Yandere Monster Evolution: My Blind Wife Will Become a Demonic Queen
Chapter 108: Heartbeat
The walk back to the villa was quiet. And like always, Viora was grabbing my sleeve instead of my hand. It had now become a habit of hers.
Even after the downpour had stopped, the cold air from the rainy season was still hitting our skin. Every now and then, small coughs would escape my lips, continuously reminding me about our reckless escapade on the rooftop last night.
Beside me, Viora wasn’t doing much better either. Her nose was still a light shade of pink, which told me that she had the flu too.
’When I get home, I should make another batch of magical tea.’
Click.
Soon, we arrived at the villa, and the moment the door was locked behind us, Viora didn’t wait for a single second. She let go of my sleeve and, without even taking off her cap, walked ahead and collapsed onto the couch just like yesterday.
But unlike yesterday, when she was just tired, she was ill today. Moreover, she wasn’t the only one feeling down. I was also feeling much more worn out. It seemed the magical herbs weren’t supposed to work well for illnesses.
I also walked over and sat on a single-seater sofa placed beside the couch and rested my face in my palms.
Just a small walk and we were already like this. I wondered what would have happened if we had encountered Black on the way.
"Are you also feeling tired?" Viora asked with her eyes closed, moving her hands slightly across the couch.
"Yeah. What about you?" I responded and also closed my eyes for a moment until she spoke up.
"My head feels like it is going to burst with pain," she spoke in a really low tone, as if it was taking her so much strength to even speak. "And my throat still tastes like the morning tea."
"That tea is the only reason we aren’t shivering under a blanket right now," I said as I stood up, placing my hands on the armrests. "Just stay there and rest. I will make something warm to eat."
Then, I walked past the couch and headed straight toward the kitchen to wash my hands.
"Woo Jin..."
"Yeah?" I stopped and glanced at her over my shoulder.
"Don’t put any bitter things in it. Please."
I couldn’t help but shake my head. For a girl like her, who could kill monsters and even humans without a single shred of hesitation, she was remarkably weak against anything that didn’t taste like pure sugar.
After preparing a simple meal and ensuring she actually finished every single bite, the two of us just sat there in the quiet living room. The large television in front of us was turned off, and the only sound filling the space was the ticking of the wall clock.
Viora was sitting on the edge of the couch with her knees pulled tightly against her chest as her chin rested on them. Her eyes were tilted slightly toward the floor, but I knew her senses were completely focused on me.
I pulled the folded piece of paper out of my pocket, the one I had retrieved from the empty table inside Black’s place.
’8:00 PM on the 23rd.’
That was two days from now.
But my system quest didn’t care about Black’s convenient scheduling. The timer was ticking down, and if I didn’t uncover his true identity—or whatever he was—before the deadline, I would be labeled as an idiot by the system.
’The daycare,’ I thought to myself as I leaned back against the sofa. ’The Morning Star Initiative. If his daughter is actually there, then his wife must be nearby too. If I can just make Black think that—’
"Woo Jin."
Viora’s sudden voice broke through my thoughts.
"Hm?" I murmured, not looking up from the paper.
"Why were you smiling earlier?"
Hearing her, I paused and my fingers froze over the edge of the note as I slowly raised my head to look at her.
"Smiling? When?"
"When we were outside the daycare," she said and tilted her head slightly to the side. "Right after I told you about the wooden bird artifact. Your heartbeat skipped, and the muscles in your face relaxed. You were smiling."
"...I wasn’t smiling," I replied.
"You were."
"I wasn’t."
I tried to defend myself, but Viora was so persistent about it. She was annoyingly confident for someone who couldn’t even see my face.
"You were," she insisted, and a small, stubborn pout formed on her face. "I can’t be wrong, Woo Jin. You were definitely happy about something."
"I was just glad we found a concrete clue," I sighed, folding the paper back up and sliding it into my pocket. "Finding that artifact means Black actually has a weakness. It means he isn’t some untouchable ghost."
She didn’t answer right away. She kept her position with her chin still resting on her knees, but the atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted. It felt... heavier, for some reason.
After several seconds of silence, she suddenly spoke again.
"Woo Jin."
"What now?"
"Black’s wife."
The moment those two words left her mouth, a sudden alarm bell went off inside my head. My survival instincts, which were usually calm most of the time, were suddenly screaming at me.
Danger. Absolute danger.
"What about her?" I asked.
Viora didn’t move a single muscle, but her fingers tightened slightly around the fabric of her trousers. Then, she spoke.
"Is she pretty?"
My eyes went wide and my foot, which had been casually resting on the table in front of me, slipped off entirely.
"What kind of question is that?" I stammered, looking at her.
"Answer it."
"No."
"You looked at her," Viora said as her voice gradually dropped to a calm yet dangerous tone.
"What are you even talking about? Why would you care if she is pretty or ugly?!" I defended myself, throwing my hands up in confusion.
"But you were thinking about her," she countered as her eyes locked directly onto my position. "When you were looking at the gate of the daycare. Your pulse altered. You were wondering what kind of woman could be married to a man like him."
"Because I was investigating!" I argued and tried to defend myself. "It’s standard tactical deduction. If a man is that powerful, his family dynamic must be completely anomalous. I was analyzing clues, Viora."
"You were curious."
"I absolutely was not."
Viora’s lips suddenly curled upward into a small smile. The heavy, suffocating aura around her vanished as quickly as it had appeared and was replaced by a look of pure amusement.
For some reason, she looked incredibly pleased with herself.
"You are lying," she murmured softly.
I rubbed my forehead, letting out a long, exhausted sigh.
This was completely ridiculous. We were currently investigating one of the most terrifying, dangerous anomalies I had ever encountered in this world, and somehow, the conversation had turned into an interrogation about whether his wife was attractive or not.
"I didn’t think she was beautiful even for a bit," I muttered again, leaning my head back against the cushion.
"Really?" Viora chuckled softly, her shoulders finally relaxing.
"Yeah, but why are you asking?"
"Because I am curious."
"About what?"
"If you think she is pretty," she said, and her smile widened even further.
"..."
I didn’t answer. I chose to remain completely silent.
Apparently, that silence was enough of an answer for her. She let out another weak giggle and buried her face back into her knees, looking entirely satisfied with the chaos she had just caused in my mind.
"Seriously... women are terrifying," I subconsciously let out without realizing.
"Then don’t investigate wives anymore. I prefer when your heartbeat changes because of me."