NOVEL FROG CHAPTER TWELVE: YOUNG MASTER’S ENVY! ENTER EVE ECLAIRE
CHAPTER TWELVE: YOUNG MASTER'S ENVY! ENTER EVE ECLAIRE
-xoxoxox-
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"And what is your relationship with Ms. Eve?" Young Master Wernst demanded.
And there it is. The question that gets all protagonists of urban novels in trouble.
If Diablo remembered correctly, Wernst was supposed to be a genius with high intellect with all sorts of academic achievements under his belt, unlike Deus who was considered to be the waste of the Godlight Clan.
-sigh-
A sigh leaked out of Diablo's mouth. He knew that arguments would happen due to the sheer weight of the Protagonist Halo he wielded subconsciously.
It kept him alive and lucky, alright. But it sure as hell brought him into trouble as well.
And now, it was time.
Time to be looked down upon and despised by random civilians and rich folk, and the three in the sneering seats were two security guards and a young master.
"She's a relative of mine." Diablo stifled both a sigh and a chuckle, not knowing whether to cry or laugh. "I'm here to check up on her, so calm down."
But all this answer seemed to do to Wernst was piss him off for some reason, as thoughts of the love of his life and the apple of his eye being held intimately by another random man rushed to his head.
"Do you think an answer like that will satisfy me!?" Wernst shouted as he glared at Diablo.
"Yeah, that's right! Young Master Wernst has an IQ of over 200!"
"Yeah, nice try! He's one of the smartest young minds in Paradise City!"
Not missing a beat, the two guards rushed to lick Wernst's boots, heaping praise as they didn't forget to give Diablo smug sneers and cartoon henchmen-level cackles.
'Now I'm not the smartest guy or whatever, but if this is what is considered genius, then I'm better off as an idiot.' Diablo thought with a raised eyebrow.
Seeing this, Diablo started to understand just why so many protagonists of urban novels didn't make strong efforts to defend themselves in verbal arguments like this.
Whatever you say, they won't believe you and will attack you instead. Even if you are telling the truth.
"Is that so?" Diablo scoffed. "Well, I'll just wait here until she gets back, since she doesn't seem to be here right now."
At the end of the day, not being considered on their level or having a backing stronger than theirs was the supposed cardinal sin in the eyes of most power-hungry money-loving idiots like them.
'And Young Master Wernst over here, was one of the main ones who targeted the original Diablo because of his connection to Eve.' Diablo thought.
"Wait right here?" Wernst sneered. "Hah! Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"Who knows?" Diablo said offhandedly as he found a place to sit. "I'm curious. What if I said that I was her brother?"
"Nothing but a miserable lie!" Wernst shouted as if he'd figured out a great mystery. "You're nothing more than a frog trying to taste swan meat!"
'Oh! Now that's a classic!' Diablo chortled.
Not to be left out, the two security guards immediately joined in, "Yeah, you're like a pig wearing a pearl necklace!"
"That's right, like top-grade cuts of beef given to a stray dog!"
"Yeah, it's like-"
"Alright, alright, side characters one and two. That's enough sayings out of you." Diablo cuts off the two boot-licking duo before they go through their whole routine once more. "As I said, I'll just wait here."
"Heh. Wait all you want, I'm sure Ms. Eve will send you away!"
"That's right, she always sends Young Master Wernst away crying, and I'm sure you'll be the same!"
"Shh! You idiot! Young Master Wernst gets defensive about that!"
-grit-
Wernst pretended as if he didn't hear what those two guards said, but Diablo with his great eyesight was able to tell that he was pissed from the veins threatening to burst out of his temple, and his teeth grinding into each other the more they kept talking
'Poor guards,' Diablo thought with a smile. 'They're about to get taught a lesson later by Wernst's goons.'
'Honestly, I'll be surprised if I see them tomorrow.'
-vroom-
And as the four waiting for a single lady to show up as the star of this whimsical little show, a sleek jet-black luxurious car rolled up. The vehicle shone in the darkness as it had aerodynamic curves that made it cut through the night's wind with a smoothness not seen in ordinary cars.
In short, it was clear to all who laid eyes on this vehicle that it was a capital 'L' for 'Luxury' type of vehicle.
"Ah, there she is! My mademoiselle." Wernst perked right back up, the frown on his face from meeting Diablo vanishing into nothingness. "Heh. Get ready to be sent away like the dirty stray dog like you are."
"Whatever you say, lover-boy." Diablo simply waved him off. "Just don't cry to me when you get rejected."
'Come to think of it, I'm not even sure if I'D be let in! With Deus having a literal diary that exposes his thoughts about the plot to the heroines, I'll be surprised if I don't get sent away by Eve even after all I did to soften the blow in this world.'
-click-
As the car eventually stopped in front of the gate, the driver seat's door opened, and out came a bombshell of a beauty.
-tap, tap, tap-
She had pink hair falling over her shoulder with a striking pair of green eyes that would captivate nearly anyone who would look into them. And despite wearing a plain black teacher's suit with a white blouse underneath that struggled to hide her sizeable curves, Diablo would always recognize this woman.
-She was Eve Eclaire, after all.
"Hmnn? Who's this?" An inquisitive bell-like voice could be heard.
"That's Wernst Olten, miss. And he's brought a large bouquet of flowers on his visit! The two guards piped up.
"Ahem." Wernst cleared his throat, trying to get Eve's attention. "I'd like to-"
"No." Eve simply said as she walked past, ignoring Wernst and the large bouquet he pulled out of his car seat.
"I thought I told him not to come by here again, but he's still here?" Eve sighed in frustration before spotting another figure just up ahead, reclining on the gate's wall. "Just great. What's this? Another suitor?"
