TPCF 89

CHAPTER 89…………………….

Anita wondered how she could escape from him. She felt sorry to treat him the same as Charles Bennet just because he was holding a wine glass, but she couldn’t trust him.

“I don’t have any money.”

Anita pitied herself for having to humor a swindler. What sin had she committed to constantly attract such strange people?

“Ah. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have cash right now. What matters is the heart, the heart.”

Anita briefly felt guilty, wondering if she was misunderstanding a good person, but she quickly dismissed the thought. Roy Krieger was a swindler. He would surely present a contract with bizarre conditions about having “the heart to participate” or some such nonsense.

“See? The heart is what matters, Anita. Just give me your heart.”

The sudden voice from behind startled Anita.

“Finian?”

How long had he been standing there? Finian was behind her, arms crossed.

“N-no, that’s not it.”

Roy stammered the moment he saw Finian.

“Anita. Say, ‘I don’t have anything, so I’ll just pray for the success of your business.’ Try that.”

To Finian, the whole thing must have felt like a joke. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be speaking in such a carefree tone.

“Finian. I can explain everything.”

Roy started to offer a panicked excuse.

“Sure you can. But the problem is, I don’t really want to hear it.”

“……”

“By the way, the bodyguards Lilliana hired are looking for you.”

“What did I do?!”

“I don’t really know. But what can you do? You’ll just have to blame yourself for falling out of favor with the host.”

With his characteristic sarcasm, Finian scraped at Roy’s nerves.

“I suppose I’ll be going now.”

Roy Krieger seemed to huff for a moment, then composed himself and walked away. For a swindler, it was a rather lackluster exit.

“Is it really okay to just let him go?”

“Why not?”

“What if he comes back later for revenge?”

“As if someone like him could pull that off.”

Anita absentmindedly touched her lips. If Roy Krieger came back for revenge like Charles Bennet had, it would be terrible. Because of Charles’s precedent, Anita simply couldn’t bring herself to trust Roy.

“So, what exactly is that guy? A swindler?”

“You catch on quicker than I thought.”

So she’d guessed right.

“Not just a swindler—he’s also a notorious gambler and a drug addict.”

Anita’s mouth fell open at his résumé, which was even more extravagant than expected. To think she had just been alone with such a dangerous man.

“Lilliana absolutely despises him. Last time he showed up high at a party and managed to summon every cop in the area, if I recall.”

“……”

“The party was a complete disaster.”

Finian clicked his tongue.

“Anyway, to celebrate getting away from that swindler safely, I’ll show you something good.”

“What are you talking about?”

He suddenly bent closer, gazing intently at her face, and Anita leaned back to avoid him. Finian reached for her ear.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Hold still.”

His fingers brushed the edge of her ear. The cold touch made Anita shiver. Finian gave a brief chuckle before pulling his hand back from where it had lingered near her ear.

“Look.”

He held out his closed fist in front of her. Then he opened his fingers one by one.

“Huh?”

Lying in his palm was a gleaming object that sparkled even in the dark. At a glance, it looked like a coin….

“Is that… a gold coin?”

She asked doubtfully, and Finian burst into laughter.

“Of course.”

Anita tapped the coin lightly with her fingertip. Watching her interest in the coin, Finian asked:

“Want me to show you something even more amazing?”

She was curious, but Finian seemed more excited than she was, so Anita nodded.

“Watch closely.”

As he said, Anita fixed her eyes on the gold coin. Finian flicked it into the air. Nothing happened. Secretly, Anita had expected the coin to turn into a dove or explode into fireworks. Disappointed, she looked back at him.

“With tricks like this, you have to try a few times. Watch again.”

Brazenly, he shifted the blame to her. She had no choice but to keep her eyes on Finian’s hand. He tossed the coin again, and she followed it upward with her gaze.

Boom!

In the dark night sky, golden fireworks burst open. Her eyes, fixed on the coin, naturally shifted to the sparkling explosion. It was as if a golden curtain had been drawn across the heavens. And then, like raindrops, it began to fall.

“Wow…”

She stepped forward in a trance. Without realizing it, Anita had come right up to the fence and reached out her hand, as if she could catch the golden rain.

“So? Isn’t that a pretty decent trick?”