How to Stop the Villain from Going Crazy
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 14 - Tsk tsk, feudal superstition was quite harmful to the common folk (2)
Perhaps, due to his longing for physical touch, she lived through the night unharmed. When she woke up again, her limbs were intact.
The trainer was also awake and looking at them with a strange gaze.
Bo Li took out the gold pocket watch and checked the time. It was 5 AM, so she still had some time before the others woke up.
The trainer saw that she had the gold pocket watch and widened her eyes in disbelief.
Bo Li didn't pay attention to the trainer. She gingerly got out of the sleeping bag, but Erik still woke up. Or perhaps, he hadn't gone to sleep at all.
One night was enough for her to recover from the terror of being on the verge of life and death. Although her legs still felt weak when she looked him in the eyes, she still asked, "Are you hungry?"
No reply.
Bo Li was already used to his silence. "I want to ask the trainer a few questions… about you. Do you mind? If you mind, I won't ask."
No reply or movement.
That meant it was okay.
Bo Li sighed in relief. Great.
It was impossible to correctly guess his intentions. Controlling him wasn't easy. She had to know more about his background.
Bo Li thought it over and walked to the pile of dirty clothes. She blocked the trainer's sight with her body, found the first aid kit, and took out an energy bar.
It was chocolate flavor. She hoped that suited his taste.
She tore open the wrapper, broke the energy bar in half, and offered a piece to him. "It's sweet and can replenish your strength. We'll each eat half, okay?"
Bo Li ate her half first.
Erik stared at the chocolate energy bar for a long time before reaching out to take it.
Chocolate already existed in this era, so he wasn't perplexed about the item. Instead, he lowered his head and carefully sniffed it.
After several seconds passed, he tilted his head slightly, lifted up the edge of his mask - exposing his jaw - and ate the energy bar.
This was the first time that Bo Li saw his face. Although she could only see his jaw and lips, he didn't seem ugly. His jaw was thin and angular, and his lips were pale enough to almost blend into his skin.
Based purely on his jaw, he could definitely be considered handsome. She wondered what version of disfigurement he had. Did he have a skeletal face like in the original work, or was half of his face normal like in the musical?
Bo Li wisely refrained from commenting on his chin.
It was still early, so she decided to work on getting closer to Erik before interrogating the trainer.
Bo Li sat down and tentatively reached out and slowly grasped his wrist.
Erik lowered his head. He looked at her fingers and didn't pull his hand away.
Bo Li exhaled in relief without changing her expression and whispered, "I'll tell you a secret."
No response.
"When I woke up, I forgot about many things… I couldn't even remember who I was or why I stole the gold pocket watch and framed you for it. All I could find was my journal and a strange-looking bag. The journal warned me to not get close to you. It said you were dangerous. I don't know why, but I have this gut feeling that I should trust you."
"Perhaps, you'll still kill me in the end," she said, "but I won't blame you because I made the choice. I chose to approach you and be your friend. I can tell that you're not a bad person…"
She held out her injured hand to him. Her swollen palm was a frightening purple color.
"Your first response to seeing me injured was to help me get revenge… You don't know if I have good intentions in approaching you, but you still helped me. If you're a bad person, then I don't know what a good person is."
Bo Li steadily looked at him. "I don't know what you've experienced. I won't judge your past, but I want to get to know you better and be friends with you, okay?"
There was a long silence.
Erik looked at her palm. She didn't know what he was thinking.
After a long time, she heard a sound by her ear. "... Why?"
Bo Li swiftly raised her head and looked at him.
He actually spoke! She was too shocked to recall his voice clearly. She only remembered that it sounded clean and pleasant. It was the best teenage boy's voice she had ever heard.
It took a long time before Bo Li finally found her voice again. "Because you give me a sense of security."
That was the truth.
Even if he could kill her at any time, she felt a twisted sense of security because of his existence. Perhaps, it was because he was the only person she knew in this era.
She even knew the trajectory of his fate. She knew that he would live in an underground labyrinth in Paris and fall in love with a ballerina named Christine.
At this moment, she heard a scoff.
Bo Li followed the source of the sound. The trainer had spat out the rag in her mouth and was looking at them with a sneer.
Perhaps, due to Erik's presence, she didn't scream, whine, or struggle like yesterday. She just held her chin high and observed them with a look of fear and disgust.
Bo Li quickly moved. She immediately picked up the fire tongs in the corner and pointed them at the trainer's head. "Don't make any noises without our permission or else."
The trainer stared at her. Her eyes were burning with the anger of humiliation. After a long time, she swallowed her anger and nodded.
Bo Li put down the fire tongs. "You seem to have something to say. Say it."
After getting permission, the trainer immediately weakly sneered. "You think you've found a good friend that can fight your battles for you…. Have you never wondered why he doesn't speak and why he has no friends?"
Bo Li: "..."
The trainer was obviously trying to sow discord. Bo Li wouldn't continue down that path of thought. After thinking it over, she joked, "He's a bit shy?"
The trainer looked at her like she was an idiot. "He can speak. He can speak more than ten languages. We found him in Persia. According to the locals, he became a famous trapdoor master before 14 years old…. However, no one in the area dared to talk to him or talk about him. Do you know why?"
Bo Li vaguely remembered that this was the content of the original work, but she had binge read the novel and couldn't remember the details.
The trainer regarded her hesitation as a sign of fear. The trainer sneered and continued to say, "Because he's a freak, the devil. The locals all call him the living dead… He can use those trapdoors to appear behind anyone. No one is willing to stay with such a person even if he's a rare genius!"
"Our manager doesn't believe in the supernatural. He was sure that he could become the circus's cash cow," the trainer was panting while saying, "It's true we earned a lot of money in the three months that he's been here, but strange things have also happened… First, Mike's watch was stolen, and then a strange bag fell from the sky. That bag can't be cut with knives…and now my hand has become like this…"
The trainer's grim smile along with her jeering made her sound like a venomous snake.
"If all that doesn't prove he's the devil, a freak that brings bad luck, then what can prove it? Have you seen my hand? He can stab my hand today, and tomorrow, he can stab your-"
Bo Li stuffed the rag back into the trainer's mouth. All three of those things were related to her. Tsk tsk, feudal superstition was quite harmful to the common folk.
T/N: Next part will be posted on August 15th at 9:15 PM EST.