Chapter 141

Chapter 141

Luzark Castro remained standing near the garden entrance.

I noticed his eyes twitch for a moment before turning his gaze away from me. It seemed he may have actually been blocking others from intruding on my time with Jeremy. There was an attendant standing a bit further behind him holding the very towels I had come to ask for.

Once I reached them, the attendant offered me the tray without saying a word. I turned to Luzark after retrieving the items.

“I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

“Don’t mention it.”

He was so curt that an onlooker would have thought he was trying to avoid speaking to me entirely. However, I knew from reading the novel that he had always been that way, so didn’t dwell on it. As I needed to hurry back, I didn’t attempt to make any further chitchat with him either. However, I could feel his gaze on my back as I walked away.

* * *

As I returned with the items, Jeremy was already looking much better. However, the anxiety still seemed to weigh on his mind though as he could barely stay seated. He smiled so brightly upon seeing me that I couldn’t help imagining a puppy who was giddy at the sight of his owner. After dabbing his puffy eyes with the wet towel, his face appeared slightly normal again. It was at least passing enough for us to leave the garden together.

As we neared Luzark, Jeremy’s face became grave and serious. I clutched his hand even tighter as if he were a small child—since the Red Heir had already seen his breakdown—but I was doubtful that it would do much good. Of course, I didn’t say a word since I didn’t wish to embarrass him. Thankfully, Luzark chose to walk away with no more than a quick scowl in our direction. It was a look that suggested he couldn’t care one way or the other about what he had seen.

“Oh, wow! That really is Roxana!”

“So all the gossip was true.”

Our half-siblings spotted me and began to approach us. I supposed they had come to see for themselves that the person the other clans were chattering about was indeed me. However, I was still trying to maintain some distance in order to prevent them from getting a good look at our brother’s face.

As he had shed tears because of me, I felt I owed him that much at least. So as I had done with Luzark, I placed my finger to my lips to signal they should be quiet, then spoke to them in a whisper, “Sorry, everyone. Let’s save the greetings for later, all right?”

And like tamed beasts, they stopped several paces away so I could walk by swiftly with Jeremy on my far side. Before anyone else could accost us, he and I had returned to my quarters.

* * *

Jeremy remained in my room until well after sunset. After being apart for so long, being together again felt so much like we were back at the Black mansion. Not only did he appear to be standing taller, but he seemed to have bulked up in the few months since I had last seen him. But I was sad to see that the remaining baby fat in his face seemed to have melted away, which made him look somewhat thinner.

As I stroked his face, his features appeared far more pronounced. Then without warning, I saw tears begin to well up in his blue eyes again. He did manage to keep them from streaming down his cheeks, but he clutched my hands that much tighter as if he was afraid I might disappear again.

Seeing how happy he was to see me, I felt glad about my decision to come to Yggdrasil early. I had come to the castle immediately after checking in on my mother. In truth, I made it there much earlier than I had initially intended since her new residence was in such close proximity to the castle.

As neither of us had much left to discuss, I decided to step out onto the terrace for some air. I was often assigned the same room whenever I visited the castle, which was a relief as the room had an excellent view of the main gate.

The clouds had finally given way to the rain. As the sun had gone completely beyond the horizon, the light from the building cast a weak, yellow tint over the courtyard. I watched as those who had been dawdling about outside rushed inside. From the terrace, they appeared like ants scurrying about after water had infiltrated their colony.

The Pedelians had yet to arrive, and the Vertiums were late as usual. I wondered if they had met en route to the gathering as Cassis and I had anticipated, or if there had been some unexpected turn of events. But what worried me the most was that the rain was coming down much harder and spraying the terrace so much that my dress had become wet faster than I could get back inside.

Knock, knock.

Jeremy opened the door to an attendant who had come to assist me in preparing for the dinner banquet. I made up my mind that worrying over what may or may not have happened was unlikely to help anyone, so I would focus on doing what I could and needed to do. With my resolve set, I returned inside and left the rushing sound of the rain behind me.

