Accomplice In Crime

Inside an intensive care unit of Grenton City Hospital, a white-haired young man was lying down on the resting bed, unconscious.

His entire head was wrapped up in a thick layer of bandages, while a blackish-red packet of liquid hung from the metal stand next to his bed, slowly feeding a steady stream of blood into his artery through the hefty needle stuck to his colorfully tattooed arm. 

– Beep. Beep.

All kinds of sophisticated-looking medical equipment buzzed in activity around him, while his closed eyes erratically moved around under his eyelids. 

"Ugh..."

Suddenly, a soft groan left his mouth as he winced in pain. 

– Beep. Beep. Beep-!

One of the medical equipment started beeping faster and faster, as the eyelids of the young man began twitching rapidly.

"Huu...!"

A minute later, his hazy eyes slowly fluttered open, before immediately closing back as he scrunched up his face in irritation.

"Argh.. Damn all these lights! Ugh–!"

It took him a moment to acclimate to the bright lights in the room. The haziness in his eyes gradually went away as he blankly stared at the pristine white ceiling above.

"Huh..."

After staring at the unfamiliar ceiling for a few moments, he tilted his head a little, seemingly unable to wrap his head around the situation he found himself in.

"...Did I transmigrate again?"

Mumbling something under his breath, he narrowed his eyes, gently turning his head to his side where the constant beeping noises were coming from.

– Beep. Beep.

Thankfully, his fear seemed to be unwarranted. It was just a normal ECG machine regularly monitoring his vitals.

"...So it wasn't my phone alarm ringing. Right, looks like I'm in a hospital."

He then lightly touched the bandage wrapped around his head, feeling a light sting, along with a dull, throbbing headache heavily pressing down on his brain. 

...It certainly didn't seem to be a light wound, judging by how much bandage the doctors had applied. Rather, Damien was pretty sure that there had been more than one stitch involved in his treatment this time.

"Heh... Hehe, hahaha!"

Slowly remembering how he had gotten this injury, despite all the pain he was going through, Damien let out a hearty laugh. 

...How could he not? 

He still remembered the look Julia had given him just before he had passed out. Even though he might've gained an unnecessary head trauma because of this, his plan had indeed worked out pretty nicely. 

"...Still, I really went nuts this time around, huh."

A bitter smile appeared on his face as he said that. 

To be honest, he would've liked to avoid doing such extreme things too, but desperate times often called for desperate measures. If he didn't do what he did back then, then...

"—Oh, I'm sure you did. Though I wouldn't simply call it going nuts exactly, since there is a better word for it..."

"Who's there—!"

Startled by the unknown feminine voice speaking next to him, Damien suddenly jolted on his bed as he turned his head in the other direction at lightning speed.

"—it's called being suicidal. Oh, good morning there, my dear suicidal 'son-in-law'."

On that side of his bed, a sleepy-looking brunette lady was comfortably sitting on a chair, gently rubbing her reddish eyes as she lightly stretched her limbs like a lazy housecat. 

Damien stared at her speechlessly for a moment, his mouth slightly parted open in a confused shock. Julia didn't seem to care about his reaction though, yawning as she shifted on her seat.

"...Oh, Miss Ju—Uhm, good morning to you too, dear mother-in-law."

After blinking like an idiot for a few moments, he greeted her back, tactfully deciding not to make any comment regarding her sarcastic tone when she called him 'son-in-law'.

None of them spoke for a few minutes after that, waiting for the other party to initiate the conversion first. They had a lot to talk about after all, especially after what happened earlier at Sierra's house.

In the end, it was Damien who broke the silence with a short sigh. 

"Haa... Honestly, I somewhat expected someone else to be here by my side. But I guess I can't really complain. At least 'someone' is here with me..."

Julia's face crumpled up hearing his presumptuous words. It was obvious who he wanted to be here with him.

"Well, unfortunately for you, you'll have to make do with me for now. Sia still has her classes to attend after all, especially when she has already missed quite a few important ones because of a 'certain someone'..."

"—Oh, so she wanted to stay here with me, then! Ahh, she's such a sweet, adorable girl, isn't she? Thank you for letting me know, my lovely mother-in-law."

An angry vein bulged on Julia's temple as she forced out a cramped smile, unable to stomach the cocky behavior he was showing right after waking up in a hospital. 

"...Haha, you must really want me to smack that patched-up head of yours, dear son-in-law?"

"Haah..."

In response, Damien just sighed exaggeratedly as he shook his head in mock disappointment.

"...What kind of mother wants to make her daughter a widow before she's even married? Such a heartless thing to say. But don't worry though, I'll definitely keep it a secret between the two of us, dear mother-in-law!"

He even gave her a thumbs-up at the end, winking at her as he did.

"...You're such an unbelievably insufferable person, you know that?"

Julia gritted her teeth. This young man was proving to be an absolute nightmare to argue with. 

For a moment, she even wondered why he wasn't an attorney. It just seemed like such a colossal waste of natural talent!

