Chapter 65 Is this all your courage?
Danieru could only sit there, feigning calm. He and Jay didn't make a sound out of fear. Before them was a large snake with its eyes closed, its scales golden yellow, and its size truly enormous.
The snake's eyes slowly opened, staring at Danieru and Jay, who had probably been waiting for it to wake up.
"Do you wish to speak to that form, Cancri?" Jay asked.
Danieru, hearing the name of the Golden Snake leader mentioned, swallowed hard. No... how could a snake that large and terrifying be the leader of the Golden Snake mafia? This wasn't fantasy; they lived in a normal world, and something like this was beyond his imagination. Danieru swallowed hard, quite startled when Jay patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't be afraid, what you're seeing is real."
Danieru tried not to scream. He swallowed again and controlled his breathing to remain calm. But... as the large snake watched him, everything became even more terrifying. The gaze of those golden-yellow irises was terrifying, especially as the snake's head approached him.
Danieru closed his eyes, held his breath, and clenched his fists tightly. The man's body trembled, and he couldn't even feel his bones.
"Is this all your courage? You dare to disturb your enemy's wife, but you're afraid to face your ally. Where is your courage?"
Danieru opened his eyes quickly, shocked to see Cancri's face so close to his. That man... yes... Cancri was truly terrifying to him right now.
"Loser..." Cancri quickly pulled his face away, grinning and glancing at Jay.
Danieru held his breath again, his eyes darting away, and he realized that the snake had now transformed into a half-snake, half-human creature.
"H-how y-y-you..." Danieru stared more closely. "...How did you transform into that? W-what... I mean... w-who are you really?"
"Explaining it to you is pointless, because you..." Cancri smiled, finding this kind of entertainment very enjoyable. It was rare for him to show his snake form to strangers, let alone ordinary people. "...You wouldn't understand. Just pretend you're in a fantasy world, and pretend what you saw never existed."
Hearing those words made Danieru even more terrified. He couldn't do anything now. Fighting back would be suicide. Indeed... since the incident in Macau, he and Camilla had been caught up in crazy things. And unfortunately... they were dealing with the wrong person.
Danieru now understood why Camilla kept fighting. Because Camilla knew that fighting the man before her would be suicide. And Camilla also knew... that they had to fight for this man and for themselves.
The man tried to be braver, he steeled himself and tried to keep facing it. The man named Cancri could be their protector, and he would do anything to gain his power.
Camilla had fought to gain an ally like Cancri, and she had disappeared just as she was trying to help him. For his sake, Camilla was willing to have an affair with a scary man like Cancri, and he always dismissed Camilla's sacrifices as pointless and childish.
"What do you want?" Cancri asked.
Danieru was quite surprised by the question. But if he continued like this, he wouldn't be able to do anything. He was also annoyed that the man named Cancri didn't seem to know what he wanted, asking questions that he found completely unclear.
“Tell me... or say nothing,” Cancri said again.
“Don’t you know everything I’m thinking? You already know, why are you still asking?”
“Huh... Jay, why did you bring this rebel here? You should have killed this worthless human, not brought him to me.” Cancri looked annoyed by Danieru’s answer, glaring at Jay, who had been silent the entire time.
“Calm down, I’ll explain.” Jay stood up, ready to explain everything to Cancri.
Cancri quickly swung his tail at Jay, and Jay quickly dodged Cancri’s tail.
Bang...
The tail slammed into the wall, shattering it. Danieru, watching this, grew even more frightened, almost urinating himself.
“I know everything he wants. But I want to know what his heart wants,” Cancri said.
Hearing Cancri’s intentions naturally confused Danieru. He tried to regain his composure, but unfortunately, his body was telling him otherwise. He was still terrified, and this was only going to get worse for him.
“Danieru, I have an important request. Why did you come here? What makes you want to use me as a shield and a weapon? You could have refused to leave when Jay picked you up earlier.”
Cancri's question was quite difficult, and he stared at him. “What my heart and my brain think remains the same.”
Hearing Danieru's answer made Cancri grin. It turned out there really were fools in this world, and he hadn't expected his ally to use only his brain as a benchmark for everything.
“What prompted you to come here?” Cancri asked.
Danieru was increasingly confused; he didn't understand what Cancri wanted. The questions were so annoying and sounded stupid to him.
“You already know, I want you to help me save Camilla, and I came because I want you to be my shield and weapon.”
“Who is Camilla to you?” Cancri asked.
Danieru clenched his fists. If he answered that Camilla was his wife, Cancri would be denying that she was merely his contractual wife. Even though he didn't reveal the secret, he was sure Cancri already knew.
"Camilla is my friend, she's also my wife." Danieru swallowed hard, hoping his answer would satisfy Cancri. He didn't want to be trapped in this predicament anymore; he wanted Cancri to act now.
"How do you feel about her?"
Feelings?
Danieru helped. Right... how did he feel about Camilla? He and Camilla had always been good friends, and he felt a good fit for her. He cared for her, and more importantly... he really didn't want to lose her.
“I like her, and I love Camilla.”
Cancri grinned again. “Do you love Camilla Alistair?”
Love?
Danieru remembered his in-laws’ question, and he also remembered his time with Rachel some time ago. At that moment, he realized that his feelings for Rachel were much stronger than his feelings for Camilla.
“No... I don’t love her, I just like and care for her as a friend.”
Cancri smiled slightly, then took a breath and turned his gaze to Danieru. “Do you still love Rachel?”
“Yes!” Danieru answered without hesitation.
