Chapter Forty-Eight: Enough

The situation suddenly turned perilous.

Vilak's hair stood on end, and his expression grew somewhat unnatural.

"What on earth is going on? Anyway, I don't think your choice to travel is a good one. At most, it's just escaping for a while. When you come back, you'll still have to face it in the end." Colin didn't notice Vilak's abnormality and rambled on with his own perspective.

"I..." Vilak's thoughts were in utter disarray.

Interpreting it as guilt on Vilak's part, Colin continued, "Why don't you just make things clear to Mr. Carmine about you and Elizabeth? Or has Mr. Carmine already found out and refused to agree? If he doesn't agree, then that really is quite tricky."

"Do you know what's been happening between us these past few months..." Vilak sat down with a slightly absent-minded air, forcing himself to muster up some energy to fish for information.

"Now that I think about it, the two of you really have been seeing less and less of each other these past few months. So, is it that Mr. Carmine doesn't want you and Elizabeth to be together, and on top of that, you and Elizabeth just happened to have a fight?" Colin possessed a strong associative ability and had already pieced together the whole course of events in his head. "So you're quite hesitant right now? You don't know whether you should listen to Mr. Carmine or stick to your own guns and stay with Elizabeth?"

"...Yeah." Vilak went along with Colin's train of thought and answered.

"I think the two of you should meet up and talk it out properly. Don't make life-altering decisions you might regret just because of an argument over some trivial matter." Colin seemed to have profound insights into matters of the heart. "Besides, in my personal opinion, a life arranged by others is never a happy one. As your good brother, it wouldn't make me happy to watch you live a life you truly dislike. I will always stand by your side and support every decision you make."

Vilak was deeply touched.

Although things were not as Colin imagined, and Colin was completely incapable of helping with the predicament Vilak actually faced, this sincere comfort and support, utterly devoid of any cynicism, still moved Vilak profoundly.

He envied Chris. He envied him for having a wealthy and powerful family, a gentle and beautiful lover, and friends who would never betray his trust.

If he truly were Chris, he would never have chosen to get involved with the Equality Society—even if he had been born in poverty, looked down upon by everyone, and subjected to endless injustice, the Equality Society would fight for him with reckless abandon.

"Thank you, Colin." Although these words didn't offer any practical help, Vilak still felt a surge of strength.

He knew that if the person sitting here today wasn't Colin, but Nord, that forever energetic young lad would likewise offer him support and stand by his side.

This was already the greatest misfortune among misfortunes, and the driving force that compelled him to grit his teeth and persevere.

Acting the part of Chris, he had already failed Colin's trust, and he had failed the passionate members of the Equality Society. Overwhelmed by a sense of guilt and apprehension, Vilak did not want to see all his previous efforts go to waste and fail Nord as well.

"What are you saying?" Colin felt that Vilak was being far too overly polite. "Alright, wipe that mournful look off your face. Think it over carefully by yourself, and today I'll help you arrange a meeting with Elizabeth."

"What if I decide to stay with Elizabeth, but my father doesn't consent?" Vilak asked.

"I'll go talk to Mr. Carmine. If Mr. Carmine remains as stubborn as ever, I support the two of you going somewhere else to live a life of freedom." Having anticipated the worst-case scenario, Colin said with a touch of sadness, "Even if your family cuts you off completely, rest assured, you still have me. Although we've grown up together since we were kids and have hardly ever been apart, I'll be very reluctant to see you go. But I know that watching my good brother live miserably would hurt me even more. So... Chris, go ahead and boldly do what you want to do. Even if I can only hear about how you're doing through letters and phone calls from then on, I will still be just as happy for you as I always have been."

Vilak stood up, walked over to Colin, complex emotions swirling in his eyes. "Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"Don't be so mushy. Just thinking about how you'll end up splitting at least half of my pocket money breaks my heart—" Feigning a heartache, Colin clutched his chest with his hand, then suddenly realized something with a start, "Wait, no, no, no! Have you been secretly plotting to do business and make money recently without letting your parents know precisely because you were saving up to elope with Elizabeth?"

Vilak hadn't expected that this increasingly fabricated story could actually tie in so seamlessly with his own business ventures.

It was airtight and utterly natural.

"Yes, you figured it out." Vilak nodded, acknowledging the logic chain that had now spun out of control.

"I knew it! How else could you suddenly leave the record company unattended and run off to start this small business?" Colin slapped his thigh, looking as if he had grasped the whole truth of the universe. "And with all that, you were still keeping secrets from me? Shouldn't you have just told me earlier?"

"I wasn't entirely certain about it myself, so I figured I'd tell you once things were truly finalized," Vilak said, biting the bullet.

Colin stood up as well. "Well, logically speaking, you should be making quite a lot of money then, right? Once you and Elizabeth elope, I suppose I won't have to spare any of my pocket money to finance you anymore?"

"Perhaps." Seeing Colin revert to his miserly demeanor, Vilak couldn't help but laugh.

"You've got to make it work." This time it was Colin who patted Vilak on the shoulder. "Not to save my pocket money, but simply because I want you to have a better life."

"I will," Vilak said.

"Knock, knock, knock." The sound of knocking echoed through the room.

Vilak knew it was Carmine who had arrived. "I'll get the door."

"Mr. Carmine." Seeing that it was Carmine standing outside the door, Colin quickly bowed slightly in greeting. "I just heard from Chris that you were busy, so I didn't go over to say hello."

"It's no matter. Have a seat." With a benevolent smile, Carmine sat down on the sofa opposite Colin. "Chris, Kellerman is looking for you about something. Go on over."

"Alright." Vilak prepared to leave.

Colin could also tell that Carmine was intentionally sending Vilak away. Before Vilak left, he gave him a slight, firm nod, as if to say he would help handle things for him.

Taking it all in, Vilak only hoped that Colin wouldn't blurt out anything random that would only muddy the waters further.

Closing the door behind him, Vilak went through the motions of checking with Kellerman to see if he needed anything, and upon finding out there was none, he came out to the main hall, sat down alone, and began to think in peace.

What if the situation truly turned out to be the worst possible scenario? Elizabeth knew about the Equality Society, and upon confirming that Vilak was not the real Chris, she would seek out the Equality Society to expose the truth.

Even if she told the Equality Society, they might not necessarily believe her, but the risk was undeniably huge.

At this thought, the corners of Vilak's lips lifted slightly, and his entire body relaxed.

Colin's words just now had deeply moved him, coupled with the emotional breakdown he suffered yesterday upon hearing the news that Nord was still alive. Vilak knew that staying alive was the ultimate victory, and having friends still around was the greatest piece of good fortune.

If Elizabeth really knew, he could simply take Nord and Diaz and leave ahead of time.

Fifty-odd thousand Ginks would be more than enough.