Chapter 215
Anguis Regina was a stage na. I didn’t know her real na.
Even Anguis Regina herself was probably more accustod to the alias. She would likely find her real na more unfamiliar.
I followed Anguis Regina into a lavish building along a bustling street. This was a district for the wealthy.
With an indifferent expression, I trailed behind her. As we ascended to a higher floor, a luxurious hallway with a red carpet ca into view. On either side of the hallway were separate rooms.
Click.
Upon entering the reserved room, I saw a bar large enough to seat about ten people. Beyond the bar was a floor-to-ceiling glass window, revealing the night view of Border City.
"Is it really okay for Border City’s idol to be drinking with a man like this?"
I remarked sarcastically as I took a seat at the bar. Anguis Regina removed the cloth covering her lower face and pulled back the hood concealing her hair.
"This place offers perfect privacy."
I turned my gaze to the bartender who had just walked into the room. After greeting us, the bartender took position at the center of the bar.
"But there's a staff mber here. How is privacy guaranteed?"
"The bartender here neither sees nor hears. They only morize the layout of the room and move accordingly. If you input what you want to drink, they receive the order through tactile signals."
The bartender's eyes narrowed. Their pupils were cloudy, staring unfocused into the distance. There was no indication that they could hear anything we were saying.
"…Did this person give up their sight and hearing just to work here?"
I furrowed my brow slightly as I spoke. Anguis Regina burst into laughter and playfully tapped my shoulder.
"You really are an Imperial. Always jumping to the worst conclusions. This establishnt hires people with disabilities, whether congenital or acquired, as part of a welfare program. After working here for about ten years, they’re given new eyes and ears—whether cybernetic or biological. The pay is so good that so choose to stay and forgo the implants altogether. It’s one of Jafa Corporation’s welfare initiatives. Do you want sothing to drink?"
Anguis Regina tapped the counter beneath the bar. A nu appeared on the glass surface. She ordered a cocktail with a na so long and complicated it was difficult to pronounce.
"Just give a glass of milk. A place like this probably serves real milk instead of synthetic, right?"
Anguis Regina let out a faint chuckle at my words.
"Not just real milk, but real strawberries blended into it too. It’s delicious, so try it."
She finished placing her order.
Tick, tick, titick, tick.
A small rod attached to the bartender’s necklace moved. It tapped against the back of the bartender’s neck, relaying the signal.
The bartender, having interpreted the signal, prepared the drinks with such precise and fluid movents that it was hard to believe they were blind.
‘How extravagant.’
If privacy was the priority, an automated bar would have sufficed. Yet, this place deliberately employed human labor.
‘This is how the rich consu.’
The wealthy indulged in extravagance, willingly paying for unnecessary costs.
"When did you start visiting Gabriel?"
I brought up the topic before the drinks arrived. I had no intention of engaging in idle chatter with Anguis Regina.
"Around a month ago. Once or twice a week. I was curious—what kind of person is Gabriel that you care so much about him?"
"I never cared. He just had information I needed, so I kept him locked up in that hospital. I won’t be visiting him anymore."
I sneered as I spoke.
Anguis Regina maintained a seductive smile until the drinks arrived. It was an impeccable mask.
Clink.
The drinks were served. Anguis Regina lifted her glass and took a sip.
"Krrghh…"
She grimaced and stuck out her tongue, struggling to swallow the liquor before steadying her breath.
"…No matter how many tis I drink this, it’s always bitter and strong. You know what? This drink actually contains real snake venom. If your body isn’t in good condition or the mix is off, you could die. More than a dozen people have died drinking this. But if you manage to survive after ten glasses, you get free lifeti access to all of Jafa Corporation’s franchise restaurants."
Even after just one sip, Anguis Regina’s cheeks were already flushed. It seed to be as toxic as she claid.
"A ridiculous amusent. Anyone capable of drinking ten glasses of that wouldn’t be the type to care about free pizza and burgers."
"When life gets dull, people seek thrills in strange places."
"So that's why you're always up to bizarre shit? Lucky you haven’t died yet."