Cancri nodded in understanding, looking relieved and happier to hear Danieru’s answer.
“So?” Jay asked, clearly confused.
“Marcus!” Cancri exclaimed.
A man quickly entered the room, carrying a small black suitcase. He immediately stood next to Cancri’s snake and stared at Danieru.
“Remove the chip from her body, then send her back. I don't want to deal with her anymore, and one thing she needs to know after this…” Cancri glanced toward the corner of the room, where someone had been hiding behind a large pillar. “...Terizla, you can speak now.”
Danieru held his breath. He averted his gaze and saw a man emerge from hiding. The man smiled at him, then stepped closer to him. He felt… he felt like he regretted answering Cancri's question.
“Danieru, thank you for your honesty. I'm sorry to have surprised you, but to be honest, I could have paid you all my debts from the start.” The man stopped walking, then smiled more gently and warmly.
“I said I didn't have the money because I knew you would be looking for the most precious thing to me at that moment. My guess was right; you wanted my daughter and wanted to make her your wife. My wife and I have been working together to instill hatred in Camilla for her own mother; we have our reasons for that.”
Danieru was speechless.
"I originally believed you could love Camilla, but it seems I was very wrong. I'm doing this because I want to fill the hole in my daughter's heart; she needs someone to heal her trauma and fear."
"F-Father... y-you..." Danieru stared at his father-in-law. He hadn't expected the man to be in front of him right now, let alone hear everything he'd said to Cancri.
"I'm only going to say this once, and you must listen to me seriously."
Glek ...
Danieru swallowed again, this time he could even hear the sound of saliva being swallowed very clearly. The man took a step back. What was he supposed to hear?
“Camilla was close to you when she was little. My little daughter went to the same school as you, and she also became very close friends with your twin sister. Leoni introduced Camilla and you, and from then on, Camilla told me she liked someone. No... she even said she loved you.”
Danieru was increasingly confused. Twin sister? Leoni? Since childhood? What did all that mean?
“On the night of her fifteenth birthday, Camilla wanted to express all her feelings for you. But tragedy struck. The party, which had been going smoothly, turned into chaos. Many people were killed, and Camilla was kidnapped. You died, and your sister died. Danieru... after that day, I didn't know what happened to you, but after Golden Snake investigated everything, I knew who was behind it all.”
Danieru couldn't move, he was shaking, his mind completely lost.
"Your father wanted my family destroyed, and he used the help of others to pressure me. By kidnapping my daughter, he managed to tear apart the Malaike and Alistair families, who were once good friends. With your sister's death, he managed to control your grandfather. And to protect you, your mother... my best friend, had to suffer."
Deg ...
Danieru smiled sadly. What was he hearing? Were they acting in a movie now? Why was this drama escalating?
“We searched for Camilla for six months, and when my daughter was nearly dead, the Golden Snake found her. But it wasn't enough... my daughter was completely destroyed, and I knew this wouldn't be your father's last attack. The people protecting your father struck again. They kidnapped my wife, brainwashed her, and ordered her to do whatever they wanted. Killing others, and worse, gambling and always losing. The attack was successful; I nearly destroyed my own marriage. Until I returned to the Golden Snake, and my wife returned to her former self. To dispel their suspicions, my wife continued to act as they wanted, and that made Camilla hate her own mother.”
Danieru clenched his fists tightly, unsure of what to do now. His in-laws' statement was enough to shock him.
"My wife took that opportunity to approach you and borrow money from you to gamble. She then incurred a large debt, and I couldn't repay it. I did that on purpose; my wife has long since returned to normal. Even though your father's men brainwashed her, I did the same when I realized it. My wife kept up the pretense for her own safety, Camilla's, and to deceive your father. But one thing, Danieru... I can't brainwash my daughter to erase her trauma. She needs sincere love to be free, because what's hurt isn't her brain, but her heart and soul."
Danieru lowered his head, hearing what his father-in-law said was enough to make him even more depressed. He couldn't be by Camilla's side; he wasn't the right person. Why... why did he now regret answering Cancri's question without thinking first?
“I’ve heard your answer, and I know you won’t be able to free Camilla. Your marriage was a contractual one, wasn’t it? Now pursue your love and release my daughter. You can rest assured, Golden Snake and I will go and rescue Camilla. Congratulations on your freedom. Pursue what you must pursue, fight for what you must fight for. Save Rachel from Hatsu, and live well.”
Bugh...
“A-ahh...” Danieru tried to hold on, but he was truly exhausted.
Bruk ...
Danieru's body slammed to the floor, unconscious. Marcus, who had knocked Danieru unconscious, immediately began his task, removing the chip from Danieru.
"Terizla, what do you want to do next?" Cancri asked.
"Save my daughter." Mr. Alistair took a deep breath, then smiled slightly.
"Okay, the senior executives have prepared everything. You can sit back now," Cancri said.
Mr. Alistair looked back at Danieru, disappointed that the man truly had no feelings for his daughter. Perhaps he should treat his daughter himself. Brainwash her and make her forget all the painful things in the world. But... Camilla's heart would still be hurt, because what had happened had hurt her.
Taking a deep breath, Mr. Alistair immediately rushed out of the room. He needed to calm his mind and find a better way forward for his only daughter.
Meanwhile... the unconscious Danieru was sinking into his subconscious. The man tried to find the pieces of his heart, wanting to know what his life was like in the past. Who... who could help him unravel it all? Who could pull him out of all the pain?
He'd forgotten, but his heart ached terribly. What exactly had he not known all this time?