Chapter 145: A Quiet Revenge
"If Dalmasca had taken you," Dominic said in a low, serious voice, staring at him with heated eyes, "I would have used any means necessary to take you back."
They had spent the whole day together in the room.
Even now, Shiao Yi sat on a long chair with Dominic, nestled on his lap.
To anyone looking in from the outside, they would appear like a foolishly attached couple.
Yet, for Dominic, this closeness was necessary and important.
Even now, the corner of Dominic’s eyes flickered with unease.
"I’m not going anywhere. I’m here," Shiao Yi whispered each time, holding him tightly against his chest.
And slowly, the heartbeat that had raced and pounded out of control would calm to a steady rhythm again.
It would still take time before Dominic could maintain composure on his own without this.
His mind had been shattered so badly.
If Shiao Yi had rushed to him sooner, Dominic’s heart would not have fallen to this extent.
By the time Shiao Yi reached him, Dominic had been consumed by a compulsion to destroy himself, unable even to recognize those around him.
He had let things grow this severe.
How much suffering had he forced Dominic to endure?
It was true that Shiao Yi himself bore most of the blame for his careless choices.
But a part of the cause lay with Jircniv as well.
The man had blocked him again and again, stopping him from reaching Dominic.
That thought filled Shiao Yi with anger.
Because of you, Dominic became worse.
Because of you, he remained trapped in unbearable pain for far too long.
The next day, they were to leave the Dalmasca capital, Rabanastre.
Staying any longer would only cause more confusion.
Future diplomacy and trade with Dalmasca could be left to the experts.
Before leaving, however, Shiao Yi intended to settle his debt with Jircniv.
He climbed down from Dominic’s lap and moved toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Dominic asked immediately.
"I’m going to see Jircniv. There are things I need to say to him. I’ll be right back."
"I’ll come with you. Didn’t you just promise not to leave me?"
He was right.
Shiao Yi squeezed Dominic’s hand firmly.
Jircniv was still at work in his office when they arrived.
With the new government forming, his duties must have been endless.
The two deputy officials were with him, sorting through piles of documents.
He greeted Shiao Yi and Dominic with clear tension in his voice.
No doubt he still felt guilt for the unfair treatment he had given Shiao Yi before.
The aides, too, lifted their heads from their papers and fixed their eyes on him.
Shiao Yi spoke calmly to Jircniv.
"We will return home tomorrow. A lot has happened, but everything is finished now. Please, make Dalmasca into a good country."
He smiled warmly and held out his hand.
Jircniv blushed faintly, but when he glanced at Dominic standing behind Shiao Yi—likely glaring at him with a terrifying expression—his face turned pale, and he hesitantly reached out for the handshake.
The moment their hands touched, Shiao Yi sent his voice straight into Jircniv’s mind through telepathy: "I am angry with you."
As Jircniv flinched from the shock, Shiao Yi slipped past the opening in his heart and began to interfere with his thoughts.
Telepathy did not have the power of hypnosis.
It could only transmit thoughts between minds.
But it could amplify and strengthen feelings that already existed in the other person.
That was how Shiao Yi had once stirred Talcott’s suspicion of Weskham, feeding and enlarging his unease.
Now, he overlapped his own images onto Jircniv’s guilt toward him and fear of Dominic, making those emotions heavier and stronger.
Holding his hand, Shiao Yi read Jircniv’s thoughts more clearly.
Physical contact made it easier.
Behind him, Dominic glared with sharp, jealous eyes.
That alone intensified Jircniv’s fear of him, growing it larger with every heartbeat.
The two deputy officials in the room had gone deathly pale, trembling as if they had lost their souls.
Since they were innocent in this matter, Shiao Yi felt a little guilty for their fear.
In the end, Jircniv developed the image that even the smallest contact with Shiao Yi would cause Dominic to storm in with a terrifying face and kill him.
In Jircniv’s mind, the furious Dominic was not only destroying the castle but blowing away half the capital city of Rabanastre.
What kind of monster had Jircniv turned him into?
This was far beyond human.
Maybe I pushed the fear too far, Shiao Yi thought.
For a while, Jircniv probably wouldn’t even be able to walk down a hallway alone at night.
He would likely toss and turn in nightmares whenever he tried to sleep.
Still, this way, every time Jircniv thought of Shiao Yi, he would also be forced to think of Dominic’s terrifying presence.
Surely, he would give up now.
Satisfied, Shiao Yi left Jircniv’s office.
He had expected the effect to last no longer than a month.
But later he would learn that Jircniv’s extreme fear of Dominic continued for an entire year.
During that time, Jircniv lived in terror, plagued by nightmares.
Whenever he merely heard the names Dominic or Shiao Yi, his body would tremble and cold sweat would pour out.
Perhaps it had been too much, but Shiao Yi had truly been that angry.
If Jircniv ended up scarred for life, he could always seek treatment later.
Later, Shiao Yi also learned that his little act of revenge had seriously affected the marriage arrangement Gabrant had been plotting between Lord Chelmsford’s daughter and Dominic.
At the time, neither he nor Dominic even knew such talks had existed.
But because Jircniv showed such overwhelming fear of Dominic, Lord Chelmsford reluctantly gave up on the plan.
It was said he had actually grown fond of Dominic, so the loss disappointed him greatly.
The former royalist knights, including Tenby, were also deeply discouraged.
Rumor had it their mood sank so low that every day felt like a funeral.