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Chapter 31
Perhaps because the distance between them had closed, the heat burning in his eyes felt far more vivid.
Not just her cheeks—her entire face felt as though it were on fire, and Cecilia unknowingly drew her legs back.
Though it hardly mattered. She was still trapped between the man’s legs.
“What… are you talking about?”
Her words cut off on their own.
Cecilia sank deeper into the sofa and faced her younger brother.
Damn those eyes.
Maybe because Alexis had cursed first, a vulgar expression rose unbidden to her own mind.
“What do you think?”
“Baron Reville’s daughter has only just made her debut in society, Alex. She’s still young.”
“There are things youth can excuse—and things it can’t. And I can say with certainty that what she did is unforgivable.”
Oh, my head.
“I’d rather not believe that you don’t understand something so basic, Sister.”
At the voice tightly packed with restrained fury, Cecilia pressed her fingers to her brow.
“Don’t dismiss her simply because she’s young. She’s already a debutante. At that age, she can’t possibly be ignorant of responsibility.”
“……”
“Taking responsibility for one’s own words is only natural for any human being.”
“……”
“You should have demanded accountability from her, Sister. Not tried to bring me here instead.”
Under the continuous barrage, Cecilia barely found an opening to respond.
“I know, Alex. I know.”
“Oh, you do?”
“Don’t be sarcastic.”
When Cecilia whispered calmly, the man’s eyes—dark and wet—flashed with a fierce glint.
As if pressing her down, his emotions stabbed straight into her.
“But Alex. I believe everyone grows at a different pace. We may have learned responsibility early, but Baron Reville’s daughter—”
“Sister.”
“Yes?”
“I’m saying this again, so please stop using age as an excuse. It’s the pettiest, most ridiculous justification there is. When I was that age, I was in the Mage Tower. In the Mage Tower.”
Alexis cut her off, and Cecilia tilted her head in silence.
From the slanted angle, the man’s face was tinged with faint irritation.
“And what did you go through in the Mage Tower?”
“……I was old enough to understand what a tremendous stroke of luck everything I have is. And that I bore responsibilities to match.”
“Then what exactly did you experience in the Mage Tower?”
The moment she pointed out his evasion, Alexis closed his mouth.
This time, Cecilia pressed her temples, urging him on without words.
Answer me, Alex. Please answer.
So I can understand you, even a little.
But the man seemed to have decided to shut it all away.
With a wet hand gripping her knee, he simply stared at her stubbornly.
As though he were searching her for some kind of answer.
Cecilia lowered her gaze—then raised it again.
The violet eyes still staring at her were calm yet desperate.
Warm yet cold. Despairing yet endlessly gentle.
A face that looked ready to go mad at any moment.
Did Alexis know?
That every time he made that expression, she was the one who fell into despair instead?
Everything felt overwhelming and distant, and she had no choice but to keep meeting his gaze—
letting him tear her apart and interpret her as he pleased.
“Sister.”
It was then Alexis whispered softly.
From somewhere came the cheerful sound of barking, and Alisha emerged from deep within the garden.
Having sensed her owner’s location, the puppy ran straight toward the pavilion without hesitation.
“Alisha!”
When Cecilia waved her hand, Alexis corrected her quietly.
“‘Puppy,’ isn’t it?”
“……”
“Do you really think I don’t know that whenever you’re alone with that puppy, you never call her by name and only say ‘puppy’?”
At those words, Cecilia could only turn her stiffening head and part her lips.
Even as he watched her complexion drain white, the man drove the nail in coldly.
“Well, in two years, you won’t be able to call her ‘puppy’ anymore anyway.”
“I’ve never—done that.”
“You’re good at acting, Sister. If you’re going to do it, do it properly. That lie just now was pitiful.”
At the merciless assessment, Cecilia began to tremble—
even though she knew the man gripping her knee could feel it.
Even as shame washed over her at her raw agitation being laid bare.
“So, Sister. Why is it that you never call Alisha by her name?”
“Maybe I was trying to scold her…”
“If you’re going to lie, I told you to do it perfectly.”
Unable to hold back, Cecilia glared at his handsome face.
Despite her openly furious gaze, the man only let out a hollow laugh.
“Do you hate Alisha? That’s not it either. It’s obvious how much you dote on that puppy.”
“Alex.”
“Then why, when you’re alone with her, don’t you ever call her by name?”
“Please shut up. Be quiet!”
“As if you’re trying to distance yourself emotionally.”
Cecilia clenched her teeth.
Even in the face of her golden eyes flashing with fury, Alexis remained maddeningly calm.
Had he decided to pick a fight with her?
Unable to endure it any longer, Cecilia tried to rise abruptly, but the man’s hand tightened around her knee.
“Don’t run away.”
“……”
“What is the reason you won’t call the puppy you cherish so much by her name?”
“Then what exactly did you go through in the Mage Tower?”
The instant she shot the question back, Alexis let out a quiet sigh.
“So you say nothing, and I’m supposed to bare everything?”
“……”
“Isn’t that unfair? No matter how accustomed you are to having everything? At the very least, shouldn’t you answer first, so I feel like answering too?”
Sparks flew from the man’s eyes.
Because the man before her was Alexis Lucien, Cecilia didn’t cower—she revealed her anger without restraint.
