Even though the heroine's mother had been quite worried about possible retaliation from a giant such as the Black Tiger Corporation if she dared to file a complaint against Amos, she had already come to care greatly for her daughter's friends. And this man had not only broken into her home, but also threatened them with clear hostility.
But unlike her uncertain mother, Crystal was already burning with fury.
She had no idea what kind of drama this guy was trying to brew with Emilia, but she had a feeling that it couldn't be any good for her either way. What really infuriated her, however, was the fact that he insisted on pretending that he cared for her!
It almost made her want to puke from sheer disgust.
To be able to convince even her sharp eyesight that he was being completely genuine with his feelings, and that he truly did 'love' her, Crystal could feel chills down her spine at what the others must think about his nonsense.
But Emilia never questioned her. She didn't even seem to care for what the boy said, only focusing on dealing with the situation.
Crystal couldn't believe there was someone who could put so much faith in her, and to not even suspect her under such circumstances.
After all, this was Emilia's ex-fiancé, and he kept implying that the one he loved was her, Crystal, and not Emilia. Even if they had already separated, any other girl would have been furious and hateful. Most importantly, wasn't it only reasonable to suspect that Crystal herself had at least some involvement in the matter?
But Emilia only assured them that everything was going to be alright, that she would be able to handle everything for them, and that they didn't need to fear any retaliation from the Black Tiger Corporation's side.
Crystal did not have the courage to ask her why. Why did she not suspect her? Why did she trust her so much? How could she be so naïve? And most importantly… just how deep did she want to make her fall?
==========
In Emilia's eyes, although the heroine didn't express it too much, her worry and concern couldn't be completely hidden either.
She had no way of knowing exactly what the girl was thinking, of course, but from what she could see, the girl seemed to be deeply concerned about how the situation may impact Emilia, which was good. It showed that her efforts were not in vain, and the attachment of the heroine was growing stronger as they interacted more.
What she paid the most attention to, however, was how the heroine treated her mother.
Although she acted natural on the surface, Emilia became even more certain of her speculations for the heroine's actions in the original timeline. 'See, Cynthia, do you think that this girl, who cares so deeply about that woman, would be satisfied with one of the culprits behind her mother's death going unpunished?'
Cynthia shrugged, having never paid much attention to the heroine. Anyway, even if her partner insisted on making her fall in love, she didn't see how this matter was important. "I don't think I saw her ever being suspicious of the hero in that timeline, you know. I don't see why you insist on whitewashing her like this."
Emilia couldn't help but roll her eyes. 'With how smart she is, do you think she never managed to figure out the hero's involvement in everything? The fact that she didn't question the hero at all, not even once, just shows that she wasn't just suspicious of him, but wary.'
The raven haired girl scoffed. How come her partner always seemed to think so highly of this simple minded, love-struck fool of a girl? She had given up all her ambitions so easily when faced with the hero's 'proposal', and Cynthia couldn't help but look down on her. "Oh yes, very smart she is, very brilliant. Amazing. I know. Well, whatever. What you're talking about was still in the past timeline, right? It has nothing to do with us."
Emilia could tell that Cynthia didn't like the heroine at all, but the girl was already quite close to her, and she felt that Crystal was also quite important for completing the missions. 'No, knowing how she thinks matters more than you think. She is the same person, after all, even if the timeline changed. How can I guess what she'll do if I don't even know who she really is?'
Cynthia chuckled. "Don't you 'trust' her?"
Emilia rolled her eyes. 'That has nothing to do with it.'
Her partner couldn't help but sigh in defeat. "Alright, I'll bite. Then, what do you think she was doing after getting together with the hero?"
Emilia thought about it for a while before nodding. Even if she wasn't completely certain, she felt like the possibility of her conjecture being true should be quite high. 'I'm almost certain that she had him figured out, and wanted to seek revenge on him for his involvement in her mother's death, as well as taking away her chance for revenge from Danielle.'
Cynthia groaned. She felt like Emilia operated on conjectures and speculations too much, to the point that even the 'obvious' truth she had dictated from viewing the timeline came into question. "Sounds a bit far-fetched from what I told you, don't you think? Moreover, the more recognition the chosen one of the 'world will' gets, the more it grows. With the hero's growth in the previous timeline, I don't think Crystal would have made much waves even if what you said was true."
Emilia couldn't help but blink in surprise, though there was still some doubt in her heart. 'Oh?'
Cynthia nodded. "Yep. Even if she ended up rebelling against him, the hero would probably just have imprisoned her for being disobedient. The 'story' would just shift to a little abusive love drama, but still remain about the same."
Emilia couldn't help but feel a chill down her spine at the thought. This was the part about the 'world will' that she dreaded the most.
As long as the hero was on a downward spiral and being constantly suppressed, everything was fine, there was little that the world will could do as it could only 'intensify' the impressions of people. But if he managed to make a comeback, every step that he took forward would be followed by a push from behind by the 'world will'.
And this was only the weakest, dumbest of them that she was going to face.
Emilia shook her head to clear off such thoughts. It was better to focus on the present than to dread the future. Anyway, she had to try her best to be stronger and more capable when that time really came, so that she didn't need to feel so helpless.
Even in this 'easy' situation, it was better not to miss a single opportunity.