Chapter 32 – A Relationship That Bothers Me (7)
Ah… maybe I went too far with that last line.
By accident, I’d let my ambition slip out.
But so what? I asked for a lifetime contract from the very beginning.
To survive, you have to constantly show loyalty.
And right now was the perfect moment to do so. Loyal, loyal!
I glanced up at Lynette’s profile. But—
“……”
Her expression wasn’t her usual.
Instead, she looked a little gloomy, gazing at Eclipse with a wistful face.
I asked her softly,
“Saintess, you still haven’t made up with His Grace, have you?”
“…Yeah.”
After a brief pause, she slowly nodded.
If that was the case, there was only one thing left for me to do—
I had to reconcile the Ledaire siblings.
“You want to make up with him, don’t you?”
Lynette hesitated, but not for long.
“Yes. But when I try to bring it up, I just… lose my courage.”
“Then I’ll help you.”
“You will?”
The shadow on her face began to fade.
I didn’t miss that change.
“Yes. Come on, let’s go.”
I gently pushed her back forward.
Lynette hesitated for a moment, then stood before Eclipse.
“Brother.”
The instant she called out, Eclipse—who had been busy with something else—immediately turned to look at her.
“Ah, Lynette.”
He always amazed me with how consistent he was.
His eyes on Lynette were just as gentle as ever.
It almost made me doubt—Did these two even fight at all?
“Now that I think about it, you said you needed to talk. Sorry, I couldn’t listen first because of Jade. What did you want to say?”
Maybe it was because of that kind response—
but tears suddenly spilled down Lynette’s cheeks.
“I…”
“Lynette?”
“I’m sorry, Brother… for getting mad at you back then.”
She couldn’t hold it in anymore and buried her face in her hands, sobbing.
Eclipse was caught off guard.
No, more than that—he was shocked.
Lynette, crying?
Ever since Eilen’s death, she hadn’t shed a single tear.
And now she was crying in front of him.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
He quickly pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes.
“Don’t cry.”
“Hic, h-hic…”
Her eyes grew red and swollen in no time.
Eclipse gently sat her down on the sofa.
He didn’t even notice Elsie and Silbern quietly stepping back to give space.
“I really am…”
Eclipse soothed her patiently as she trembled with sobs.
After a while, Lynette calmed just enough to speak.
“I’m… such an idiot.”
Her words made Eclipse pause in thought.
He needed to understand why she was crying so bitterly, why she had broken down the instant she saw his face.
She fiddled with her hands, lips trembling.
“I got mad all on my own… cried all on my own… when you weren’t even angry at me. I just… made assumptions and—hic—blew up.”
She struggled to hold back fresh tears as she spoke, her voice breaking.
And Eclipse finally realized why she had been sulking at him.
“You always think so much, Brother. But you never say what’s on your mind—not even to me, your own family.”
“Honestly… I just wish you would share a little of what you’re feeling.”
He remembered that day Lynette had come to ask about Elsie.
Back then, he hadn’t given her a proper answer.
He still hadn’t fully let go of his doubts about Elsie…
and he didn’t want Lynette to get too close to him either.
“Don’t call yourself an idiot. Don’t beat yourself up.”
If there was any fault, it was his—for failing to read her heart.
But why should she be the one sobbing so sorrowfully?
She hadn’t said a single thing wrong.
“The fool here is me. I didn’t realize you were hurting this much.”
He should have noticed sooner.
It was his role to guide her, to keep her walking the right path.
Instead, he had made her cry.
If the late Archduchess had seen this moment—
I would have been punished, no doubt.
For a minor mistake, a whipping.
But for making Lynette cry… she would never have let me off so lightly.
At the very least, I’d have been beaten until a leg broke.
“……”
Eclipse squeezed his eyes shut.
Just remembering Eilen sent a chill down his neck, made his skull throb.
“Ugh…”
The pain stabbed so sharply that he bit down on his lip.
A muffled groan slipped through his teeth.
Fortunately, Lynette didn’t seem to notice.
He forced the pain down, forcing a smile for his sister.
“I’m sorry, Lynette. I was too careless. So… please stop crying, alright?”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I want to stop crying, but—hic—it just won’t stop. That makes me feel even worse…”
Fresh sobs spilled out, louder than before.
That was when Elsie finally stepped forward, her face unusually serious.
“Your Grace.”
She looked at him like she was staring at someone gravely ill.
Eclipse quickly explained himself.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
But it wasn’t true.
Just recalling Eilen made his head ache unbearably.
Still, Lynette’s well-being mattered more.
At least, that’s how Eclipse saw it.
But Elsie didn’t accept it.
“How could I not worry?”
Her eyes brimmed with concern.
And for just a moment, he felt tempted to open up.
“…It’s just a headache. I’ll be fine soon.”
“Really?”
“……”
Half true, half false.
The pain wouldn’t fade until sleep finally took him.
His silence made Elsie sigh heavily, as if to say I knew it.
“In any case, both of you should sit down. You need to rest.”
“Hic, sniff…”
“Come on, Saintess. Let’s sit over there together.”
Elsie gently guided Lynette to the sofa, soothing her.
Then she trotted back to Eclipse and looked up at him.
“Your Grace, you too.”
Those steady, earnest eyes left him no choice.
Eclipse obeyed and sat down.
Pleased, Elsie looked between the two siblings and said,
“Your Grace, if it’s alright… could you talk with the Saintess for a little while?”
This little witch had a strange power to guide people.
He still doubted her—but he also wanted to see what she would do.
As if bewitched, Eclipse nodded.
“As you wish.”
“Yes! Understood!”
Elsie brightened and crouched in front of Lynette, holding her hands.
“Saintess.”
Lynette blinked through her tears, staring at her.
“You want to talk with His Grace, don’t you?”
“…Yeah.”
Lynette nodded. Elsie gave her a gentle smile.
“Then first, you need to share your true feelings.”
“M-my true feelings?”
“Yes. For an honest conversation, that’s essential. For example—”
Elsie thought for a moment, then continued.
“Imagine someone kept prying into your heart, but never revealed their own. How would that make you feel?”
“…I’d want to smash everything. I’d probably snap at them to cut the act.”
A very Lynette answer.
And hearing it almost eased Eclipse’s headache a little.
Elsie’s earlier words echoed in his mind.
“The Saintess wants to talk with you, Your Grace. I think she wants both of you to open up and share what’s really in your hearts.”
But why was Elsie mediating like this?
Was it just kindness, wanting the siblings to reconcile?
Was that truly all?
No… she’s strangely persistent about it.
What was her real reason?
