Chapter 58: Torment as a Way to Pass the Time

With the collaborator selection process completed, Vilak decided to use the upcoming time to copy out *On Equality*. On one hand, keeping an original copy for himself was a prudent measure; on the other, writing it out word by word would deepen his understanding of the text.

The completed portion of *On Equality* amounted to about twenty thousand words. Vilak had to meticulously imitate Chris’s handwriting, so by dinnertime, he had only finished half of it. Fortunately, at this pace, he would have more than enough time to complete the rest before meeting Daniel tomorrow.

After having dinner with the Carmine family, Vilak returned to his room and, by one o'clock in the morning, finally finished copying the first nine chapters of *On Equality* into a brand-new notebook.

Wednesday, August 2nd.

Whether Carmine simply had no time or had merely acted on a whim when he took Vilak out yesterday, today passed uneventfully, offering no opportunity to leave the house. At four o'clock in the afternoon, Vilak informed Fletcher that he wanted to step outside the front gate to clear his head. Fletcher offered no resistance, allowing Vilak to meet with Daniel, entrust him with a new task, and hand over the freshly copied text of *On Equality* for circulation within the Equality Society.

Once Chloe brought over the detailed information regarding the Pyromont Corporation and Vilak formulated his plan, all he would need to do was wait for Carmine to loosen restrictions on his movements once again. At that point, he could contact the Pyromont Corporation, finalize the transaction, and leave Leizien directly.

In Vilak's view, Carmine would not keep him under house arrest for more than half a month. The very purpose of disguising himself as Chris was to dispel the government's suspicions; if he remained cooped up at home indefinitely, that effect would be greatly diminished. Therefore, he estimated that it would take him less than two months—a single month would be more than enough to achieve his goal and make his escape.

The only thing that caused him some lingering concern was the situation with Diaz.

Before the unexpected turn of events, Vilak and Diaz had agreed to meet every evening at six o'clock in Clayton Garden. Now, due to being placed under house arrest once more, he had been unable to see Diaz, and he had no way of knowing whether Diaz would patiently continue waiting for him every day or resort to other measures.

He had considered asking Daniel to notify Diaz to temporarily stop waiting for him, but creating an intersection between these two completely separate lines of work carried certain risks. To be safe, he decided to trust in Diaz's steady composure and believed nothing would go wrong.

Back in his bedroom, Vilak tried to find something to do.

He attempted to deduce future developments and brainstorm countermeasures for various possible scenarios.

Regrettably, Vilak had already thoroughly thought through almost all of these possibilities over countless nights. Now, all he could do was review them once more, and after confirming there were no flaws, he found himself with nothing to do again.

He paced back and forth in front of the bookshelf, scanning the densely packed rows of books.

He had already read all of these books in his previous life, and at Fletcher's insistence, he had read them more than once. He had zero interest in these works of classical literature; he had forced himself to memorize them purely to pull off the role of Chris convincingly. Now, even in his profound boredom, he had no intention of picking them up again.

Beyond that, however, there was nothing else in this room to pass the time.

He simply could not stay here any longer; he would suffocate to death sooner rather than later.

Thus thought Vilak.

Since he had already openly clashed with Fletcher, Vilak went straight to find him first.

"What is it, Master Chris?" Fletcher was currently inspecting the cleanliness of the areas the servants had finished cleaning for the day.

"I'm too bored. I need to find something to do," Vilak said.

"You came to me to find something to do?"

"Yes."

"I'm afraid I can't help you with that. Mr. Carmine gave strict instructions that you are not to leave the estate. Allowing you to step out for some fresh air by the gate this afternoon was the absolute limit of the concession I could make," Fletcher replied, shaking his head to express his helplessness. "If you're truly feeling stifled, you can speak with Mr. Carmine directly when he returns."

Fletcher had been racking his brains trying to figure out how to retaliate against Vilak, never expecting that Vilak would actually take the initiative to seek his help today.

Naturally, Fletcher had no intention of lending a hand. He was more than eager to watch Vilak grow increasingly restless and frustrated until he made a mistake in front of Mr. Carmine. Then, Fletcher could rightfully step in on Mr. Carmine's behalf to teach him a lesson.

"Come to my bedroom with me." The hallway was not suitable for discussing private matters, so Vilak led Fletcher to his room.

"What can I do for you?" A calm and unyielding expression appeared on Fletcher's face as he waited for a good show.

Vilak attempted to strike a bargain with Fletcher: "Mr. Carmine is busy with work every day and isn't home during the day. Madam Mera and Miss Kellerman won't randomly come to my room to see me, and as for Julia, she has to go to school every day and won't cross paths with me either. Therefore, as long as you turn a blind eye, nobody will notice if I go out for a one-hour walk every day."

"Impossible, Vilak," Fletcher scoffed. "Do you think that because you hold a piece of leverage over me, you can act like a tyrant in the Thomas estate? I will not help you with this under any circumstances. Once Mr. Carmine finds out, both of us will die a miserable death."

"As long as you agree, I promise I won't humiliate you anymore in the future. We can coexist peacefully," Vilak lied without a blush or a quickened heartbeat.

Anyway, as long as he could muddle through this period of time, it would be enough.

Before leaving, no matter what it took, he would make Fletcher pay the price for Dempster's death.

"Don't waste your breath; I am not going to help you," Fletcher said, seating himself comfortably. "If I don't help you, what can you possibly do? Are you really going to drag us both down together over this? I admit you're a clever person, but since you're clever, you should know that the trade you're offering holds zero appeal for me."

"Indeed," Vilak agreed wholeheartedly. "Today's situation is completely different from that day. The one who should be afraid is me, not you."

"Good that you know. Actually, we each hold leverage over the other. I'd wager you wouldn't dare sell me out, because you wouldn't gain any benefit from it either." Fletcher chuckled lightly, believing he had regained control of the situation, and stood up to walk toward the door.

*Bang!*

*Ugh!* Just as Fletcher reached for the door handle to leave, a heavy object suddenly hurled from behind struck him squarely on the head. Clutching his head in pain, he turned around to see Vilak strolling leisurely in front of the bookshelf, pulling another thick book to hurl at him. "You..."

"Then do you dare to go tell on me right now? Telling on me means dragging us both down together," Vilak said as he threw yet another book at Fletcher.

Fletcher narrowly dodged it. "You... ugh... are you seriously trying to burn bridges with me?"

Without a word, Vilak pulled out two more books and threw them at Fletcher. Realizing he could not intimidate Vilak, Fletcher had no choice but to flee the bedroom in a panic.

After Fletcher scrambled away in disarray, Vilak walked over to the door, picked up the scattered books, and placed them neatly back on the shelf. Muttering to himself, he said, "Before long, you'll be begging me to go outside."