What kind of excuse was that?
Ophelia froze in place.
She looked down again at the two members of the security department lying on the ground.
The lumps on their heads were swollen with a truly artistic flair.
They fell because they were deep sleepers, he says?
“Did you do this?”
The female journalist’s elegant eyebrows shot up as she stared suspiciously at the mysterious wealthy man before her.
Though he only held a black wooden cane, his composed and unhurried aura made him look like the culprit no matter how one viewed it.
Elias lowered his head to straighten the cuffs of his suit, his eyes perfectly clear.
“Miss, who are you?”
His tone was filled with a sense of distance that kept people a thousand miles away.
“Do we know each other?”
Ophelia opened her mouth, nearly spitting out a mouthful of blood in frustration.
Her current linen dress might have been a change of clothes she had bought on the fly, but her face was still the same face!
“I see it now. You’re just teasing the poor girl.”
In his mind, Old Ed’s smug voice rang out.
The old man felt he had definitely seen through to the essence of the matter.
In reality, for Elias, who had lived two lives, he was simply in the mood to “tease a child.”
This mindset didn’t work on his own sister, Charlotte.
After all, there was something to be said about bloodline suppression.
But against Ophelia, it was practically a dimensional strike.
However...
Jokes aside.
Elias did feel a bit annoyed right now.
He didn't even know where to look.
Ophelia’s graceful curves, which had been severely compressed earlier and were now finally free, had transformed into a surging, deep cleavage.
It was, quite frankly, a bit dazzling.
“Old Ed, take a word of advice from a brother,” Elias replied in his mind.
“Don’t assume everyone else is as lecherous as you.”
“A dirty mind sees dirt everywhere.”
The old man gave a huff of disagreement in his mind before submerging back into silence.
Beside him, Ophelia watched the man who had fallen into “deep thought” and let out a small, amused expression.
She couldn't tell if he was playing some sort of high-society dry humor or if he really didn't recognize her.
“It’s me!”
Ophelia pointed at her own nose.
“The Landon Post!”
Elias frowned, putting on an extremely exaggerated expression of contemplation.
He rested his chin in his hand, his gaze turning deep.
“The Landon Post?”
“Oh, I think I remember a little something.”
Elias spoke again.
“I do recall the newspapers mentioning such a ‘heroic figure.’”
“Only, the version I saw was a wanted criminal wearing a fake mustache who seemed desperate for anything.”
“The papers said...”
Elias paused, a trace of pity flashing in his eyes.
“This lady, an ambitious intern journalist, took advantage of the trust given during the company’s Open Day to sneak into Wayland Capital headquarters and steal core commercial secrets.”
“And now...”
Elias slowly handed over the newspaper.
“This intern journalist has become the perfect pawn for Wayland Capital to maintain its public image.”
“Not only that, she’s been placed on a blacklist at every train station under a kingdom-wide warrant issued by Wayland Capital.”
With that, Elias expressionlessly handed the newspaper into Ophelia’s slightly trembling hands.
Ophelia felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
She dazedly opened the paper and saw the familiar 《Velen Daily》.
Yes.
It was indeed the 《Velen Daily》.
Her breathing instantly became rapid as her eyes scanned the headlines.
【Commercial Spy】.
【Hawthorne Industries Lackey】.
【Betrayed Mr. Wayland’s Trust】.
“This...”
“How can this be?!”
Ophelia let out a desperate murmur, her body swaying as she nearly collapsed onto the ground.
She had originally thought...
That the information she brought out, those two thousand-plus names marked with red crosses, even if they weren't enough to topple Wayland Capital in one blow, would at least stir up a massive wave of public opinion once they were published.
They should have caused Wayland Capital’s already poor reputation to plummet to rock bottom.
She had even fantasized that on this trip to Moon Bay, she would not only find the true cause of her brother’s death but also become a lone hero who exposed the darkness, letting the entire kingdom see the cruelty of that behemoth.
But...
Reality had given her a resounding, sky-shattering slap to the face.
The other party had turned the tables and pinned the filthy label of “commercial spy” on her, framing all her investigative actions as “malicious theft of secrets.”
What made her feel most chilled, making her very entrails feel as if they were freezing over, was the small statement at the end of the report.
The 《Landon Post》 had officially announced:
The intern journalist’s actions were personal; the so-called information she provided was forged, and the newspaper has officially terminated all employment relations with her.
She had been completely cut off.
Like a piece of dirt-stained waste paper, she had been thrown into the trash by the organization she had always trusted.
Ophelia had naively thought...
That the editor-in-chief, who had even tucked some money into her hand before she left, would at least help hide her identity and withstand the pressure.
But thinking about it now...
Before a behemoth like Wayland Capital.
In this adult world filled with calculation and compromise.
Who...
Who would go head-to-head with such a giant for the sake of a mere low-level journalist’s life?
She couldn't help but let out a self-deprecating, bitter smile, slowly shaking her head.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall.
She looked at the man ahead who had already turned around, leaning on his cane as he walked toward the distant train billowing black smoke.
The afterglow of the setting sun spilled over the back of the man’s suit, outlining a lonely and mysterious silhouette.
Ophelia knew very well.
Her only path to survival, even her only reliance, seemed to be this man of unknown origin.
Only...
There were too many riddles surrounding this man.
It was like layer upon layer of mist that couldn't be peeled away.
Had he really knocked out those two fully armed security personnel?
What means did he use to turn two burly men into “sleeping beauties” with large lumps on their heads in an instant?
And who exactly was he?
He clearly looked like a privileged, money-obsessed entrepreneur, yet at certain moments, he faintly exuded a mysterious aura that made her very soul tremble.
This also caused her to feel a deep sense of lingering fear even as she relied on him.
If such a man...
Had some other, unspeakable, and malicious designs on a desperate woman like her...
Ophelia realized with sorrow...
That she seemed to have absolutely no ability to resist.
She watched the receding figure, gritted her teeth hard, and dug her nails deep into her palms.
Ultimately.
She still set off, following him hurriedly like a marionette.
Since things had already broken down to this extent.
Since she had already become a wanted criminal in all of Velen.
Then she could only follow this dark, divergent path to the very end.
Even if there was a bottomless abyss ahead.
As long as she could find news of her brother, she would accept it.
Elias didn't stop walking.
But his ears twitched, and the corners of his mouth curled into a faint, almost imperceptible arc.
It wasn't until the breathless, linen-colored figure caught up to his side and slightly behind him.
Only then did Elias turn his head slightly, asking in an extremely flat tone—so flat it made Ophelia want to kill him:
“Well?”
“After reading that ‘splendid’ obituary, do you still want to continue your grand Moon Bay investigation plan?”
“If I were you,” Elias’s tone shifted, carrying a hint of a businessman’s characteristic suggestiveness.
“You’d be better off giving those documents to me. I might be able to put them to good use.”
“As for you...”
“Find a remote farm in the countryside, change your name, and hide for a while.”
Ophelia heard this.
She stopped abruptly, her beautiful, mist-filled eyes widening.
She stared at Elias’s still calm and caustic face, her breath hitching.
Every logic clicked into place at this moment.
Every suspicion was explained.
Why did he save her?
He only wanted the documents in her hands!
To think that when she saw him just now, she had almost felt that he might actually be a good person.
So this was what he was waiting for!
Rate on N.U.
