocked than she was.

 

Amidst it all, light questions poured out. Is Theo treating you well? 

 

How does Theo act as a boyfriend? How is singing here?… Things like that.

 

She answered without thinking, the words flowing from her mouth, and before she knew it, the meeting was over. 

 

Luciano said he had other business to attend to, and, expressing regret, said they should talk more next time before leaving, or so she remembered.

 

It was only after he left that her senses returned, and when she looked around the bar, Wayne was already gone. She didn’t even know when he had left. 

 

The only thing certain was that Wayne had definitely seen, with his own two eyes, the scene of her kissing Theodoro.

 

The sudden kiss. 

 

Yes, she could understand it. She wasn’t sure if Theodoro had any personal feelings mixed into that kiss… 

 

But still, she thought it was a pretty good quick wit to boldly declare in front of Luciano that they were lovers boldly.

 

But why…?

 

Why did it have to be today, and why did Wayne have to be there?

She had a date with him in just three hours. If nothing had happened… they would have met in good spirits, talked without a care, and happily welcomed the year 1962.

 

That fact plunged her into despair and drove her insane.

 

Unfortunately, Liliana wasn’t even given enough time to collect herself. She was sitting blankly in front of the dressing table in the waiting room when the door suddenly opened. 

 

Lost in her thoughts, Liliana didn’t hear it, but she winced in pain as Theodoro, who had crossed the room in a few quick strides, grabbed her arm.

 

“What are you…”

 

She couldn’t finish her sentence. 

 

The Theodoro standing behind her had a face she had never seen before, pale as a sheet. She didn’t know what it was, but she could tell it wasn’t good. Her own face now filled with worry, Liliana cautiously asked.

 

“Why… what’s wrong?”

 

“We’re leaving.”

 

“What?”

 

“…”

 

The man who had once played the part of her lover, rolling his tongue softly, was gone.

 

He didn’t say another word, but his unstoppable stride expressed a silent fury with his entire body. He seemed unaware of how inconsiderate and ruthless his hands were as he led Liliana away.

 

Being practically dragged along after him, Liliana intuited. 

 

What she had feared had finally come to pass.

 

💫

 

“Ugh…!”

 

The moment Paul rolled up the steel shutter of the warehouse, Liliana had to fight back the urge to vomit. 

 

A foul, metallic smell filled her nostrils.

 

The inside was covered in fresh blood, on the walls and the floor. 

 

The space, which looked like a large garage, contained no trucks, only about ten motionless people scattered on the ground.

 

“Ugh… hh…”

 

Liliana’s face turned deathly pale as she instinctively stepped back.

 

As for the others…

 

Theodoro, who had come with them, was watching the scene with his usual hollow and expressionless face. 

 

Paul was swallowing hard as he picked up one of the dozens of spent shell casings scattered on the floor.

 

“This was a fairly large-scale shootout. It seems everyone ended up dead on both sides.”

 

“…I warned him.”

 

“It seemed he had made some preparations of his own… If I knew it would end like this, perhaps we should have assigned people to him after all.”

 

“…No. That would have been like declaring an immediate all-out war with my brother. Giving Wolf a warning was the best we could do.”

 

Amidst the complicated mood, the one who remained consistently relaxed was, as always, Silvano. He strode briskly into the room and began using his foot to nudge and look at the fallen people.

 

“Ugh, look at this mess.”

 

Those who had been there were pierced by indiscriminately fired bullets and had become corpses in a horrific state. While checking faces that were hard to even recognize, Silvano suddenly let out a curious sound, drawing everyone’s attention.

 

“Huh? I know this guy.”

 

“…Huh? Who are you referring to?”

 

“This guy, Gasparo’s foot-wiper. What was his name? Anyway, he’s definitely the guy who used to hang around Gasparo, rubbing his hands together like a fly. I remember.”

 

“He’s from Corella’s side…”

 

Coming from someone who was once a member of that group, there was no reason to doubt its truth… 

 

The alliance between Gasparo and Luciano had now become an undeniable, established fact.

 

Theodoro, showing extreme fatigue, rubbed his face dryly and then cut into their conversation.

 

“…What about Benjamin Wolf?”

 

“Theo, if you have feet, come over here and check for yourself. I don’t see him with my eyes.”

 

“Sigh…”

 

As he steadied his breath, seeming to suppress his emotions, the color drained from Paul’s face.

 

“I will check…!”

 

Stopping Theodoro, who was about to step forward, Paul quickly walked ahead first. 

 

So, with Paul now joining in, they began to identify the dead. But even after shifting the bodies several times, the face they were looking for wasn’t found. 

 

Wiping his bloodied hands with a handkerchief, he shook his head.

 

“It seems he’s not here.”

 

“Not here? His contact was cut off, so he likely isn’t perfectly fine and alive.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

It was then that Silvano’s voice and a creaking sound came from an unseen place.

 

“What’s this place? A freezer?”

 

“Don’t touch anything recklessly!”

 

Paul turned his body urgently and shouted a sharp yell. But before that, Silvano had already opened an unknown door first.

 

“Whoa…”

 

A low exclamation followed shortly after. 

