Eloise screamed and hid behind Isidore. He pulled her into his embrace, his expression cold and stern, calmly raising his gun. As the shot rang out, a blinding flash of white light passed through the surroundings. Eloise covered her eyes, too afraid to look. When she opened them again, the air was thick with the smoke of gunpowder.
The man lay on the ground ten meters away, the area where the bomb was strapped to his waist intact, while the rest of his body, including his head, had been reduced to a mangled mass of blood and flesh.
Just then, the seemingly ordinary staff members who had been around Isidore suddenly changed their expressions. In an instant, they all drew their guns and aimed at the man. Their marksmanship was precise and expertly trained, revealing their extraordinary hidden identities.
Still shaken, Eloise raised her eyes slightly, sweeping across Isidore's clean and sharp jawline. In her heart, she formed a new estimation of his power. For reasons she couldn't explain, she felt a cold, hollow emptiness inside.
"Are you scared?" Isidore gently lowered his eyes, holding her even tighter. After just saying there wouldn't be an assassination, he was slapped in the face by reality. His expression was far from pleasant. Charlie rushed over, apologetically lowering his head. "Boss, sorry, he slipped away during the rooftop ambush."
Isidore quickly glanced at Eloise, pressed his lips together, and, suppressing his anger, said nothing.
Eloise was momentarily confused, but suddenly, by some inexplicable intuition, she understood—the gunshots she'd heard on the road had been real. Isidore had predicted the assassin's location and sent Charlie and the others to neutralize him with minimal impact.
However, that shot only created a large hole in the assassin's arm, allowing him to escape. He ran to the spot where Isidore had stepped out of the car, attempting to complete his assassination mission by taking them both down in a mutual destruction.
So, no matter how he knew it—Isidore knew everything. Behind the scenes, he had already made arrangements. Then, he deliberately misled her, making her think her anxiety was useless, and even sowed doubt in her mind about Lysander's integrity.
He coldly watched her, unaffected by her exaggerated panic, like a jester—"the servant is more eager than the master." If not for Charlie's mistake, exposing the assassin's true existence, she would likely have been kept in the dark forever.
Once again, he told her nothing, just like when he hid his true identity from her, treating her like a pawn in his game. Isidore shifted his gaze. The scene was quickly cleared, as if nothing had happened at all.
Eloise wrapped herself in a blanket, holding a cup of hot milk, surrounded by several female staff members comforting her, her hands still shaking. She purposely kept a distance from Isidore.
The mayor rushed over in a panic, his face filled with concern: "Mr. Kingswell, are you alright? Our security failed to protect you properly. Luckily, the people around you are extraordinary…" It was unimaginable what would have happened if this major benefactor had been harmed within his jurisdiction, the South.
Isidore stood aside, confirming the assassin's identity with his subordinates, but occasionally glanced at Eloise's condition. He interrupted the mayor's nervous flattery, pointing toward her: "It's thanks to Miss Devereux's early vigilance and clever warning."
"Yes, yes!" The mayor turned to Eloise, lavishing praise on her, saying she would definitely receive an appropriate commendation for such bravery. Eloise turned her back and rolled her eyes, thinking that this would somehow win her over?
However, amid the bald-headed mayor's comical rambling, the chill in her heart was somewhat eased.
After the incident, she didn't attend the opening celebration dinner at the amusement park. Instead, she stood alone on the balcony of the park's castle, watching the fireworks display. Below the castle, the scene was lively, with couples marveling at the spectacle and a noisy family of three.
And there she was, benefiting from Isidore's influence, standing in this privileged spot, feeling as lonely as an orphan. Isidore, reeking of alcohol, embraced her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. Before she could speak, he captured her lips with his.
"The view here is blocked by the treetops, isn't it? I'll take you to a higher place," he said, lifting her up and climbing onto the roof, stepping on the chimney beside the castle. The act itself made him seem like a boy still in his teens, immature and full of mischief.
Eloise sat cautiously on the rooftop, the night before her a deep blue, dotted with stars that flickered in and out. Brilliant fireworks bloomed one after another, and the entire sky was as beautiful as a painting.
So easily, she was moved by such childish, girlish things. Isidore turned his body and continued to kiss her. This was the highest point in the entire amusement park, where only the birds in the sky could see. He placed his hand on her back, gently stroking her shoulder blade.
Eloise pushed him away, the pent-up grievance making her raise a hand to wipe away her tears. Isidore furrowed his brows slightly and reached out to wipe away her tear stains. The more she wiped, the more tears appeared. She simply covered her eyes with the back of her hand, her voice hoarse as she cried, "You always treat me like a fool."
Isidore pressed his lips together, offering no defense for himself, "All you need to do is trust me, trust the person I am." Eloise looked at him through tear-filled eyes, "You tell me nothing—how am I supposed to trust you?"
"You only need to know that I'll treat you well and won't harm you. Why bother with knowing anything else?"
A chill ran through Eloise's heart, and she lowered her head. "I'm going back tomorrow." "No," Isidore said harshly, "You're coming with me." He rubbed his tired eyes. "They know you're with me. They might come after you. I can't trust you to be out there alone."
"Them?" Eloise asked angrily. "Who exactly are you talking about?"
Isidore looked at her, his throat tightening. "You don't need to know. Even if you did, it wouldn't matter..." Eloise was completely unwilling to speak any further. Isidore sighed inwardly, ignoring her kitten-like struggles. Relying on his drunken state, he held her tightly, his face marked with several scratches.
Eloise finally gave in, and the two of them leaned against each other, watching the fireworks bloom in silence.
To her surprise, the mayor's promise to honor her was real. He organized a formal ceremony, invited a group of journalists and media, set it all up impressively, and even prepared a trophy and a VCR to award Eloise with the South Honorary Good Citizen Award.
Eloise reluctantly accepted, grateful that Isidore didn't join in on this childish farce. Instead, he sent Charlie to escort her, and even prepared a red formal outfit for her, making it seem like a parent sending their child to accept an award.
The host on stage was praising Eloise's life so far, making her deeply question whether she was truly as great as they made her out to be. Unable to listen any longer, she stepped aside and called Lysander. Still no answer.
Afterward, Eloise wanted to ask Lysander how he knew about the assassination plot against Isidore. There was also something she wanted to ask about Isidore. That day, when he mentioned his father and such… she wanted to know more about his past.
It wasn't about seeing him as the second male lead whose background needed to be understood, but rather, she simply wanted to know more about the person he truly was.
The busy signal kept coming from the phone. Lysander sometimes did this, too busy with other things. Just as it was her turn to go on stage, she put the phone back into her bag and handed it to Charlie. The sound of the spotlight snapping, "click, click," echoed. Eloise held the trophy, suddenly feeling a sense of vanity-driven satisfaction.
No matter how one looked at it, this was the first time she had been recognized since arriving in this world. She smiled brightly at the camera, her eyes and mouth curving into a joyful arc. Afterward, relying on the article, she made a phone call home, feeling justified as she scolded her parents.
"Look at my level of consciousness, and then look at yours! How could you, as my parents, be so terrible to me?!" She hung up the phone just as her father, Edward, was fuming with anger.
For her own safety, Eloise obediently followed Isidore to his place.
