Chapter 17: Side Character x Mafia Boss (17)

Lyra slowly pushed the grand bedroom door open. She poked her head outside, her dark eyes darting back and forth in a frantic sweep.

Left.

Right.

The sprawling hallway was completely empty. Not a single guard or maid was in sight.

"..."

A mischievous grin slowly spread across her face.

"Hehe..." she giggled softly under her breath, clapping her hands together. "The security in this multi-million-dollar mafia estate is absolutely terrible! They don’t even have a single person guarding a hostage!"

She tiptoed out of the room as quietly as possible, her bare feet pressing against the cold floor.

Step...

Step...

Step...

Meanwhile... inside the central security hub...

A massive wall of monitors displayed every single inch of the vast estate. On one central screen...

A certain chaotic girl was sneakily creeping through the empty hallway, crouching low and looking around every few seconds.

Alastair sat in his chair, silently watching her every move on the glowing display. The corner of his lips slowly lifted into a captivated smirk.

"...Little mouse," he murmured, his voice deep in the quiet room. "Already trying to escape..."

"...right after finishing her entire gourmet meal."

His cold grey eyes remained tightly fixed on her small figure on the screen. He watched the way her dark hair bounced with every cautious step she took, the way her eyes widened in excitement whenever she thought she was pullings off the ultimate heist.

Then... the lightheartedness vanished from his face. The mere thought of her actually leaving this estate...

Of her slipping out into the city where he couldn’t see her...Of never seeing that bright, expressive face again...

Made something dark and unpleasant tighten deep inside his chest. The possessive fire in his blood flared up, suffocating his reason.

His handsome expression gradually darkened into a stormy shadow.

Without uttering another single word to his security team, Alastair suddenly stood up, his sweeping black coat following his broad frame. He walked out of the security office.

The guards posted outside the door immediately straightened their posture, bowing their heads in surprise.

"Boss?"

Seeing their leader leave in the middle of high-level syndicate meeting, the top men hurriedly fell into formation behind him, their heart rates spiking.

Back in the hallway...

Ding!

A bright blue translucent notification screen popped up out of nowhere, floating directly in front of Lyra’s face.

[ Alastair Voss - Obsession Level: 55% ]

Lyra blinked, almost tripping over her own feet.

"...Huh?"

She stared at the floating digital numbers, her brows knitting together in complete confusion. "It went up again?! How on earth did it hit fifty-five percent?"

She frowned, crossing her arms as she kept tiptoed forward. "Don’t tell me... that creepy, handsome Mafia Boss is literally standing over Elena staring at her while she’s fast asleep in another room? Wow, what a total creep!"

The System’s mechanical voice quickly rang out, sounding unusually urgent.

[ Host, please do not worry about the details of his movements right now! ]

[ The Male Lead is not currently with the Female Lead. ]

[ This is your absolute best window of opportunity! ]

[ Run! ]

Lyra hesitated, her footsteps slowing down near a tall archway.

"But wait..." She bitten her lower lip nervously. "What about Elena? Aren’t I supposed to be a good friend and save her from this mafia lair too?"

The System answered immediately:

[ It is not time for that specific plot event yet, Host. ]

[ According to narrative probability, your absolute priority right now is escaping to ensure your own survival. ]

[ Hurry! ]

Lyra let out a loud, dramatic sigh, rolling her eyes. "...Fine, fine. Self-preservation it is."

She quietly continued down the grand corridor, turning left and right down various passages. However, the mansion was so absurdly massive that after five minutes of walking, she felt like she was trapped inside a giant, endless maze.

She turned one corner.

Then another.

Then another.

"...Where on earth is the main exit?!" Lyra whispered hysterically, pulling at her hair. "This place is literally bigger than a three-story shopping mall! Who builds a house like this?!"

Ding!

The System materialized a glowing neon blue arrow in the air right in front of her face, pointing down a sunlit hallway to the right.

[ This way, Host. ]

Lyra’s eyes lit up in absolute joy. "Oh! Look at you! Now you’re actually being useful for once!"

She happily sprinted in the direction of the glowing arrow.

Finally...

As she rounded the final pillar, she spotted a pair of double glass doors marking the main entrance of the mansion. Bright, warm sunlight poured through the clear glass, illuminating the foyer.

Her dark eyes sparkled with pure joy,

"I can actually do it!" she cheered in her head, tears of relief pricking her eyes. "I’m literally escaping! Goodbye mafia, hello freedom!"

She quickened her pace into a full sprint, counting down the distance in her head.

Five steps away.

Four.

Three.

Two-

STEP.

Out of absolute nowhere, two giant, towering men stepped smoothly out from behind the pillars, stepping directly in front of the glass doorway.

