Chapter 161 - Only Heaven, The Sun, And The Moon Knew

Episode 154 - Only heaven, the sun, and the moon knew

Aernest and Eugene watched as Euria walked in the opposite direction before the two headed to Eugene's room. The worker they walked past kept her head lowered and only mumbled her greetings before heading her way. Unbeknownst to Aernest and Eugene, there was wariness, and fear in her eyes. The other workers Eugene and Aernest walked by, dropped the things they were holding due to fright, or either fell onto their knees. These were the people who overheard the witness recount what had happened to Levis. The fear was quite a sight to see, however, Eugene ignored it and continued to walk to her room. 

"Sister… Is sister okay?" The moment Aernest shut the door to Eugene's room, he turned to inquire. Though the workers' actions were unintentional, if it had been him, he would have felt deeply hurt by their actions. 

He walked to her coffee table and pulled a chair to sit. 

Eugene slid out of her uncomfortable jacket and sat opposite Aernest, "Yes." She answered him, albeit belatedly. She knew that Aernest was worried about her but she was truly alright. Though she wasn't particularly happy, she also wasn't hurt or anything. The person who was truly hurt and had the right to feel hurt was only Moniqua. 

"... grandmother." Aernest eyes shook a little as he mentions her name. 

Eugene didn't react to Aernest. But she knew what he meant. Why wouldn't she be okay? Though her relationship with her grandmother had mended over the years, she was still basically a stranger to her. As a result, she had no particular reaction to her grandmother's death.

Eugene stared at Aernest carefully before returning his question to him, "You?" 

Aernest eyes were at the coffee table. He didn't say anything for a few seconds because he felt something blocking his throat. He hesitated slightly but shook his head, "I don't know…" All he felt was confusion, hence he didn't know if he felt okay or not. He raised his eyes that flashed with confusion and stared into Eugene's grey eyes. 

"I don't know… I know I should feel sad… But more than that, I'm surprised."

Eugene pursed her lips and glanced away, "It is… surprising." There was a flash of emotion in Eugene's eyes, however to what the emotion was, Aernest was unable to tell. 

There was hesitation on Aernest's face, and he debated deeply whether to come forward or not, but at the end, he began, "Sister,  actually, I…" Suddenly, he felt afraid. He was afraid of the truth and the words that wanted to flow out got stuck inside his throat. 

Eugene didn't urge Aernest to continue. She only raised her head and stared straight at the ceiling that depicted small drawings of a cupid with an arrow and shield. She stared at a particular detail, specifically a dark stain for a long time before her mouth moved,

In the quiet atmosphere, a low mumble could be heard, "I did it."

The room was silent for a long time. Eugene's words did not register into Aernest's head for a long time and when it did he turned speechless, "Huh?"

Eugene moved her gaze down from the ceiling and stared at him, "I said. I did it." There was a small smile, as to what context that smile belonged to, Aernest didn't know. His eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth opened and closed but in the end, he chose to remain silent. Despite the fact that they were not speaking, their eyes appeared to be communicating with one another. Even after the workers had cleaned up Aernest and Eugene's dinner, the room remained silent.

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That night, the full moon cast its bright light and hugged the people of this world. It was a comforting light and gave the people the feeling of serene. Even through closed eyes, Eugene could still feel the calm and tranquility the moon gave her. She slowly opened her eyes as she leaned against the side of her window, staying as close to the light who in turn accompanied her.

Eugene's eyes moved from the window to her palms. Only heaven, the sun, and the moon knew what had happened earlier on during the day. This included herself, who knew that the person who pushed her grandmother wasn't her. After all, there was no reason for her to push her grandmother off the window. 

Eugene's lips pursed as her forehead began to scrunch up. She wished she had been the one who pushed her grandmother. Because, if it wasn't her, then there was only one other person who could have possibly done it. A person who closely resembled her. If she had been able to temporarily change her eye color, then there was no reason 'that' person couldn't as well. 

But… what could have caused 'that' person to push Moniqua's mother? Eugene raised her palm and rubbed her forehead. 

The only time her eyes had changed colors was when she was on the verge of madness, also known as anger. Did this mean that 'that' person was at her tipping point as well? 

Eugene couldn't help but sigh, 'When was the last time I've properly spoken to her again?' Was it 1 year ago, 2 years ago? Or maybe it was 6.5 years ago. 

"Euria." What are you planning? 

Though she wanted to believe Euria had been unchanging since they were babies, when small incidents began to build up, and an incident like this happened, it was impossible for her to believe that Euria was still the same. 

Her eyes shifted to the moon again and she stared at it for a long time. Long until the moon moved to the other side of the world, and the sun replaced its spot. 

The announcement that the house of Veria would close their estate to grieve and mourn for the death of the Duchess's mother was made that day. All news relating to Moniqua's death was surpassed and the only information that was available to the public was that Moniqua's mother had passed away. 

The citizens mourned alongside the Duchess, but they couldn't help but suspect that something even more discomforting and unsettling was on the way. This feeling was shared not only by the citizens but also by everyone who lived in Veria's house.

Who would have known that their premonition would occur just two weeks later...

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Time passed by very quickly. And by the time everyone realized it, it had already been a week since the death of Ying An, the mother of the Duchess of Veria, and the grandmother to the children of Veria. 

But though the world began to move again, not everything remained the same. Specifically, Eugene's relationship with everyone living in the Veria estate. The workers didn't dare cross paths with her, and there were no longer any interactions between Moniqua and Eugene; Unlike in the past when Moniqua would seek Eugene out.

Last week, Levis had a one-on-one conversation with Eugene. Surprisingly, it was just normal conversation. Eugene had responded carefully to his question but when Levis inquired as to why she did it, Eugene responded with a harsh sentence that caused even Levis's face to darken.

'Because she's a nuisance.' 

Okay, maybe she had gone too far. But, if she had said, 'Just because…' Levis would have been suspicious of her words. 

Eugene sighed again as her focus shifted from her thoughts to the letters she was holding in her hand. 'Don't think, move on.' She repeated these four words in her mind as she ripped open the letters. 

As always, Aedelak's letter contained a report of her daily life and schedule whilst Louis' letter did not contain any letters. The only thing it contained was three mere dots.

'…'

Eugene, as always, responded to Aedelak with a summary of her life. And to Louis, the only thing she did was draw an annoyed face which ended up looking like a drawing of poop. 

"Sister! Are you ready?" Ernest's voice could be heard outside. Eugene did reply and only walked out of her room after sealing two envelopes. She handed the envelopes to one of the workers and followed Aernest out of the house.

"Were those letters for Brother Louis and Aedelak?" 

"Hn" Eugene nodded. They both stepped into a medium-sized carriage, big enough to fit 5 people, and sat in their respective places. 

Aernest tapped on his chin before laughing slightly. He didn't have to look at the letters to know that Eugene's letter was not interesting at all and she probably drew a weird symbol in response to Louis's letter again. After all, this was the best his awkward sister could do.

Just as he was laughing, he suddenly froze still. He gulped and turned to Eugene, "Sister."

"Hm?"

"Eldest brother and Aedelak are both 17…" For some reason, their ages never occurred to him. He gulped again and his eyes shook slightly. 

"Aren't they so old?" His palm raised to his mouth as he asked her in shock. 

'.... I'm 35 you know?' Eugene stared at him blankly before turning away. The carriage moved slowly along the road and headed towards the Military base.

After a brief silence, she responded to him. Her voice was incredibly awkward however she dared say it, "Right. We are 10. We are young." Whatever was 35? Hmph! If she did not say it, no one would know!

Aernest nodded at Eugene's words, "Yes.. We are."