Episode 92
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 92
After reviewing their conversation in his head, he spoke.
“It seems I’ll be participating in a new business venture the family is starting. It’ll be after graduation, though…”
Elysia looked at him, confused. Is that a good thing? Is this something to be happy about? Seeing the uncertainty on her face, Evan answered.
“The knights of House Sylvester have also agreed to track down the group that tried to harm us. It’s a generous offer for a son who tarnished the family’s honor.”
“Uhm, so… that’s good. That’s great.”
“What did you say to my brother?”
She didn’t answer, merely looking up at him in silence. Outside, the only sound was the cheerful chirping of a bird as it hopped from one branch to another. He lowered his head and murmured.
“El, the moment I protected my adjutant, I gave up on my family. I couldn’t tell them the truth, especially not in a family that values cold reason above all else. They are people who have strived for generations to win the war. How could I possibly tell them that this world was created for amusement and that everything is therefore predetermined?”
He hadn’t explained himself. He had let it all go and run away, fully expecting them to curse him as a coward. That was why Evan had frozen in shock at Ian’s words summoning him back.
“Do you remember the truce agreement I told you about on the first day we reunited?”
“Of course, I remember.”
“Good. From now on, you will help me bring that truce to fruition. After you graduate from Minerva, you will continue your research at the clinic we’ll establish in the name of House Sylvester.”
“…Pardon?”
“The family is willing to take you back.”
As his brother exhaled a cloud of smoke with a cold expression, Evan asked if he was being serious.
“I haven’t explained a single thing.”
“I know. My memory isn’t that bad.”
“Then on what grounds—”
Ian raised a hand, cutting him off.
“There are none.”
“…Pardon?”
“So you will create them from now on. Prove with results that you won’t abandon the family a second time.”
As if he had said all he needed to, the man rose lightly from his seat, putting away the pipe he was holding.
“I’m choosing to believe that the you I know is still the same.”
“…You’ve softened, brother.”
“Is that so? Must be because I’m dating,” Ian muttered indifferently, his gaze fixed on his younger brother, who had grown quite a bit but was still so much younger than him.
“If you did all that because you truly wanted to sever ties with the family, then refuse. This is a proposal, not an order.”
Evan’s eyes swept over Elysia’s face before him. Her slender jawline, her lips pressed firmly into a straight line. He wondered what on earth she could have said to make Ian, a man who lived and breathed by principles, declare that he would trust him without a shred of evidence.
Elysia stuck her tongue out slightly to wet her lips, then nibbled on them with her neat teeth. She cautiously watched his expression before speaking.
“Um… congratulations.”
She thought that would be the end of it, but he just continued to look down at her in silence. The smile that was usually a habit on his face was gone. Realizing this, her throat felt inexplicably dry.
He slowly lowered his head, resting his forehead on her shoulder as he murmured. Thump. Her face flushed with heat.
“I’m always taking from you, to the point I feel guilty.”
“You’ve saved me plenty of times, Sen—”
“How could I not love you?”
The words were uttered so casually, yet they were incredibly heavy. Her stomach tightened with tension. Elysia slowly, carefully, placed a hand on the broad back of the man leaning on her shoulder.
When she gently patted the area around his prominent shoulder blades through his shirt, he laughed. The man who lifted his head had calm green eyes, but they held an undeniable heat.
She no longer wanted to avoid this heat. In fact, it was quite the opposite. She wanted to throw her entire being into this warmth.
So close their noses could almost touch. To demand that she exclude only love from the myriad of emotions she felt—the camaraderie, the deep trust, and so much more—was absurd. Elysia lowered her gaze. A confession then fell upon her ear.
“I like you.”
A shiver ran down her spine at his low voice. Hoo. She let out a long breath to ease her tension and reached out both arms to wrap them around Evan’s waist.
The man flinched for a moment in surprise, then immediately lifted her onto his lap. An involuntary gasp escaped Elysia’s lips, and she shook her head.
