The sound of the telephone ringing brought Abellus’s hand to a halt.
Of course, Iris’s eyes widened in surprise.
Abellus glanced at Iris once before picking up the phone on his desk.
The voice on the other end belonged to the attendant who had guided Iris to the Director’s Office earlier.
‘Of all times, why now…’
Annoyed by the interruption, Abellus spoke in a curt tone.
“What is it?”
“Laika is here to see you.”
At the words coming through the receiver, Iris’s body stiffened.
Hurriedly pulling down her raised hoodie, Iris fastened her bra hook and rolled her eyes anxiously.
‘Laika came to the Laboratory? Right, this is a J Corporation Research Lab, after all. If Laika wants to, he can come by any time. Why didn’t I think of that? If I run into him now, I’m really screwed.’
After their last meeting, Iris had blocked his number.
Since she had cut off contact unilaterally, Laika was probably in a foul mood.
After all, he’d told her to come visit again next time.
The odds of getting a positive reaction if they met were practically zero.
If she was lucky, he might just ignore her and walk away coldly, but if Laika realized she’d swapped the Ring?
He might not just ignore her—he might try to kill her.
The thought that Laika might hate her made a sharp pain sting in one corner of her heart.
‘I deserve to be treated like this since I did something to be hated, but… imagining it, it still feels bitter.’
Bitter or not, the first thing she needed to do was avoid meeting him.
Iris stood up from where she’d been leaning against the desk, glancing restlessly at Abellus, who still held the phone.
She wanted to bolt immediately, but rushing out only to run into Laika in the hallway would be even worse.
Paralyzed by indecision, Iris was a bundle of nerves as Abellus let out a sigh heavy with irritation.
He massaged his temple as he continued the call.
“Ha, what? Why is he— No, why is Mr. Laika here? Tell him I’m busy and to come back later—”
“He’s already on his way up. You know how he is—originally stubborn, or rather, fearless….”
“What?”
Hearing the attendant’s words, Abellus’s gaze shifted to Iris.
For a brief moment, he hesitated, not wanting to show Angel Girl to Laika, but quickly grasped the situation and relaxed.
He was the only one who knew Iris was Angel Girl.
Laika probably didn’t know.
Well, he couldn’t be sure, but…
‘So, even if he sees Iris, he won’t pay any attention. He doesn’t know she’s Angel Girl.’
However, there was one thing Abellus had overlooked.
Iris and Laika weren’t only tied together as Hero and Villain, but also as man and woman.
Even Abellus, with his <Wondrous Perception> skill, could never know that they had once shared something far deeper than what he and Iris had almost done now.
‘Still, it doesn’t sit well for Iris and Laika to meet…’
Abellus, lost in thought over what to do, suddenly stopped.
He’d heard footsteps approaching the Director’s Office.
The rapid footsteps belonged to Laika.
Iris, too, noticed the footsteps approaching beyond the door.
For a split second, Iris and Abellus’s eyes met, and in the next instant, the door burst open without even a knock.
Almost simultaneously, Iris dove under the desk.
“Abellus!”
“At least try knocking.”
Casting a questioning look at Iris hiding under the desk, Abellus sat down naturally in his chair.
He then pulled the chair closer to the desk, hiding Iris completely.
‘Why is she hiding? Oh, maybe she’s startled and hiding on her own. After all, she’s met Laika before as a Hero and a Villain.’
Abellus didn’t want to show Iris to Laika either, so he decided to help her hide for now.
He rested his elbows on the desk and propped up his chin with both hands.
One of his arms, still smeared with blood, made for a bizarre sight as he held his chin.
Laika frowned and stared at Abellus’s arm.
“What’s this? Why’s your arm covered in blood? Have you finally gotten bored making others bleed and moved on to getting off on self-harm? This is a Laboratory, not your house. Get a grip.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. I got hurt when Helveros got excited and I was treating it. Can’t you see the ointment?”
“That’s even more ridiculous. You? Injured by a monster? Honestly, you becoming a masochist after being a sadist all this time is more believable.”
