Chapter 7
… It's really all good, but wouldn’t it be a lot better without you?
I had to resist the urge to mercilessly poke Benya's slouching face with the fork I was holding. After all, I should have really fallen off the ladder a lot more hardly...!
Lethias' expression also cooled down quite grimly.
“Don’t be so mean.”
“What did I do to you?”
“You’re picking up a fight! Wasn’t this atmosphere because of you?”
"I’m not even looking at you? Why is Hyung making such a big fuss?”
"What?"
No, hey, why are you guys trying to fight each other? Why are you standing up?
Apparently, as they spent days and days in this confined space, everyone seemed to be in a very sensitive state.
Lethias, who always took a step away from his younger brother, had a rarely serious face, and Benya also seemed to have lost his unique playfulness.
“Do it in moderation. There are limits to what I could put up to.”
“What if you can’t put up with me anymore? Will Hyung act like he’s Father?”
Bzzzt!
Two pairs of identical sky-blue eyes were glaring at each other as if they were going to eat each other.
Lethias and Benya were young. If the two started fighting, there was no guarantee who would win between the two of them. At least until now, they were similar in size and in height.
And I've never seen two guys fight seriously before. Surely these two aren't really fighting here, are they?
Finally, I too jumped up.
“Both of you, stop! Estelle is surprised!”
Fortunately, Lethias, who seemed not to be completely out of his mind, took a look at Estelle, who was leaning close to me with her eyes wide open, and unexpectedly sat back down.
As for Benya, he chose to walk out instead of sitting. In other words, he clicked his tongue in annoyance and then stormed out of the kitchen!
“That bastard is really…!”
My hand barely caught Lethias's arm, who was about to chase after him. They’re really doing this after all that they could have been doing.
Why did Benya even come out like that again? Who isn't being such a villainous little sapling again?!
“Just be patient, Oppa. In a situation like this, it wouldn't do us any good to fight among ourselves."
Our little duke sighed as if he already had enough of all of it, but perhaps because he saw his sister, he ate a little. What a nice guy. Because he is also a friendly guy.
The day, which began with an unusual clash between two brothers, passed gloomily and slowly.
At noon the bell rang as usual. The sound of the bells in the shelter of the bell tower was tolerable, except for the feeling that the whole ceiling and walls vibrated.
On the first day, Estelle, who had cried profusely when she said she was going to get out of here, seemed to have accepted the fact that she had no choice but to deal with it by covering her head with a blanket every time the bell rang.
“What if the tower suddenly collapses? Sasha, have you ever seen a tower collapse?”
"No. Even if there is, this place will never collapse. So don't worry, it's not as high here as you think.”
“Then how high is it?”
“Um, about 5 floors?”
It was a lie. Our place was on the top floor of a tower so far away that the bell could be seen directly overhead.
However, there was no need to say it out loud to frighten Estelle, who was already in a state of anxiety.
Until now, when we woke up in the morning, we washed up and then gathered together to have breakfast.
Lunch was served when the noon bell rang. Then, a long time later, when the bell rang for prayer time, 6:00 p.m., we ate dinner. Of course, there was no mid-snack.
Benya did not show up at lunch or dinner. According to Lethias, he shuts himself in the library and doesn't respond when you talk to him about what he's doing.
It was an incomprehensible phenomenon. Was what happened in the morning something that would hurt him so much? He doesn't hold grudges if it's just nothing.
In the end, until that night came, I couldn’t even catch a glimpse of even a strand of Benya’s hair.
Ugh, if he's hurt, then he’s hurt, I wonder what the hell is wrong with him. So, in the first place, who asked him to pour cold water on such a good atmosphere?
* * *
The next morning, I opened my eyes very early. The sky through the ceiling windows was still bluish. It seemed that it was still dawn.
When I turned my head to the side, I saw Estelle sleeping unknowingly with her face buried in the pillow.
Why did I wake up so early? Is it because I'm excited because it's the day I'll finally get out of here? I tried to go back to sleep, but my mind went blank.
Eventually, I woke up. I tried to get up quietly so that Estelle wouldn't wake up and head straight to the bathroom, but I soon changed my mind and turned around.
For a moment, it seemed as if I had been possessed by some kind of spell. I don't know what made me check downstairs straight then.
Anyway, I lit a candle I found in the table drawer and carefully descended the narrow, dark stairs.
Downstairs it was as dark as midnight. The candle in my hand flickered faintly, illuminating my vision.
The first thing I see upon coming down the stairs is the tray cart standing like a sentinel by the mirror door.
Did we cover the trays yesterday? I couldn't remember.
I approached the cart and opened the round silver lid at the top. This damned breakfast menu was there. Lunch and dinner were in the lower compartment as always.
We must be leaving today, so why did we bring our meals as usual? Maybe it's because we’re leaving late? Besides, when did Harris (or was it Paris) come and go again?
