Chapter 10: The Perfectionist’s Obsession

I was sure I had been standing far away from her, near the gymnasium exit. I hadn’t intended to approach her at all.

So why was I standing right in front of Sofia?

My body had moved on its own. Driven by something deeper than conscious thought. Driven by Lorenzo’s compulsion.

Sofia’s expression was a mixture of fear, disgust, hatred, and contempt. And underneath all of that—a sharp, cold killing intent that made my instincts scream danger.

"Lorenzo," she hissed, taking a step back. "Stay away from me."

I blinked, trying to regain control of my own body.

This was worse than the dust on the sedan window.

This was far worse.

The Perfectionist trait wasn’t just about correcting asymmetry. It was about pursuing perfection in all things. And Sofia—Sofia represented perfection in Lorenzo’s mind. Her proportions. Her symmetry. The perfect curve of her jaw. The perfect balance of her features.

She was a living, breathing embodiment of everything Lorenzo’s obsessive mind craved.

"Sofia," I said, and even I could hear the hunger in my voice. "You came to the academy."

"Of course I did," she replied coldly, her hand moving toward something at her waist. A weapon, I realized. "I’m a registered awakener. I have every right to be here."

She was right, of course. But that didn’t stop the compulsion.

My feet moved closer.

"I told you," she said, her voice sharpening to a dangerous edge. "Stay. Away. From me."

Around us, other examinees and staff members had begun to notice the confrontation. Some were watching with curiosity. Others were backing away, sensing the tension.

I felt a familiar presence approaching from my left—Enzo, moving to intervene.

But I raised my hand slightly, and he stopped.

This was something I needed to understand about myself.

"Sofia."

"Don’t call my name with that filthy mouth of yours."

"I see no reason to grant your request. But if you wish so... I’ll call you Mrs. Riina"

Sofia then bit her lip and turned away to avoid my gaze.

...But I caught her chin slowly and forced her to face me.

"... "

Definitely, she is a top beauty.

Black hair, oynex eyes that seems to suck everything around her like black hole, plump lips, and a sharp nose.

But, even without all of that, what I liked the most is that her overall proportions are flawless.

The distance between the eyes.

The position of her nose and lips.

The balance achieved by the perfect-sized head.

In particular, the length of her arms and legs would not exactly match the average person, but Sofia didn’t seem imbalanced because of it.

Truly the golden ratio.

If you cover her face and make her stand alongside a mannequin, no one will dare to differentiate both of them.

She was perfect.

’This is pathetic. Even if my body was that of teenager, my soul age 36 years old! And here I’m lusting over a teenage girl! Damn you, Lorenzo and your obsession with perfection.’

Naturally, I could control my body but my thoughts are all over the place.

"Ah... "

When I came to my senses, I grabbed Sofia’s two hands, forced close the distance between us and now we were so close that our body was practically touching together.

I could feel her breath, her quick puls and slight tremor that went through her body.

Her face was red with shame, and her eyes were full of contempt.

"Excuse me."

As soon as I released the hand holding her tight enough to leave marks on her wrist, she immediately slipped her hand into the jacket pocket, pulled out a knife, and tried to stab my heart.

This would’ve been quite intimidating if she was skilled enough, but I simply dodged the knife and slapped her hand holding the knife.

"Ah!"

"In order to pierce the heart, which is protected by bones and muscles, with your strength, you should have gripped the knife with both hands, or hold the knife with a reverse grip if you’re using only one hand"

Slap!

Perhaps as a sign of resistance, Sofia slapped my left cheek and looked at me with eyes full of hate.

But rather than be confused or furious at the fact I’ve just been slapped...

Slap!

While we were facing each other, I slapped Sofia’s left cheek so we would be symmetrical perfect.

When I thought of my left cheek, which must be red and swollen from her slap, and her left cheek, which was the same, that irritating feeling in my heart vanished.

’At this point, even if someone called me a psychopath I wouldn’t be even able to deny it’

Well, I was already phycopath in my privious life but not this kind of phycopath.

When I came to my senses, I realized what I’d done.

Sofia stood before me, her left cheek flushed red to match mine, her eyes burning with a hatred so pure and absolute that it was almost beautiful.

