Chapter 240: Spread Your Legs
Chapter 240: Chapter 240: Spread Your Legs
Chapter 240 – Spread Your Legs
Meanwhile, on a street hidden from all the mainstream streets of the Academy, Klaus Handoff was sitting on a chair made of condensed wind, facing a woman.
Klaus couldn’t guess whether she was tall or short, for since the first time he had seen her, she had been sitting behind her piano, playing without a single word.
Nor could he tell if she was beautiful or not, for her face was veiled starting from her nose, only showing her mesmerizing big black eyes that seemed able to hold the world within them.
She played her worn-out piano masterfully, her silver hair blowing against the wind like an undulating river, her fingers dancing through the keys with an ease impossible to conceal.
All around them there was nothing but empty wind whistling through empty, deserted spaces, making the scene even more serene.
’She is quite good.’ Klaus praised silently, closing his eyes, enjoying the peaceful tune.
He knew there was no need for him to try to speak to this woman.
He had tried once, the first time he stumbled upon her, and she hadn’t said anything except look at him with shining eyes and nod at him with obvious gratefulness for listening to her play.
It was odd to Klaus. Very odd, even.
But unexpectedly...it was peaceful and relaxing.
For once he was around a person who didn’t quite care who he was or what he wanted to say. And for once he was around a person he didn’t feel the need to impress.
She played. And he listened.
Nothing else. Nothing more.
With that realization, his heart eased, and everything he had learned about Spirit Essence began to embed itself naturally into him.
After half an hour, the girl finally stopped playing her piano. It was exactly 8pm.
Without standing up, she lifted her head from her piano and stared at Klaus, who was already looking at her.
With eyes obviously smiling, she nodded her head repeatedly at him, as if trying to convey her gratitude.
Klaus didn’t say anything. He lowered his gaze from her veiled face to the top of the piano, where there was a sign for a Link.
It was a Link where one could send Elysia Points.
Not knowing what had gotten into him, he stood from his chair, dismissed it with a lazy hand, and walked toward the piano. The sound of his footsteps echoed gently across the night, oddly rhythmic, as if the wind were dancing with each of his steps.
Arriving there, he took out his phone, scanned the Link, and got straight to her page.
She had no followers. And Klaus saw that she had created this account three years ago.
’What a pitiful woman.’
Without thinking much, he gave 500 EP for the relaxing performance.
But...
’Hm...is this enough, do you think, Windy? I am Klaus, I can’t be stingy!’
’I think it’s already too much. You don’t have infinite EP, Klaus.’
’I’ll just get it back by challenging someone. It’s fine.’
Windy said nothing more, knowing her master was not one to change his decision without hours of coercion.
She didn’t have those hours today.
With that, Klaus lifted his head back to the woman, whose already big eyes grew even wider, as if she hadn’t expected to be given anything.
Klaus smiled, "You’re not half bad, woman." He said, then tilted his head, "Are you here every day?"
She nodded like a chicken pecking at food.
"You don’t have any other audience besides me, do you?"
Her eyes twisted with shame before she nodded, this time slower.
Klaus laughed, waving his hand lazily, "Don’t worry, woman! I’ll be your audience from now on. I’ll come whenever I have time."
Not waiting for an answer, he pivoted and walked away, leaving behind the woman still watching him, her black eyes twinkling like a pool of stars as the night reflected on them.
Her eyes curved into a smile, and she bowed her head toward Klaus, her hands clasped tight against her chest.
....
"I’m quite late." Klaus whispered to himself, his hands in his pockets, strolling as he walked back to his room.
The street where the girl played was quite far from the Street Housing, making it a long walk.
Klaus could have chosen to take a carriage, but under that starry night, he found himself willing to walk, so he’d have more time to think about his future.
Yet even while thinking about that future, his thoughts all revolved around Cassius.
Would he be able to reach him? Would he be able to stand beside him without feeling unworthy? Would he be able to joke and play with him again without worrying about being too weak?
Would he, really?
What about the Spirit Form? Would he reach that level in one week?
What if he didn’t? What if...he failed?
What if. What if. What if.
Again and again, Klaus asked these questions like a cursed echo that brought him nothing but more anxiety and stress.
He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, trying to stop himself from overthinking.
The street around him had turned dark, with little to no light clawing through the dark alleys.
It was silent. Oddly, achingly, painfully silent.
"I think I’ll go meet Natalia and Keisha tomorrow and talk to them." He smiled faintly, scratching his head.
