She didn’t look so bad with that dark lipstick on, but it wasn’t the best, and stood out way too much. Still, she needed to wear this a bit longer if she wanted to carry out her revenge…
Dante walked in, absorbed in his new tie. Eden pretended she was absorbed in the pouch’s content to keep her head down and her hair covering her face, until he was close enough.
“What is it? I–”
Before he could finish his sentence, Eden grabbed his tie and pressed her lips against his. The Tiger stood there stunned, surprised by the sudden attack. He could probably tell something was off by the strange way she was aggressively kissing him, but Dante didn’t push her off until Eden was done.
When she retreated, she got to witness first hand the horrible mess on his lips, and all around. Eden smiled, very pleased with herself. It now looked like Dante had been savagely attacked by purple lipstick... She chuckled while he touched his lips, visibly at a loss.
“What was that...?”
“Wear it,” she ordered, using the same imperious tone as his.
Dante was stunned for a second, both eyebrows raised. He then turned to the mirror, only to see the mess. It wasn’t really that bad, but it was obvious he’d been savagely kissed... He smiled.
“Alright.”
Eden’s smile fell.
“What?”
Dante gave her a quick wink and walked out, still busy with his tie. Eden was the one left shocked. He was kidding, wasn’t he? He wasn’t going like that to meet the other Zodiacs!
She hesitated several seconds, turning to her reflection again. That kiss had considerably lessened the layers of lipstick on her lips, but it was also a mess. Trying to focus on something else, she grabbed a tissue and used some water to fix it, but the gears of her brain were spinning at a scary pace. Dante couldn’t be serious. He was probably just toying with her again. He’d take it off later and enjoy seeing her panic until then... Convinced of that, Eden finished preparing. She walked out, thoughtlessly picked a pair of shoes and ignored the smiling man in the corner of the room.
“Ready to go?” asked Dante.
Eden nodded, glancing his way. He still had that stupid smudge of lipstick on his lips... She crossed her arms and decided to ignore it. She didn’t want to give in to his game this time. It was her plan to make fun of him, not the other way around.
Eden was sure he’d take it off soon, even as they walked side by side into the elevator. Still, she wanted to erase that stupid grin off his face. Dante was visibly having fun, with his hands in his pockets and that wry smile of his, as he stared at the lights of the elevator while it descended slowly...
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
They arrived on the floor of Loir’s playground, and as soon as she stepped out, Eden was greeted by a lot of barking and happy yapping. She lowered herself to grab Beer and hug the excited puppy.
“Kitty and Big Kitty!”
Apparently, Rolf hadn’t left Loir’s side this whole time. The bodyguard was sitting behind the hacker, and stood up, straight as an arrow, as soon as he spotted them. The only things that had changed here were that puppy toys and snacks were brought in, and Loir’s empty pizza boxes had been replaced by a unique plate of half-eaten pasta.
“Boss, you have some–”
“I know.”
Eden tried hard not to roll her eyes once again or look back to see his expression, and instead, she walked up to Loir.
“Did you find anything else?” she asked, trying to hide her embarrassment.
The hacker raised an eyebrow and shrugged with a pout.
“Find what? This stupid Map disappeared as soon as you left the room! The Master encoded it so it can only be used if you’re around... and yes, this genius sitting in front of you tried to crack it! So vexing!”
Eden frowned. The Map was still there, though. Did that mean it had been reactivated when she entered the room? She approached it again, curious. Why would her master have given her such a thing? He must have gone to a lot of trouble to get it... What about this Map was worth it? Eden knew how valuable this thing was, but she couldn’t understand why her master had decided to reappear now to give her this. What was he expecting of her? Eden knew her master well enough. He never left anything to fate. Every time he had done something or given her a mission, there was a point behind it. It wasn’t always clear what, though, and she hated being left in the dark.
The events of the other night with that dark Overcraft came to mind. ...Could it be related? Because the old Dragon wasn’t well, there was a lot of unrest already between the territories, but now this... Eden took a deep breath. Perhaps she was getting some hints ahead of time, but they weren’t enough.
“What about the other things we found? The files?” she asked, turning back to Loir.
This time, the hacker put down the fork he had in his mouth and finally looked at his screens. He tilted his head, but with his completely dark eyeballs, Eden couldn’t even tell which screen he was really staring at. Chewing slowly, he began running his hands across the keyboard.
