James stepped into the mansion wearing sunglasses.
Johannes’s skill only worked if he made eye contact, so James covered his eyes.
If Johannes became suspicious and questioned him, James planned to use a pitiful excuse about having eye surgery during his break.
The reason James was doing something he usually never did was that he feared Johannes might recall what James had just overheard during a phone call when they faced each other.
Johannes didn’t use all the time because it caused severe headaches and exhaustion afterward.
But no one else knew this. Johannes might sense something was off and decide to use on James.
“This is strange.”
“…Huh? What do you mean?”
But suspicion arose immediately.
Flustered, James stammered, and Johannes narrowed his eyes, pressing him further.
“Why are you wearing sunglasses?”
“I told you, I had eye surgery during my break.”
“Is that so?”
Johannes reached for the sunglasses, but James twisted his shoulder and pushed them up higher.
“Ah, the doctor said… um, to keep them on for a while…”
Despite James’s resistance, Johannes took off the sunglasses.
James pouted and tightly shut his eyes.
Johannes calmly urged him.
“…Open your eyes, James.”
“I can’t…”
It was not the time to prolong a struggle.
If he dragged it out, who knew how the Heir would react.
James sighed deeply and opened his eyes, meeting the red eyes fixed on him.
The red eyes glowed eerily, and Johannes frowned.
“The dinner last night was delicious… no, not that.”
The longer he stared, the less James could bear it.
The more he tried not to think about it, the more it came to mind.
Eventually, James recalled the phone call from moments ago.
At that moment, Johannes’s expression stiffened.
He had read James’s thoughts.
As James trembled with anxiety, Johannes spoke in an unexpectedly calm voice.
“…So that’s how it turned out. It’s okay. I’m fine. I told you, I’d rather Iris meet other men.”
Relief softened James’s face.
Was that truly how Johannes felt?
If so, there was no need to struggle so desperately to hide it.
“Oh, by the way! Is that really true…”
But just as James breathed out and smiled, Johannes suddenly collapsed sideways with a thud.
Startled, James shouted.
“Ah, Heir!”
Shaking the unresponsive Johannes, James cried out.
Of course, the Heir wouldn’t be okay with Iris’s every move going unnoticed.
When Johannes showed no reaction to vigorous shaking, James slapped his cheeks several times, then tapped his chin once or twice.
This wasn’t payback for past grievances, absolutely not.
After the blows, Johannes’s tightly shut eyes trembled, and the red irises appeared through barely opened lids.
He woke up sooner than expected.
James rubbed the reddened cheek and pulled out his phone.
“Heir! We need to get you to a hospital right away!”
“…I’m fine. Really.”
“Blood’s flowing!”
Blood trickled down one side of his face.
He must have scratched his temple on furniture when he fell without realizing it.
Irritated by James’s fussing, Johannes shook his head.
James hurriedly took out a first aid kit and treated the wound.
Johannes stared blankly as he was treated, frowning and rubbing the cheek that James had struck, not the scratched one.
“Phew, I’m fine. But that actor Laika… his father is Kaisar, the CEO of J Corporation, right?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
Feeling suddenly guilty, James quickly squeezed ointment onto Johannes’s cheek while answering.
Fortunately, the Heir, who had fainted briefly and then awakened, showed no sign of knowing what James had done.
only activated when the user willed it.
Johannes usually avoided eye contact with Iris because he feared he wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to use .
It wasn’t that he was forced to read her mind.
“I’ve seen him a few times at the Enraka Church Central Assembly. Never face to face, though. Letting a guy like that loose in the world…”
“Ah… no, Heir, that can’t be. Please don’t hurt innocent people because of Iris.”
James’s face hardened as he interrupted.
To think the Heir was blinded by jealousy to the point of trying to harm someone—especially a prominent figure—and not even the son but the father of a son…
It was shocking.
If Johannes acted on such impulses, it would only lead to his ruin.
Johannes stared blankly at the ceiling before turning his head toward James with a grinding sound like an unlubricated robot.
A chill ran down James’s spine at the sight.
“Innocent? That man… is extremely dark inside. And I’ve already… basically killed several people with my own hands. Mentally or physically. Several assassins too.”
“That’s… I can’t argue with that. But Kaisar isn’t someone you can easily kill, innocent or not. He always has skilled bodyguards with him. Rumor has it he’s powerful himself.”
“I see… what a shame. Guess killing him’s off the table.”
Regret clouded James’s face.
Johannes was so shocked that he was throwing a tantrum.
He was searching for an outlet to vent and offset the shock Iris had caused.
The last time Johannes said it was fine if Iris met other men because, in the end, it would always be him, James had truly believed him.
But it turned out that wasn’t the case.
Who in the world could be fine with the woman they loved meeting other men?
‘On the other hand, it’s a relief. There’s some normality left in the Heir…’
James closed the first aid kit and looked at Johannes.
Meanwhile, Johannes muttered unintelligible words, dark circles under his eyes.
“Heir, I understand how you feel, but this isn’t the right way.”
“Mm. Not the right way. We should kill Laika. Kaisar, the one who brought that man into the world, doesn’t need to die.”
James shook his head vehemently.
He was afraid the Heir might lose control again, but more than that, he worried about Johannes going astray.
Summoning courage, James spoke earnestly.
“No, absolutely not! First, I’ll have the Watcher look into things more carefully. Maybe Iris and Laika don’t have a serious relationship after all? Laika looks like a bit of a womanizer anyway. Since it’s come to this, let’s push ahead as you said! Before it gets serious, you should actively approach Iris! Or, you could comfort Iris when she’s hurt by Laika… oh, wait!”
Perhaps his sincerity was too much.
At that moment, Johannes slammed his hand against the wall with a bang.
Dust from the plaster crumbled down, and James paled.
He had tried to say it nicely—so what part had upset Johannes now?
Watching cautiously, James soon understood from Johannes’s next words.
“Hurt? Hurt by that man? Iris?”
“Ah, no. She wouldn’t get hurt by a passing, insignificant man like that!”
“No, she wouldn’t. Iris wouldn’t give her heart to a man like that… I have to find her.”
Johannes sprang up, grabbed his coat, and left the room.
James hurried after him.
“Now? It’s the middle of the night. Iris should be asleep!”
Johannes didn’t answer and rushed down the stairs before kicking the front door open.
James grabbed his car keys in surprise and chased after him.
The Heir, usually so cautious it was maddening, was acting this decisively.
This must have been no ordinary shock.
***
A few days later, in the morning after Johannes had rushed out.
“Hah! It’s a bit chilly.”
Iris stepped outside her studio apartment, zipping up her windbreaker.
She had started jogging in the mornings recently to build up her stamina.
Though she had skipped a few runs due to fatigue over the past several days, today she was determined and bundled up tightly before heading out energetically.
“Ugh, tired… huh?”
As sparrows chirped to greet the morning, Iris stretched and lightly warmed up.
Then she froze, still bent at the waist, because she spotted a figure in black clothing emanating dark energy.
The stranger stood in front of the building, looking as if about to commit some mischief in the early morning.
Recalling Survival Manual of Gyo Dam City, Chapter 9: ‘In Gyo Dam City, you’re more likely to meet a stranger than a sparrow in the morning,’ she began to retreat.
But then she realized the stranger was someone she knew well.
“…Huh? Jo… Johannes?”