Edmund in the mirror was drenched, like a dog caught in the rain. He wiped off the moisture roughly, but droplets continued to gather on his chin. His expression twisted sorrowfully, and a tear traced its way down his cheek.
He couldn’t make sense of the emotions boiling inside him. It was bitter, miserable, and at the same time, he felt anger and resentment.
He had promised himself to approach her slowly, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t tried to appeal to her. Clumsy in matters of love, he had even exercised his chest muscles, thinking she might like that, and endured the embarrassment of deliberately revealing more of his physique.
And yet, she didn’t even see him as a man—only as a younger brother. Ha. He let out a hollow laugh, running a hand through his wet hair. He felt like a dog whining for its owner’s affection.
Of course, Etricia wasn’t to blame for these feelings. He had been the one to decide to take things slowly. Even though he was parched with the effort of suppressing his desire to get closer to her, it had been a wise decision. He didn’t want to trouble her when she had just finalized a divorce and was occupied with her busy business.
Fortunately, Etricia was indifferent to social circles and had poor hearing, so she hadn’t heard the snide remarks. Some claimed that she had only managed to remain in the Mipedian family because she knew her place.
Even recalling it now made him scoff in disbelief.
“Know her place?”
The one daring to covet her was him.
Sometimes, just knowing they slept under the same roof was enough to set him ablaze, forcing him to take cold showers like tonight. What did those fools know to be talking?
Honestly, he wished she was a little worse at knowing her place.
Etricia valued family bonds and sibling relationships.
At the same time, she had a clear distinction between ideals and reality, making compromises quickly. To her, the idea of a divorced woman like herself and Edmund being lovers was likely an impossible notion that had already solidified in her mind.
And breaking that notion wouldn’t be easy.
He still didn’t want to trouble her. At least not until they found the monster.
But what if that belief of hers became permanent and never shattered?
‘You know the sea we saw at the summer retreat? My ideal type is someone so breathtakingly beautiful that I’d want to dive right in, just like that sea.’
What if, while he was busy being patient, her ideal man appeared? What if she looked at another man with those soft, dewy eyes and whispered words of love to him…?
Crunch. Just imagining it made his teeth grind. A possessiveness and fury he had never felt before surged within him.
His rationality began to crack.
He needed to define it. To make it clear.
That he could never be her younger brother. That this thick, dark emotion was something else entirely.
A dangerous glint flickered in his chilled eyes. Before he knew it, he was striding forward, radiating cold air. He had forgotten his disheveled appearance. His only thought was to go to Etricia.
I had been completely absorbed in my work, skipping dinner, except for when Lilien, returning from her confectionery class, briefly peeked into my room.
“……I must have misheard.”
“Baron Totair, don’t deny reality. You heard correctly.”
Ugh. Baron Totair let out a weary groan.
After returning from the knights’ order, I meticulously requested sample revisions and then proposed the development of the Lebron Ring. His reaction to my proposal was exactly that.
“What exactly are you trying to do? Even though public opinion has settled down, there’s no guarantee there will be demand for it.”
“I’ll take responsibility for the demand. I know it’s selfish, but I have a reason why I must do this.”
I had to capture the monster that took the lives of the Mipedian siblings in a single night. I swallowed the words before they could escape my lips.
Even after my persistence, Baron Totair abruptly ended the call, saying I could do as I pleased. The transparent communication device reflected my awkwardly pursed lips.
‘He was going to agree anyway, so why the attitude?’
Only after finishing all my tasks did I finally notice my hunger. I considered asking a maid to prepare something to eat but changed my mind and decided to head to the dining room myself.
Stepping outside, I realized it was already deep into the night. The maids had finished their shifts and returned to their quarters. The corridor was dimly illuminated by flickering oil lamps that cast wavering shadows on the walls.
‘It’s darker than I expected.’
As that fleeting thought crossed my mind, I noticed a familiar figure at the end of the hallway. A man with a rare and distinctive frame, one I wouldn’t see anywhere but inside this mansion—Edmund.
I instinctively glanced back at the corridor I had just walked through. The only destination in this direction was my bedroom.
“Were you perhaps coming to see me?”
Edmund remained silent, hidden in the shadows. Now that I thought about it, he had seemed oddly subdued since our last conversation. Worried that I had said something wrong, I cautiously approached him.
“Um, little bro—”
I stopped mid-sentence, freezing in place. He had stepped into the light.
He was soaked, wearing only a loosely draped robe. He looked like a stray dog abandoned in the rain—except for his eyes, which gleamed like those of a predator. There was something unfamiliar about him.
Was he drunk? But he wasn’t the type to drink himself into a stupor. Sleepwalking? No, if that were the case, he would have bound his limbs to avoid showing weakness to others. That left only one possibility.
“Did you have another nightmare?”
Edmund shook his head in the darkness. If not a nightmare, then what?
“Then why are you so wet? Did something happen—”
“Etricia.”
Unconsciously, I flinched. My name, which I never expected to hear from his tightly shut lips, had slipped out. And in such a deep, intoxicating tone.
That’s when I finally saw his face clearly in the glow of the light. His golden eyes, like embers, flickered with heat.
“…Little brother?”
It was at that moment. The second my dazed voice escaped; Edmund’s expression twisted as if he had reached his limit.
“Little brother? Why are you—”
He started pressing me against the wall, steadily, unhurriedly.
“Please, calm down.”
Yet even as I stepped back, my eyes remained fixed on his solid frame. The slightly open robe revealed his chest muscles, and my throat involuntarily bobbed.
“Etricia.”
Like a predator cornering its prey, Edmund advanced and caged me in his arms. My back hit the hard wall.
I instinctively looked over my shoulder, but a large shadow loomed over me, like a canopy.
A single droplet fell from his chin.
Then, his lips parted.
“I am not your little brother. Do you understand?”
“Of course, I do.”
I nodded quickly, thinking agreeing would get me out of this predicament.
But even after hearing my compliance, he frowned.
“No, you don’t understand at all.”
Then, in a hushed, intense voice, he whispered:
“If I saw you as my sister, I wouldn’t desire you.”
I gasped.
“Desire…?”
Edmund’s next words were undeniable.
“I want to love you.”