“Hah… I’m nervous again.”
“Nervous?”
His low voice resonated right next to her ear, making her flinch. Pressing the back of her cool hand against her flushed cheeks to calm herself, Elysia’s lips parted. She knew what she had to say, but since she’d never said it before in her life, her tongue refused to move.
Ugh, damn it, I can’t do this. What is this? What kind of… I have to say these lines with my own damn mouth? Unconsciously clenching her fists, Elysia finally managed to speak.
“S-So.”
“So?”
“Th-that time, what I did was…”
The man tilted his head slightly, as if puzzled.
“What time was that, and what did you do?”
Was it because of the sunlight pouring in through the window? She thought she saw something like a cluster of sparkling light. Elysia froze in shock.
The fact that Evan was handsome? It was impossible not to know, so of course, she knew.
That is, she knew it as a ‘fact.’ She had accepted it as knowledge, like how the sky is blue and the clouds are white, but she had never truly felt it. But today… was a little different.
Reaching out, Elysia pushed his cheek away and gritted her teeth.
“F-First, move your face away.”
“Why?”
“Just, if I tell you to move it, move it.”
He laughed as if finding the situation absurd, but he obediently turned his head as she pushed. With his face turned to the side, she could see the straight, high bridge of his nose. Damn it all, he’s handsome from this angle too. Still, it was better than making eye contact.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Elysia squeezed her eyes shut and spoke.
“So, uh, regarding the matter on May 28th, around 10 PM, in which I responded to the emergency first aid you administered for rescue purposes with an act of indecent assault—”
“El, just call it a kiss…”
“Hah… fine… The reason I ki—uhm, did that to you, Senior… I think I must have lost my mind. I was freezing to death, and then something went down my throat, and when I drank it, my body got warm, and, so, it felt good…”
As she rambled on, Elysia realized something and tilted her head. Ah, I’m just telling the truth, so why does this sound like the excuses of the countless sexual offenders I’ve interrogated and grilled? Barely suppressing a wave of self-loathing, she continued.
“Anyway, I’m sorry.”
“Was that really all it was?”
The direct question, delivered with a playful smile, made Elysia press a hand to her forehead. So I have to say this part too, huh… She could feel his gaze on her cheek. The moment she felt it, she spoke firmly.
“Turn your head.”
“But I want to look.”
“Well, I don’t want to be looked at.”
“Alright, I won’t look.”
As if to prove it, the man turned his head, but his chest rose and fell as he held back his laughter. Elysia slowly, haltingly, searched for her true feelings.
“Anyway, it was an accident… but, I mean.”
“Yes.”
“At first, I think I did it on impulse. Really, I’m serious. But, uh, um…”
After a long hesitation, Elysia buried her face in her hands, then lifted it, repeating the motion. She felt like going somewhere and just firing a gun. Finally, in a voice that sounded like it was crawling into a hole, she confessed.
“I… don’t think… I… disliked it? No… it was nice. Probably.”
At that moment, she met the eyes of Evan, who had turned his head back. His eyes, curved into crescents, were smiling. Horrified, she whipped her head away. The man’s voice, tinged with impatience, pleaded.
“El, look at me. Hmm? Please.”
“No, no… Anyway, turn your head back so I can finish talking.”
He chuckled and turned his head. She had lost count of how many times she had sighed. Desperately avoiding his gaze, Elysia muttered.
“But Senior… what if I ruin everything?”
Being with him felt good. He was the first person to make her feel this comfortable. He was a man she wanted to be with, enough to cast aside her past, her present, and even her future.
But she had lived for three years without letting anyone close, and for three years, she had developed a habit of single-mindedly pursuing leads, throwing herself into danger without a second thought. Could someone like her truly keep another person by her side?
“I’m not used to a life that isn’t solitary. I’m selfish and dogmatic, and I don’t ask for others’ understanding. I feel like I’m going to ruin everything…”
“So what if you do?”
