Next Time We Meet, I’ll Let You Kill Me - Chapter 4

It was the second crisis to hit her out of nowhere. Liselotte firmly vowed she wouldn’t panic this time.

“I know what people call you.”

Eyes deep and dark like the deep sea waited for her next words. Liselotte didn’t avoid Hugo’s gaze.

“I also know who your brother is.”

It didn’t matter if his older brother was the Senator or the Pope. From the moment she accepted the cooking job, he was her prey.

Liselotte intentionally brought up Aaron Schwartz, then watched Hugo’s reaction. She needed to check at least once what he thought of his brother.

If he was favorable toward Aaron, then Liselotte would become a passionate supporter. If not, she would play the role of an airheaded woman with no interest in politics. Right now, the only priority was making him like her.

“…My brother, huh.”

He raised his eyebrows as if he found that interesting.

“So you also like Aaron Schwartz? What, are you a supporter or something?”

His voice was emotionless and calm, but the slight stiffening of his face, the chill in his eyes, and his clasped hands said everything.

He doesn’t like his brother.

“I’m not sure about supporting him, but whenever I see his face, I sometimes think he looks more like an actor playing a politician than an actual politician,” Liselotte answered with a bright smile. “He’s not my type. I don’t care for that prim-and-proper kind of style.”

If anything, she was relieved she didn’t have to pretend to like Aaron. Hugo leaned back in his chair, lifting his chin as if telling her to go on.

“Who you are and whatever the truth is… rumors don’t really matter to me.”

What mattered was the safe in his bedroom.

“I just chose a man I like.”

Not like she could choose her targets anyway. If she wanted to make a living, she had no choice.

“Even if that man is a gambler, a drunk, and a pathetic guy who wanders around entertainment districts?”

It was a little surprising that he knew exactly what kind of person he was. The words ‘You know that and still act like this?’ rose all the way to her throat.

“Even if he’s pathetic, strangely enough… I’m drawn to him.”

If she wanted to maintain her flawless career, she had to complete the mission no matter what.

Liselotte moved her leg again under the table. This time, it wasn’t the pointed tip of her high heel. Her bare, softened foot—freed from the shoe—slowly slid up along his shin. A blatant provocation.

“Yesterday, you acted like some clueless virgin, but today? Looks like it was all an act.”

Even with her foot creeping up to his knee, Hugo watched her calmly. He uncrossed his hands and folded his arms instead, then asked leisurely, “…Am I that arousing to you?”

Liselotte returned his own words to him, “Don’t you have a mirror at home?”

Pfft. He dropped his head and burst into laughter. When he raised it again, his eyes had changed completely.

“You sure you won’t regret it?”

“I’m the type who can’t rest easy until I chop down the tree I’ve set my sights on.”

Hugo flashed a set of neat teeth. Somehow, the smile looked vicious, like that of a dog about to sink its teeth into prey.

The bottle of wine he’d ordered arrived at the table, but he didn’t spare it even a glance as he stood up from his seat.

“Get up. There’s somewhere I want to go.”

“Right now?”

“Right now.”

Liselotte looked up at him in bewilderment. He snapped his fingers at a waiter and gave a curt command, “Coat.”

He treated someone else’s employee like his own subordinate without hesitation.

Maybe it was because it seemed too natural. For a moment, she thought he must’ve always behaved like this, even before he became rich.

Liselotte hurriedly grabbed her coat and bag. Amanda, who brought her things from the dressing room, was grinning suspiciously, but Liselotte didn’t have the time or energy to care.

Hugo had already paid the bill and was waiting by the door.

“Where are we going?”

As she slipped her arm into the sleeve of her coat, she asked, but he only gave her a strange smile instead of an answer.

In front of the restaurant, the familiar red car was waiting. Hugo personally opened the back door for her, and with a slightly stiff expression, she got in.

Was he taking her to a hotel? Just like that?

Wait. Don’t tell me… this was going to end as a one-night stand?

Everything was going so smoothly it suddenly made her uneasy.

Sitting beside her, Hugo asked the question as casually as tossing a pebble, “Where’s your house?”

