Apocalypse Landlord: My Tenants Are All Beautiful Heroines.-Chapter 54: Let It Out

"No wonder there are so many of them," Aiden mumbled, glancing down from his balcony.

A small crowd of refugees had gathered there. James and the wolves, now all seven members united, were distributing food, water, and medicines to the former slum dwellers while they sat on the ground.

Other than the gaunt refugees, quite a few guards had also joined the rebellion. Aiden’s plan of crippling the camp was no longer needed because Karina already did it.

Without the wolves, taking down outside threats had become difficult for Joe. The pitifully few guards that had been left there could barely manage the inside crowd, let alone defend the base from monster hordes.

Even the Evo-Gear, which could have helped them, had been taken away by Karina. Aiden turned around to see Karina next to the pile of weapons and gear.

She did an exceptional job.

Unfortunately, Aiden didn’t have enough slots to put them all in the shop. Neither could he upgrade it because of the stupid class limitations.

[...I’m sorry.]

Aiden ignored the system, focusing his attention on Karina.

Even though she did better than Aiden expected, Karina did not have any joy on her face. In fact, she looked like she was moving on autopilot. All the spark she had before leaving the apartment was gone.

Which is to be expected.

As someone who had been betrayed and had gone on a killing spree, Aiden could say she was handling it better than he did. However, Aiden wasn’t pitying her.

Instead, he wanted to thank Joe for being the bastard that he was. If not for his exploitation, Karina wouldn’t have grown dependent on him like an affection-starved beast.

He walked back in and stood in front of her. Karina didn’t look at him, just stood straight like she was reporting to a higher up. Perhaps turning back to her policewoman persona was the only thing preventing her from breaking down.

"You don’t have to do that anymore," he said, opening his arms.

"I don’t—"

"You can stop pretending to be a cold-hearted leader," Aiden smiled wanly. "There’s no one here who would think less of you if you let out the pain and hurt you’ve felt."

"I really don’t need—"

Even though she said that, Karina choked up as tears shimmered in her eyes. Yet she refused to yield. She had to be strong for those dependent on her.

"If you want to scream, then scream," Aiden said. "If you want to hit something, hit me. Just let it out. You’re hurting yourself more by keeping your emotions inside."

"I’m f-fine..."

"You’re not."

"I said, I’M FINE!"

For a moment, it looked like she might actually swing at him. Aiden didn’t flinch or even look at her raised fist that was almost touching his nose. His eyes were locked into Karina’s.

"I..." she whispered, her voice cracking. "I can’t..."

She took a step towards Aiden as if wanting his embrace, but her legs gave out, and her knees hit the floor. Before she knew it, her face was in her hands and the barrier broke.

"I trusted him... I did everything he asked of me..." she sniffed, tears finally spilling over. "And he just... used me..."

Letting go of her face, her hands grabbed Aiden’s shirt. Even on her knees, she was tall enough that her face pressed against his chest.

Aiden hugged her back, his hand caressing her head.

"Let it all out," he whispered.

Alisha peeked out from her room, watching her rival for Aiden’s attention break apart in his arms. However, there was no jealousy in her heart for Karina, only worry.

After bawling for a bit, Karina fell asleep. The burden of betrayal was so heavy that she collapsed the moment it lifted. Aiden picked her up, put her in his bed, and then walked out after telling Alisha to take care of her.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Glenn standing there.

"What is it?"

"She’s waiting in the meeting room, as you asked, Aiden sir!"

"Geez, tone down the formality," Aiden replied, rubbing his ears.

Hearing a woman moan his name loudly was one thing, having a man yell it was another. One aroused him, the other irritated him. As for the woman he mentioned, it was Mila.

In Karina’s words, she was the only one who didn’t betray her and even helped the slum dwellers in her absence. Now that she had openly betrayed Joe and Simeon, she and the girls who worked for her needed a place to stay.

She still got made a fool of and didn’t realize it. That beast sense of hers needs a serious overhaul.

Aiden sighed internally, wondering if he should teach the warrior princess some of his shrewdness. The thought was dismissed as soon as it appeared in his head. He liked Karina the way she was, let her stay gullible.

As for Mila, he could already guess what kind of woman she was.

"Alright, you can go back now. Help the others to open the main entrance to the building," Aiden said, stepping towards the meeting room. "Then have the slum folk clean the place up and send any corpses up through the elevator. You know the process."

"Yes, Aiden sir—!"

Glenn was about to yell again, but Aiden’s gaze shut him down. He scurried away, and Aiden finally stepped into the meeting room.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said, only to stop in surprise. "That’s certainly one way of greeting someone."

A woman dressed in little was on her knees, leaning forward as her hands stretched forward. A proper dogeza. It was a pose he hadn’t seen in quite some time.

Out of every pose Mila could have shown, she chose perhaps the most submissive pose, as if wanting to scream that she was at his mercy.

Not bad for a performance. Well, two can do that performance.

"Please, get up! We’re all equals here," Aiden said, saying the rest of the sentence in his mind.

Just until you sign the contract.