My Career is Useless in this World!!

Episode 161- Excuses

Despite the fact that it was afternoon, the day was dark. Though it was summer, the clouds were moving in such a way that the sun was unable to warm people's bodies; as though it was bullying them. What was even more heartbreaking than the clouds blocking the sun was the fact that it was only happening above the Veria mountain. The residents of the Veria estate could see that the sun was visible everywhere except above them.

Eugene sat with her back straightened as she held her cold cup of tea. She's been in this position, in this room, with the same cup for 30 minutes. And the person who called her in, Moniqua, was sitting opposite her in the same position with a cold cup of tea.

There was no conversation, and the only thing they had said to each other 30 minutes ago was polite greetings. It was quiet after that. The reason for this was that it was Eugene and Moniqua's first time sitting face to face with just the two of them in two weeks since the incident occurred.

Just as they were about to pass the 30 minutes mark, a mature voice spoke out, "I spoke with the servants," Eugene could hear the awkwardness in Moniqua's voice and raised her head. 

"..." Eugene now understood why Moniqua brought her in to talk. After Ying An died, the workers have been reacting weirdly whenever Eugene passes by them or even so much as glance at them. But of course, this was something instinctive and something that can't be helped. Someone was murdered inside the house, not to mention, the killer had killed their relative. It was possibly one of the coldest deeds someone could ever commit in their lifetime. 

Eugene kept her silent as she didn't know what to say. Giving Moniqua her thanks would be incredibly weird, and replying with passing words would be weirder. Anything she says would be weird hence she chose not to say anything but take a glimpse at her cold tea instead.

Moniqua pursed her lips and she placed her cup down. After that, she looked at Eugene with complete seriousness, as if she was going to get down to every issue no matter what. Eugene stared back with the same seriousness when Moniqua spoke with a soft voice and asked, 

"Did you do it?"

Eugene, who had expected her to say something else, blinked. She had thought that Moniqua would right out blame her, kick her out of the house, or even send her to a mental constitution if that exists in Xenperia. She had thought that she made everything clear to Levis already hence at this moment only confusion was plastered on her face. 

"Excuse me?" Eugene blurted.

Moniqua furrowed her eyebrows as she rubbed her hands together nervously. With a serious voice, she repeated,  "Did you push… your grandmother." At the sentence, her voice cracked, as if she was holding back some emotions.

Eugene gulped her dry throat out of instinct, however, nodded, "I did." Regarding this, she was very adamant about it hence when she spoke, it sounded as if she didn't care at all about what had happened, which broke Moniqua's heart.

In Eugene's mind, there was only one thing, and that is to cover for Euria even though she knew it was wrong. Will she cover for Euria if she went on to become a serial killer? Quite possibly? The 'her' from before would never do such a thing, however, the 'her' today would, even though she knew it would be one of the worst mistakes she would ever make in her life. But the reason she was covering for Euria now was that she would rather she got kicked out of the house or sent to a mental institution than Euria having to experience those things. 

She had survived alone in her previous life, so she would be able to survive without Levis's or Moniqua's protection. Euria, on the other hand, would struggle to survive outside.

Moniqua closed her eyes completely shut as she sucked in her breath. She held her breath in and it took her a long time before she released it. When she opened her eyes, only disbelief filled her eyes. She looked as if Eugene's answer wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. Breathing in, she asked again, "Wasn't it an accident? Or maybe you pushed her but didn't expect her to... pass."

Eugene watched as Moniqua kept making excuses for her as if she wanted her to choose from the choice she gave her. But there were only two choices Eugene could make. One, tell Moniqua she did it with flowery words. Two, tell Moniqua she did it, but make it to the point. The former would never work out as that was out of her character. The moment she takes the first choice, she knows that their relationship will never be based on trust ever again. Hence, Eugene chose the second choice.

"Right?"

Eugene shook her head, "No." There was only seriousness in Eugene's eyes as she stared straight into Moniqua's eyes. 

"I pushed to kill." 

Not a millisecond after Eugene finished her words, Moniqua's eyes turned red and teared up. Seeing this, Eugene froze and unconsciously turned away. Her hands that were holding onto the teacup clenched tightly. Eugene exhaled to calm down before setting the cup down on the table. 

"W-why?" 

Eugene's heart raced when she heard Moniqua's heartbreaking voice. Her throat clenched tightly as if someone was choking her. What's wrong, her voice sounded so emotionally broken that it made Eugene feel sick to her stomach. Her voice made Eugene want to turn back and outright say that she didn't do it. But… she also could not say it was Euria. It was heartbreaking either way and if someone had to live a difficult life, she would rather it be her. After all, she's already been through a lot, and one more pain added to her life wouldn't break her world. 

The silence in the room was heavy and again it felt as if they were underwater, unable to breathe. As if someone had tied them to an anchor, not allowing them to swim up to breathe. 

"Eugeneia… Why did you do it." In the end, Moniqua couldn't take it anymore. She brought her head down to her palms as her shoulders began to tremble. There was no doubt that the person in front of Eugene was crying. And the hardest part of it all was knowing that you were the cause of those tears.

It was miserable. Everything seemed to be going wrong. Anything she says will aggravate the situation, so she remained silent for 4 hours. In these four hours, she did nothing but watch as Moniqua cried and broke down. There were many instances where Eugene wanted to step up and have Moniqua hate her. She would rather Moniqua blame or hate her than cry so sadly to herself.

After four hours, Eugene parted ways with Moniqua when a knock on the door sounded. Her eyes met Levis's eyes briefly as he came to escort Moniqua. The moment their eyes met, Eugene looked away guiltily. Once the door to the room closed behind her, her body began to shake in disgust. Disgust at herself and her entire being. 

.

.

.

"Aernest." The moment Eugene walked into her room, she heard Earnest sitting at her coffee table looking incredibly anxious. Just as she was about to walk towards him, she paused and unconsciously muttered, "Ah. I broke it."

Aernest looked at her worriedly and stood up, "What? What's wrong? What did you break?"

Eugene gave Aernest a small smile as she glanced outside, "A promise." Her eyes were filled with a lot of emotions as she stared at the dark day outside.

"A promise?"

A promise she had made to Levis 6 and a half years ago. A promise to protect Moniqua. A promise to never make Moniqua sad. 

Aernest did not press on when Eugene did not reply to him. However, his face was still filled with anxiety and nervousness. Eugene understood that Aernest was feeling afraid and anxious about something hence, she asked. 

"What's wrong with you?" She took a seat opposite him, "Why are you here again?" Even though she asked, she had an inkling of what Aernest's questions might be about. What else could it be but what she discussed with Moniqua today, or what would happen with her relationship with Moniqua in the future? It was a question that everyone on the estate might have wondered about by now, given that Moniqua and Eugene had spent the entire afternoon together. 

Unexpectedly… the topic of Aernest's questions did not relate to Moniqua at all. 

"Sister! What do you want to study in the academy?" He looked incredibly relieved once that question rolled out of his throat. 

"...." Eugene stared blankly. Was this why he looked very constipated the moment she walked in? Because he was curious about her future academy life, and future subjects? Eugene gave him a 'Are you for real?' look, and Aernest only responded with a series of hehehe's.

"Why are you asking about the academy so… suddenly?" She asked him amid his awkward laughs. 

"Oh! Because an enrolment letter came in today!" he replied excitedly!

"....."