 

Judging by his unusually speechless reaction, he must have seen something unusual.

 

Paul ran toward the direction of the sound first. Then, as Theodoro also strode away with large steps, only Liliana remained in the place littered with corpses.

 

Would she want to stay there alone? 

 

In the end, pale-faced, she too had to hurriedly follow the others disappearing beyond the warehouse.

 

However, she soon realized that wasn’t such a good choice.

 

The door Silvano had opened was indeed that of a freezer warehouse. 

 

As they neared the spot encircled by three men, a piercing chill swept over them. And then, when they finally reached the front of the warehouse… 

 

Liliana saw a literally frozen man.

 

“Ugh…!”

 

The nausea she had barely suppressed welled up once more, rising to a level she truly felt she couldn’t endure.

 

Benjamin Wolf, whom she had only seen in photographs, was tied to a chair before her in the vivid form of a living person.

 

His face, covered in bloody fluid, was crimson, and his forcibly wide-open left eye, devoid of sensation, was rolled back completely, showing only the whites. 

 

It was an eye that stood out starkly white, asserting its presence amidst a sea of red.

 

His right eye was nowhere to be found. The part of his skull around it was completely gone, with chunks of pulpy flesh spilling all over the floor.

 

“Ugh…”

 

Right beside her, Theodoro’s large hand approached and covered her eyes. 

 

A blinding darkness instantly took over her vision, but the scene she had already clearly witnessed was seared into her mind and wouldn’t disappear.

 

“Ugh, ahh…”

 

“Silvano, take her out.”

 

In the pitch-black darkness where she could see nothing, she heard footsteps approaching her. 

 

A man, presumably Silvano, steadied her and turned her around, but her stiff, rigid body refused to move properly. She knew she had to leave immediately. 

 

It wasn’t just knowledge— she desperately wanted to flee this horrifying space herself.

 

Yet, her feet seemed glued to the floor. It was as if her thought processes and her body had both completely shut down.

 

“Lily, get a hold of yourself. Okay?”

 

“Step aside.”

 

A sudden, gruff voice interjected. 

 

As Silvano, who had been holding her waist, was pushed away, her body felt weightless.

 

Disoriented and swaying, her vision swam until Theodoro’s face came startlingly close. His sharp jawline, his rigid face staring only straight ahead…

 

“Ah…”

 

He lifted her into his arms, cradling her, and without a backward glance, exited the freezer. 

 

Then, as if intending to leave the area entirely, he began walking across the desolate garage. Her body, held in his embrace, swayed gently as if in a cradle.

 

The words to ask him to put her down, or to say she was fine and would walk on her own, never came.

 

The solid, seemingly unbreakable body enveloping her… the comforting warmth spreading from it and his scent. 

 

Things that had once made her shudder now provided a greater sense of security than anything else in this moment.

 

Theodoro walked without pause to a car parked outside the garage and set her down in the passenger seat. 

 

Just as he was about to close the car door…

 

“…W-wait a moment.”

 

Without even realizing it, Liliana grabbed the end of his sleeve, stopping him. 

 

His eyes, more indifferent than usual, turned towards her, but she couldn’t bring herself to let go of the fabric she held.

 

“What?”

 

“Right now… don’t leave me alone. I-I’m scared…”

 

For an instant, the cold wall surrounding Theodoro seemed to shatter, and his pupils appeared to tremble. He let out a low laugh, almost like a sigh, and pressed his hand to his forehead.

 

“I understand, so let go.”

 

“Ah…”

 

As her trembling hands fell away, Theodoro took off his jacket, tossed it onto the passenger seat, and closed the door.

 

It seemed his earlier “I understand” hadn’t been a complete lie. He walked past the hood and squeezed his large frame into the driver’s seat.

 

A heavy silence flowed into the car, where no one spoke a word. 

 

The uncontrollable trembling of her body gradually began to subside.

 

Yet, the horrifying, mangled image of the man from before still flickered behind her eyes. 

 

It was a sight impossible to forget. She had never before encountered someone so brutally slaughtered.

 

‘But I was the only one… To everyone else, it seemed like just an ordinary occurrence.’

 

She had been the only one unable to hold back her vomit. 

 

While they might have been shocked that Benjamin Wolf was dead, the gruesome scene itself didn’t seem to evoke any strong reaction from the three men.

 

The thought suddenly struck her: She probably died in a similar state. 

 

Theodoro had pointed the gun at her forehead and pulled the trigger… He must have seen her, just like Benjamin Wolf, with her head blown apart.

 

And probably… just like before, he would have left the scene with the same emotionless expression.

 

Perhaps Wayne, who had returned to her as a mere corpse, had died even more cruelly, in ways she couldn’t even imagine.

 

She could vividly picture it, Theodoro’s face at that moment too—horrifyingly dry and impassive.

 

She had been carried in this man’s arms, treated as if she were honored, and ushered into this car. She had clutched at his clothes, begging him not to go. 

 

And now, covered by his jacket, she was sitting right beside him.

 

Liliana, unable to hold back the surging tears, buried her face in her hands. 

 

All of this was unbearably, horrifyingly terrible.