CH 40

“Brother?”

He murmured to himself so quietly that Aiden didn’t manage to hear him.

“It’s nothing, Aiden. You don’t have to try and listen to her thoughts anymore. Instead, I would appreciate it if you can listen to the thoughts of those around her.”

“Hehe, alright.”

Aiden felt proud. He’s happy that he seemed to have helped his older brother.

As Ciel was still contemplating, Aiden went back to his own room. It was the first time in his whole life that he traveled so far, and so he had to give in to his fatigue for now.

Left inside this room, Ciel was lost in thought.

There’s a possibility that Lady Closch might be an Esper. If she was a Guide, she would have done radial guiding by accident earlier as soon as she saw him.

It’s a mistake that novice Guides always made.

So, if she really was an Esper, then it’s highly likely that the high fever she experienced not long before was a fever brought out by her manifestation.

If she’s an Esper…

Then, what were her abilities?

The more Ciel thought about it, the more confused he became.

Even though there’s a higher chance that she’s an Esper, he still subconsciously kept being reminded of his wife through her.

That’s why he was leaning more towards the hope that Lady Closch was a Guide.

But he could admit that it was quite a shameless wish.

That he wished for her to be a Guide only because she resembled his wife…

Just the thought of it was rude to both Lady Closch and his wife.

“Huu…”

Ciel sat deeply back on the sofa, folding his arms over his chest. Even though he used his abilities for only a little while during the day, the aftermath took a significant toll on him.

The aftermath came back to him several times over, even though he used only a miniscule fraction of his power.

This was his own body, but it’s as if it wasn’t his. He felt uncomfortable and anxious.

However, for him to go back and be reunited with his wife, he needed to keep his wits about him.

“I miss you, Seohyun…”

All he wanted to do was traverse the dimensional borders and go back to Korea right away. God had already turned back time for him, but why wasn’t he given the ability to open the dimensional gate as well?

As his mental fortitude crumbled from stress, his body was also affected. Still, he was aware enough to keep in mind that this was not his home.

Instead of his surroundings being destroyed, what’s left to be ruined were his own internal organs. It was the rebound brought about by his restraint.

Familiarly pushing down the urge to cough up blood, Ciel stared at the door with unfocused eyes.

He knew that he shouldn’t, but Lady Closch kept surfacing in his mind, and this was making him anxious.

Just as his crumbling mental fortitude was affecting his body, so too was his deteriorating physical state affecting his mind.

The faces of both Lady Closch and his wife kept flashing before his eyes, overlapping over one another again and again.

Ciel’s energy started to rise, surrounding him like a haze. No one would be able to feel this swaying energy, but he still laboriously tried to restrain himself.

He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to keep his consciousness intact. It was unpleasant when the metallic taste of blood started to pool inside his mouth, but it was enough to stop him from losing his wits.

It’s been a while since he actually slept properly. He leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes, hoping to meet his wife in his dreams…

Even if it was just for a little while.

* * *

As I returned to my room after dinner, I washed up with Mary’s help, and as I usually did every night, I slipped on a negligee as my nightwear.

“Sweet dreams, Milady.”

“Good night to you as well, Mary.”

“Yes.”

Mary smiled brightly at me as she said good night, and eventually left the room. It wasn’t until then that it hit me— I really did meet my ex-husband again today.

It’s true that he looked exactly the same, appearance-wise, but it never crossed my mind that he would be the same man.

I was mistaken.

Was it possible for two people to be so utterly similar to each other in terms of outward appearance, to the point that they’d even have the same mole right above their eyelashes? That’s impossible. There shouldn’t be two people like that.

And besides that, I felt it.

The second male lead of this novel… is my ex-husband.

Still, the same moment I came to this realization, something else crossed my mind. The current Ciel was not the same Ciel who I knew. They looked the same, but they were close to strangers.

“Right. Just because they’re the same person doesn’t mean it changes anything. It didn’t even seem like he recognized me.”

Even if I was the one who just said this out loud, I couldn’t help but still be surprised by it, but the jolt that passed through me subsided quite easily.

There’s no need for me to be shaken by those two people, Seo-yoon and Ciel. And there’s also no reason for me to cower because of them.

As I lay down in bed, I forcefully shifted my train of thought. I quickly replaced any thought of my ex-husband with my memories of Uncle Hans’ steak earlier. Would we get to eat it often during the guests’ stay in the mansion?

“Well, I also hope that Dad gets the distribution rights soon.”

If that were to happen, we would be able to eat scrumptious meals often enough, even if there weren’t any guests.

Just thinking about having such good food together with my family made me feel happy.