How Lilies turn Black - Chapter 7

“Hey, Lorenzo, throw me a knife!”

“What’s with the knife, all of a sudden? You’re not going to—”

“I wouldn’t lay a hand on our precious lady, give it to me.”

The dagger flew, and Antonio snatched it up and reached straight for Lilia.

Rip—

The hem of her dress ripped open under his vicious touch. The stiff fabric refused to cooperate, and the dress fell into a jagged mess.

Lilia stiffened, unable to move. Her mind was working harder than ever, but there was no breakthrough in sight.

By then, the situation had taken an even more unexpected turn.

The surrounding noise began to die down. The laughs faded away and were replaced by the sound of footsteps.

“…!”

Turning my head, I caught sight of Theodoro, who had risen to his feet and was pacing with a bottle in his hand.

‘What the…?’

Unsuspecting members of the organization glanced awkwardly at each other. Others shook their heads in disbelief, as if they had predicted what was about to happen.

Antonio was the only one still excited.

“Look at this. My little girl has a leg—”

Puck!

A dull thud cut off Antonio’s words.

He crumpled to the floor, clutching his battered head. For a moment, he looked like he’d been whipped over the head.

“Ah… ugh… argh…”

Emerald eyes widened in horror as he saw the flask in Theodoro’s hand.

Drip, Drip—

A drop or two of blood dripped from the end of the bottle.

For some reason, the constant noise throughout the bar had stopped. The bar was silent for a moment.

Only a hoarse voice echoed eerily in the silence.

“Don’t be disrespectful in my shop. Take that neighborhood bastard behavior to your stupid club.”

With that, Theodoro threw the bottle down.

Clink—

The heavy bottle clattered to the floor, the spilled liquor mixing with blood and soaking the wooden floor.

“Ah….”

Lilia blinked, wide-eyed, and stared at the scene in disbelief.

She knew Theodoro wasn’t out to get her; he just didn’t like the idea of someone making a mess in his space.

It had all happened so quickly, and it had become too much for her to handle. She’d been around Wayne and helped him, but she’d never been exposed to anything violent.

But that was just Lilia, not the people here.

Several members of the organization rose like rats to their feet and picked up Antonio. As the fainted man was dragged outside, Maurizio quickly tidied up the mess.

It was a natural afterthought, like something he’d always done.

Soon, De Lucia Bar was back to business as usual, as if nothing had ever happened.

The only thing that had changed was that one of the loudest people was gone, and the noise had died down to an eerie silence.

“I think it’s time for you to go.”

Lilia had been standing in the center of the hall long after the dust had settled. Maurizio tapped her on the shoulder, and she snapped out of the shock that had engulfed her.

She looked around the bar a moment too late. People had turned their attention away from her and were chatting amongst themselves.

“Ah…”

The poor traumatized woman from earlier was a clear stranger to this world, an extra caught up in a very short-lived misadventure.

To recognize that fact in plain sight was easy, but it was still unacceptable to her.

Lilia bit her lower lip softly.

Her body was still trembling from the shock, but she ignored it.

‘If I thought it would be easy to step foot in this place… I wouldn’t have started.’ 

A hint of venom flickered in the corners of her eyes. She clutched the hem of her ragged dress.

“I haven’t even sung a song yet.”

“Hah….”

She could feel Maurizio’s hand on her shoulder gradually slipping away.

“After what you just went through, you still can sing like that?”

“…”

“I’m sorry. I’ve never seen a woman so eager to be screwed.”

He clicked his tongue in frustration, then turned away. As if to say that he’d given her enough warning and didn’t care whatever happened.

Thump, thump—

Watching his silhouette recede into the distance, Lilia averted his gaze and took a calming breath.

‘Let’s do something. It would be ridiculous to leave and come back later.’ 

Throughout, I kept asking him to order a song, but I couldn’t think of anything else.

What was that song that came on earlier… Oh, yeah. It was Doris Day’s album.

After racking her brain for a moment, she came up with another one of Doris Day’s hits.

【Dream a little dream of me】

It was a famous song, so she didn’t have to worry about forgetting the words. They just didn’t come out of her mouth as easily.

Lilia thought for a moment. Could things get anymore messed up than this?

‘…I don’t think so. The worst that could happen is that I’ll be dead.’

We’re already on a trajectory that’s far off course. So there was no harm in doing one more crazy thing at this point.

‘…Let’s just do it.’

It was a quick decision. Once the decision was made, there was no more agonizing or hesitation.

She stood there and squeezed her eyes shut. And parted her lips.

~Stars shining bright above you…

There was no accompaniment, just her trembling voice against the stark notes. The sudden burst of singing drew countless eyes to her.

Lilia felt uncomfortable standing still, her skin peeking through her torn dress. But the song had already begun, and she couldn’t stop it.

~The night breezes seem to whisper, ‘I love you…’

Perhaps this was some kind of nightmare, she imagined. Standing in the middle of a place full of shady thugs, singing to win their favor…

The lyrics were uncharacteristically sweet.

I thought of Wayne, now so far away, and the bright days we’d shared together.

She was the only one in the world who could hold on to those days that had vanished without a trace. A lump formed in her throat as she suddenly realized the lonely battle ahead.

~Birds… singing in the sycamore tree, Dream a little dream of me…

The song must go on, even though no one told her to, and the beautiful eyes gradually sank into the dusk.

Lilia’s voice was low and raspy, like the whispering of a clear beauty, but it was a voice like the whiteness of night fog.

How could such a bright and lovely song sound so bittersweet to her?

It was a strange sensation that made it impossible to take one’s eyes off her, to listen to her voiceover incessantly.

And while everyone held their breath.

Lilia turned to face Theodoro and continued with the next verse.

~Say ‘Night-ie night’ and… kiss me. Just hold me tight and tell me you’ll miss me…

He stiffly lit a cigarette and raised an eyebrow. Somewhere in the air, their eyes met.

She shuddered, a shiver running down her spine.

Ah, those eyes again. Eyes she could see, eyes she dared not fathom.

Beneath the shadowed lids, they were strangely empty, not quite human. Like a place where so many emotions had been held and then vanished.

Why does that man have eyes like that?

The pupils, so black that no light could penetrate them, were like the depths of the ocean somewhere far away. Lilia felt like she was sinking into it, endlessly drowning.

~Stars fading but I linger on, dear. Still craving your kiss…

Caught, she sang idly, facing him as if bound.

And Theodoro did not avert his eyes. He just looked at Lilia, taking a very slow drag on his cigarette and exhaling the smoke just as slowly.

It seemed like an eternity.

For no particular reason, following his slow breathing made the song feel like it would never end.

But after three minutes, the song finally came to an end, and there was silence.

“…”

“…”

There was no applause, no congratulatory shouts that Lilia had been preparing herself for.

As no one spoke, she heard the sound of glasses being set down on the table.

Clink!

Theodoro chugged the last of his drink down his throat and stood up. The glass was now empty, the only thing left in it was the remains of the ash he had tossed.

There were no words left. 

In a single stride, Theodoro made his way across the hall toward the bar and out the door, followed by the shuffling feet of his crew.

“Uh…?”