’I’m losing control,’ I thought, the realization hitting me like ice water.

Lorenzo’s obsession with perfection bleeding into my actions, overriding my judgment, making me do things that Samuel would never have done.

Samuel planned. Samuel calculated. Samuel never acted on impulse.

But Lorenzo? Lorenzo was impulsive. Volatile. Driven by psychological compulsions he’d never learned to master.

"You’re insane," Sofia said, her voice trembling with barely restrained rage. "Completely insane."

She pulled her hand back, preparing to strike again, but I caught her wrist.

Not to hurt her. To stop myself from doing anything else.

"I apologize," I said, and I meant it.

Sofia’s eyes widened in shock. Clearly, she hadn’t expected an apology.

"I don’t believe you."

She wrenched her hand free and then whisper in angry voice.

"First, you raped me when I didn’t willingly come to you. Then you called me a whore. I’ve had enough of you, Lorenzo. I’ll kill you, Riina name or not."

She turned and walked away, her gait sharp and controlled—the movement of someone trained to channel rage into purpose.

’This is a problem,’ I thought grimly.

I pulled out my phone and opened the app.

[Sofia Moretti] - [Examination Competitor] - [Status: Hostile - Physical Contact Initiated - Relationship Status: Damaged]

Whisper began to spread around me, some laughs at me openly and some mocked me for hitting woman.

But as soon as they met my gaze, they flinched back and flee from my sight.

’Fuck! Just liked she said, I raped her yestarday night but one could say I wasn’t the one doing the deed, it was Lorenzo!’

But does that change anything? I’m Lorenzo now.

As a Mafia boss, I had committed enough crimes to fill a lifetime.

Extortion. Blackmail. Murder. Etc...

I had ordered men to their deaths and ruined people who stood in my way.

But sexual violence had always been a line I refused to cross.

Perhaps it was hypocritical to draw that distinction after everything else I had done.

I didn’t care.

It was one of the few boundaries I had established for myself, and I had never willingly crossed it.

Yet now I had inherited the consequences of someone who had.

The only reason I was fine, even after doing this heinous crime was because my father was one of Overlords and Mafia boss in top of that.

Don Aldric Riina stood among the most powerful individuals in the world, and his Mafia syndicate possessed enough influence to make even governments think twice before challenging it.

That power had consequences far beyond politics.

The Overlords maintained domains that protected Earth from the catastrophic consequences of the portals.

If one of them died, the domain they maintained would collapse, potentially allowing portals to open across the world on a devastating scale.

The World Government and the other Overlords might have wanted to eliminate my father and dismantle his syndicate.

But wanting something and being able to accomplish it were two very different things.

Their hands were tied.

And as the son of an Overlord, I had grown up beneath the protection of a power few people dared to challenge.

No ordinary guild, politician, or government official could casually touch me.

That protection was the reason Lorenzo had been able to behave so atrociously without facing meaningful consequences.

In short...No one can touch me.

That’s why I did that to Sofia without fear of any consequences.

I was disgusted with myself but then I think whatever I did was necessary.

Now she’s become mine physically, it was matter of time before she gives me her heart.

’Fuck!’

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and calmed myself down.

After knowing that everything was within control, only then I opened my eyes.

"Young Master," Enzo said, appearing from around the corner. His professional composure showed no signs of the gunshot he’d fired minutes earlier. "Are you injured?"

"No," I replied, though my cheek throbbed with pain.

"We have to leave young master, Don is waiting for you."

My mood sank even further.

My father?

Here?

I had been hoping to return home, find somewhere quiet, and examine my situation without anyone interfering.

Apparently, that was too much to ask.

"...Where is my father now?"

"He is waiting in the shopping mall parking lot outside the academy."

"...Okay."

"I will take you there."

I followed Enzo to the car and headed to the parking lot where my father was waiting.

It was an underground parking lot in a shopping mall not far from the academy. There was a black sedan parked there that seemed out of place.

And in front of it stood a man, alone, with his cigar in his mouth, as if he didn’t need any security.

Don Aldric Riina.

My father was there.