I Sought Out the Tragedy’s Scheming Mastermind

“I’ll let you run away.”

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“What?” 

He’s going to help her escape?

At his unexpected remark, Eliana questioned him without realizing it.

In response, Verkley spoke in a friendly tone.

“You asked me what power you have? I don’t know why, but you stabilize the demon’s power whenever I touch you.”

“I stabilize it…?”

“Instead of me helping you run, you can stop me from going rampant until I get my revenge.
Once everything is over, I’ll send you away from the empire.
With a generous sum of money.”

Eliana said nothing, and as she stood firm, he added on.

“I want revenge on my own will.
So stay with me.
So that I can touch you whenever I please.”

“Y-You’re not forcing me to do that, are you?”

Eliana spaced out at the end of Verkley’s sentence and crossed her arms, covering her chest as if to hide.

Let me touch you whenever I please.
It was a very embarrassing thing to hear.

But Verkley had the same reaction and looked offended.

He had a crease between his brows and spoke flatly to Eliana, looking at her as if she were a pervert.

“I don’t know what you’re imagining, but all I meant was a kiss.”

“Ah…” 

What? Why didn’t he say that from the beginning?

As Eliana relaxed, Verkley continued.

“Don’t worry yourself.
I’ll act the same as I have up until now.
You can write it on paper if you don’t trust me.
I want nothing more than that, and I don’t even desire to.”

Eliana was taken aback by his very unpleasant response and feigned a laugh.

“What is it that you do not ‘desire’ to do?”

“What do you want to do, then?”

When Verkley frowned and shot back, Eliana trembled, shouting.

“Y-You know… I’m pretty!”

“…”

“N-No, I mean…”

Eliana nearly teared up and slapped a hand across her mouth.

‘How could I say that I’m pretty right now… I’m not a princess, argh!’

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But Eliana Mussieux was the prettiest woman she had ever seen.

‘But what does it matter?’

Eliana tapped her hand against her mouth again.

She wondered why on earth she babbled in the midst of this situation.

If it were possible, she’d dig herself into a hole right now.

At that time, Verkley, who was watching the scene play out without saying a word, suddenly began to snicker.

“Ha…”

“D-Don’t laugh.”

“Hah… Haha!”

As Eliana went frantic, Verkley laughed, leaning back.

At first glance, his gesture was clearly to tease her.

Eliana knew it too.
How ridiculous she was.

So she was even more embarrassed.

Eliana gestured for him to stop with her hands, flushing scarlet red.

She would have shaken him if it wasn’t for the fact that this man could kill her.

But what can she do?

She’s a powerless ice mage, and Verkley is the ultimate scheming mastermind of the world.

‘Yeah, laugh as much as you want.
I’m not ashamed of anything!’

Eliana tried to shake it off and kept her head held high.

But Eliana’s efforts only made Verkley laugh harder.

Eliana finally lowered her red face as Verkley laughed even louder.

‘I didn’t expect to feel this amount of shame…?’

Verkley barely managed to hold back his laughter until Eliana was so red she could not bear it.

“Pretty.”

“What?” 

“You are pretty.”

“…” 

For a moment, it was as if time had stopped.

Eliana looked at him with astonishment, but then he added indifferently,

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“But I’m prettier.”

…Of course, he is.

Eliana frowned when she realized that Verkley had complimented himself to make fun of her.

‘Ha, how would you know you’re good-looking?’

Normally she would have agreed, but she didn’t want to admit that he was handsome at this point.

Eliana grumbled and refuted.
“That’s being overly self-conscious.”

“I don’t think you’re in any position to talk.
You called yourself pretty just now.” Verkley tapped Eliana’s head.

Eliana picked up the pen to prevent any more teasing from him.

To be honest, his conditions gave her a flash of hope more than anything Eliana had ever imagined in this world.

There was a clause that stated they must continue kissing, but in fact, she had long since gotten used to kissing him.

With determination, Eliana jotted down the clauses of the contract on the paper.

The contract was simple.

The contract ends when Verkley takes full control of the demon’s power.

In return, he will safely send her out of the empire.

