Chapter 83

Chapter 83

As soon as I arrived at the mansion, Jane jumped out to greet me.

According to Jane, most people only had minor injuries, so Ian and her enjoyed the festival all the way through… I needed to know if that was the truth or a lie.

Well, anyway, I decided to believe that she had said as she did. Even if I were to question whether it was a lie or not, the past would not change.

It would be best to match the rhythm to what the other person wanted.

Aiden took the fountain he had brought in. As he was setting it down on the floor, I asked:

“What about my family?”

“They haven’t come yet.”

That seemed to be so. After taking a quick look around the supposedly empty house, I checked the time in an atmosphere close to silence.

It was night.

To not come back until morning… It seemed that today would be much longer than yesterday.

“Everyone must be tired, so you can go in and rest.”

“Yes, Miss. Oh, I have prepared bath water in the bathroom.”

“Yes. Thank you, Jane.”

I was tired anyway. Going out was exhausting.

If I warmed up my body in hot water, the fatigue would go away a little.

Aiden reached out to help as I lifted the fountain from the floor again. I shook my head and carried it myself since the fountain was not as heavy as I thought.

I could carry this much by myself. Wasn’t Selena too overprotected, like a child?

“I can do it alone. Good night, Aiden. Good night, Jane.”

I said goodbye to the two of them and went up to my room alone. In my hands, I was holding the fountain I had bought and the glass bottle Aiden had given me.

I had to stop several times in the silence felt throughout the walk.

I stopped, checked my surroundings, gauged whether the desolation I was feeling right now was real or not, then began moving again.

Really, it was the same family as usual, but I didn’t know why it was so quiet today.

I placed the two presents side by side on the tea table and scanned them once. The happy faces were vivid in my eyes. It never occurred to me that they might not have liked it. Weren’t they the ones who, after receiving the grotesque doll, were restless, wanting it for themselves?

After washing with the bathwater Jane had provided, my family did not return even until I completely dried myself. After changing into pajamas and looking out the window, I dragged a chair in front of the window and sat down.

“When are you coming back?”

It was the beginning of a long wait.

I continued to look down at the yard while fiddling with my intertwined fingers.

No matter how long I looked at it, I couldn’t feel any presence in the yard.

My eyes felt like they would fall out soon… How long had it been since I began to sit here? Just as I started to worry, I heard the sound of rolling wheels, and at the same time, the carriage I rode in yesterday appeared in the yard.

‘They’re here.’

I got up from my seat. It was to greet my family.

Fortunately, I arrived at the door before the carriage stopped completely. I caught my breath with a small admiration at my faster-than-expected running speed, but the large front door opened and the people I had been waiting for appeared.

“Oh, Selena. Haven’t you slept yet?”

When I opened the door, my mother, the first person I met, approached me with great strides and spoke to me. As soon as I nodded and stood there a little awkwardly, my older brother with a bewildered face opened his mouth in a suspicious voice.

“Did you wait for us?”

Hearing Brother’s words, everyone’s eyes were on me. No, in fact, they were already fixed on me. It seemed that the atmosphere had changed quite a bit since everyone’s eyes had turned wide and round.

I didn’t know why I felt this way, but I was a little embarrassed, so I couldn’t answer right away. Averting my eyes, I wiggled my fingers and nodded again.

“Yes.”

As soon as I finished my answer, everyone’s bewildered expressions soon changed to a joyous smile.

“I’m glad, my daughter.”

Mother approached me with open arms and took me into her arms. For some reason, the embarrassment didn’t go away, so I stiffened, but soon my eyes met my family standing over Mother’s shoulder.

Warm eyes, happy eyes. No, the eyes of the ‘family’ that I faced every day.

As I met those eyes, I wondered what this felt like. It was good.

I put my hand on Mother’s back with a little clumsiness. Mother’s small, hard back felt in the palm of my hand. I rested my head cautiously on Mother’s shoulder, the warmth digging into my palms.

“Welcome, Mother,” I quietly greeted.

At that moment, I felt as if I was hearing the rattling sound of the shining glass bead bottle.

I greeted the other family members similarly.

A hug, an awkward pat on the back, and a light conversation about how they spent their day… My family smiled happily the whole time I was with them.

While staring blankly at my smiling family, I secretly raised my hand and touched my lips.

The muscles felt stiff.

Even though it was late at night, the family, who had been laughing and talking with excitement, now began to yawn one by one.

