Mira is dead!
992 Words
Vera pursed her lips before nodding in understanding. "For your previous question, though people have been attacked, I do believe it's a coincidence that Deryl, Ethan, and I were attacked on the same day."
"By the same group of people, if I might add."
"You think it's connected?"
"Isn't it?"
"... It's strange that the attack happened after Mira left the club."
"I agree but it's too early to blame anyone. We need to investigate the situation well."
"Mn."
With that, the duo returned to silence.
Soon they arrived at the Martinez mansion with Diego naturally waiting at the entrance.
His expression was one of worry as he abruptly stood up at the sight of the windowless Mercedes.
Vera stopped the car and stepped out with Marcus following closely behind.
"I can understand Vera running out but you too?... Marcus, you of all people should understand what would happen to me if anything happened to you. Intercity is a dangerous place and not because of the martial arts." Diego berated Marcus with the latter not bothering to explain himself.
"Dad, it's not his fault." Seeing this, Vera had to stop.
"What?"
"He only left to protect me and I'm glad he did."
"... What happened?" Diego asked with a hint of apprehension apparent in his tone.
Taking a deep breath, Vera went ahead to narrate what happened to her and how Marcus saved her, even adding extra tidbits along the way.
"That…" Diego trailed off, stunned by what he'd heard.
The next moment, however, he turned to Marcus and promptly dropped to his knees, kowtowing as he spoke. "My apologies to the Crown Prince, I had no idea such things happened."
"It's fine, there's no need to do all this," Marcus replied.
"Thank you, Crown Prince," Diego remarked as he rose to his feet. "You don't know how grateful I am that you saved Vera."
"I was only doing what I thought was right."
"Haha, of course. Please come in."
With that, the trio promptly entered the house where Matilda was waiting for them.
Recounting what Vera had told him, Diego, alongside Matilda, thanked Marcus until the latter was too embarrassed to stay, prompting him to take his leave.
Diego stayed behind with Matilda to discipline Vera before he allowed her to leave, after which he retired to bed with his wife.
For the rest of the night, the Martinez household recorded no further movement.
***
"Marcus!"
A loud feminine voice roused Marcus from his slumber, causing him to let out a groan at being disturbed.
Rubbing his eyes, he sat up on his bed just in time to hear a series of knocks at the door.
"Ugh." Letting out yet another groan, he groggily stepped out of bed before making his way over to the door.
Unlocking it, he slid it to the side to find Vera standing at the other end with an urgent look on her face.
"Good morning, Vera. What's up?" He greeted her while yawning.
However, no response was heard, prompting him to glance down, only to discover the flustered expression on Vera's face.
Raising a brow, he followed her line of sight only to realize that he was currently shirtless and in his underwear.
"... Uhmm."
Vera's cheeks turned red as she looked away in complete embarrassment.
Before Marcus could say anything, she ran away with her head down.
"... What did she want to tell me?" Marcus muttered as he stared at her fleeing back.
Shaking his head in amusement, he closed the door and went ahead to carry out some light morning exercises before heading into the bathroom to freshen up.
Once done, he put on a casual white turtleneck sweater alongside blue jeans before making his way out of his room.
He intended to meet up with Vera but with the Martinez house being as large as it was, he quickly looked for a maid who was generous enough to point him in the right direction.
Soon, he was standing before a door decorated with strange stickers and a tag that read, Vera's Space, Keep out!
Scratching his cheek, Marcus pondered if he could knock.
Soon coming to a decision, he attempted to do so only for the door to suddenly slide open, revealing Vera at the other end.
The two locked eyes for a moment with Vera quickly averting her eyes.
"Uhmm, my prince…"
"... I did say there's no need to call me that."
"Sorry, I mean, Marcus…. Is there a reason you came here?"
"You came to my room earlier, and it looked like you had something urgent to tell me, so I thought I'd come see you. Is everything okay?"
"Oh that… well uhmm…" Vera trailed off before her eyes flickered at a sudden realization.
Forgetting her earlier embarrassment, she facepalmed. "I can't believe I forgot."
"Forgot what?"
"Mira is dead!"
"..." Marcus's eyes turned wide-eyed in shock. "What?"
***
He hadn't expected it.
The fact that the prime suspect in his investigation, which hadn't even started yet, was already dead.
Marcus was forced to wonder if this was how dangerous it was in Intercity.
A living person could lose their life so casually.
Was human life that worthless?
"... Marcus?"
"Hmm?" Jolted out from his inner thoughts, he glanced to the side to find Vera staring at him with a worried look on her face.
"Are you alright?"
"... Yeah. You said Mira is dead?"
"Yeah, she died in a car explosion on her way home last night."
"... I see."
"Is everything okay?... You don't look good." Vera said before adding cautiously. "Don't tell me… You had a crush on Mira?"
"... It's not like that. Aren't you shocked that someone you knew just died?"
"Well… uhmm, Mira was always a b***h to me while we were in college so… I guess I should feel bad that she's dead?"
Marcus pursed his lips before simply replying. "Alright."
- Writer
