Vicious Darling

Chapter 5. Cruelest Month

[22]

The locksmith, Peter Garrett, was waiting in the reception room for outside visitors.

He was carefully examining the decorative bookshelf when he swiftly turned around as the two people entered.

His face was still bright and cheerful.

Perhaps due to the different lighting, his freckles seemed more prominent, making him look even younger.

‘It would be good for making the opponent let their guard down.’

“Oh. You both look like you’re traveling light for a long journey.”

Yuri replied calmly.

“It’s better to acquire things after arrival to avoid drawing attention.”

Chris quietly agreed. Due to different climates, people wear different clothes. The appearance of clothes and accessories also varied slightly, perhaps because of different lifestyles.

However, Peter noticed the scarf Chris was still carrying on his arm and exclaimed,

“Oh, a scarf? How did you know that the Spring Continent is chilly in the mornings and evenings?”

He seemed to have quite a friendly personality.

“It was a gift, so I brought it along, but I don’t intend to take it to the Spring Continent.”

“It gets cold there too, you know.”

Peter grumbled.

“Not as cold as the Winter Continent, I suppose.”

At that, he pressed his lips together.

Peter seemed to genuinely agree that the Winter Continent was cold.

After all, the Winter Continent was the most difficult and barren place to live.

“Alright. If you don’t have anything else to pack, shall we depart now? If you have anything left to do, I can wait a bit longer.”

Peter spoke lightly, seemingly accustomed to such waiting. Yuri cut him off with a sharp reply.

“We finished the handover before calling you in.”

Yuri was hurrying, uncharacteristic of his usual cautious self.

Considering the incident at Northern Light alone, it was understandable given how the Thorns Order was growing more threatening by the day.

“That’s quick. Good.”

Peter wrinkled his nose and picked up a pen from the conference room.

“I’ll borrow this for a moment.”

The cheerful young man opened the cap and started drawing on the pristine wallpaper.

“Since you’re both tall, this should be enough…”

The boldly drawn lines formed a rectangular door, a handle, and a keyhole.

Yuri raised an eyebrow disapprovingly but didn’t stop Peter.

With a click, the pen cap closed.

“Alright, it’s done.”

Then Peter took out a bundle of keys from his pocket. Literally, keys were dangling from it.

Rusty ones, antique ones, dented ones, fancy ones, simple ones…

Among them, Peter picked up a key with a flower attached and inserted it into the keyhole he had drawn on the wall.

With a click of the key turning, the door took on a light pink hue. It gained depth and a different texture from the wallpaper.

Chris narrowed his eyes as he watched the ‘door’ come to life.

‘Is he a special ability user like Anastasia?’

Peter pulled the doorknob.

Beyond the wide-open door was what looked like a room in an inn.

A worn bed and the window beyond it were visible.

Curtains fluttered gently in the breeze, hanging on either side of the wide-open window.

“Ah, I forgot to close it in my rush to get here. Anyway, beyond that is the Spring Continent you want to go to.”

Peter scratched the back of his head and then spread his hands like a magician, as if to say, “How’s that? Impressive, right?”

Chris maintained a blank expression in response to that look.

But he couldn’t help but think inwardly that it was an attractive ability.

To be able to open a door that could instantly transport one from the Winter Continent to the Spring Continent.

‘Anong might faint at the existence of such a power.’

There was more unknown than known about the existence of Espers.

So it’s not easy to prepare mentally for such unique abilities.

“We just go through here?”

“Huh? Yes.”

Peter nodded at Yuri’s question.

Before Yuri could step through without hesitation, Chris grabbed his sleeve.

“Just in case, I’ll go first.”

If the Barrel Society had other intentions, it would be dangerous to send Yuri alone first.

Of course, Yuri was an exceptional guide. But what if there were fully armed civilians waiting on the other side, ready to shoot?

Even without guns, there are many ways to harm people. If they set off a bomb, there would be no way to defend against it.

“So it’s okay to leave me alone with the teleporter?”

“…That’s.”

Chris lowered his eyes at Yuri’s point.

This, in its own way, posed a risk of kidnapping.

Peter smiled harmlessly.

“Come on, do you think I’m crazy enough to mess with the boss of Baekyah?”

Chris, who had been quietly observing the other side of the door, turned his head and spoke again.

“I’ll go first.”

Yuri frowned slightly at his repeated request. He checked beyond the door that Chris had been looking at and nodded.

Having received his master’s permission, Chris stepped over the threshold with a lighter step.

There was a feeling of nausea, as if emerging from very deep water, but that was all.