"Right? Even I’m surprised I’m still alive."
Anguis Regina traced the rim of her glass, her gaze vacant yet glimring with a strange emptiness.
"If you want to die, I’ll step aside and let you jump through that window. I won’t stop you this ti."
"Haha, these days, I’m not so eager to die. Thanks to you."
Anguis Regina slid her chair closer, shrinking the space between us. The scent of her perfu and her own natural fragrance pricked at the lining of my nose.
She was a woman who provoked raw instincts. Sotis, she was almost unbearably blatant about it.
I felt a biological pull toward her. It was an inevitable urge, a natural response for any human male. But it was nothing more than that. If I ignored it, it would pass. There was no reason for to be swayed by such shallow desires.
If I had indulged every primal instinct I had, I would have already made a na for myself in Border City as an unprecedented mass murderer.
Not all desires were equal. The sexual attraction I felt toward Anguis Regina was a fleeting impulse—sothing that would disappear as soon as it was satisfied, no different from hunger or sleep.
"You amuse ," she said. "You possess such beastly violence and aggression, yet you're so detached when it cos to other desires."
I didn’t respond. Instead, I stared directly at her.
Anguis Regina boldly reached out and traced her fingers over my thigh. Her touch was subtle yet unmistakably suggestive.
I twisted my lips into a smirk. My control over my body—both my organic and cybernetic parts—was far deeper and more refined than that of an average person.
‘A cold awareness descending from my head, flowing down my spine and through my veins.’
As the blood that had rushed toward desire was redirected, my mind sharpened once more.
"…Impressive," she murmured.
Anguis Regina bit her lower lip slightly, as if her pride had been wounded.
Swish.
The bartender slid a glass of strawberry milk toward . Bits of real strawberry pulp floated in the liquid. I took a sip. It was fresh, expensive, and unmistakably the real thing.
"Enough with the gas. More importantly, don’t visit Gabriel again. That’s a warning."
"And why should I listen to you?"
"Because if you piss off, you’ll end up dead by my hands. I can suppress the artificial attraction I feel for your body without any difficulty. But my urge for violence… I can’t promise I’ll hold that back."
Anguis Regina smiled brightly.
"Do you even need to hold it back? Wouldn’t it be fine to just let go?"
She grabbed my wrist and guided my hand to her neck. Tilting her head slightly, she offered herself to —an invitation, as if daring to squeeze.
My fingers brushed against the soft skin of her throat. If I applied just a little force, her neck would snap like a twig.
A raw impulse surged through . I wanted to see her neck break. I wondered if she would still be able to keep that composed smile while she was dying.
"Hah… Haha…"
I let out a laugh, my shoulders shaking. Then, I swatted her hand away and downed the rest of my strawberry milk in one go. It was too expensive to waste. Even the bits of strawberry clinging to the rim—I scraped them off with my tongue.
"What’s so funny?" she asked.
"You’re seeing Kinuan through . Would you call this a projection? But it’s true that you hate the Kinuan of today. So then… Ah, I see. You’re superimposing onto the Kinuan from before you hated him?"
Anguis Regina covered her nose and mouth with both hands as she looked at . A flush had spread across her face, and her eyes sparkled.
"Hmm, go on."
"That’s why you’ve slept with every single Akies Victima detective until now. Searching for another Kinuan. You want a Kinuan you have no reason to hate. You want a new Kinuan who will kill the Kinuan you despise, don’t you?"
I believed I had struck a nerve. But instead of getting angry, Anguis Regina was excited.
"Truly… You really are like Kinuan."
She placed a hand on my cheek, bringing her sweet lips dangerously close.
Anguis Regina didn’t bother hiding her emotions. Her desperate desire mixed with her natural scent, spreading through the air. Even the bartender—who could neither see nor hear—was aroused just from the scent of her.
"Kinuan must have never held you, only leaving you yearning. So every ti I reject you, I must look even more like him."
"If you know that, then hold . That way, you won’t seem like Kinuan anymore."
A contradiction. It’s because she wasn’t held that she so desperately wanted to be.