"See Ms. Eve, this trespasser right here is also here to visit you!" One of the guards said, pointing a finger in Diablo's direction. "I told him that you won't be seeing anybody, but he didn't listen!"
'Like hell you did, you sycophantic boot-licker....' Diablo thought. 'But anyway, I think I should probably re-introduce myself, even though I have one of the most embarrassing edge lord-y names in all of fiction'
Pushing himself off the wall, Diablo walked toward Eve as she had a frown on her face, not fully recognizing him. "It's been a while, Eve. I doubt you need it, but I'll reintroduce myself anyway."
"It's me, good ol' Diablo Malvados."
"D-Diablo?" She sputtered as her eyes went wide with various emotions.
Seeing her look like that almost made Diablo smile, though it may not be the best thing to do if you're reuniting with a long-lost relative(adoptive).
"Ms. Eve! Do you know this weirdo!?"
"Wait! Don't tell me that's he's actually a guest!?
The shocked faces of the two guards also almost made him revel in satisfaction, but rather than moral shame, pride kept him from gloating and smirking at their rottenly shocked faces.
'They're just security guards after all, wouldn't it be embarrassing if I get all worked up over it?' Diablo thought.
"M-my apologies! We'll get this gate open right away!"
The two guards scrambled like rats to do their job as they left Wernst by himself.
And as for the last nuisance involved with Diablo...
"Ah, Ms. Eve, what do you mean? Don't you know-" Wernst attempted to get Eve's attention once more, only to fail once again.
"Do I know you? No." Eve coldly said. "And do I want to know you? Also no."
"Wha- Bu- Yo-" Wernst stammered, in shock at being rejected for what seemed to be the first time ever in his life despite it not being so.
"And whatever it is, I'm pretty sure that I told you several times that I'm not interested."
"But, what? It seems that for some reason you can't understand me when I say no."
"I..."
"Are you purposely pretending that I didn't say no, hoping that one day I'll slip up and say yes?"
"You!?" Wernst was clearly angry now. "I'm Wernst Olten! Heir to the Olten Family! Any woman would be glad to be spoiled by me!"
"Be honest with yourself. After not taking your gifts, your presents, and anything associated with you, did you honestly think that there was a single possibility that after saying I want nothing to do with you, and that I just would turn around and say yes?"
"Or is that IQ of yours for show, and you don't actually think about anything at all?" She glared at Wernst with a stony gaze that would freeze boiling water itself, before turning around not paying any more attention to Wernst.
'Ouch.' Diablo winced. Not because of her insults as he'd heard worse directed at him before.
But at the fact that Wernst's IQ was dropping solely because he came into conflict with Diablo.
Eve turned to face Diablo as she stared directly into his eyes, never breaking eye contact one bit.
"..." Wernst was silent, like a dead mouse. Clearly defeated, he stayed rooted to that very spot next to his sportscar as he watched on.
-whitsle-
'What a rejection.' Diablo thought. 'Even the Original Diablo didn't get rejected by his crush like that in the novels...'
'Come to think of it, even in my old world back on Earth, I've never had a rejection that fierce that would attack my self-esteem and ego that badly...'
Diablo looked at Eve who now stood in front of him. She was much shorter than Diablo and so she had to lift her head to look him in the eye, but then it was a beautiful picture.
'Should I say something? It's been a while since we've met and spoken face to face without the usage of letters...'
'Well, here goes nothing...'
"Well. Talk about a brutal rejection!" Diablo sighed with a slight smile. "I think my face is almost numb in shock just watching it though..."
Eve frowned.
-slap-
A swift slap crossed Diablo's face.
'Ah. So much for trying to be a smooth talker. It seems that a Cassanova, I am not.'Diablo gave a wry chuckle.
"Well, does your face feel numb now?" Eve said, glaring daggers at Diablo
"Well," Diablo began. He wasn't as much hurt by her slap as he was surprised. "My mind feels kinda numb now instead."
'Heh, it was only time until you would've been shown your rightful place.' Wernst smirked in relief. 'That's what you deserve.'
He was worried that this random stranger would be closer to his goddess than he was, so when he saw this slap, he was so elated that he could jump for joy!
'Of course! Why would you be treated better than me if I couldn't win her over!?'
But what he saw next would break his poor mind for the unforeseeable future.
-hug-
Eve then dived into Diablo's arms, engulfing him in a soothing embrace.
"!!!?????"
'Ah, this is nice.' Diablo thought. 'Is it because of the hair, or am I imagining that she smells like strawberries too?'
Diablo was so surprised that the slap wasn't followed by a 'never speak to me again' that he ignored the fact that he could feel Eve's twin mountain mounds pressing into his chest as she jumped into his arms.
"So, do you have anything to say for yourself?" Eve sternly asked as she reluctantly broke away from the embrace. "And what the hell is it with this whole secret families thing with the letters you sent?"
"Well I would have something to say, but all of my thoughts got slapped out of me with that hand of yours..." Diablo tried to make a joke, but after seeing Eve's increasing frown, he thought that he should save the jokes for later.
'Come to think about it, Eve has been living thinking that her whole family had either been killed off, or lost across the world... I can't imagine the type of mental stress that would take...' Diablo thought.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself, Diablo?"
Realizing that nothing else would ever work, Diablo settled on a simple-
"I'm back home, Eve."
Eve gave Diablo a stern glare.
"Welcome home, you idiot." Eve hugged him once more.
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CHAPTER TWELVE: YOUNG MASTER'S ENVY! ENTER EVE ECLAIRE! (END)
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