Chapter 53: Parting

Throughout the dinner, Carmine had steered the situation, hoping to keep Vilak's speaking to a minimum and prevent any slip-ups that might arouse Elizabeth's suspicions. Naturally, he rejected her request now. "What else is there to say?"

"I have only this one request," Elizabeth insisted.

It had been many years since Carmine had encountered a child bold enough to be so stubborn in his presence. "Out of the question. I will give you one hundred thousand Gincents, and you may leave."

"I want to have a few words with you." Ignoring Carmine, Elizabeth looked straight at Vilak.

"Very well." Before Carmine could vent his anger, Vilak met Elizabeth's gaze and agreed to her demand. "Father, let us have one last private conversation."

Carmine looked at Vilak and saw resolute determination in his eyes.

"Go ahead." After a moment, Carmine consented.

Vilak stood up. "Let's talk outside."

Elizabeth followed Vilak out of the mansion and onto the street.

"I am not Chris."

"You are not Chris."

Walking slowly side by side along the quiet streets of the affluent district, Vilak and Elizabeth spoke the exact same words in unison.

"I knew you had figured it out long ago, so there was no need for me to keep up the deception," Vilak said, hands in his pockets, feeling at peace. "Before you ask me your questions, may I ask you one first?"

"What is it?"

"How did you know I wasn't Chris?" Vilak wanted to learn from Elizabeth's observation to avoid similar risks in the future.

"A feeling," Elizabeth replied.

Vilak let out a helpless, bitter laugh. "Well, that is truly foolproof... Go ahead, ask me whatever you wish to know."

Although Elizabeth had already concluded that Vilak was not Chris, hearing him admit it aloud was still difficult to accept. "Chris, he..."

"Is dead," Vilak said.

Elizabeth's nose stung, and tears welled up in her eyes. She pressed her lips together tightly, fighting back the tears.

"Around the time he lost contact with you," Vilak announced with remarkable calm, delivering a verdict that, to Elizabeth, was no different from a bolt from the blue.

"Why?" Elizabeth asked through a choked voice.

"I'm sorry, I cannot say." Vilak shook his head gently, feeling a pang of sorrow in his heart—though the very question Elizabeth asked proved she had no idea what Chris had been involved in. "I also hope you will not investigate, nor try to unearth something that cannot yet be made public."

"Why?"

Vilak raised his head slightly, gazing at the moon half-obscured by dark clouds. "He was doing something very great, something extremely dangerous. The reason he never told you was precisely to keep you from getting involved and coming to harm."

"But he has..." In the end, tears streamed down Elizabeth's flawless face.

"Fortunately, he was not the only one doing this great thing. Hundreds and thousands of people share his passion, risking their lives to fight for a world shaped into what they believe is right," Vilak said, the moonlight reflecting in his eyes. "So, keeping it from you was for your own good, and for theirs as well."

"I want to know, even if there is danger." Elizabeth turned her head to look at Vilak, showing the exact same stubborn resolve she had displayed in the restaurant.

Vilak remained unshaken. "You will know... should the day of success ever arrive."

"Then who are you?"

"Who I am does not matter in this city," Vilak lowered his gaze. "To everyone else, I am Chris. Only today did you become the first to deny my identity. I hope you will not spread this and will keep this secret for us."

Elizabeth did not speak.

"I will walk you no further, Miss Elizabeth." Reaching the intersection, Vilak stopped in his tracks. "Lastly, on behalf of Mr. Chris, I offer you my most sincere wishes. May you have a happy life, and may all be well with you."

Elizabeth lingered, reluctant to leave. "This is our last time seeing each other."

"Elizabeth, I hope you live a wonderful life." Vilak knew Elizabeth's genuine emotions were pouring out, and that in this final moment, she still regarded him as Chris.

"You too." Elizabeth crossed the intersection, holding her dress as she walked alone into the distance.

Vilak watched her retreating figure until she vanished from sight, then turned and headed back to the Thomas family mansion.

The dishes in the dining room had remained untouched. Carmine, Mera, Kellerman, and Fletcher were waiting for Vilak in the hall.

"Father," Vilak approached Carmine.

"What did you two talk about?" Carmine asked expressionlessly.

"Elizabeth tried to make me change my mind. After I spoke clearly with her, she gave up hope and promised never to have any contact with me again," Vilak replied.

Carmine maintained his stern expression upon hearing this. "She didn't notice anything?"

"No," Vilak answered with certainty.

"Let's eat." Carmine still held a certain level of respect for Vilak's competence; the mishap at the charity banquet earlier was genuinely an unpredictable event for anyone. "Kellerman, go call Julia down."

Kellerman rose from the sofa in the hall and went upstairs to find Julia.

Having gone through such an unpleasant ordeal, the family resumed their dinner. Because Julia was young and had been frequently dismissed by Carmine that evening, she was utterly starved and started eating first.

Seeing his daughter ravenous, Carmine offered a rare smile. "Eat slowly."

With the crisis averted, Madam Mera and Kellerman also felt a sense of relief, and the family restored their harmonious atmosphere.

Vilak glanced sideways at Fletcher, who was standing by in waiting. Fletcher occasionally bent down to massage his knees, looking as though he had not yet recovered from the ordeal.

Since Elizabeth knew nothing about the Equality Society and was now willing to stop interfering in the Thomas family's private affairs, Vilak no longer needed to make a premature escape. Instead, he would have more time to make Fletcher suffer.

As the sole member of the Thomas household who ate his dinner tasting like dust and ashes, Vilak eventually retired to his room to rest, just like the others who went off to attend to their personal matters.

So many things had happened today, leaving his mind turbulent for a long time.

First, Colin's brotherly bond. Second, the retribution against Fletcher. Third, Chris and Elizabeth.

Amidst the coldness, how extraordinarily precious Colin's brotherhood and the romance between Chris and Elizabeth appeared, moving Vilak deeply.

He knew that caught in such a perilous environment, he could afford no softness or hesitation, yet an inexpressible thought inevitably rose within him.

So many people in the Equality Society were sacrificing their lives to fight for equality, dignity, and rights for people just like him.

He ought to try and do something for the Equality Society.