After forcing those who didn’t want to leave back to their rooms, I walked down the hallway of the mansion alone.

The hallway, where no one was left, did not look empty at all, unlike before.

It was strange. It was definitely the same space, the same appearance… Just having my family in this house made me feel like this… I pictured the faces of my family from just before in my head. Smiling faces.

…They were pretty faces.

In fact, it wasn’t just today that my family’s eyes had darkness under them. It was true that today they looked especially tired, but even beyond today, my family’s complexions had been getting darker by the day.

Even if I only saw smiling expressions in front of me, I couldn’t ignore the face I had been seeing.

I kept my mouth shut because I didn’t think they would answer me even if I asked why, but I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

…Weren’t we family?

In that sense, I needed someone who could honestly tell me the situation. For example, yes, the cold and reasonable male lead.

Someone like Lucas.

I crossed the empty hallway and stood in front of the door where Lucas was staying. It was getting late, so could I knock on the door now? For some reason, it seemed like he wouldn’t be asleep, but there was such a thing as courtesy in human affairs.

I turned to look at the light of the moon. No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed rude to knock on someone else’s door at night.

It was funny to think of this after coming all the way here, but let’s just think of it as taking a walk.

However, just as I was about to turn around and start walking, I heard a door opening behind me.

“Why are you going, Selena?”

***

I sat down on the couch in Lucas’s room and looked around.

Come to think of it, it felt like I was entering Lucas’s room for the first time.

Of course, this wasn’t his real room… Even at the estate’s home, I had no memory of entering his room.

Lucas must have just had a wash, as water was dripping from his hair. Drops of water dripped from his short hair and wet his shoulders.

Dark gray marks were forming on the white shirt.

“Did I come too late?”

Lucas, who was sitting on the bedside table and pouring tea into a teacup with a teapot, glanced at me when I said so. Between the curved eyelids, it seemed as if my eyes met with his playful eyes.

“The moon is bright, so wouldn’t it be okay?”

…What did that have to do with this?

Well, wouldn’t it be okay if the person himself said it was okay?

I nodded and accepted the teacup he handed me. In the teacup, there was lukewarm rose tea, showing off its pink color.

Was it the scent of flower tea or the smell of Lucas’s soap when my fingertips brushed against it?

“Have you been drinking?”

“A little bit.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

His body looked relaxed, as if he had had some alcohol. Sure enough, it looked like he had been drinking. Hey, he had to deal with all those nobles he hated at the party, so he should have had a few drinks.

I was sipping tea, thinking about the reason why, when a small laugh suddenly leaked from across me.

“Haha, that’s nice.”

It didn’t look like he was drunk, as Lucas said he was. Just a little bit excited? He looked like he was in a good mood.

Was this the person who made a strange face, saying, “Weird, what can I do?” yesterday.

I stared blankly at his relaxed face, then leaned back against the back of the sofa.

“What’s nice?”

“That you care about me.”

Was he referring to when I asked if he had been drinking? Well, unfortunately, I wasn’t caring for Lucas, I just asked before considering leaving the room as I thought he would be annoying to deal with when he was drunk… Well, it didn’t matter if he was happy about it. There were things called white lies… In that sense, I didn’t answer and just sipped my tea.

When I put down my teacup, Lucas, who was holding a teacup, also put down his in slow motion and asked, “So what’s going on, Selena?”

“I have something to ask. It’s about my family, but I don’t think they will talk about it.”

“You mean about why your family looks tired?”

Shiver.

How far did the male lead’s buff range? Could he hear my inner thoughts right now?

‘If you can hear my voice now, raise your right hand and shake it.’

Lucas looked at me without moving. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be listening to my thoughts.

I looked suspiciously into Lucas’s eyes, then nodded and replied with my doubts erased.

“Yes. That’s why.”

Lucas looked out the window and flicked his fingers as if contemplating something.

One, two, three.

With three flicks of his fingers, he turned his head and a groan echoed in the room.

Lucas, who had loosened his throat, straightened his posture and opened his mouth.

“It’s about the monsters.”

The whispering voice was sharp.

As he said ‘monster’ with his mysterious purple eyes shining, it felt like I was facing the hidden villain of this setting.

If I had entered Selena’s body without knowing that Lucas was the main character, I would have doubted this man at least once… No, well, that didn’t matter.

The important thing now was what Lucas had mentioned.

“Mon…ster?”

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