Liselotte, who had unknowingly been making a hostile expression, blinked and repeated back, “…My house?”

“Yes. Your house.”

***

Targets generally had many enemies. Especially those with assassination orders on their heads. In those cases, the people aiming for the target’s life were usually not limited to a single client.

The type of man who hired heavily armed bodyguards and was extremely wary of anyone who approached him. And especially wary of a woman who smelled dangerously appetizing, like Liselotte.

Men who were interested yet suspicious always ran background checks on her. Some even broke into her home disguised as thieves in the middle of the night.

Meaning: Hugo wasn’t the first man to suddenly demand to visit her house.

Thanks to several previous experiences, Liselotte had already arranged her home to match the persona of Liselotte Graham. That was why she hadn’t panicked.

Hugo stared up at the clean, white-painted exterior of the building.

A luxury apartment newly built in an affluent neighborhood not far from the restaurant. The streets were clean and the passersby looked leisurely and well-off.

For a pianist at an ordinary restaurant, it was certainly a burdensome place to live.

Just then, a housewife walking a pricey purebred dog spotted Liselotte and greeted her warmly.

“Hello, Miss Graham.”

Naturally, Liselotte smiled and waved.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Funnel. Hi, Max.”

Hugo watched the two of them quietly, hands shoved into his pockets.

This was good. Now he could confirm she was a young lady who’d inherited a comfortable amount of wealth from her parents. She hadn’t actually bought the house with her own money; it was provided by the company, but still.

But what did the house look like again….

As she took out the key from her handbag, a sudden chill of dread ran down her spine.

All documents related to the main dish were kept at the restaurant, so that wasn’t a problem. What she couldn’t remember was the last time she’d cleaned.

He’d said there was somewhere he wanted to go, so he definitely didn’t mean to just drop her off.

While inserting the key into the entrance, Liselotte hesitated and glanced back. As expected, he stood right behind her, waiting as if it was only natural they’d go inside together.

“Um, I slept in late and had to rush out this morning, so the house might be a bit messy.”

“Don’t you have a maid?” he asked casually, tearing his gaze away from the scenery.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford one; she deliberately chose not to. It would be troublesome if rumors spread that she came home late at night, sometimes wearing bloody clothes.

She shook her head slightly. “I don’t want people knowing everywhere that a wealthy young woman lives alone.”

“But telling me is fine?”

The moment he threw that crooked question, the building door unlocked.

“You have way more money than I do. You don’t look like the type to stalk women living alone.”

As Liselotte stepped into the lobby, she turned back with a gentle smile.

“Am I wrong?”

When she asked innocently, he let out a soft laugh and strode closer.

“It’s true, but I don’t like hearing it.”

He said that, yet he walked straight toward the elevator without a moment’s hesitation. He was the one who insisted on coming, so why act like that? Liselotte pouted for no reason and followed after him with small steps.

Soon, the elevator that had descended to the lobby chimed with a bright ding.

“Miss Graham! What brings you here at this hour…?”

The building’s security guard, who was inside the elevator, brightened the moment he saw Liselotte, but his voice trailed off quickly. That was because he noticed the tall, unfamiliar visitor whose presence was impossible to ignore.

“Oh… you’ve brought a guest today?”

“Ah, yes.” Liselotte wiped the cheerful expression from her face and answered in a businesslike tone.

Once the two of them stepped in, the guard pressed the button for the third floor out of habit, then asked carefully, “Is he… your boyfriend…?”

“Yeah. Boyfriend,” Hugo answered in her place, draping his arm naturally and firmly over Liselotte’s shoulder.

“I… I see.”

The security guard met Hugo’s eyes and instantly whipped his head forward. Watching Hugo give her a relaxed smile as if nothing had happened, Liselotte ended up smiling as well.

‘So he’s not just quick-witted but has fast reflexes too.’

As the elevator moved up slowly, the guard seemed to be wrestling with something internally. Then, after puffing up his chest with great resolve, he finally spoke.

“Miss Graham! No, Miss Liselotte. Actually, I…!”

“Open the door.”

The guard’s wide-open mouth snapped shut. It must have been right after he met Hugo’s eyes.