Unaware of her internal thoughts, Damien lightly shrugged his shoulders. 

"Well, there aren't many people I joke around with, so nobody told me that before. Anyway, jokes aside, how long was I out for?"

Julia tiredly sighed, before taking a glance at her wristwatch. 

"Around fourteen hours... And I still can't believe this nonsense. A dozen stitches, head concussion, severe blood loss, and even hospitalization... All of this for what? Just to prove a point?"

All this time, even though she didn't show it on the outside, she was more than a little impressed by his ability to joke around like this in his current condition. 

It certainly couldn't be easy to endure all the pain he must be going through at the moment. But here he was, not even letting out a single groan of pain after becoming aware of her presence in the room. 

Instead, all his witty replies to her every response were making her frustrated like never before!

"...No, it wasn't just about 'proving a point'. Well, maybe a small part of it was, but most of it was actually a matter of life and death for me, as unbelievable as it may sound to you."

Damien had a bitter smile on his face as he answered her. If only things were so simple.

Julia immediately furrowed her brows. For him to say it was a matter of life and death.... Was he really thinking about committing suicide if she didn't approve of him? 

"...You can't be serious. No way you were—"

...Because if he did, then it would truly be a whole new level of insanity she had yet to see or hear about anywhere in the world.

Damien had a strange look in his eyes as he interrupted her before she could finish.

"No, wait. I feel like we're talking about two different things here... By a life and death matter, I meant that unless I have you on my side, I am going to die by the hands, or rather claws, of a dirty animal. You see, there is a very, very evil person coveting your daughter."

Just when he finished, he saw Julia giving him a weird look. 

He confusedly frowned for a moment, before raising one of his eyebrows and adding a clarification.

"—Well, of course it's someone other than me. Now stop looking at me like that."

"...It's really unsettling how self-aware you are about your own character." 

Julia sighed. This wasn't how she had expected her conversation with this young man to go.

Still, things like that could be pondered upon later. She had a much bigger fish to fry at the moment.

"Anyway, before that, why would someone like that be after my daughter? Does she have a stalker I don't know about or something?"

Damien shook his head in response. 

"No, I would've permanently taken care of something so trivial long ago..."

This time, when he looked at her, the mischievous light was completely gone from his eyes, eerily resembling the crazy side of him she had witnessed last night. 

A faint shiver traveled down her spine at this moment, coming face to face with that side of him once more – something she didn't expect to happen again.

Damien had an animalistic snarl on his face as he spoke, while occasionally grinding his teeth in anger.

"...It's a damned animal I can't take care of alone. That's why I needed you as an accomplice, to put that animal down for good. Something that I wouldn't have been able to obtain unless I did what I did last night."

Julia's face was a little pale as she stared at the young man in front of her with an incredulous gaze. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. 

Because if he really meant what she thought he meant...

"...J-Just to make sure, but, wh-what kind of....accomplice are you t-talking about?"

Hearing her unsteady voice, Damien gave her a knowing smile.

"Do you even need to ask? You're a smart lady. Obviously, you'll be my accomplice in a grave crime. And before you freak out, I want you to know this – if this person gets to live, not only will I inevitably die, but our Sia will be forced to spend the rest of her life in grief and despair, robbed of her freedom by a vile fiend..."

As he was talking, his hands slowly balled into tight fists, while the grin on his face also turned malevolent in nature.

"...Now, I don't think any of us want to see something like that. So all you will have to do is keep that person away from your daughter for as long as possible, and I'll take care of the rest. You won't even have to deal with anything directly."

"...Y-You were really talking about...murder, all this time? Murder, of all things...?"

Julia gulped down her saliva with a grim expression. Her guess turned out to be correct, after all. 

"...I will only ask you this once, so answer carefully."

But instead of answering her, Damien gave her a cold, neutral look. 

"Do you love your daughter? Because if you do, you will have to side with me. I will tell you everything about the reason behind why it has to be this way, but you should know this first – The only person in this world who can make her happy is me, and no one else."

His gaze then shifted, looking towards the white hospital ceiling with a dead gaze.

"Now, you have to make your choice, dear mother-in-law. Just like yesterday night, my life is in your hands. You can still choose to end me. But if you meant it even a single bit when you called me your 'son-in-law' earlier, I hope you will choose your own children over a revolting animal that seeks to end their life and happiness."

Julia found herself at a dangerous crossroads, with one path leading to the deepest layers of Hell, and the other leading straight to the Abyss.

Despite the air-conditioner working at full capacity in the background, her forehead was covered in cold sweat as she hesitated to come to a decision.

"...What an amazing list of choices you've given me, really."

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in, before exhaling out her indecision along with the air in her lungs.

Then, after a few minutes of silence, her gaze finally steeled. 

"...Before, you said you would tell me why it has to be this way. Even last night you said something similar, if I remember it right... So you will have to tell me everything that you know first, before I decide to do anything you say."

A small smile appeared on Damien's face as he took his gaze off the ceiling, turning around to face her.

"Anything that my mother-in-law asks for!"