The moment he crossed over, a gentle air touched his cheeks.

It was a temperature that softened even Chris’s tension, who had crossed over while wary of potential enemies.

Unlike the subtly stimulating air of the Summer Continent, this space had an indescribably fragrant flower scent.

“It’s warm.”

As soon as Chris realized the Spring Continent touching his senses, Yuri’s voice reached his ears.

Turning his head, Chris found Yuri who had crossed the door right behind him.

There was no particular emotion visible in his purple eyes.

Soon after, Peter hopped over behind Yuri and closed the door.

“Welcome to the Spring Continent.”

He spread his arms wide, his face full of smiles.

“I’m touched that you trusted me. I guess I’m a pretty reliable person, huh?”

Chris gave him an odd look as he shrugged his shoulders.

How could they trust the locksmith of the Barrel Society whom they’d only met twice?

Even Chris, as oblivious as he could be, wasn’t that naive.

But whatever their true feelings were, the young man continued in an excited voice.

“By the way, it’s different for a long-standing master and servant relationship. You came to an agreement with just a few exchanges of glances.”

Peter Garrett, who had been chattering away, suddenly paused.

“Huh? Wasn’t the window open?”

The curtains he pointed to at the window, which had been fluttering gently moments ago, were now hanging still as if they had never moved.

It wasn’t that the spring breeze had stopped.

The window was just firmly closed.

“Could it be?”

Peter, his mouth agape, looked from the curtains that had been fluttering until just now to Chris.

“I thought it might be possible, so I tried closing the window… and it worked.”

Chris, having confirmed that he could use his ability on objects beyond the door, had no need to hesitate about going first.

He was confident that he could break Peter Garrett’s neck faster than the latter could try any tricks to kidnap Yuri if left behind.

“So, Yuri, you noticed that right away?”

His silent purple eyes answered instead.

How could Yuri not have seen what Chris saw?

He might not have immediately realized that Chris had used telekinesis. After all, he hadn’t spoken about it or used it openly.

However, he had checked where Chris was looking and noticed the curtains at the window had gone still. A bit faster than Peter just now.

If that hadn’t been the case, he wouldn’t have allowed Chris to go first just because he asked.

“Wow… In a way, you’re really scary people.”

Peter muttered, genuinely seeming dumbfounded.

“I, I got goosebumps.”

He murmured, hugging himself as if chilled.

Though there was some exaggeration, it seemed quite sincere.

“If you remain a cooperator, you won’t need to be afraid.”

Chris replied plainly and carefully surveyed the room.

As if to confirm that this was indeed Peter’s room, a bag by the wall had what appeared to be his belongings sticking out.

As Yuri quickly scanned the interior and moved towards the window, Chris followed.

With each step, the wooden floor creaked, but none of them paid any attention to it.

This was because both Chris and even Yuri were looking at the scenery outside.

The first thing that caught their eye was the pale green foliage.

Fresh life filled the entire landscape.

In the Winter Continent, trees are deliberately planted as street trees. Even the trees that grow in the wild there generally have thin leaves.

But the trees here had light green, broader leaves. The branches, stretching out haphazardly, seemed to be praising the shining sun.

At the foot of the lush trees were not snow, but flowers and grass in abundance.

The sight of vegetation unafraid to sprout in the shade was even awe-inspiring.

“This is the April Continent. The most prosperous place among the Spring Continents.”

Peter, having finally regained his composure, approached and said.

“April, huh.”

Although Chris had briefly stayed in the Summer Continent before, it didn’t have such a vibrant feeling.

Especially since he had spent most of his life in the Winter Continent, spring was very unfamiliar to him.

“We’ve confirmed that the guiding drug is spreading, centered around the entertainment districts here.”

Peter’s voice reached Chris’s ears as he couldn’t take his eyes off the view outside.

“How can they commit such acts in such a beautiful place?”

Chris pressed his lips shut at his own inadvertent comment.

It was hard to believe that there were people creating hell in such a bountiful and beautiful land.

But isn’t that also possible because they are human?

“Are you going to start investigating right away?”

“First, we should change clothes.”

Yuri said, taking off his outer garment and roughly rolling up his shirt sleeves.

The fabric they used was much thicker, so it felt stuffy even like this. If he moved a bit more vigorously, he would start sweating.

Chris looked at Yuri’s wrist for a moment and then opened the window.

The wind was not sharp, but cool. Completely different from the hot air of the Summer Continent.

“I’ll get ready right away.”

The world beyond the window excited him immensely.