chapter_0142

141 – I Chose the Wrong Opponent

141 – I Chose the Wrong Opponent

Thanks to the staff lending them the key, Lucy and Daniel were able to enter the same guest room.

It was a fairly nice room with a small kitchen and bathroom attached to a single bedroom.

The problem was that there was only one bedroom.

With limited space to sleep, the two had to spend time together in the same place.

This fact was uncomfortable for Daniel in many ways.

‘Could she be planning to eat me alive…?’

As he broke into a cold sweat, he heard the sound of clothes being slipped off.

Turning around, he saw Lucy hanging her coat on a hanger.

When their eyes met, Lucy exhaled softly and approached Daniel.

She reached out her hand.

“If you give me your coat, I’ll hang it up for you.”

“Oh. That’s not necessary…”

“Please. Leave the clothes to me, and you can prepare to wash up and sleep, Colonel.”

Unable to refuse, Daniel took off his coat and handed it to Lucy.

Then he entered the bathroom.

After showering and drying off with a towel, Daniel put on a bathrobe.

After taking a deep breath, he opened the bathroom door and saw Lucy bent over, checking under the bed.

“…What are you doing?”

Lucy, responding to Daniel’s words, straightened up.

Dusting off her clothes, she replied nonchalantly.

“I was just preparing for any unforeseen circumstances.”

It was right to remove anything that might be a listening device.

“And…”

Muttering, Lucy pulled out a small paper box from her pocket.

She offered it to him, and Daniel felt a chill run down his spine.

‘This is…’

No matter how he looked at it, it was a box containing condoms.

‘Is she really planning to eat me alive? Is she trying to put an end to her seduction by having relations with me?’

As Daniel trembled in confusion, Lucy blinked her innocent eyes and said,

“The desk staff provided these. They seem to be vitamins, and I think it would be good for you to take them before you sleep.”

Vitamins? Daniel felt the wave of tension that had been building up dissipate.

At first, he thought she was joking, but Lucy’s indifferent gaze revealed the truth.

Realizing he had misunderstood, Daniel let out a hollow laugh and accepted the box.

“I’ll take them later. Thank you for bringing them.”

It would be better to remain silent than to explain that the contents of the box were not actually vitamins.

As Daniel wore an awkward smile, Lucy tilted her head slightly and pointed to the bed.

“You can sleep now.”

“…What about my aide?”

“I’m here to protect you, Colonel, so I don’t need to sleep.”

“I don’t think I asked you to do that.”

“Assisting my direct superior is my basic duty.”

Realizing he couldn’t refuse, Daniel nodded and walked over to the bed.

He went through the confirmation process once more.

“Are you really okay sleeping alone? Just in case, I can sleep on the sofa in the living room while my aide sleeps in the bed…”

“It’s fine.”

She was firm.

Though he didn’t understand why, Daniel couldn’t ignore her kindness and lay down on the bed, pulling the blanket over himself.

Lucy also sat on a chair in the corner of the room (the one Daniel had brought in while showering), placing her hands neatly on her lap.

Daniel closed his eyes, but sleep was far from him.

The psychological burden of having Lucy watching over him in the same room was too heavy.

However, no matter how burdensome it was, the dual assault of the soft bed and warm blanket was hard to resist for long.

Eventually, Daniel, waving the white flag, fell into a deep sleep.

“Hmm… come here…”

He was so out of it that he even started to mumble in his sleep.

Lucy, who had been quietly watching him in the dark, got up.

She was curious about what kind of dream Daniel was having.

Approaching slowly without making a sound, Lucy knelt down and stared at Daniel.

‘So close.’

It was the first time she had looked at Daniel from such a short distance.

As she blinked in the silence, Daniel continued to mumble in his sleep.

“Kelly… here.”

A subtle displeasure crossed Lucy’s face as she watched Daniel.

‘That woman again.’

How much must he love her if she appeared even in his dreams?

Feeling a surge of jealousy, Lucy whispered in Daniel’s ear.

“Lucy.”

Though it was a little embarrassing and awkward, she wanted to win against Kelly, even if it was just in a dream.

“You’re not with Kelly; you’re with Lucy Emilia.”

Immediately after Lucy’s whisper, Daniel’s previously calm expression cracked.

His hands began to twitch, clearly indicating he was having a nightmare.

“Stop. Don’t come near me…”

At Daniel’s mumbling, Lucy’s eyes opened slightly.

She didn’t know what kind of dream he was having, but she could tell it wasn’t a pleasant one.

