Episode 06
“If you really were the benefactor who saved my sister, you wouldn’t have any reason to run away like this. Suspicious, isn’t it?”
As if he wouldn’t have tried to dig up my identity the moment I stayed put!
And just earlier he’d been speaking politely like a perfect gentleman—now that I’d run, he’d dropped the formalities and was treating me like a criminal.
Even as Eden grabbed me by the back of the neck and dragged me along, I clutched the collar of my hood tightly, making sure my face stayed hidden.
“Hey. Take off the hood.”
“Why are you stripping people’s hoods without permission? What are you, a pervert? Someone help!”
“That’s hurtful. I’ve been pretty polite so far. Want me to show you what rough really looks like?”
The look in Eden’s eyes turned vicious.
I faltered for a moment when I caught the flicker of madness gleaming in his pupils.
Right. This bastard wasn’t exactly normal either.
“The way you’re desperately hiding your face tells me I have to identify you. You know something about that beast, don’t you? Why were you here at this hour?”
Just as Eden grabbed the edge of my hood—
“Kyaaaaah!”
A scream—most likely Aurora’s—rang out from far away.
Eden hesitated in surprise. That instant was enough.
I shook him off and ran again.
“XX!”
Behind me, I heard Eden curse, his gaze clearly torn between the fleeing me and the direction the scream had come from.
As I ran, a sudden realization struck me.
The brooch fastening my robe—
it was gone.
I’m not Cinderella, so why the hell did I have to drop something like that there of all places, Cherry?!
Cursing my own carelessness, I almost turned back—but it was already too late.
Eden had picked up the brooch lying on the ground.
After examining it briefly, he slipped it into the pocket of his police uniform jacket. Then he sprinted off toward where Aurora was.
I sank down where I stood and let out a long sigh.
The brooch Eden had taken didn’t bear the Sinclair family crest.
But to me, it was far more important than that.
It was a gift from my late father.
A rubellite gemstone the same color as my hair was set at its center, surrounded by delicately crafted golden flowers that mirrored the hue of my eyes.
On the back of the brooch were engraved my initials:
“C. S.”
Still, there was no way he’d ever think it stood for Cherry Sinclair.
The Cherry Sinclair known to the public would never be fighting monsters in some dark, back-alley slum.
Losing my father’s final gift was a devastating blow—but surviving came first.
Yeah. He won’t figure out it’s me.
More than that, Aurora’s sudden scream bothered me.
The monster was definitely dead.
So why had she screamed again?
I was worried—but I couldn’t go back.
Not when there was a chance Eden might catch me again.
I checked the Elphinus herb case tucked inside my belt bag.
Right.
No matter what, I’d accomplished my objective.
Safely.