Kinuan had left behind a terrible curse and confusion in Anguis Regina’s heart.
An insatiable longing. The mont she was embraced, the illusion would shatter. Once the hollow act was over, only the thirst for a new Kinuan would remain.
"You said Kinuan was the reason your father died, didn’t you?"
For the first ti, Anguis Regina flinched. She no longer looked rely excited.
"Ah, I completely forgot—I have another appointnt…"
I had no intention of letting her escape. She was insane anyway. Whether her heart was torn apart or not was none of my concern.
"Let guess. You killed your father with your own hands. At Kinuan’s request, I assu? He must have lured you in with sweet words, seducing you into murdering your own blood. He probably whispered so nonsense in your ear—sothing like, ‘Once this is over, I’ll hold you,’ or ‘Let’s run away together.’ Am I wrong?"
Anguis Regina let out an awkward laugh.
"That’s an interesting theory. But our ga is over. Stop."
Her mind, stripped of its defenses, lay bare. Every probe elicited a reaction. My deductions continued, linking one after another.
"Even if soone is skilled in psychological manipulation, driving another to commit patricide isn’t easy. You must have already had deep-seated resentnt toward your father. Years' worth of accumulated grievances, at the very least—grievances strong enough to escalate into murder. I wondered what that could be…"
Anguis Regina’s hand moved. She tried to slap .
I caught her wrist. She imdiately grabbed her glass with her other hand and threw the drink at .
Splash!
This much, I was willing to take.
Snake venom-laced alcohol splattered across my face. My skin burned—it seed the drink was indeed laced with so nasty ingredients. I might have been better off taking the slap.
"Bitter."
I ran my tongue over my lips, licking off the alcohol.
"Why don’t you just stick to your job like the obedient hunting dog you were hired to be?"
Anguis Regina scowled as she spoke. But her pupils, the flush on her cheeks, the slight tremble in her legs—they all betrayed her arousal.
My deanor, as if I saw through everything, must have reminded her of Kinuan.
Crash!
I kicked the chair out from under her. It toppled over and tumbled across the floor.
Thud!
Anguis Regina fell hard onto her rear, landing beneath my gaze.
I crossed my legs and clasped my hands over my knee.
Faced with my domineering stance, she faltered. The clash between her reason and instincts twisted her expression.
"Jafa cherishes you imnsely. But it’s not because you’re a valuable asset to Jafa Corporation. It’s for more personal reasons. And yet, you rarely speak about Jafa. You don’t openly show any strong emotions toward her either. You find Jafa burdenso, awkward to deal with. The entire ti I’ve been in Border City, I’ve never seen you two chatting casually or eting alone."
I was pulling together scattered, incongruous pieces from the past, sifting through them with fierce focus. If I played this right, I could unravel the connection between Kinuan and Jafa Corporation right here, right now.
"Are you looking right through right now? Just like Kinuan did?"
Still sitting on the floor, Anguis Regina looked up at .
"Tell about Jafa and Kinuan, Anguis Regina. Then, right here, I’ll hold you just as you want. Whether that turns out to be your heaven or just another hell… I have no idea."
I had my own suspicions about Jafa and Anguis Regina. But I wasn’t certain.
The relationship between a parent and child had always been an enigma to . It was no different now.
Creak.
As Anguis Regina rose from the floor, she slipped a credit chip into the bartender’s waistband and gave them a small nudge. Whether that was a signal or not, the bartender quietly left the room.
Swish.
Anguis Regina took off her top. Her flushed skin held both the innocence of a young girl and the allure of a temptress.
"Take a guess, Detective. Figure out the relationship between Jafa and . Go on, like Kinuan would."
Anguis Regina pressed . A thin strand of saliva glistened between her parted lips.
"Jafa is your stepmother. You must have hated that your beloved father was involved with a Tajirunese woman."
Anguis Regina’s face crumbled, as if lting away. She staggered, bowing her head.
"You really are… the best."
And then, she lifted her gaze.
A smile—one she had never shown, not even on stage—blood across her face.
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