Laika didn’t hold back with his jabs.
Having been unilaterally blocked by Iris and lost the Ring’s power as well as his skills, his mood was at rock bottom.
He needed somewhere to vent.
Laika was even more irritable than usual, and veins bulged on Abellus’s temple.
“Shut that mouth. What’s the reason for barging in here without notice?”
“Phew, I’m in a hurry, that’s why. The Ring…”
Abellus raised a hand to cut off Laika’s words.
He was aware of Iris hiding under the desk.
It would be problematic if she learned the secret of the Relic, whether it was Laika’s or anyone else’s.
Realizing this, the excitement in his body gradually faded.
He’d let his brain be clouded by lust for a moment, forgetting that Iris might be the key to unlocking the secret of the Relic.
Meanwhile, under the desk, Iris squeezed her eyes shut.
Hearing Laika’s voice filled her with a mix of longing and guilt.
She’d only heard his voice, but he didn’t sound in a bad state.
Come to think of it, that was only natural.
She and Laika had never been in a serious relationship.
He probably grumbled for a few days after realizing he’d been blocked, but then got over it quickly.
Just a fleeting connection, now broken…
‘Wait, did he just say “Ring”? I want to hear what he’s talking about.’
Iris, who had been feeling bitter, perked up her ears.
At the same time, her hands began to sweat.
If Laika had shown up at Abellus’s Laboratory out of the blue just to talk about the Ring, it meant he knew the Ring possessed power.
She’d assumed he didn’t know its value since he’d just kept it in the living room display cabinet, but that might not be the case.
Maybe it was an item of considerable importance to Laika after all.
Unlike Iris, who wanted to hear more about the Ring, Abellus desperately hoped Laika wouldn’t mention it.
He hadn’t realized it in the heat of the moment, but now his arm was starting to throb.
It was definitely from the wound reopening when he’d grabbed Iris’s chest.
Fetching ointment from the first aid kit, Abellus glanced sideways at Laika, who stood with arms crossed.
“Wait. Let’s talk about that in a bit. Let me finish treating this first. Wait outside.”
“Come on, what’s the big deal… You could just drink a Magic Potion and be fine. Why waste time?”
At the mention of ‘Magic Potion’, Abellus bit his lip.
Iris already knew that both Abellus and Laika were Villains.
During the Potion Transport Truck Incident, Abellus hadn’t transformed, and as for Laika, he’d kept calling him by his real name.
Even so, Abellus wanted to stop Laika from making any more dangerous comments.
If things kept going this way, the Ring would definitely come up again.
Abellus waved a hand at Laika, signaling him to leave.
“…Wait outside.”
“Let’s talk here. I don’t have time either.”
When the clueless Laika refused to budge, a deep crease appeared between Abellus’s brows.
“Fine. In that case, you go outs— Ugh.”
This wasn’t going to work.
Abellus decided he’d have to leave Iris in the Lab Director’s Office and go outside to talk to Laika.
But when he tried to stand, he ended up sitting back down with a groan.
Iris had wrapped her arms around his legs.
Her soft chest pressed against him, not yet cooled down from earlier excitement, and the arousal that had died down started rising again.
Laika narrowed his eyes at Abellus’s odd behavior.
“What’s wrong with you? Just drink a Magic Potion already. Anyway, the Ring’s acting strange now!”
Oblivious to what was happening under the desk, Laika brought up the Ring again.
Iris, who had been rubbing her chest against Abellus’s leg, perked up her ears.
She’d stopped Abellus from leaving with her body, desperate to hear more about Laika’s Ring, and it seemed her strategy had worked.
‘So Laika knew the Ring wasn’t ordinary. Then why did he just leave it in the display case? With no security…’
That, and why hadn’t he worn such a powerful Ring on himself but left it in a display cabinet?
Thanks to that, she’d been able to swap it out so easily.
With Laika bringing up the Ring yet again, Abellus could only sigh.
“Ha…”