“Answer me first before you start questioning me. What did you go through in the Mage Tower?”
The lips that had been driving her into a corner until now shut tightly.
Finding it absurd and exasperating, Cecilia finally rolled her eyes toward the sky.
“I’m going crazy. What are you even trying to do?”
“……”
“Alexis Lucien.”
Alexis averted his gaze—and this was the most ridiculous part—clenched his teeth and raked a hand through his hair.
He slowly opened and closed his eyes as he composed himself.
As he took his time, she was given time as well, and Cecilia gradually regained her calm.
As if they’d never argued, they faced each other with cool expressions.
Their gazes were icy, their faces firm.
An arrogant man and an arrogant woman, each refusing to allow even a single opening.
“Let’s drop it.”
At the quietly muttered conclusion, Cecilia answered only by inclining her head.
She had no intention of answering his questions anyway.
The man glanced aside.
Following his gaze, she saw the snow-white puppy whimpering at the foot of the pavilion steps.
Perhaps sensing how viciously the two were fighting, she couldn’t even come up, only watching nervously.
…Um, m-master. Are you done fighting?
“Woof….”
At the cautious bark, Cecilia pressed her temples again. A severe headache was building.
What am I supposed to do now?
She’d been found out.
How do I even handle this?
Alexis—her damnably beloved younger brother—might retreat for now, but he would never forget.
He’ll try to dig out the answer no matter what.
…This is going to make things awkward.
“Do you know what’s driving me the craziest right now?”
At the sudden question, she stopped pressing her temples and looked at her brother—
no, glared at him.
“That you really did know. That there was no need whatsoever to forgive that young lady.”
“Hm?”
Had the topic circled back to Eugénie Reville?
Cecilia twirled her hair around her finger and replied listlessly.
“Well, that’s true. There’s no reason for me to forgive that girl.”
“Girl?”
“Compared to my age, she’s just a brat.”
Regardless of Alexis letting out a hollow laugh, she continued nonchalantly.
“I won’t forgive her, but I’ll take her circumstances into account. She’s young. Adults are supposed to be generous with children.”
“Generous?”
“…I’m generous with kids.”
“You?”
What now—another provocation?
Despite Cecilia glaring at him at the unexpected attack, Alexis snorted calmly.
“Believe me, Sister. Coddling little brats is absolutely not your taste.”
“I am generous.”
“Oh?”
“I’m being generous to you right now, aren’t I, Alex?”
Look at what you’re doing to me right now.
Reading the reproach she left unspoken, Alexis smiled faintly.
“Well, Sister. I don’t know when you became a saint. The Sister I know has never been particularly generous.”
“What exactly are you trying to do today?”
“I’m just stating facts.”
It sounds like you’re picking a fight, you damn brother.
“Shall I tell you why you’re going easy on Eugénie Reville?”
“I’ve said it enough times—it’s because she’s young.”
“You keep saying young, young, Sister.”
The violet eyes flashed with vivid anger.
“Do you really want to call a woman who mocked another for ‘liking someone else’s man,’ sneered that she changes men every night and doesn’t even know whose bed she’s sleeping in—someone who wrote verses like that—a ‘child’?”
…Damn you, Eugénie Reville. You should’ve shown some restraint.
As Cecilia ground her teeth, Alexis released the knee he’d been holding.
A droplet of water at his nape rolled down and slipped toward his collarbone.
“You say you’re sparing her because she’s young?”
“……”
“No. You’re just not angry. Even though she insulted you, mocked you, despised you, and criticized you like that—you truly weren’t angry.”
“……”
“Then tell me, Sister. After hearing all that, why weren’t you angry?”
For a moment, something unseen within the man seemed to shatter.
And in the broken shards reflected in his eyes lay despair.
Sorrow and rage, worry and aching tenderness.
Alexis slowly lowered his head.
A man who was always meant to be noble now looked as though he might fall to his knees and beg in utter abasement.
It was that very submission that caught Cecilia by the ankle as she tried to step away.
“Because you’ve given up on yourself.”
“No.”
The denial flew out reflexively, and Alexis lifted his head again. His violet eyes were calm—more arrogant than ever.
Feeling as though her innermost thoughts were being stripped bare, Cecilia insisted stubbornly.
“No.”
“……”
“I just—this is just my personality. I don’t get angry easily, and I tend to let things slide. What’s wrong with being kind one more time?”
“So you’re letting me slide too?”
“Yes!”
Alexis smiled broadly.
At the beautifully curving lips and the bright, sincere-looking smile, Cecilia could only stare at him as if he were insane.
Had he finally lost his mind?
“…Then, Sister.”
He whispered lightly and reached out.
Before Cecilia could even react, his hand deftly pulled open the shirt she was wearing. The buttons tumbled down beneath the sofa with noisy thuds.
What is he—?
“Let’s test it.”
Seizing the moment of her confusion, Alexis quickly slipped off her slippers as well.
In the instant she blinked, she found herself swept into Alexis’s broad arms, heading toward the hot spring.
The steady heartbeat, the strangely hot warmth, the damp sensation—she didn’t even have the presence of mind to feel embarrassed.
“Wait, Alex!”
The man plunged her into the hot spring.
