Chapter 43

Chapter 43

I turned to find my pink-haired brother passing through the doorway and our eyes met.

“What are you doing here?” Reynold said frowning, pausing when he realized he wasn’t alone.

Ugh, I’m not happy to see you, either. I glanced at the letters that loomed above his head and replied coolly, “The butler brought me up here.”

“That’s not what I meant...” he started, looking me up and down with a mocking smile. “You’re prohibited from the third floor, aren’t you?”

Come on! We both know who arranged it to be that way. Feeling resentful, I shot back primly, “That’s no longer true starting today. Father allowed me to come up here.”

“Damn! No wonder he was asking about the attic.”

“Why are you here?”

“I was never banned from coming up here, unlike you, idiot!” he said, moving further inside. I scowled seeing him approach. I didn’t want my precious alone time interrupted by an unwelcome visitor.

“I was here first,” I snapped irritably. So get out. He wasn’t the sort to make anything easy though.

“Who said you weren’t?” he asked, approaching the fireplace without hesitation and flopping onto the plush couch. His eyes were drooping sleepily as he peered down at me. “You stay right there on the floor. It suits you very well.”

“Why must you come up here? You’ve got your own room.”

“I’m the duke’s second son, I can do as I please.”

God damn it, you bastard! My fists quivered with rage. I wanted to smash one into his face, but I held myself back through sheer willpower. Affection score 10%. Affection score 10%... I chanted inwardly. It had been so hard to gain that affection. I was determined that I wouldn’t lose it. Ignoring Reynold with great effort, I turned my attention back to the world outside the window. Of course, he couldn’t leave well enough alone.

“Why are you sitting there like a statue?”

“I’m going to watch the fireworks, then go. So leave me alone.”

“It’s a pity you can’t see the training grounds from here,” he said, snickering to himself. “Today being the last day of the festival and all, the knights retired early. But that slave of yours is probably still there.”

“What?” My mind went blank. I turned my head to regard him, slowly. “What do you mean?”

“It’s as I said. He’s probably still out there alone, training himself to death,” Reynold said with a mean snicker.

I was speechless for a long moment before I finally stammered out, “But why?”

“Because I told him to.”

You asshole! I could almost see Eckles’ affection score dropping by the second. What shenanigans had been going on while I’d been preoccupied with other things? No! He’s my only hope! I scrambled to my feet—I needed to check his affection score. Preparing to rush down the stairs, I was prevented from moving when Reynold grabbed me.

“Going to see him?” He sneered. He was holding my wrist roughly, having gotten up so fast I failed to notice he’d moved at all. His lovely pink hair swayed before my eyes. I frowned, nervous.

“Let go.”

“It’s too late. The moment you brought him here, he became my prey,” he said with a playful wink.

I felt despair well up inside me. With a deep sigh, I wrenched my hand out of his grasp and said peevishly, “Why must you be so childish? Why can’t you just be kind?”

“You know, hearing you say that gives me the shivers,” he said, rubbing his arms with great exaggeration. I glanced at “[Affection Score 10%]” floating above his head.

What’s the matter with him today? I was the only one who had been unable to eat lunch, but it had looked excellent—he’d eaten his fill. I couldn’t think of any reason why he’d be itching this badly for a fight. Though Reynold was usually like this, today he seemed to be in top form.

“If you don’t like me being here, just tell me so. I’ll leave,” I said with a sigh. I decided to just drop it since I had nothing to gain from a confrontation. With Reynold, avoidance was the best policy. Just order me to leave already. I’ll go without a word of complaint. I quietly waited for his response.

“Have you no integrity?” he said suddenly, eyes locked on my face.

“What?”

“What makes you think you can just waltz in here?”

“Ha!” A laugh escaped me involuntarily. He sounds like the abusive mother-in-law in a drama. I hadn’t meant to laugh at Reynold, but he’d heard regardless so now rage flashed in his blue eyes. I looked down at the floor, keeping my tone docile. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been different lately, keeping to your room and doing things you normally wouldn’t... I thought you might have finally changed, but obviously, I was stupid to think that. I mean, how could a girl as shameless as you ever change?”

