Chapter 98

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 98

Chapter Title: That Still Strange Guest (12)

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“That’s why I’m curious.”

“About what.”

“The fact that you went out of your way to come here and bring this up. Makes me think there really must be something going on.”

He spoke plainly, but the sarcasm was palpable.

Vincent fell silent, narrowing his brow slightly. Ethan flashed a grin at the sight, which sent a chill down my spine. Vincent probably knew it too—that when Ethan smiled like that, he was entertaining his most ominous thoughts.

“At this rate, even if I had nothing in mind, I’ll feel like I have to do something.”

Sure enough, ominous words spilled out. Ethan tilted his head further. Anyone seeing him would think he was some delinquent nobleman with poor manners.

“If I’m bothering you, will you kick me out?”

“……”

Vincent didn’t answer right away. His emerald eyes, lowered slightly, flashed with irritation for a moment. I figured he’d unleash a torrent of complaints any second. But contrary to my expectations, he squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, as if trying to compose himself.

“What are you up to? Let me in on it.”

Ethan sneered. Vincent remained silent. He acted like the type who, if he started venting even a little, wouldn’t be able to stop. I could sense a hint of hesitation from him.

Watching him from across the table, I realized something.

Vincent’s minding Ethan.

He wasn’t being obvious about it, but it was clear he couldn’t quite stand up to Ethan. Even with Ethan’s words and attitude dripping with mockery, Vincent didn’t rebuke him.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t annoyed. He just hid it the instant it surfaced. The fingers gripping the delicate teacup handle curled inward bit by bit. Subtle, but that hesitation carried a cautious edge.

It was a moment when their lopsided dynamic was laid bare.

“I’m kidding. I really just came to rest, so don’t get the wrong idea.”

Ethan laughed lightly to ease the tension. He straightened his slouched posture and sat up properly. Then he held out his empty teacup toward me. I’d been watching cautiously and tilted the teapot a beat late to refill it.

Ethan gulped down the tea.

“Anyway, since I’m here, tell me how you’ve been. Busy these days? Everyone seems frazzled this time of year—barely getting any sleep. You’ll wear yourself out. Anything hurting?”

Questions poured out in a rush. Ethan fired them off relentlessly, like he’d been waiting for this moment. Vincent’s brow furrowed deeper.

“Yeah.”

It was a curt reply, unclear which question it answered. Ethan’s voice cut off abruptly. But he soon opened his mouth again.

“Which one’s yeah?”

“All of them.”

“Yeah? Work been tough?”

“Yeah.”

“Need any help from me? Just say the word. I’ll do it.”

“No.”

“……Anything special going on lately? Something fun?”

“Not really.”

“……”

The conversation stuttered to a halt. Vincent answered perfunctorily, clearly uninterested in talking. Ethan must have sensed it, as his voice trailed off again. His tightly pressed lips drooped, but his eyes weren’t smiling.

“Yeah, still scared of the night falling?”

Night……? I glanced at Ethan curiously, and he smirked with just his mouth while glaring at Vincent. Vincent lifted his gaze from the teacup. I expected him to demand what that meant, but a calm reply came instead.

“No.”

Another curt answer.

Silence followed as if by routine. A small sigh escaped from the side.

“Nothing else to say to me?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Not curious how I’ve been?”

“Saw you doing fine. That’s enough.”

“……Still, let’s talk more before I go. It’s been ages.”

“Later.”

The refusal was swift and firm. He didn’t even look my way as he issued it. Ethan knew “later” was just politeness.

With that, Vincent rose from the sofa. Straightening his rumpled jacket made it clear his business was done.

At that moment, a loud bam! echoed as something slammed on the table. I whipped around in surprise to see Ethan’s fist trembling atop it.

Despite the noise, Ethan smiled as if nothing had happened. Flustered, I glanced at him, then back at Vincent. He stared at Ethan without the slightest twitch, as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

“How long are you going to keep this up?”

Ethan murmured lowly.

“How long are you going to act like this?”

Emotion laced every word. It felt like something long suppressed was seeping out through cracks in a dam. He smiled more intensely than usual, feigning calm, but his fist on the table still quivered faintly.

Vincent glanced at me. I bowed deeply.

“I’ll step out now.”

This time, no one stopped me.

The conversation dragged on. I paced the hallway anxiously. No raised voices leaked from the closed door. Was that a good sign? But my unease only grew.

Just as I wondered if I should check inside, the door opened. Vincent emerged.

He glanced at me pacing the hall. I gave a quick bow and slipped past him into the room.

I closed the door softly and checked on Ethan. He sat on the sofa exactly as before. Sipping his tea, his profile looked nonchalant, as if nothing had happened. I approached quickly and sat beside him.

“Master Ethan.”

