Chapter 149

The men Chloe had imprinted were all weak — every single one of them.

“Heinz, you can’t just show up like this. I have a life too, you know.”

“But you… you’ve been ignoring me! I’ve been trying to reach you… sniffle…”

Chloe ran a hand through her tousled hair and sighed.

“You were the one who was busier. I heard something happened.”

“It wasn’t some case. Some guy overdosed and killed himself.”

Chloe’s eyes flashed in the dark. The man Heinz mentioned, the one who overdosed and died, was Milchin. Another man she had imprinted.

“He killed himself? And you got assigned to that case?”

“Yeah, it was mine. Sniff… though now, His Highness the Crown Prince took it over. It’s obviously a suicide, but for some reason, the inspector and the Crown Prince…”

What Heinz was saying was supposed to be top secret. But in his feverish state, he couldn’t tell sense from nonsense and kept talking.

“What was that, Heinz? What about the Crown Prince?”

“Huh? Crown Prince? What did I say? Forget it. Pretend you didn’t hear.”

Heinz clung desperately to the last shreds of his reason. Chloe bit her lower lip, frustration flaring.

Then, slowly, the irritation melted from her face, replaced by a sweet, syrupy smile.

“Heinz, where does it hurt? Is it your head?”

Soaking wet and without a care, Chloe pressed herself tightly against him, whispering softly.

“Tell me, Heinz. I’ll make it all better.”

“Chloe… haah… Chloe…”

Heinz pulled Chloe into a tight embrace. Just that simple contact eased much of his imprinting pain, and his face visibly relaxed.

“Yes, I’m right here. So, Heinz, tell me, what exactly did His Highness the Crown Prince do with Milchin?”

It was as if he were possessed. Heinz answered each of Chloe’s questions without hesitation. All the while, some part of his mind faintly wondered, Did I even tell her the dead guy’s name?

***

“Take care, Heinz.”

By dawn, Heinz’s fever had broken, and he finally left Chloe’s house. He wanted to stay longer after seeing her again, but he had to report to work.

In the past, he would’ve called in sick without a second thought, but things weren’t so relaxed at the constabulary these days.

Nick stirred up a case that could’ve quietly blown over. He even dragged the Crown Prince into it.

Now, thanks to him, everyone else was suddenly working harder too.

For Heinz — whose life motto was “earn just enough, live just enough” — the new atmosphere was a pain in the a*s.

“Don’t disappear without telling me again. Even if it’s for research.”

Heinz murmured, fiddling with Chloe’s fingers.

Chloe had told him she’d been avoiding him lately because of “field research.” A total lie, of course.

“I understand, Heinz. I didn’t realize you were suffering.”

“I’m in pain the second I’m not with you. I’ll probably start hurting again the moment I step out that door. Imprinting… it’s beautiful, but it’s hard, Rienna^[1]. You’ll understand when you imprint on someone too.”

Chloe nodded, barely managing to keep the disgust off her face.

Heinz didn’t respond to physical affection as strongly as her previous imprinted ones. Maybe that was why he clung to her more desperately.

So clingy. Ugh.

He was exactly the kind of guy Chloe couldn’t stand.

Chloe was born with a hunter’s instinct.

She liked the thrill of the chase, and she hated prey that walked right into traps. That was boring. Unappealing.

“Hurry up and go, Heinz.”

She gave him a nudge toward the door.

Heinz dragged his feet, reluctant to leave, and just as he finally turned away, he pulled her into a sudden hug. Chloe cursed him out in her head.

“Heinz, you’re suffocating me.”

“Just a second. I’ll go in ten seconds.”

Chloe started counting down in her mind. Because she wanted him gone, those ten seconds felt even shorter.

¹Yes, he called Chloe “Rienna” in the Korean text. I’m not sure if this was intentional or an editing oversight.↩

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