Chapter 32: Chapter 32

Leo hesitated as he looked down at the two boxes of contraceptive pills in his hands. Aren’t these for preventing pregnancy in women? What will happen to me if I swallow them? Can men even ingest these things? He wondered.

Leo stared at them for a second, then blinked rapidly, batting away the tears that were welling up in his eyes. He gulped several times.

Tyson would never have believed that the contraceptive pills he’d bought in the hopes of getting lucky would one day be forced down his own brother’s throat.

It was absurd that a team leader of the Firewolf Chamber of Commerce could lose to a mere student.

Lying on the floor, Tyson clenched his jaw in indignation. How could this have happened? He fumed.

“What are you waiting for? Do you want me to feed you myself?” Casper bellowed at Leo, a savage scowl on his face. Casper had to resist the urge to unman Leo there and then. After all, Leo no longer had a single shred of dignity left in him anyway.

Kindness towards one’s enemies never paid off. Leo’s resolve to humiliate Lillian was unforgivable.

I don’t love Lillian, but I can’t stand seeing Leo’s swagger! How could he have made use of the Firewolf Chamber of Commerce to threaten me? Casper reasoned with himself. He shook his head, then reminded himself firmly, The only one I have eyes for is my goddess Giselle!

“Don’t eat that, Leo! Give it to me!” Looking at the blubbering Leo from the corner of his eye, Tyson pounded his fist against the floor vehemently.

Leo was the only member of the Hall family who’d successfully entered university and was naturally the source of his father’s pride. If Leo did indeed swallow the contraceptive pills, no one knew how extensive the consequences of that single act would be.

As Leo’s older brother, Tyson had always felt responsible for him.

“What a touching scene. What makes you think you can help your brother? You can’t even help yourself!” Casper jeered. “Your brother doesn’t seem very adept at controlling himself. He’d better eat these to stop him from harming any other girls in the future. There aren’t many innocent girls left nowadays.”

The look on Casper’s face was one of utter disdain. He picked up the stick and walked over to Tyson’s side.

There was a dull thump as Casper swung the stick and brought it crashing heavily down on Tyson. The howl of agony that Tyson unleashed sounded as if it came from the slaughterhouse.

“I detest people like you the most, only pretending to be sentimental once guilt sets in,” Casper spat.

“You punk, if you don’t quickly swallow those pills, I’ll continue beating your brother,” Casper said icily.

Squatting down where he was, Casper had already begun casually jabbing at each of Tyson’s fingers in turn while speaking.

The magnitude of each thrust wasn’t as great as the first blow, but Tyson’s constant yelps of pain seemed to align with Casper’s speech perfectly.

In fact, Casper had artfully chosen the precise points where he could inflict maximum pain with minimum force.

All Leo knew, however, was that Casper was slowly but surely mutilating Tyson. With every cry of pain that Tyson heaved, Leo felt his heart shudder accordingly.

“No, no, don’t beat him up anymore! I’ll eat it! I’ll eat it!” Unable to bear the torment of guilt any further, Leo broke out into loud sobs. A mixture of tears, sweat, and snot flowed freely down his face.

“That’s what I wanted to hear. It’ll be just like eating candy. Is it sweet?” Casper teased, nodding his head approvingly.

“Ha!” At Casper’s words, Elena cackled. Casper’s got a rather odd sense of humor!

Leo’s mournful look, however, did look pathetic enough to incite scorn from anyone who saw him.

Leaning his weight on one knee, Casper turned to look at Elena and cocked his head, winking at her.

When he whipped around to face Leo again, however, a menacing expression had replaced the playful one on Casper’s face.

“On account of your good behavior this time, I’ll let you go. If I ever see you trying to harm Lillian again, you can be sure that you won’t get off so lightly next time,” Casper warned. He stood up, brushing his hands.

Casper and Elena then turned away. When they could no longer hear the squeals of Leo and Tyson, they flagged a taxi down and sped off.

Inside the taxi, Casper turned once again to look at Elena. If she’d been born in a different age, her dainty face might have been the one to sink a thousand ships. It wasn’t hard to deduce why Tyson had chosen to set his lustful eyes on Elena.

“You haven’t eaten dinner, have you? Neither have I. Let’s get supper,” Casper said. His stomach was growling. He hadn’t eaten a bite for the whole night.

“T-There’s no need,” Elena stammered uncertainly. Was her superior trying to proposition her? She did not know what the appropriate response under such circumstances was.

Does Casper like me? Should I agree to this? Is it a date? Elena privately fretted.

“You didn’t get to eat anything this afternoon, and that operation held you up for the longest time. Let me compensate you for your time, at least,” Casper offered frankly.

Why the fuss over a meal? Casper wondered. Or does she think that I’m trying to hit on her?

“I know a restaurant that’s pretty famous around here. The food they serve is rather delicious. Let’s go there,” Elena let out the breath she’d been holding, then meekly volunteered.

Jobs were hard to come by these days. Elena had always maintained a modest manner at work to avoid being preyed on by lecherous men old enough to be her grandfather. Casper was different, however. He was young and brilliant and didn’t seem like a bad character, in any case.

Elena struggled to come to a decision. She eventually agreed to supper, mainly in consideration of Casper’s eligibility as a date.

“Can you direct us there, then?” Casper asked.

Stumped by Elena’s sudden change of heart, Casper found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

He’d observed a faint blush steal over Elena’s cheeks, along with a smile that hovered over her mouth.

It was identical to the bashful look that inevitably appeared on Lillian’s whenever she looked at Casper.

Now, Elena had fixed her adoring gaze on Casper.

Casper was a wealthy young man who feared nothing, not even the Firewolf Chamber of Commerce.

He’d even managed to subdue Tyson. He was the perfect embodiment of a Prince Charming.

After winding through several side roads at Elena’s instruction, they finally arrived at the door of the eatery. Nestled amongst a whole street of other cafés and eateries, people flowed ceaselessly through the streets. Much like any other city, Horington was at its most vibrant at night.

When they’d alighted from the taxi, Elena led Casper to a stall.

Casper was amazed by the familiarity with which Elena navigated her way first through the streets, then the stall. She was evidently a regular patron there.

“Elena, is this your boyfriend?” A woman cooed, turning to look at Elena and Casper as they approached. A wide beam spread over her face, which had been creased with anxiety just moments before.