Chapter 688 - 678 Mira

Liam finally turned away from the wall and looked toward Irina. His expression had become much calmer now, almost strangely relaxed considering that there was someone hiding outside their house. "Irina, come sit down."

She stared at him in disbelief, then glanced toward the window again. "But you just said there is someone outside."

Liam smiled as though that wasn’t particularly important. "There is."

Irina’s eyebrows pulled together. "And you’re telling me to sit down?" Liam nodded. "They’re no threat." She stared at him for another moment, trying to understand what exactly was going through his head. "What do you mean they’re no threat? Shouldn’t we at least find out who sent them?" Liam walked toward the center of the room and sat down, looking completely at ease. "Eldric sent him."

Irina froze.

"Eldric?"

Liam nodded.

"I knew it."

The words came out almost immediately, and she walked over to him with a mixture of suspicion and vindication on her face. "You suspect him of something." Liam simply looked at her with a faint smile, which somehow irritated her even more because it confirmed that she was right without actually giving her an answer. Irina folded her arms. "Just tell me already, will you?"

Liam leaned back slightly and studied her for a moment before finally deciding that there was no point making her guess. "I think the village elder has something to do with what’s happening in this town."

Irina’s expression immediately became serious.

What makes him think that?

She lowered herself onto the chair opposite him, her mind already going through everything they had learned that morning. Eldric had told them about the curse, the woman who had been killed five years ago, the woman’s two sons, the destruction they had caused, and the mysterious battle that had eventually resulted in the brothers killing each other. On the surface, Eldric had seemed like a man who had simply survived a terrible history and inherited the responsibility of leading what remained of Elaris. He had been helpful, polite, and willing to tell them things they needed to know. Yet Liam had apparently noticed something beneath all of that.

Liam rested his elbow against the arm of the chair. "His body language."

Irina immediately snorted.

"Oh, please."

She rolled her eyes and leaned back, clearly unconvinced. "You’re telling me you discovered that the village elder is involved in some ancient supernatural curse because of the way he stood?"

Liam didn’t answer.

Irina continued talking for another second, but then her expression slowly changed.

She stopped.

Her eyes widened.

Her mind suddenly replayed what had just happened.

His body language.

She looked directly at Liam.

"Wait."

Liam smiled.

Irina stared at him.

"You just..."

Liam’s smile widened slightly.

"You just answered what I was thinking."

She leaned forward.

"How?"

Liam chuckled softly. "I can see your body language."

Irina blinked.

Then she looked down at herself.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means your face gives you away."

"My face does not give me away."

"It does."

"It doesn’t."

Liam shrugged. "You thought I was reading your mind."

Irina’s eyes narrowed.

"I did not."

"You did."

"I was just surprised."

"You were surprised because you thought I had somehow read your thoughts."

Irina opened her mouth.

Then closed it.

Liam smiled.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Fine. Whatever. Just continue."

Liam’s amusement faded as he leaned forward. "Eldric is a manipulative person. From what I’ve seen, he is extremely controlling, and I believe he has a serious problem with abusing people who are weaker than him."

Irina’s expression changed immediately.

"Abusing?"

Liam nodded.

"You mean his wife?"

He didn’t answer immediately, but the look in his eyes was enough.

Irina’s mind immediately returned to Mira.

The nervous woman wrapped in cloth.

The way she had kept her head lowered.

The way she had seemed frightened simply standing in the same room as them.

The way she had avoided looking directly at anyone.

Irina’s jaw tightened.

"I knew there was something irregular about her."

Liam nodded.

"Yes."

"What do you think he does to her?"

"I think he locks her away most of the time."

Irina’s eyes widened.

"And lets her out for a while when he wants to appear normal."

Before she could even ask how Liam could possibly know something like that, he continued.

"She has scars on her hands."

Irina became still.

"The kind you get when you’ve been tied up repeatedly."

The anger in Irina’s expression began building.

Liam continued speaking in the same calm tone. "She also had bruises. She was desperately trying to hide them beneath her clothes, but they were still visible. Not enough for someone who wasn’t paying attention to notice, but enough for me."

Irina’s fingers curled slowly against her palms.

"And then there’s the way she greeted me."

She frowned.

"What about it?"

"She said, ’Good evening, sir.’"

Irina stared at him.

"So?"

"We are in the morning."

"Huh?"

Liam looked at her seriously.

"We are in the morning, Irina. She didn’t say good morning. She said good evening."

Irina’s brows furrowed.

"Maybe she made a mistake."

"No."

Liam shook his head.

"People make mistakes, obviously. But think about the circumstances. She was frightened. She was wrapped in clothing despite being inside the house. She had marks around her wrists. She behaved like someone who had spent a long time trying not to attract attention. Then she greeted us according to the time of day as she understood it."

Irina remained silent.