"You’ve been ignoring them lately." Windy said, "Why?"
"Not my fault." He shrugged, "Natalia has become awfully silent since she found out about Cassius’s marriage. She no longer talks, or if she does, she only speaks with Keisha. It’s annoying. And you know I’ve never enjoyed talking with Keisha, she gets flustered easily and likes to cry. Even more annoying."
"Yet you’re going to see them."
"Just to check in. I’m a good friend, you know? Maybe they need help from the Great Klaus! Don’t you think? And as the only man from their childhood, I must take care of them!"
"...what about Cassius? You said he’s always been protective."
"Well, true, but look at him now." He shrugged again, trying to sound casual, "The Palatine is busy, you know. He didn’t even come to class or respond to my numerous messages. Very busy, I guess. It’s fine. It’s fine. I understand that."
Windy knew well that Klaus understood his friend, but understanding didn’t lessen the pain in any way.
It was still there, gnawing at his heart, slowly and steadily, like a rat enjoying its food for the first time in a while.
The Spirit could already guess what was going on inside his mind.
’Am I not worthy as a friend anymore? Is that why he’s ignoring me?’
Overthinking again and again. She sighed under her breath, and then froze completely when a sight erupted at the corner of her vision.
The spirit didn’t even have time to properly register the sight before a big, bulky man with muscle ripping through his flesh burst through the thick darkness like an angry bull, behind an alley, and struck Klaus at the back of his head with the back of a hammer.
BANGGGG!!!
CRACK!!!
"KLAUS!!!!!!" Windy shrieked in shock, only to choke on her own breath as her master’s mind-numbing pain passed through their link.
She swayed in the air, her wings faltering, as she saw Klaus fall face-first to the ground, the back of his head bleeding.
The Spirit had just enough time to look at the culprit before she too lost consciousness, Klaus far too weak for her to remain active in this world without his consent.
And there, her heart dropped.
Love de Bayard appeared through the darkness, beautiful and otherworldly against the backdrop of night, a slightly beautiful, brown-haired student with a well-rounded body at her side.
Windy parted her lips to shout, yet before she could, strength slipped away from her and she disappeared into a puff of wind, furious.
All that was left was Love de Bayard, the woman beside her, and the bulky man who had struck Klaus.
Watching the unconscious Klaus, Love felt a sense of dark pleasure twisting inside her, wishing for nothing but to kill that bastard already.
But no.
Far too easy.
He wanted to play? She would damn well play with him.
She shifted her attention to the woman beside her and arched an impatient eyebrow, "What are you waiting for?" She snapped, "Strip off some of your clothes, tear open the rest, cry until your eyes are good and bloodshot, spread your legs and lie down beside him. Make it believable, will you?"
The woman hesitated for an instant, but the cold eyes of Love and the promise of EP steeled her resolve.
’I’m sorry. I have nothing against you.’ The woman thought while stripping herself, ’but I need the EP. I want to get out of that dump! I want to live in the dormitories again!’
That thought alone was enough to make her cry, tears trickling down. She let the big man tear away her clothes mercilessly, slap her face, and punch her body.
She bit her lips, swallowing a curse.
Then she lowered the unconscious man’s pants and lay beneath him.
At that, Love took out her phone to take a picture, but then frowned a bit,
"Not convincing enough. You need to cry louder. I want to hear your damn bloody scream through the picture." She ordered, then turned toward the big man, "Wipe off his blood and turn his face this way. And give him this potion, it’ll make him jump between unconsciousness and consciousness."
She said, and handed one dark purple potion to the man.
The woman, meanwhile, obeyed and cried louder, screaming even.
After being made to drink the poison, which would dissipate in five minutes, Klaus began to open his eyes, though they were glazed.
Still, with his eyes open, the scene became much more believable.
Love grinned coldly.
"Tear more of her clothes. She’s showing far too little skin."
The bulky man obeyed and tore it further. The woman cried even more, this time with overwhelming fear as she met the malicious eyes of Love.
Suddenly, the scene itself looked exactly how Love wanted it to look.
She took dozens of pictures from every angle, showing Klaus’s in-and-out state and that nameless woman’s terrified face.
Once she was done, she smiled sweetly, stowing away her phone, looking at Klaus wobbling weakly atop the crying woman.
"I told you you’d regret it, didn’t I?" Her eyes flashed coldly, "Let me teach you how to blackmail someone, bastard."
—End of Chapter 240—