Tristan ran in Nadia’s direction, following as the indicator from the system pulled him forward.
He followed it without hesitation, but the body he occupied was nowhere fit near the one he used to have. His lungs burned after only a few minutee. His legs felt heavy. Sweat was already visible on his forehead, threatening to start dripping on his eyes, if he didn’t stop.
But even at that, he forced himself to keep going while reminding himself that he needed the reward. And secondly, he wasn’t one to leave a task, be it obligation or whatsoever hanging without seeing it to the end. That was what his training as the heir to the throne taught him.
So since he had started, he was going to see it all through, all the way to the end even if he would collapse.
His breathing grew louder and more ragged. His vision started to blur from the strain. But he pushed harder anyway until...
He failed to notice the figure stopping in front of him And he collided with someone at full pace.
The impact knocked the air from his lungs and sent him stumbling backward onto the ground. For a moment he could only blink upward, his chest heaving. When his vision cleared, he saw Nadia standing over him, her lips pressed together tightly in displeasure.
She had deliberately pushed him down.
Seeing her, Tristan let out a rough breath of relief mixed with exhaustion and pushed himself back to his feet even though his legs still felt unsteady.
"You’re determined to die today, aren’t you?" Nadia asked flatly.
"No, of course not." he answered, still catching his breath. "I’m only determined to protect other people from your fury."
Nadia peered at him as if accessing if he was serious, then she nodded sharply; "You’ll die trying then." Her tone turned slightly mocking. "I can already imagine how Cora will react when she hears you’re gone." she scoffed.
Tristan held her gaze; "If you don’t particularly want me dead, then tell me how to calm you down when you’re like this."
Nadia’s eyes narrowed.
"Wrong. I don’t mind if you die. Now stop following me if you don’t want to." She spat out.
Tristan exhaled deeply then took a step closer to her;
"I know you wouldn’t kill me. Now, just tell me how to water down this raging fury." He said with confidence that Nadia found infuriating.
She clenched her fists then nodded;
"Okay, I will tell you, The only way to water down this kind of fury is to find the source and remove it." Her gaze locked on his. "And You are the source. What do you say I do? Remove you, right?"
Tristan stared at her for a moment, unable to form an immediate reply. The words were heavier than he expected.
Nadia gave a sharp short hiss of irritation, then turned and began walking again.
After a brief hesitation, Tristan followed.
~~~~~~~~~~
By the time they reached the apartment, evening had settled in. It had been a few hours of exhaustion for Tristan.
Nadia pushed the door open first, still carrying the same bad mood she had worn all afternoon. The moment she saw Cora in the living room, she went straight at her.
"Hold your husband properly. Stop him from following me around and disrupting my entire day or else, you won’t like how I react to that." Nadia gritted out.
Cora looked up, clearly surprised by the sudden attack. Her eyes moved from Nadia to Tristan, seeking an explanation.
Tristan only shook his head as he was too drained to give one.
"I’m too tired to talk right now," he said more to himself.
Then he walked past both of them, entered his room, and closed the door. The moment he reached the bed he let himself collapse onto it, the body was heavy and sore from the long chase and the earlier struggle.
A soft chime sounded in his mind.
[Side Mission: Protect – Completed]
[Reward Issued]
The System processed the debt automatically. A portion of the reward money vanished to cover what he still owed Lysander. The remaining cash appeared in a neat stack on the bed beside him.
Tristan stared at it for a few seconds and heaved a deep sigh that literally meant; ’i did it.’ then he gathered the currency notes and locked them in the drawer of the small bedside table.
His gaze shifted to the old phone that had come with the body. He had been meaning to deal with it. Keeping something that still connected him to Vincent’s life felt like an unnecessary risk. He decided to remove the SIM card and get rid of the device entirely.
He picked up the phone.
Before he could open the back, a new message appeared on the screen.
’You have 72 hours otherwise...’
The sentence ended there. Tristan’s brows drew together.
"What the hell is this?" he muttered.
The incomplete message was a solid, urgent reason to dispose the phone. He started to pry the phone open, intending to take out the SIM and flush it however, another message arrived before he could finish.
’You know you can’t hide from me.’
I see what you’re currently doing.
You’re sitting on the bed, turning your phone around, not wanting to reply, right?
’You have just 72 hours, Vincent. It’s either you come to us or we come get you.’
Tristan’s hands went still.
The description was exact. He didn’t need any other evidence to understand that there was a camera hidden in the room. Which meant someone was watching him.