Chapter 26: Side Character x Mafia Boss (26)

Lyra chewed happily on her breakfast, her cheeks puffing up like a small squirrel storing food for the winter. She was far too lost in the incredible taste of the tender steak to notice the quiet tension stretching across the dining table- or the dark, unwavering gaze fixed on her face from the side.

Alastair leaned back slightly in his tall chair, his grey eyes tracking every small movement of her lips. His gaze slowly lingered on her mouth, remembering how soft and warm those same lips had felt against his own just a few hours ago in the quiet dark of the night.

She looked ridiculously adorable.

A sudden, hot tightness flared deep within his throat. Reaching out with long fingers, he picked up his glass and drank a slow gulp of ice-cold water to suppress the sudden burning desire inside his chest.

Across the table, Elena sat with her hands tightly clenched. She glared at Alastair with open hatred, her heart sinking fast. Her clever trick with the tissue box had completely failed. He had caught on to her plan almost instantly. I have to find another way to talk to Lyra, she thought frantically, her mind racing. I can’t give up.

Soon after everyone finished their meals, Lyra wiped her mouth with a cloth and quietly slid back her chair. Seeing that both Alastair and Elena were silent, she tried to slowly, carefully sneak out of the dining room before anyone could assign her more maid chores.

Step... step... step...

Just as she was two inches away from the grand doorway, a large, cold hand reached out from behind. Alastair casually grabbed the back of her shirt collar, halting her completely. With a simple pull, he spun her around until she was forced to face him directly.

Lyra froze instantly. She offered him a stiff, awkward smile, looking exactly like a guilty child who had just been caught stealing cookies from the kitchen jar.

"Go change your clothes," Alastair said, his deep voice carrying an effortless authority. "You will be following me to my central office today."

"Eh?!" Lyra’s dark eyes widened in absolute shock. "Your office?!"

"I can’t let my little hostage run away while I am busy working, can I?" Alastair murmured smoothly. As he said those words, his icy grey eyes flicked over her shoulder, casting a knowing glance directly at Elena.

Lyra’s brain scrambled. System! she yelled internally, panic lacing her thoughts. If I follow him all the way to his mafia office downtown, what is going to happen to Elena?! We will be completely separated!

The System pulled up a quick map of the city and replied in a hurried tone:

[ Think about it, Host! This is actually the absolute best chance for us! Getting out of this heavily guarded mansion means we will finally be outside in the city! Once we are out there, we can find a way to escape his men and set up a rescue plan for the Female Lead later! That is our next main mission target anyway! ]

Lyra stroked her chin, finding the logic surprisingly brilliant. Hmm... you’re actually completely right!

"Okay, Mr Voss! I will go get ready right away!" Lyra said aloud, nodding her head vigorously.

She turned around and began walking down the quiet hallway toward her bedroom. But the moment she took a turn past the grand pillar, her curiosity got the absolute best of her. She stopped dead in her tracks, pressed her back against the cold wall, and carefully peeked her head around the corner back into the breakfast room.

[ What on earth are you doing, Host?! ] the System asked in utter disbelief.

I am checking to see what is going on between the Female Lead and the Male Lead, of course! Lyra whispered back inside her mind. I need to make sure their dark romance is on track!

From her tiny hiding spot, Lyra couldn’t see the entire room clearly, but she caught a striking glimpse of two dark figures near the curtains.

Alastair had suddenly grabbed Elena by the arm, roughly yanking her across the floor and caging her tightly against the dark wooden wall. His tall, broad shadow completely engulfed her fragile frame, making the scene look intensely dramatic and wildly aggressive.

Lyra gasped quietly, her dark eyes sparkling with classic web novel excitement.

OH MY GOD! Is this the classic dark romance ’wall slam’ trope happening right before my very eyes?! Lyra squealed in her head, slapping her cheeks with both hands. Shit, we were completely wrong earlier! It seems like the main plot is going totally fine after all! Look at that dark passion!

[ Yes, Host! ] the System agreed, interface flashing green. [ Since the high-tension romance between the two leads is clearly stable, it doesn’t seem like you have made any huge, catastrophic errors in the storyline yet! ]

Hearing that tiny word at the end, Lyra narrowed her eyes, glaring blankly at the floating blue screen. ’Yet’?! You really don’t trust my wingwoman skills at all, do you?!

Suddenly, a loud yelp of pain echoed out from the dining room, cutting through the silence of the hall.

Lyra’s ears burned a deep red. She quickly pulled her head back around the corner, covering her face.

"Tsk, tsk," she muttered to herself, shaking her head with a teasing smirk. "Let the aggressive dark romance couple have their intense private moment. I better run back to my room and prepare my super brilliant escape plan!"

With a happy, light step, she jogged off down the long marble corridor, her heart light and full of hope.

Meanwhile... inside the dining room...

The atmosphere had completely shattered into pure terror.

The moment Lyra’s footsteps completely faded away down the hall, Alastair’s face transformed into a mask of murderous rage.

Without a single word of warning, he reached out and harshly grabbed Elena’s wrist, twisting her arm behind her back and slamming her upper body hard against the solid wall.

"Ah- !" Elena let out a , painful yelp as her shoulder hit the solid surface. His grip on her soft, milky skin was so brutally tight that dark, purple bruises immediately began forming under her pale skin.

During the rough impact, a small, tightly folded paper napkin slipped out from under her sleeve, fluttering down onto the dark hardwood floor between them.

Alastair didn’t even glance down. He already knew what it was.

His hand tightened further around her wrist until her fingers went completely numb. He leaned down until his sharp face was mere inches from her ear, his breath icy and devoid of any human warmth.

"Did you truly believe," Alastair whispered, his voice dangerously low, raspy, and full of violent threat, "that you could pull your pathetic, cheap tricks right in front of my eyes?"

Elena gasped for air, tears of pain pricking the corners of her eyes, but she stubbornly ground her teeth together, refusing to let him see her cry. "She... she has nothing to do with your revenge! Let her go!"

Alastair let out a quiet, dark laugh that made her skin crawl. He used his free hand to lift her chin, his long fingers pinching her jaw so tightly she couldn’t move her head an inch.

"Listen to me very carefully, Victor Hart’s worthless daughter," he said, his grey eyes flashing with a terrifying madness. "Lyra belongs to me now. Every single breath she takes, every dress she wears, every room she steps into... belongs entirely to me."

He leaned closer, his eyes narrowing into cold stare.

"If you ever dare to approach her again... if you try to pass her another note, or if you speak even one single word about escaping this house with her..." Alastair’s voice dropped to a sinister, chilling purr. "...I will not just lock you in a dark dungeon. I will make sure your precious father receives your severed fingers in the mail one by one. Do you understand me?"

Elena trembled violently against the hard wall, her throat completely dry. The overwhelming darkness radiating from the man holding her was suffocating. She couldn’t speak, could only stare back at him in horror, realizing that this man was far beyond insane.

Alastair released his grip on her jaw and shoved her away like a piece of trash. Elena stumbled forward, clutching her bruised, throbbing wrist to her chest as she gasped for air.

Without giving her another glance, Alastair stepped on the folded paper napkin, crushing it beneath his heavy shoe as he turned around and walked out of the room to find his little mouse.