How to Stop the Villain from Going Crazy
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 33 - That scary, burning look in his eyes could melt the wax (1)
The moment that Bo Li felt his weight on her back, her mind blanked, and her body stiffened.
What was he doing? Was this his way of giving her end-of-life care before ending her or a new way to threaten her?
In this world, not only was he a predator, he was a predator that enjoyed playing with his food.
"What do you want to do…" Bo Li hoarsely said. Her choked voice sounded like she was on the verge of collapse.
She didn't expect him to answer, but to her surprise, he actually spoke.
"Lawrence Boyd," he said into her ear - his voice was cold and calm. She couldn't hear any emotional fluctuations in his voice - "is a liar."
This was the laughable joke she had heard during this time.
Erik had broken into her room for several days in a row like a cat playing a mouse. He had slowly approached and didn't appear until she was out of her mind from fright.
He went through all that trouble just to tell her that Boyd is a liar.
Bo Li's voice was hoarser, almost numb. "I know he's a liar… I just didn't dare to turn against him… but, thank you for telling me… You're such a kind-hearted person…"
"You knew?" He asked. His flat tone made her feel like she was falling into an ice cellar.
Before today, he hadn't spoken two sentences in a row.
It was true that his voice was extremely pleasant and made her feel numb from her ears to her scalp. It was like hearing a lover's whisper.
However, she didn't feel any enjoyment from hearing him say several words. She just felt… her death wasn't far.
Bo Li started to miss when he didn't say anything. Back then, she could just hug him or kiss him to escape unscathed. But now, she had to rack her brains to answer his questions.
She had no idea if there was an objectively right answer to his questions.
If she answered incorrectly, would she lose a finger like Boyd?
Bo Li clenched her hands and tried her best to calm her frightened heart.
"There was a German doctor named Mesmer. During his treatments, he would have his patients drink a cup of water with iron filings, then he would touch them with a magnetic rod. Many of his patients were upper-class women. Even without the magnetic trick, they would have a big reaction from the slightest touch, so they believed in his medical skills."
“Boyd's trick," she slowly calmed down, "is probably inspired from Mesmer…"
If this was a quiz show, she would have passed and advanced to the next level.
Unfortunately, a madman was hosting this quiz show. Whether her answer was right or wrong was completely up to him.
Bo Li hoped that when he made his decision, he wouldn't speak.
When he didn't speak, she felt afraid. However, once he suddenly had the gift of gab, she felt even more afraid.
What had exactly happened in the past few days to make a reticent person want to speak?
Bo Li's wish was in vain.
He slightly tilted his head and stared at her for a long time with an unsettling gaze. He suddenly asked her, "What else do you know?"
Bo Li didn't understand his question. "About Mesmer? That's all I know. Umm, I also know that he laid the foundation for hypnosis…"
"Anything is fine."
Bo Li couldn't think of what else to say. "... Can you give me an example?"
Erik clasped her neck with one hand and pressed his thumb on her throat in a threatening manner. His voice was flat.
"Don't bore me."
His body was like a large, high-energy machine that continuously radiated heat, but his black leather gloves felt as cold as ice to her, causing goosebumps on her neck.
Ah, he was tired of playing hunting games and wanted to play One Thousand and One Nights.
She had to be like a storybook heroine and constantly tell him things that he would find new and interesting until he decided to not kill her.
Was this a game that a human could come up with?
Bo Li could only be thankful that she was a modern-day person who loved to read books, watch movies, and play games. She didn't want to imagine how he would treat her if she was an aboriginal in the 19th century that rarely left her home and had limited knowledge.
"Let's keep talking about Mesmer then. The reason why he's said to have laid the foundation for hypnosis is…" she said in a trembling voice, "there are two components to his so-called healing technique. First, he uses the iron filings to give psychological hints. Second, he uses the Group Effect to broaden the scope of his hypnosis…"
In the darkness, he watched her from behind. His white mask was still as vacuous as wax.
And yet, there was an indescribable emotion in his eyes. That scary, burning look in his eyes could melt the wax.
She was cowardly, greedy, and self-righteous. From her eyes to her breathing, her every move made him feel an intense discomfort. The discomfort came from thinking she might take off his mask at any time.
Her gaze was like a moistened brush tip. When he thought that she would take off his mask one day and stare at him with those eyes, that her gaze would slide and wander over his bare face… He felt unprecedented shame.
He wanted to kill her and forever eliminate that possibility, but she always managed to avoid death by his hands.
This was strange.
He never showed mercy to anyone.
His parents said he was a lunatic, mentally ill, and prone to madness. They said they had to lock him in a mental asylum, or he would go insane and kill everyone.
Afterwards, he was put into the high-risk ward of the mental asylum. He was immersed in water, beaten, given electric shock treatments, and taught that he had to pray every night.
Even now, when he heard the clock tower chiming every hour, he would hear those lunatics mumbling prayers.
T/N: Next update will be on Saturday 10:25 PM EST.