* * *

“Hey, Big Sis, I’m back!”

I was just about ready to go when Jeremy returned. I had promised him I would attend the banquet with him that night, which was the main reason he hadn’t made too much of a fuss about leaving me so I could change.

“Let me have a look at you. Haa... Your tie’s crooked.”

He had gone to his room to get dressed for the occasion as well, which made it easier for me to notice where he had rushed. As I straightened his tie, he smiled impishly. It didn’t take long for me to put together that he had done it on purpose. I also noticed that the parting in his hair was slightly askew and reached up to correct it as well.

Despite how obvious of a ploy for attention it was, I had no problem indulging him since we had been apart for so long. I had also worried he might act distant upon first seeing me, but he treated me as if nothing had changed.

So we went to the banquet with Jeremy serving as my escort. Since the Blue and Gold clans had yet to arrive, it was far from an official banquet. It also didn’t help that my brother was the only clan master in attendance. The others seemed to have one reason or another for choosing not to dine with their clansmen that night.

As soon as we stepped into the hall I could feel people staring at us from all angles. Among them were even some I knew. For instance, both Orka and Pandora Fipellion were present. They calmly stared in my direction as if they had been expecting our entrance.

I was sure they were trying to work out why I wasn’t flanked by Pedelians. However, rather than meet my gaze, Pandora turned away as soon as our eyes met. I imagined she was still mortified by her failed attempt at intimidating me back at the Blue castle. Meanwhile, her cousin continued to gawk at me with a mysterious smile.

No one from the Red clan had decided to come down. Even the ever-punctual Luzark Castro was nowhere in sight. Unlike the Fipellions who had somehow managed to corral the White Heir into attending despite usually lacking this key figure, the Castros’ presence from their leader downward was a staple at every gathering. It was definitely an absence that could not escape anyone’s notice.

After a quick scan of the hall, I returned my attention to Jeremy.

“Here, have a seat, Sis.”

He showed me to a long table where the other Agreces had already taken their seats. The two seats they had left for me and him appeared to be based on what they perceived to be the new pecking order.

Even my own half-siblings had been eyeing me since taking their seats, so I figured they were probably just as surprised as everyone else to see me there. Of course, their reasons were much different. Aside from a casual greeting, they hesitated to engage with me any further.

They seemed particularly wary of our new clan leader, so I felt slightly worried that he might have threatened them before we all made our way down. None of them seemed overtly hostile toward me, so my best guess was that they had no idea I was involved in the downfall of our clan.

My decision to remain the faceless puppeteer had proven to be the right call. Even at that moment, my plan was to watch and observe everyone rather than step forward as the true ringleader.

On the other hand, Jeremy was nothing but sweet to me.

“Here, Xana. I cut this one up already. I’ll take your plate. You can eat this. Oh! And do you want me to have them bring you some warm water, Sis? Hey, is the music too loud? I can tell the musicians to play something softer if you want, Big Sis. Or is there anything else you need, Sis? Big Sis...? Xana...?”

Calling my name had evidently become his latest obsession. It wasn’t long before “Big Sis” was rattling in my ear like a refrain.

“I’m fine, Jeremy. Really. Don’t worry about me. Just eat your food.”

Despite my protest, he ignored his plate and continued to watch me eat as if the sight alone would fill his stomach. Then one of my younger brothers finally gathered the courage to address me.

“Um... I have a question. Have you and Jeremy been keeping in touch all this time, Rox—”

“Save the questions for later,” Jeremy snapped. “Can’t you see she’s eating?! You keep that up and she’ll get indigestion. You don’t have to be a genius to know that’s rude, right?! Honestly, what good is that head of yours, if you still can’t work out something as simple as that? Besides, I just warned you guys to stay in line an hour ago. Are you trying to piss me off?!”

“R-R-Right! S-Sorry, Roxana.”

His lips snapped shut so abruptly that I wondered if he might have bitten his tongue. He then sat back in his seat looking like a deflated balloon.