ITHTJ 23

Chapter : 23

Strangely Suspicious People (8)

“Good thing I came early.”

If I’d arrived right on time, he might’ve nitpicked me for no reason.
I slipped into the study and started to bow in greeting.

But—

“Why do you think Lynette follows you so devotedly?”

Before I’d even finished lowering my head, Eclipse lobbed that question at me.
Frozen halfway between bowing and standing straight, I thought for a moment, then answered.

“Because I saved the saintess’s life.”
“Do you truly believe that’s all?”
“Aside from that, I can’t guess at any other reason.”

Still stuck awkwardly mid-bow, I heard Eclipse say:

“Very well. Come and sit.”
“Yes, sir!”

I had been waiting for those words!
I scooted over to him and took a seat.
His expression was darker than usual, and he let out a shallow sigh.

Come to think of it, he’s been oddly touchy since morning… Did they really fight?

The morning events flashed across my mind.

“Make sure he hears it! He won’t say a word if left alone. Our Grand Duke is always so stoic.”

Lynette throwing a nonsensical tantrum—
Eclipse offering zero reprimand.
Both of them acting completely unlike their usual selves.

And ever since then, Eclipse had suddenly taken an interest in me—
or rather, in “the teacher monopolizing Lynette’s attention.”

Yeah, something’s off. I can’t just let this go.

And who am I?
Elsie Bloomhire—proud president of the “Original Story Destruction Society.”
Which means?

Time to step in.

Watching his expression, I carefully asked:

“Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Your Grace… but did you and the saintess, erm… argue?”

Eclipse flinched ever so slightly.

Anyone could see the arrow hit dead center.

There it is. They fought, no doubt.

For someone who never shows emotion to react that visibly—he must’ve been genuinely rattled.

Satisfied with my deduction, I continued.

“To be honest, the saintess’s behavior this morning raised my suspicions.”

His gaze fixed on me.
I met it head-on and went on.

“I originally had no intention of seeing her off today. But she insisted on calling me out.”
“…”
“Then she made a show of clinging to my hand and wouldn’t let go. Even with you standing right beside us, she looked only at me.”

If you two fight, what am I supposed to do?
You should be trying to get along!

Stop sticking to the original plot, will you!?

It was now my sworn duty to smooth this over.
If these siblings fell out, my livelihood would evaporate.
That must never, EVER happen.

“Yet Your Grace didn’t say a word to her. Or… could it be that you couldn’t?”

“…”

“It felt as though she wanted me to notice the tension between you—almost as if she wanted me to see there was a rift.”

After listening silently to the end, Eclipse finally spoke.

“You behave as though you can read people’s minds.”

“…!”

Just as I’d hit the bullseye with him, he’d struck mine perfectly.

Reading minds… Well, halfway true.

I already knew the story.
I knew the conflict destined to erupt between the siblings.
Preemptively interfering to prevent it—
You could call that reading minds.

“Can witches do such a thing?”

His clear, glasslike eyes were veiled by lowered lashes.
I opened my mouth to answer, but he spoke first.

“A foolish question, no doubt.”

He said it almost mockingly—at himself.
A bitter smile tugged at his lips.

“Bloomhire.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Lynette… seems to trust you quite a bit.”

I thought so too.
I nodded with quiet affirmation.

“Perhaps even more than she trusts me.”

Excuse me!? Absolutely not!
Does he have any idea how much Lynette trusts HIM?

I almost snapped back in disbelief.

This man’s self-esteem is in tatters!

Eclipse possessed a self-worth inversely proportional to his physical size.
And I knew why.
He was raised in an environment where no one acknowledged him.

If his only family is upset with him, then whatever crumbs of confidence he had left must’ve plunged straight into the abyss.

Poor guy.
Hard to believe someone like him would become the final villain.

First step: reconciliation. That’s priority one.

Determined to haul him back up from the ocean floor, I inhaled deeply.

“That’s not true.”

His eyes flickered at my firm tone.

“The saintess trusts you deeply.”
“…”
“On my very first day, she told me—‘His Grace is never someone who lets personal feelings bring harm upon others.’”

Even beneath impenetrable depths, his eyes shone crystal clear.

“No one says that about someone they don’t trust. She said it because she believes in you more than anyone.”

The study fell perfectly silent.

We spoke no further for a while.

His gaze drifted into empty space.
Then, with a faint, exhausted smile—

“I see.”

His lashes lowered completely, hiding those gemlike eyes.
A shame—I wanted to see more of them.

“Forgive me. It seems I behaved emotionally.”

…Pardon?
You, of all people, calling yourself emotional?

His self-awareness was catastrophically inaccurate.

“Your Grace, I may be overstepping, but may I add one more thing?”

Call it meddling—because it was.
But it was also a desperate attempt to mend a fraying sibling bond.

I waited, resolute.

“Very well. Speak.”

Quite generous of him—probably thanks to those rapport points I’d just earned.

“The saintess wishes to speak with you.”

The siblings got along well.
But ironically, what they lacked most… was conversation.
Honest conversation.

“I believe she wants to share her thoughts openly—with you doing the same.”

Lynette once said he thinks quietly and never speaks.
Even as a third party looking in, I agreed—Eclipse hardly spoke if he could help it.

As head of a noble house, he’d be even more cautious—he knows how much weight his words carry.

Born a commoner and risen to the very top of a rigid hierarchy—
He knew people could lose careers, even lives, over a single remark.

Unfortunately, that caution spilled over into his relationship with his one and only sibling.

And the reason was obvious.

Too many nobles despise seeing a common-born man succeed. Ugh. Jerks.

They resented his bond with Lynette.
In society, they even called him “the husk.”

Meaning Lynette was the true butterfly,
and Eclipse was merely the discarded shell she’d shed on her way there.

Calling a person a husk…

My anger surged.

No, seriously—what the hell? What kind of lunatic calls a man this kind and this handsome a husk!?

I was livid.

Did they feed him? Clothe him? No! All they do is sip tea and tear others down! Their mouths are the only working part of them!

My fury boiled over.

How viciously must they have pecked at him for him to fear even speaking? You rotten bastards!

How much must he have endured to turn out like this?
In every way, he was a tragically sympathetic man.