Ethan turned his head slowly. I hadn’t noticed from afar, but up close, his face looked weary.

Watching their exchange today had convinced me. Something had definitely happened between them. What could have changed their relationship like this?

Should I ask? As I hesitated, he smiled faintly.

“It’s fine. Go ahead and ask.”

Permission granted. I slowly parted my lips.

“Did something happen with the Master?”

“You caught on, huh. Yeah, things have gotten rocky.”

“Did you fight?”

“Something like that.”

“Throw punches or anything?”

“It’d be better now if we had.”

Really?

“It started with Lucas. More precisely, because of this.”

Ethan pointed to his eyes.

“We did it behind Vincent’s back.”

“……!”

My breath caught. The words were sparse, but I understood. It shocked me to my core.

“S-So the Master accepted them without knowing?”

“Exactly. He took them not knowing they were Lucas’s.”

“Why…… why would you……”

“Because it was what Lucas wanted. So I made it happen.”

But I thought I hid it well, and he figured it out right away. Ethan added casually. Yet the earlier scene proved it was anything but casual.

And I couldn’t begin to imagine what Vincent felt upon learning the truth. It was the moment he’d longed for so desperately, and the reality was cruel.

I replied gloomily.

“……But it wasn’t what the Master wanted.”

“Spot on. He blew up the second he found out.”

“Maybe he demanded you undo it.”

“Lucas was already gone by then. That option never existed. Though even if Lucas had survived, reversing it would’ve been impossible.”

Lies. If Lucas had clung to life somehow—even in a coma—there’d have been a chance for recovery, and Ethan never would’ve made that choice.

What had Ethan felt when Lucas spoke of his wish?

Being given the power to choose could feel good sometimes, but other times it was brutally cruel. Which tasted better? Which was more needed? Which was preferable? Between a faint thread of his brother’s life and the hope his brother had shattered for his friend—which mattered more?

That was Ethan’s choice. What was truly more important? Nothing was unimportant, yet he had to let one go. Maybe Lucas had chosen in his place to spare him some pain.

Vincent was right. Ethan was skilled at lies. He hid even his own emotions perfectly within them.

“We’ve been like this ever since. No big blowouts or open cold shoulders. Just…… distant. Vincent barely talks to me, and when we do converse, it’s awkward. He watches my reactions, which makes me uncomfortable, so eventually I started avoiding him too. Truth is, it’s been a while since we last met properly. We’ve both been busy. I made time this time to see him after so long.”

“……”

“That’s why I couldn’t tell you.”

What? As I started to ask, Ethan smiled awkwardly.

“You looked like you’d cry.”

“I won’t.”

“I know.”

Saying that, Ethan gripped the edge of the sofa with one hand and leaned in. The distance shrank. His tilted face softened with warmth.

“But if you want to cry, don’t hold back. You don’t have to go through this too, Paula.”

Sadness tinged his smile.

I met his gaze steadily, then mirrored him, grasping the sofa back and leaning closer. Tilting my head, I saw question in his brown eyes.

“You scolded me for not living happily, but here you are, not doing well yourself and lying about it.”

I grumbled softly, and his brown eyes curved.

“Oops, you caught that too.”

“You were going on about it just now.”

“My apologies.”

His tone was playful. It seemed like his way of shielding himself, which left a bitter taste.

“I’ll do as you say, Master Ethan. But grant me one request in return.”

“Haha, what is it?”

“Promise you will.”

“Alright. Shoot.”

“Don’t hold back your tears when you feel like crying.”

The smile faded from Ethan’s face. I slowly recalled everything from earlier today.

Ethan sleeping in late in his room, the servants’ terrified faces when he followed me around, the maids begging for their lives over nothing.

Amid all that, Ethan stayed composed. It looked natural to him now. Unfamiliar to me, but routine for him. The count who’d devoured his own flesh and blood to survive. He’d carry that yoke forever.

Even now, he couldn’t bare his feelings before a dear friend. No place to vent freely, surrounded only by those who choked him. That worried me most.

“Even if you can’t show it to others, even if you think you shouldn’t—at least don’t hide it from me.”

“……”

“Don’t hold back.”

So please, not with me too.

We shared memories together. That let me empathize with his wounds a little. He was in a position where he had to watch others’ reactions now, hiding his emotions tightly. But he didn’t need to do that with me. It was okay to have at least one person to be honest with, right?

“You will, won’t you?”

This was the only thing I could offer him. I hoped it eased his breathing room a bit. With that wish, I gazed at Ethan and smiled gently.

“And don’t hold back now. It’s just us here.”

His face crumpled in an instant. He twisted his expression as if about to burst into tears and buried it in my shoulder. Shaking emotions spilled out with his breaths. Just as he’d done for me, I patted his back steadily.