Evening. A swallow was flying low amongst the crimson sunset.
People passing the outskirts of the capital all huddled their shoulders and quickened their steps.
“Eh……”
“Ahhhh!”
“Uhhuh!”
When a sudden touch on the shoulder startled a man, causing him to scream, the one who had touched his shoulder also screamed in unison.
The man who had been touched let out a deep sigh, brushing off his pallid and scared face after confirming it was his neighbor.
“What’s the matter, it was you.”
“Why are you so scared? You almost gave me a heart attack.”
As his similarly pallid neighbor rebuked him, the man scowled.
“It’s because of the rumors going around lately, no surprise.”
“Rumors?”
The man who scrutinized his puzzled neighbor from top to bottom with a scornful look, huddled his neck and whispered.
“Bodies are being discovered everywhere.”
“What? Bodies?”
“Shush, shush. Ah, you too.”
The man who widened his eyes and asked loudly, was firmly grasped by his shoulder by the man who glanced around unnecessarily.
Whether it was a coincidence or not, there were just the two of them around.
The man swallowed his dry saliva as his throat churned.
The deserted road with nightfall was eerily ominous, if not scary…
“What about the bodies…”
“Ah!”
“Ugh!”
Once again, the neighbor who had startled the man by tapping his arm also jumped in shock.
How long had they stared at each other with their eyes wide open?
Breaking the awkward silence, the neighbor made a noise in his throat.
“Ah, you leave me in suspense, and then you’re just staring off into the distance!”
He was exceptionally rough, in both his expression and voice. It seemed unfair that he had been startled twice by surprise. After a quick glance around, the man lightly slapped the neighbor’s arm.
“Enough, I don’t want to talk about it here. Let’s get going.”
The man, whose throat was trembling, quickly moved his steps, and the neighbor, although grumbling, matched his pace.
Another shadow lengthened at the end of their shadows and disappeared, and that night…
“Wh, who…… Ahh!”
Someone, pallid with fear, tried to flee from a man who was laughing with his mouth wide open, but his vision flashed and he lost consciousness.
Thump.
As the relentless time passed and dawn dyed the hem of the night.
Swoosh swoosh.
The sound of something being cut was heard, and not long after, someone’s body, offered as a sacrifice to the ancient god, was buried in another pit.
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]As the night mixed with the damp smell of earth and the acrid smell of blood passed, the sun rose in the morning.
Olivia, in disguise, was just leaving the imperial palace.
Following the path used by the servants, not the main gate of the palace, she stepped out at a brisk pace and bowed her head to the guard guarding the door.
“You’re going out early. It’s about time everyone should be coming in.”
“Yes. They said there was something urgent to find. I have the permit here.”
At the calm reply from Olivia, the guard meticulously checked the permit and opened the door.
Just as she stepped out of the imperial palace, under the glaring sunlight, a faint voice whispered into her ear.
“Are you going to the scene?”
Frozen in place, Olivia brushed the raised hairs on her cheeks and quickly turned her head to the left where the voice had come from.
But the owner of the voice was nowhere to be found, just the mirage shimmering in the sunlight from the empty space.
Olivia licked her lips and slowly turned her head back to its original place. She didn’t want to draw people’s attention with any strange behaviors.
“Where are you?”
“In the shadows.”
“What? Shadow……?”
At the too simple and quick reply, Olivia held back her surprised wit and asked back.
There’s no way he would say he’s in the shadows out of some literary sentiment. It must mean literally in the shadows, but how could a human hide in the shadows without a trace.
“No, never mind. Yes, you must be in the shadows.”
However, she soon shook her head when she remembered that he was Cryer. He could hide anywhere he wanted, not just in the shadows.
Then Olivia resumed her halted steps and opened her mouth.
“Rather than saying the security is terrible, you should say the disguise is great. I’ve been doing it for over ten years, so it would be unfair if it’s not great.”
She flicked the ends of her hair and rubbed her tired eyes.
The distinct red hair of the Bolsheviks was covered by a dull strawcolored wig, and her piercingly blue eyes were half covered by messy bangs and were not visible.
Furthermore, Olivia was so drastically transformed that even the servants who tended to her from head to toe couldn’t recognize her.
Would the guards who protected the palace gates, frequented by the servants, be able to recognize Olivia?
However, the answer she received was far from ordinary, whether it could be called Cryer or not.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
