SIWALL Ch 43

Elliot sat down on the sofa in the parlor. And looking at Elliot, he patted the seat beside him. Elliot alternated between looking at Elliot and Theseus, then slid over to sit next to Elliot.

Midway through this, Elliot caught the veins on Theseus’s forehead twitching.

He’s scary, as expected…

Elliot quickly revised his first impression that Theseus looked harmless.

“Your Grace, didn’t I say this is our family matter?”

“Generwin Tulion is here.”

“Grand Duke!”

At Elliot’s shocking revelation, Elliot let out a yelp before he realized it.

“What a truly rude servant. Anyway, that makes things easier. I came here to take Generwin back, after all.”

Theseus’s gaze changed. He wore a crafty and ominous smile, like a predator eyeing its prey. Perhaps it only looked that way to Elliot’s eyes.

“Generwin has gone and forcefully touched another young lady, so we have a headache on our hands. Everyone is making a fuss to take responsibility. I think I need to have a little discussion with Generwin.”

“That’s a lie…”

Elliot’s mumbling popped right out. A brief silence settled inside the parlor.

“What is a lie? My, Your Grace, you really ought to train your servant a bit more thoroughly. How very insolent.”

As he said those words, Theseus looked like a grim reaper who would drag Elliot off somewhere at any second. Elliot instinctively pulled his waist back behind Elliot’s frame. Slightly sheltered by Elliot, he curled his body into a small ball.

Between a nuisance you know and a nuisance you don’t, the known nuisance was at least preferable.

“Mind your own family affairs. You may take Generwin Tulion. He was an uninvited guest anyway.”

“Grand Duke, you can’t!”

A whispered voice burst out beside Elliot. Elliot grabbed Elliot’s forearm and shook his head ever so slightly.

However, since there were only three people inside the parlor, no matter how much they whispered and kept their movements small, everything could be heard and seen.

Theseus let out an “Ahaha” laugh.

“Care to explain why you say I can’t?”

Elliot briefly glanced between Elliot and Theseus, then squeezed his eyes shut and replied.

“Lord Generwin is not the type of person to forcefully touch a woman. And the Junior Marquis already knows that, too. Yet, if you try to take Lord Generwin away while even resorting to lies, how could I possibly send him your way?”

Generwin and Violet were not that kind of relationship. Elliot, the very person who had been exchanging letters up until now, knew that best. Violet was also gradually in the middle of showing affection toward Generwin. Violet’s proposal stemmed purely from her affection and grit.

And yet, touching her forcefully! Proposing marriage because he had to take responsibility! It was an absurd lie.

“Ahaha, truly hilarious. Who are you to decide whether Generwin gets sent home or not? I am Generwin’s guardian.”

At those words, Elliot snapped his eyes open. His two eyes were burning with a fierce intensity unlike usual.

“A guardian does not act that way, Junior Marquis.”

“And how did I act, pray tell?”

“Why would you ask me that? The Junior Marquis would know best.”

At those words, Theseus let out a hearty laugh, then abruptly drew his sword and swung it toward Elliot.

Swish.

“Hk…!”

If Elliot hadn’t hurriedly pulled Elliot backward, a deep scar would have been left on Elliot’s face.

A few strands of Elliot’s bangs, already slightly clipped, fluttered down to the floor. Elliot touched his bangs with a trembling hand.

Elliot watched Theseus in silence before opening his mouth.

“I retract what I said just a moment ago. Generwin Tulion will be staying here for the time being.”

Elliot, who had been clutching his pounding heart, whipped his head around in surprise to look at Elliot. Instead of looking at Elliot, Elliot gazed at the few strands of Elliot’s hair that had fallen to the floor. And turning back toward Theseus, he said:

“And Junior Marquis Tulion, if you do not leave my house right this instant, I will challenge you to a duel.”

“Well now… what a continuous string of surprises.”

Saying that, Theseus placed one hand over his chest and bowed slightly.

“Whatever way could I possibly hope to defeat the war hero of Lantar? I shall take my leave for today.”

However, Theseus did not withdraw obediently. He left one final remark before stepping out of the parlor.

“However, Your Grace, do not entrust your noble faith to a fleeting amusement.”

It was a warning explicitly targeted at Elliot.

What is he on about, that jerk… He has to twist his words like a damn weirdo, too.

Pretending to bow his waist toward Theseus’s retreating back as he headed outside, Elliot secretly flipped him off with the middle finger.

“Why are you extending that middle finger?”

If he had known he’d be asked a question like this, he would never have bothered with middle fingers, secret or otherwise.