Both men were well over six-foot-four, built like solid brick walls, dressed in black suits with completely expressionless, terrifying faces. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, silently blocking every single inch of her path to freedom.

Lyra’s feet skidded against the cold floor, coming to a dead stop mere inches away from their chests.

"..."

She slowly looked up at the guard on the left. Then she looked up at the guard on the right. His eyes were cold and unblinking.

Then, with a sickening knot forming in her stomach, she slowly turned her head to look behind her.

Four more massive guards had silently closed in from the hallway behind her, cutting off any chance of running back. She was completely surrounded.

"..."

Lyra forced a wildly awkward smile onto her face, waving her small hand gently.

"H-Hello there, gentle giants..." she squeaked out, her voice pitching high. "Lovely weather we’re having today, isn’t it?"

Neither man responded with a single word or facial twitch. One crossed his massive arms over his broad chest. The other simply stared down at her like a predator looking at a tiny mouse.

Lyra slowly took one small step backward.

Then another.

"...System," she whimpered under her breath, her smile completely collapsing.

[ Yes, Host? ]

"...I think..."

"...I am completely and utterly screwed."

The System paused for a brief moment, as if analyzing the hopeless spatial geometry of her situation, before answering in a solemn voice:

[ Host... ]

[ I believe that is an exceptionally accurate assessment of your current reality. ]

Lyra tightly closed her eyes, letting out a long breath.

"...Shit."

"I am so unbelievably doomed."

---------------------------------

When Alastair left his office, he already knew exactly what he would find at the end of the corridor.

His guards were trained killers; they would never let a tiny, helpless girl escape the mansion. But as he walked down the grand hallway... a dark thought crossed his mind.

If any of those men dared to lay even a single finger on her-

His handsome expression darkened. He wasn’t entirely sure why the mere thought of another man touching her skin irritated him so intensely, but his hands clenched into fists inside his coat pockets nonetheless.

Soon, he arrived near the mansion’s main entrance.

He stopped in his tracks. His grey eyes narrowed slightly. The scene unfolding before him was absolutely nothing like what he had expected to see.

Instead of struggling against her captors...Instead of trembling or crying in terror like any normal hostage...

Lyra was sitting comfortably on the bottom step of the grand staircase, chatting happily with the two towering guards who were supposed to be blocking her escape.

"So..." Lyra looked up at the two giant men and tilted her head, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Can I ask you guys a super serious question?"

The two suit-clad guards exchanged a quick, confused glance before nodding slowly.

"...Go ahead, Miss."

She pointed her index finger right between the two of them.

"Did your boss hire you guys because you’re insanely strong..." She paused, her eyes sparkling with chaotic curiosity. "...or because you’re both tall enough to change light bulbs in high ceilings without needing a ladder?"

The two giant men blinked, completely stunned into silence.

Lyra continued, her face deadpan and utterly serious: "Because if I actually lived in a huge mansion like this, I’d save so much money on electricity. I wouldn’t even buy lamps. I’d just ask one of you to stand in the corner of the room and hold a bulb up."

For a full second... complete silence filled the foyer.

Then-

"Pfft—Hahaha!"

The guard on the left completely broke character, bursting into loud, booming laughter that echoed off the high ceilings.

The guard on the right quickly covered his mouth with a gloved hand, trying desperately to stay stoic and professional, but within seconds, he broke down and chuckled along with his partner.

"You really have no fear at all, do you, Miss?" the first guard said, shaking his head in amusement. "I’ve been in the syndicate for eight years, and I’ve never heard anyone joke about us like that before."

Lyra proudly crossed her arms over her chest, puffing out her cheeks with a victorious grin.

"I know," she bragged cheerfully. "I’m naturally gifted at comedic timing."

Then...

Out of absolute nowhere, the laughter suddenly stopped dead in its tracks.

The smiles on the guards’ faces instantly vanished into thin air. Their expressions froze, pale with sudden dread.

Their backs snapped straight into attention, their eyes locked onto the archway behind her.

"B-Boss."

Lyra instantly felt a sudden chill sweep through the warm hallway. The temperature in the room felt as though it had dropped by twenty degrees in a single second.

A shivering crawled up her spine.

"..."

No... she thought in terror, her smile instantly freezing. Don’t tell me...

She slowly, reluctantly turned her head around to look behind her.

Sure enough...

A dark figure stood only a few meters away, illuminated by the sunlight pouring through the archway. A pair of icy, piercing grey eyes.

A face handsome enough to make anyone stop breathing... yet cold enough to freeze blood solid.

Alastair Voss.

Their eyes met in the quiet hall.

The lively, bright smile on Lyra’s face slowly faded away until her lips formed a flat, awkward line.

"...Hi?"

She awkwardly raised one small hand, giving him a pathetic little wave.