It was the moment when I was about to turn around, seized by a reluctant and puzzled feeling.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh my god…!”
Suddenly, a cold hand touched my shoulder and I almost jumped up. A boy with dripping silver-grey hair entered my wide-open eyes in the dark.
“What are you so surprised about? Are you guilty?”
I guess so. So, it seems like I was reincarnated in this body because I committed a great sin without knowing it? Trying to calm my pounding chest, I cleared my throat.
“Ahaha… You woke up so early. Have you washed already?”
“What are you doing here?”
"Well, I… I was looking for an opportunity, wondering if I would run into Mr. Harris at this hour.”
For some reason, it was difficult to say that I had come down without my knowledge, so I covered it up as I remembered it.
Benya pondered if he was staring at my face with sky-blue eyes that felt especially cool today, and then asked in a puzzled tone.
“We’ll be leaving today, so why?”
So, why did they bring a new cart here? I point with one hand at our sentry.
“Look, a day’s worth of meals has already arrived. Today we will all be leaving.”
There was silence for a moment. Benya, who had been staring at the cart without speaking, finally shrugged.
"It's probably because he's afraid we'll get hungry while we wait."
“If that's the case, it's right to explain the situation to us. I mean to you guys.”
“… So what do you want to imply?”
His rarely warped and distant tone caught me in a moment of embarrassment.
Although he is usually playful, he is far from being serious or sarcastic, and it feels like he has been especially sharp since yesterday.
How can I explain the reluctance and doubt I am feeling?
I myself have not yet been able to determine for sure, how would Benya react if your relatives asked what would you do if they were on their toes?
I can't make a clear conclusion myself yet, so how would Benya react if I asked him the question about what if their relatives had some vicious plan in their mind?
Everyone, not just Benya, was sure to be offended.
Because no one will gladly accept the suspicions raised against those who believe in them. Moreover, those people were the blood relatives of these guys.
I don't know how the future I will become so important to Lethias and Benya, but we haven't reached that level yet.
And I was no longer the original Sasha. Even if we have the same body. In other words, if I deviate from something, there is a good chance that we will fall apart early.
I had to make sure it wouldn't happen. When I first regained my memories of my previous life, it wasn't that I didn't think about running away because I didn't know myself. But I couldn't.
Whether or not I recalled memories from my previous life, my mother was my mother, and so was everyone else.
I felt a sense of duty to protect these siblings no matter what, even to the point of thinking about the well-being of the Duke and the Duchess who had been so good to my mother and me.
I had to maintain a bond with them in order to avoid catastrophes that would come upon us in the future, to save Estelle and prevent Lethias and Benya’s fall...
Even if I wasn't as good as the real Sasha, I had to increase my influence.
It was then that Benya, who was staring at my eyes in bewilderment, burst into laughter. It was his characteristic mischievous laugh, that cheerful smile with a small dimple on one cheek.
"I know. You don’t like the new head butler too, do you? The moment we’ll get out of here, I'll kick him out.”
That wasn't necessarily the reason, but I did want to see Benya kick Mr. Harris. Tch, is it really that difficult to change the menu and bring it to us?
Anyway, I was a little relieved to see him come back as usual, so I changed the topic brightly.
“Aren’t you hungry? Yesterday… You haven't eaten.”
“I think I will die of hunger. Oh shit, I feel like I'm about to collapse.”
Damn, that's quite trivial. So why did you go on a hunger strike that didn't suit you?
“What have you been doing in the library all this time?”
“Just this and that… Ah, Sasha, let me show you something.”
Obviously, he was turning around because he was embarrassed for nothing, but he decided to just move on.
Benya took my hand and led me toward the library, and I was dragged along without saying a word.
Oh, aren’t you an esteemed young master? What's so good about that dust den when you just washed up!
Candlesticks that seemed to have been placed by Benya were scattered here and there on the long desks.
I lit it with the candle I was holding. In the meantime, Benya was holding a ladder under the window whose shutters had fallen off at that time. Where else did he find that?
“What are you going to do? That too will break soon, that’s quite dangero –”
“It doesn’t break. I checked it all yesterday.”
"You checked what?"
"Yes.."
“You checked all the ladders here?”
“Because it is. This was the best.”
“How did you check it?”
“How did I check it? I went back and forth one by one.”
I let my chin drop helplessly at this guy's cocky voice, who insisted on it triumphantly. It was only then that the fragments of the ladder scattered here and there caught my eye.
I thought he had locked himself in here all day and looked through some old books, but that's what he was doing? Then what if he gets seriously injured?
Aside from my shocked expression, Benya was now climbing the long ladder with great vigor. Because he is like that, he does not seem like a noble boy, but an immature child. Besides, we had already checked out the window the other day, so I had nothing to do but just watch him.
"What are you doing?!"
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