Elliot quickly clenched his fist into a tight ball and put on an innocent face.

“Pardon? What on earth are you talking about…?”

At that, Elliot raised his middle finger toward Elliot.

“You did it just like this. And you’ve done it behind my back sometimes, too.”

He saw that?!

Elliot forced an awkward smile. He shrugged his shoulders and tried hard to act as if it were nothing.

“Ah-ah, that? That’s a sign that I understand very well, Grand Duke~”

Smiling, Elliot nonchalantly raised his middle finger.

“Is that so. Understood.”

Elliot forcefully thrust his middle finger out toward Elliot one more time. The two of them exited the parlor, amicably flipping each other off.

∞ ∞ ∞

Generwin froze at the news that his older brother had come looking for him, but upon hearing shortly after that Elliot had driven him out, he let out a sigh of relief. Generwin even tried to cling to Elliot, saying thank you. Naturally, Elliot coldly shoved Generwin away.

“Still, you cannot sleep together in Elliot Brown’s bedroom.”

With that, Elliot called for Henderson.

“Give him a guest room. Make it a room so thoroughly comfortable that he won’t want to go anywhere else.”

“Yes, Your Grace. This way, please, Lord Generwin.”

“But I want to sleep with the ghostwriter.”

Generwin playfully whined that he didn’t want to be separated from Elliot for a moment, but the moment Elliot brought his hand to the hilt of his sword, he vanished with nimble speed.

In the hallway where Generwin and Henderson had disappeared, the two of them stood quietly. Elliot and Elliot locked eyes.

“Then…”

“Now…”

Their voices overlapped like in a cheesy romance drama.

Thinking this atmosphere was ticklingly awkward for no reason, Elliot cleared his throat.

“Ahem, then I will head in for the night.”

Elliot offered a greeting and turned his body to step into his own room right in front of him.

Right then, Elliot called out to stop Elliot.

“Elliot Brown.”

“…Yes?”

In a single stride, he closed the distance right in front of Elliot. Then, with a voice so hauntingly good it gave him goosebumps, he asked quietly.

“Is there anything you forgot?”

“F-forgot?”

Back in Korea, by all rights, this line was a cue for a kiss. Asking if there was anything forgotten was always either a kiss or a peck, whether between family or lovers.

Of course, this world was not Korea.

Yet since it was a world created by a Korean author, you never quite knew…

Even though he knew Elliot couldn’t possibly have meant it that way, Elliot’s face flushed red in an instant. He lowered his head deeply to hide his face, which had turned almost the color of an apple.

“W-well. What on earth I could have forgotten…”

“You truly don’t know?”

“N-no, no…”

“Today’s shift.”

“Ah.”

Elliot startled and lifted his forehead. His face was now as red as could be, looking as though it might burst.

“L-let’s go. I will serve you properly today.”

Stumbling over his words, Elliot bowed his waist. From above, he could hear Elliot laughing, completely oblivious to Elliot’s racing pulse.

Damn it. I’m dying of mortification.

However, by some sheer miracle, today’s shift ended early. Just like every day, Elliot fell asleep quickly tonight, and Elliot was able to wrap up his work in under thirty minutes.

Come to think of it, this job really seems like a total goldmine.

Elliot thought as he lay in bed preparing to sleep.

Every day, work hours wrapped up in under an hour. The pay was double what one would get working eight hours a day, six days a week. Even considering it overtime pay, it was excessive. The working environment wasn’t bad, either. By now, Elliot no longer guarded himself against him like before; instead, he was busy being mindful of Elliot’s reactions. He even got glasses as a bonus…

The other job, ghostwriting love letters, was also progressing smoothly. Elliot hadn’t shown an iota of affection toward Loran Pedet.

Yet, judging by the fact that replies kept coming back brief and rough, he seemed to feel a degree of familiarity. Loran Pedet probably wouldn’t die. And the probability of Elliot not dying had gone up, too.

Elliot took off his glasses. He traced the smooth curves of the frames with his fingertips, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

If I could just keep working like this…

However, he did not utter those words out of bounds. It was out of fear that the part-time worker’s rule—that very rule where the moment you say “Things are a bit nice today,” a horde of customers rushes in—might interfere once more.

Before turning off the lamp, he checked one last time to make sure Camembert was sleeping soundly in his own little bed. Camembert would also be able to live a long, happy life right alongside him until his natural lifespan ran out. With a slightly swelling heart, Elliot turned off the light and lay down.

Though he was a bit worried about Generwin’s brother whom he had met today, trusting that everything would turn out well, he drifted off to sleep.