I Would Rather Be a Rogue [BL]
Chapter 121: Lying or Dumb?

Chapter 121: Lying or Dumb?

Felix left Brielle’s place in a much better mood. The mermaid was right, if the witch wanted to offer him an easy, well-paid job, then he should just accept! Not just for himself, but for his daughter, who needed a parent to take care of her. Felix would just make sure to fulfill his tasks as the witch’s assistant well, and spare the fox from any more black liquorice ’surprises’, since Remi would be his boss from now on. Or the breadwinner of their little makeshift family, their household, depending on how you looked at it.

Either way, there was no reason for Felix to reject the comfort that the witch offered him, just because he was worried that it wouldn’t last. Regardless of all of his concerns and uncertainties, it was still the best option he had. Safer than following Kade to the Bloodmoon Pack, where he would undoubtedly have to deal with cold treatment, scorn, and countless schemes, and easier than going back to his job at Crossroads, where he would have to work hard to support his little family, while leaving Vivi in the nursery.

The only thing that remained was to somehow explain it to his boss at Crossroads. Hopefully, he would be understanding this time as well, as Felix didn’t want to come off as ungrateful or burn his bridges. He should get it done as soon as possible, so that the boss wouldn’t keep an open spot for him in vain any longer...

But not today. He still needed to organize his thoughts first. Perhaps sleep on it, and maybe visit the witch to seal the deal, to make sure that he had his new job secured before he ended the first. There was still over a year to go before he could get his fake ID, after all, so he needed to remain cautious, so as not to back himself into a corner.

It was still fairly early in the afternoon, and the shops were still open. Taking advantage of the fact that he was in the town’s center, Felix decided to stop at the baby shop to check on the winter clothes for Vivi, as the weather was getting colder with each passing day. He was on his way back already, after picking a few cute clothes for his daughter (including a fox hat, to please his future employer), when he spotted a familiar figure.

Brian, the Beta rogue who had been paid by the Bloodmoon Pack’s guard to follow Felix before. He was walking on the other side of the street, dressed in stained and dusty cargo trousers and an old jacket, munching on a hot dog. He also noticed Felix, almost choking on his food as a result, and nodded at him in a brief greeting, clearly terrified by the encounter, before walking away in a rush. Felix was about to continue on his way...

When he suddenly turned around, and quickly crossed a street. "Hey, wait!" he called after Brian, chasing after him with a pram. Which wasn’t the most convenient, but the Beta wasn’t running, so it wasn’t impossible either.

Brian hesitated for a moment, likely considering his options - was it better to pretend not to hear and run away, or stop? - but eventually, he stopped.

"Yes?" he turned to face Felix, while trying to pretend that he wasn’t afraid of the Omega, who was much smaller than him, and with a child. Well, perhaps what he was afraid was wasn’t Felix himself, but rather the witch that was backing him up.

Felix noticed his fear, and felt a little bit bad about it - only a little, though, since the Beta had given him quite a scare first - but since he had already stopped him, he might as well carry on with it. He wanted some answers, anyway. Not enough to seek him out on his own, but now that they’ve bumped into each other...

"I just have some questions," he said.

Brian flinched at the word ’questions’, remembering the last time Felix had come for him for answers, but he managed to suppress his desire to run away. Barely.

"Y-yes?" he just stuttered, in the voice of a person who was waiting on the gallows for the trap beneath his feet to open, sending him to his death.

"Back when we first met in human form... What were you doing in the town square?"

"H-huh?" Brian blinked, surprised by Felix’s question. He scratched his head, thinking for a moment as he tried to recall it... "Ah!" His eyes finally brightened. "I went to have lunch there!"

"Why in the town square? And why did you come there again, even after running into me?" Felix pressed.

"Well," Brian scratched his cheeks. "I was working nearby at that time, so that was the most convenient? And I didn’t expect I would run into you again, Sir... It seemed like an unlikely coincidence."

It wasn’t a coincidence, because Felix had been on a stakeout for a few days before they met again. The Beta didn’t know that, of course... But that still seemed like a flimsy excuse. There wasn’t anything necessarily wrong about what he just said, though, so rather than trying to disprove it, he continued,

"Where were you working? When did you start? What was the job?"

"I-it was a house on..." Brian paused, thinking for a moment, "Chadwick Street, I think. Just some renovations. We started... Around a week before we met?"

"Why did you take on the job?"

"Because I needed money?"

"But weren’t you afraid that you might be spotted?"

"I... Didn’t really think about that. I mean, it’s been a while, and those outsiders were all gone already, so I thought it would be fine?"

Felix let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead. All that the Beta had said technically made sense and could be true... But it could also be just an excuse. And Felix didn’t want to use any spells to interrogate him, since he was trying to confirm that their meeting wasn’t staged... It wasn’t all that important, as long as the witch had nothing to do with the initial incident, but he would feel better if he could be certain that his meeting Brian again wasn’t the witch’s secret scheme.

"One more thing," he finally said. "When you made a deal with that Beta from the Bloodmoon Pack, a part of the deal was that you could never approach me again, or you would be killed, right?"

"W-well, that is..." Brian hesitated, but in the end, he just answered plainly, "Yes, that’s right."

He had already told Felix about it once, so confirming it wouldn’t make much of a difference.

"Then why didn’t you leave Silverfall?" Felix couldn’t help but ask.

"Leave Silverfall?" Brian repeated, his eyes wide as if Felix had just suggested something absolutely incomprehensible. "Why would I? I have lived here for years. I have a house, friends, and a job here. Why would I want to leave? I mean, the money I got from that Beta was good, but not good enough to throw my whole life away!"

"But... wouldn’t you be killed if you’re caught?" Felix pointed out.

"If I get caught, yes?"

"Then wouldn’t that be throwing your life away?"

Brian stared at Felix blankly, as if he still couldn’t understand.

Really, was he lying, or just dumb? Felix truly couldn’t tell!