"Like... that's how it is, Thalia," Cruxius said, glancing at her. Naturally, he knew what followed wouldn't be sympathy.
As expected, her eyes twitched, her mouth slightly agape—disgust clear on her face after hearing how he had gone on a rampage, sleeping with women.
"You psycho. You went around raping—" Thalia began, but before she could finish, Darithi interrupted.
"You were the only one who was a mistake," Darithi said coldly. "The others were more than willing to be with Master."
She shook her head, her voice sharp. She remembered well—none of those women were forced.
In fact, most of them had approached him, offering consent without hesitation. Some had even tried to spike his drink, desperate to sleep with him, doing the exact opposite of what happened with Thalia.
She couldn't let Thalia assume he was some serial predator.
"…Tch," Thalia clicked her tongue, looking away. She wanted to argue, to deny it. But deep down, she knew Darithi was right.
If any woman were offered a man with wealth, charm, that soft, caring voice, and the ability to twist words like a poet—they'd give in.
He was a magnet.
But she wasn't iron.
She was gold, and gold never bends so easily. 'Yes, Thalia, you are gold. Let's run away from this shit.'
"Then let me go," Thalia said, meeting his eyes again, voice steady. She tried to bargain, as if pretending none of this ever happened would erase the trauma.
"No. I love you," Cruxius replied simply, folding his hands behind his head as he lay back, calm. He'd just revealed one of his biggest vulnerabilities—but strangely, it didn't matter to him anymore.
He had moved past it, especially after last night's accident.
"No, you don't," Thalia snapped, narrowing her eyes. She didn't believe a word of it.
How could he say that? Love wasn't born from sex—not when he didn't even know who she was.
What he loved was her body.
And that kind of love was fleeting.
Just like masturbation—it brought a momentary high, a release. Nothing more.
If sex could breed love, every prostitute would be in a happy relationship.
"Then make me fall for you," Cruxius murmured with a playful smirk, nudging his head toward her flirtatiously.
"Y-you… I don't want to impress a pervert like you," Thalia said, biting her tongue before she could say something harsher. She folded her arms, clearly refusing to entertain his madness.
"Come on, Thalia. You don't need to impress me," he said lazily. "I'm already more than impressed."
He leaned back, eyes half-closed, as if ready for a nap. The image of a woman like her—sharp, bold, without any particular ability—was already enough to keep his attention.
"…Perverted pig," Thalia muttered under her breath, realizing what he meant. That he was impressed by her body. That in his eyes, she didn't need to try—because he was already hooked.
And that only made his true nature shine through more clearly: a pervert dressed in charm.
'...Just you wait, I will definitely run away from you.'
---
With the arrival of the fleet of cars belonging to Black Corporation, given their IDs which were accepted by the gates as the murmurs spread before breaking the rules, the fleet directly arrived at the main gate, creating a ripple of voices.
"Wa-wait, aren't they from Black Corporation?!"
"Really?"
"What are they doing here?"
The murmur rippled to nurses and even the patients, eyes turning towards the main gate, slowly approaching as they observed from where it exited. Several cars, with the doors of the Rolls-Royce slowly opened by the chauffeur.
"H-he...?" Jake, after hearing the murmur, looked towards the entrance, seeing the fleet of cars. Belonging to someone elite, given the rules of the hospital didn't allow just any vehicle to enter from the front gate. Yet so many cars meant the individual was of high status. Before he could dwell, someone passed by, shrugging his shoulder, hitting him by mistake.
"Damn you, can't you see—d-dad?!" Jake was about to yell at the individual who couldn't even see ahead, but halted, seeing his father accompanied by two other senior doctors heading towards the hospital gate.
He stood there in confusion before giving a nod to Jenny, and both made their way along with the others.
'Blac Corporation?' Seleyena also made her way towards the vehicle with her hands resting in her pocket.
Normally, there were several prestigious hospitals and even ones under that corporation offering much better facilities than they could get here.
Even though this was considered a very high-end hospital, their arrival here was confusing—though maybe, in an emergency, they took a detour.
---
"Should I also go out?" Thalia inquired carefully. The door of the car was opened from her side, making her the first one to exit, while clearly seeing through the window the presence of several individuals including doctors, patients—everyone's gaze locked in that direction.
The moment she stepped out, she'd become the center of attention. Considering even some people had started to take out their phones, it was obvious social media would soon get a piece of her photo.
"Don't hesitate, it's your stage to shine, use it well," Cruxius stated. Naturally, presence didn't mean much to him—but at least this would make Thalia slightly more conscious of being under such limelight whenever around him.
But of course, he had made the call to the dean intentionally, to let him come out while arranging the fleet to enter through the gates, rather than entering like a normal citizen.
So rather than this crowd being here to see him, they were here to see the individual affiliated with Blac Corporation.
"But in these clothes?" For Thalia, it was the first time she had worn something like this. Though decent, reaching her thighs with slight tightness on the bust, the fabric still revealed some cleavage—not much, but enough. She usually wore fully covered T-shirts or jeans, not this.
"...You should look like my girlfriend, shouldn't you?" Cruxius grinned, causing a frown from Thalia as she gave him a glare before simply exiting the car.
'Whatever, not that I care what they—' Thalia was about to say how she didn't care about what people thought, and she really didn't.
But her words got stuck midway the moment she heard a voice—very familiar, normally mocking, harsh, or even looking down—now in awe and surprise.
Belonging to none other than her stepsister—Jenny.
"Th-Thalia?"