Evan casually caught her fading words of self-doubt, a faint smile on his lips as he whispered in a low voice.
“With me, it’s okay to make mistakes. If things get twisted, we can fix them. You and I are both people trying to repair what’s broken. There’s no way we can’t do it.”
“…”
“If you’re not attracted to me, just say so. But if you are… at least don’t push me away on purpose.”
After a moment of thought, she silently held out her hand. He clasped her fingers, bowing his head as he lifted her hand. His soft lips brushed lightly against her fingertips and then pulled away.
Elysia blinked, as if not comprehending what had just happened. A soft sigh flowed over her nails. His darkened eyes held only her.
“You’ll get sick if you keep lying to yourself.”
“…How do you know?”
“Because I’ve been through it.”
Elysia stared at his face as if mesmerized, then, as he let go of her hand, she snatched his falling wrist. Lowering her gaze, she smiled and said.
“As if… there’s any way I wouldn’t be attracted to you, Senior.”
His deep green eyes stared intently at her face as she nervously nibbled her lip. He looked like he was waiting for the right moment. Elysia slowly opened her mouth and asked.
“…Can I try that one more time?”
“For you, the answer is yes to anything.”
Her heart plummeted at the man’s short reply. Staring straight into his green eyes, which were tinged with a desire too deep to ignore, Elysia slowly reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Contrary to his stiff expression, the pulse beating beneath his throat was fast. Elysia answered his question with her actions. Noses brushed, breaths mingled, and finally, their lips met.
The sensation she hadn’t been able to properly feel last time, half out of her mind as she was, was vivid now. As she pressed her soft lips against his, his hot hands, which had flinched, swiftly wrapped around her waist, her shoulders, and then her cheek.
It was hard to bear the raw emotion in his gaze as he looked at her eyes, so close to his own, and she closed hers. The kiss deepened.
“Ah…”
A wet sound escaped from between her lips as they parted for breath. The desire to crawl into a hole and hide ironically made her arms tighten around his neck.
His ragged breathing proved that his reason, which had seemed restrained at first, was fading. Pushed back with a force that was hard to withstand, Elysia was startled by the feeling of the mattress against her back. Her eyes flew open, and she froze.
Even for someone as brilliant as him, the weight of the desire he hadn’t managed to erase was quite overwhelming for her. With great difficulty, he tore his eyes away from Elysia’s lips, glistening with saliva. Realizing something, he hastily moved off her.
He rubbed his face dry again and again, as if trying to wipe away something that should never be seen, and steadied his breathing. His voice, thick with tension, apologized.
“Ah… sorry.”
He already knew that Elysia only let down the iron-clad guard she wore every day when she was with him. He knew, and yet… he had been shaken once more.
Watching her mumble with her eyes squeezed shut stirred a possessiveness in him. He had almost gone further. Shaking his head to clear the image seared into his mind, he pulled the lying Elysia into his arms and gently rolled over on the bed.
He had intended for them to lie facing each other in an embrace, but he couldn’t see her face because she had buried it against his body.
The small ear peeking out from her hair was red. He peppered kisses on the hair near it, then burst out laughing when he managed to decipher Elysia’s muffled words.
“Damn it… If you’re sorry, then show some self-control…”
“Sorry, I’m sorry. Okay? My bad. So can you just show me your face for a second?”
He was dying of curiosity, unable to imagine what kind of expression she was making right now. He unconsciously recalled the image of Elysia looking up at him with a slightly dazed expression, her lips parted, and he touched his own lips and smiled. Ah, I feel like I’m turning into a real weirdo.
Hearing his light coaxing to show her face, Elysia let out a deep sigh.
“Hah… Crazy. Absolutely not. I’d rather die…”
“You can’t die.”
He laughed as he leisurely stroked the hair of the woman who was shaking her head and burrowing deeper into his embrace. I can’t let her die, after all. For the sake of preserving Elysia’s life, he willingly decided to give up his curiosity.
—Second Case, cold.—