Liam continued, "You don’t confuse morning and evening that easily unless something has disrupted your sense of time. Especially when you’re living in a village where everyone knows whether it’s morning or night."

Irina’s expression slowly changed as the pieces connected.

"Darkness."

Liam nodded.

"Exactly."

He leaned back slightly.

"If Eldric keeps her somewhere dark most of the time, she wouldn’t know what time it was. She would have to rely on what she was told. If he released her during what she believed was evening, then she would greet someone accordingly even if it was actually morning."

Irina stared at him.

The implications hit her all at once.

Her first emotion wasn’t even anger.

It was pity.

She remembered Mira’s face.

The woman’s nervous movements.

The way she had covered herself.

The fear in her eyes.

Irina’s chest tightened.

Then the pity became rage.

Her hands clenched.

"That bastard."

Liam watched her carefully.

Irina stood from the chair, unable to remain still anymore. She began pacing across the room, her expression becoming darker with every step. She had spent years watching people use power against those who couldn’t defend themselves, and there was something particularly disgusting about the idea of a husband imprisoning his own wife, beating her, and then pretending to everyone else that they were simply a shy couple living peacefully together.

"I can’t believe him."

Her voice trembled with anger.

"He stood there smiling at us."

Liam remained silent.

"He introduced her like she was just some shy woman who didn’t like speaking to strangers."

Her breathing became heavier.

"And she was scared of him."

Liam nodded slightly.

"I know."

Irina turned toward him.

"You knew?"

"I suspected."

"And you just left?"

Her voice was sharper now.

Liam didn’t react.

"Ir­ina..."

"No." She shook her head. "A woman is being abused in that house, Liam."

"I know."

"Then why didn’t we take her with us?"

Liam remained calm, but his eyes became more serious.

Irina’s anger was understandable. If it were up to her instincts alone, she would already have returned to Eldric’s house, torn the door off its hinges, grabbed Mira, and dealt with the elder personally. She could already imagine the satisfaction of watching that smug expression disappear from his face.

"I wanted to," she admitted through clenched teeth. "I wanted to go back there and rip him apart."

Liam sighed.

"I know."

"And you’re telling me we should just sit here?"

"No."

Liam shook his head.

"I’m telling you there’s a reason I didn’t do it either."

Irina stared at him.

"What do you mean, there’s a reason? A woman is suffering."

"I know."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"The full story."

Irina’s expression became one of disbelief.

"What full story could possibly make that acceptable?"

"None."

Liam’s answer came immediately.

"I’m not saying what he’s doing is acceptable. I’m saying I don’t know everything yet."

Irina stared at him in silence.

Liam stood.

He walked toward her slowly until he was standing directly in front of her. Then he placed both hands gently on her shoulders, forcing her attention away from the anger burning inside her.

"I need you to trust me."

Irina looked into his eyes.

There was no teasing expression now.

No smile.

Liam was completely serious.

"Eldric is hiding something. The story he told us has holes in it. The two beings we saw last night don’t behave like simple remnants of a curse, and now we know his wife has been suffering behind closed doors."

His hands remained on her shoulders.

"There is a connection between all of this. I don’t know exactly what it is yet."

Irina’s breathing slowly settled.

Liam continued, "If we rush in now, we might save Mira from him, but we could lose the information we need to understand what’s really happening in Elaris. And if Eldric is connected to the creatures, then we could be giving him the opportunity to destroy evidence or change his plans."

Irina’s expression remained angry.

"So what do you want to do?"

"Watch him."

She stared at him.

"Let him believe we trust him."

Liam’s eyes sharpened.

"Let him think we’re investigating something completely different. Let him keep making mistakes. Let him show us who he really is."

He paused before adding, "And when we have everything we need, Eldric will suffer publicly."

Irina’s eyes narrowed.

"Liam..."

"I mean it."

His voice remained calm.

"He won’t be able to hide behind his position as elder. He won’t be able to pretend he’s some innocent survivor. And he won’t be able to make Mira disappear again."

Irina stared at him for several seconds.

"And Mira?"

"I’ll help her."

Liam’s expression softened slightly.

"But she needs to hang on for a few more days."

Irina looked away, clearly still struggling with the idea of leaving another moment to pass while Mira remained trapped in that house. She hated it. Every instinct inside her screamed that they should act immediately, but Liam had never given her a reason to doubt him when something truly mattered. He had already saved Leo when everyone else believed there was nothing they could do. He had protected her when she wasn’t capable of protecting herself. He had repeatedly placed himself between danger and the people around him.

Finally, Irina looked back at him.

"Fine."

Liam nodded.

"Good."

"But if I find out he’s hurting her again..."

She didn’t finish.

She didn’t need to.

Liam understood perfectly.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I won’t stop you."

Irina nodded.

For the moment, that was enough.