She would help him with a kiss, and he wouldn’t ask for more.

Even if he loses control of his power for the rest of his life, the contract will be over when he gets revenge.

Lastly, Eliana wrote that while she helped him, he would protect her from Hera’s threats completely.

Verkley scrutinized the terms of the contract and then plainly said, “If you think of anything later, you can add it.”

“What if I add something weird?”

“Then I’ll kill you,” Verkley whispered in a friendly voice, but his words were brutal.

“…I’m sorry for whatever I did wrong.” Eliana sighed and bowed her head.

Verkley smirked as Eliana looked frightened and signed the contract.

He accepted what she had written without complaining.

Eliana watched him nervously.

All the terms of the contract were small, so there was no nonsense.

Now, she didn’t have to worry about being killed by him.

She was safe as long as he offered to spare her.

At the very least, Hera and Verkley did not need to kill her.

As Verkley offered her the contract, Eliana signed it.

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Watching her, Verkley suddenly grabbed her hand and firmly stated, “That’s not your name.”

“What? That’s right? Eliana Mussieux.”

What does he mean?

Eliana stared at him blankly, and Verkley repeated himself.

“I mean your real name. That is not it.” He pointed to “Eliana Mussieux” scribbled on the paper.

Eliana’s gaze shifted from the signature to him.

His blue eyes were so cold they made her shiver.

Her blank face reflected in his eyes that looked straight at her.

Since when has she had that look on her face?

Eliana was unfamiliar with her expression in his eyes.

It felt strange maintaining eye contact with him.

She didn’t understand the redness on her face.

Eventually, Eliana averted her gaze first.

For some reason, she felt embarrassed while staring at him.

And she repeated his words in her mind.

‘Real name…’

He asked for her name, not Eliana Mussieux.

Eliana looked as dazed as a frozen screen, and Verkley jutted his chin as if telling her to hurry.

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“My name is…” Eliana stammered, her lips barely moving.

It was a name she had not been called since entering the novel.

It was a name that she never believed anyone would use, and because of that, she never thought of it.

No wonder her mouth couldn’t pronounce the words that easily.

After hesitating for a long time, Eliana barely answered, her tongue sitting heavy.

“It’s Sun… hari, my name.”

It was unfamiliar.

She never thought she would mention this name here.

It was as if the name had awkwardly circulated inside her mouth.

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Verkley smiled at Eliana’s answer.
“I was expecting it to be something bizarre since you were taking so long.”

“…”

“They’re similar.
Sunha‘ri’, E‘li’ana.”

[ T/N: In Korean, they actually are similar.
Eliana is pronounced —> El-ri-ana.
Sunhari is pronounced —> Sonha-ri.
]

He pronounced the “ri” strongly.

Hearing the name after a long time was just awkward.

Even though it was originally her’s, it was an unnatural sound, as if the relationship had become estranged.

It was not until he mentioned it that Eliana realized their names had something in common: “Ri.”

“…You’re right.
Sunhari.
Eliana.” Eliana murmured in a sentimental voice.

It was just something they had in common, but somehow she felt like there was a connection between Eliana Mussieux and herself.

Eliana repeatedly muttered, taking turns between their names.

Verkley, who was watching her, grinned.
“All right.
I’ll refer to you as ‘Lili’ from now on.”

“Huh? What’s with that weird name?” Eliana frowned at the unexpected pet name.

Verkley rubbed his jaw without any concern.

“Doesn’t the nickname suit your position? It sounds good for a dog.”

“…” 

Does he think of her as a dog?

Eliana remained silent and stayed still.

She knew it would hurt her pride if she said anything.

It would be like declaring herself a dog.

“Why, you don’t like it?” Verkley asked with a bright smile.

That sounded a lot like, “Do you want to die?”

Eliana nodded straight away and gave a servile smile, putting aside her pride.

“I-It’s nice.
Cute.”

“Right?”

“Yeah…” 

Verkley grinned once again while Eliana trembled in agreement.

‘You’re totally playing with me, play with me.’

It was kind of annoying, and when she secretly glared at him, he tapped on the paper.

“Write down your real name next to it.
Don’t put anything else.”