I bit back a sigh. I had no clue why I was putting up with his temper tantrums when I’d come up here in a bad mood myself. My anger was spent after my conversation with the butler earlier, so the current situation only tired me. The crown prince and Reynold were walking time bombs that were best left alone. I cajoled him in a tired voice.

“Reynold, please don’t beat around the bush. If you have something you want to say, just say it. Why are you suddenly—”

“You were going to make another f*cking wish when the fireworks started, weren’t you?” he said viciously, cutting me off. “That you don’t want Ivonne to ever return to the manor.”

“...”

“That you want her to disappear or die.”

“...”

“You prayed for that six years ago in this very attic. It was the last day of the festival, and you knew it was also the anniversary of the day Ivonne had gone missing.” We were practically touching noses. Reynold was so close, his face a sinister red thanks to the setting sun. His mouth was stretched in a feral smile, and his eyes promised violence.

Penelope did that? I stared at him, stunned. I hadn’t known the female protagonist had gone missing during the festival. After some thought, I recalled the game’s prologue might have mentioned it, but I’d promptly forgotten about it since it hadn’t impacted the plot significantly. The commoner suddenly found herself nobility. I suppose it’s to be expected that she didn’t want the duke’s real daughter to return.

In any case, I could understand Penelope’s actions, walking in her shoes as I was. Maybe understanding her was easier for me because I’d already experienced what it was like to suddenly be adopted by a rich family. However, Reynold—as the heroine’s elder brother—apparently couldn’t live with seeing the villain Penelope return to the attic after what she’d done.

“So how does it feel? As you wished, you’ve taken Ivonne’s place for six years now.” Reynold was so furious that I was afraid there was nothing I could do to talk him down. He glared as if he wanted nothing more than to kill me, and so I carefully chose the words I would say next.

What can I say to fix this mess and avoid triggering that nasty temper of his? Today was the anniversary of the day he’d lost his beloved sister, and before him was none other than the evil girl who had thought to replace her. If I act like Penelope usually does there will only be trouble.

Instinctively, I cast my eyes around the room, checking to see if there was anything that could be used as a weapon. I couldn’t see anything sharp, not that it really mattered. If suitably enraged, Reynold could simply push me out the window or choke me, and I’d be done for.

“I... I was very young and immature,” I struggled to reply, stumbling away from the window. “I’m sorry. I apologize if it’s not too late. I’ve reflected a lot on my mistakes. Please forgive me.”

“Reflected? Ha!” My cautious apology didn’t seem to placate him in any way. “Fine. Since it’s all in the past anyway, let me ask you something else. Why did you go so far as to wish for something like that? You wouldn’t have been immediately thrown out even if Ivonne had returned.”

This was the hardest situation Reynold had ever put me in. Even apologizing sincerely wasn’t working! What do I say now? Since I wasn’t the child who had wished Ivonne away, I had no words to defend Penelope’s actions. Sweat trickled down my face.

“Talk,” he demanded.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come up here. It was stupid of me.”

“Do you think this is something a simple apology will make disappear?”

“Reynold...”

“You never told me how you managed to persuade my father to adopt you. Tell me how a child your age managed it. Maybe I could learn a thing or two from you.”

The situation was spiraling out of control, and his affection score gauge flickered dangerously. Reynold’s eyes were turning red as he glared at me, though I couldn’t tell whether it was because of the sunset glow or because his eyes were bloodshot. This whole situation was unfair, and I felt my mood souring, but I did my best to remain calm.

This situation had the potential to be very dangerous, and if I couldn’t get it under control, I needed to run. I spoke carefully, “I’m sorry for acting that way when I was a foolish child. You have my sincerest apologies. But your sister going missing had nothing to do with me.”

I took a deep breath. “I came up here today because the butler suggested that I watch the fireworks. He said father had agreed, and I wasn’t going to stay long—”

“Shut up.”