‘…What a shame.’

From Lucy’s perspective, who was staying here to protect Daniel, it was only natural to feel disappointed.

Just as she thought about pinching his cheek to torment him a little more, a surge of magical energy slipped through the door.

Even though it was a minuscule amount of magic that even a seasoned agent might not notice, Lucy’s heightened senses were picking up every detail.

Narrowing her eyes sharply, Lucy slowly rose from her spot.

It was time to teach the arrogant junior a lesson.

–

Bilbosel arrived at room 507, where Daniel Steiner was staying, while suppressing his presence.

As he pondered how to kill Daniel Steiner, Bilbosel lightly knocked on the door.

If the other party was awake, he would have to change his assassination method.

Perhaps drawn by the knock, footsteps could be heard from inside the room.

Judging by the lightness of the footsteps, it was a woman, not a man.

‘Is she Daniel Steiner’s girlfriend?’

Bilbosel thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to kill the woman first and drew his pistol from his pocket.

As he attached a silencer to the gun and waited, the footsteps grew closer.

It seemed she was trying to peek through the peephole, so Bilbosel smiled broadly.

That action was a typical mistake made out of a complacent belief that the door would protect her.

‘What a foolish girl…’

Chuckling softly, Bilbosel pulled the trigger as soon as he heard the footsteps ringing from beyond the door.

Pew—

He fired precisely at the spot where the footsteps had been heard.

However, there was no sound of the woman collapsing or screaming in pain from beyond the door.

Instead, the footsteps continued to draw nearer.

Cold sweat broke out on Bilbosel’s forehead as he pulled the trigger several more times, but nothing changed.

‘Why? I confirmed that the bullets penetrated the door…’

He couldn’t understand, but there was no time to think.

The doorknob began to turn.

Bilbosel, who put away his pistol, stepped aside and drew a dagger.

He planned to swing the dagger and kill the moment the other party opened the door.

As he rotated his magic throughout his body to increase the density of his muscles, Bilbosel steadied his breath and gripped the dagger tightly.

Creeeak—

Finally, when the door to room 507 opened and Lucy appeared, Bilbosel lunged forward.

With incredible speed, he swung the dagger before Lucy could even turn around.

Whoosh—

A silver arc was drawn, but no blood was spilled.

‘Did I miss?’

Realizing he had failed to attack, Bilbosel momentarily locked eyes with Lucy.

Her blood-red eyes.

There was no emotion in her indifferent gaze, and there was no malice present.

As if she didn’t need to harbor any malice in dealing with him.

Thanks to that, Bilbosel’s instincts were ringing alarm bells.

‘I’m going to die…!’

In the moment of hesitation, he would be reduced to minced meat on the floor.

Panicking, Bilbosel quickly leaped back to create distance.

With the distance between them, a sense of relief washed over him.

However, his breathing grew rapid, and his eyes trembled.

Bilbosel tightened his grip on the dagger to counter Lucy, but there was nothing to hold onto.

‘…Huh?’

Only then did Bilbosel realize that the dagger that should have been in his hand was gone.

Dumbfounded, he looked up to see Lucy holding his dagger, examining it.

‘When did she…?’

He didn’t know for sure, but now was his only chance while the opponent was off guard.

Drawing his pistol from his pocket, Bilbosel aimed at Lucy and pulled the trigger.

Pew—

And then.

“Ugh!?”

Bilbosel spat as he collapsed to the floor.

Slowly lowering his head, he saw blood flowing from the bullet hole in his thigh.

What was even more absurd was that he had shot himself in the thigh.

Bilbosel had just been ‘mistakenly’ thinking he was shooting at Lucy.

In reality, he had been aiming at his own thigh.

‘…Did I hallucinate? Me?’

A fear that surpassed the pain sealed Bilbosel’s lips.

‘Could it be? The moment our eyes met…’

Swallowing the blood-tinged saliva, Bilbosel could hear the sound of clattering footsteps.

Looking up, he saw Lucy slowly approaching with the dagger in hand.

“How many are there?”

Her mechanical voice sounded like it was slicing through his ears.

Bilbosel, unable to even think of fleeing, watched as Lucy knelt before him.

Bringing the dagger to Bilbosel’s chin, Lucy blinked her red eyes and continued speaking.

“I’m talking about your friends.”

Only then did Bilbosel realize.

The reaper with red eyes.

Codename Hongsa.

The disaster created by the Allied Nations was right in front of him.