BID Chapter 68

The dining room scene was no different from usual, but the atmosphere felt distinct with just Erhan filling the empty seat. Erhan occupied the spot where I always sat. As I hesitated, unable to approach easily, Mother beamed and pointed to the seat next to Erhan.

“You must be hungry. Come and sit.”

Although the three of them seemed to have already started eating, the portions remained nearly untouched. As soon as I took my seat, I immediately realized why the food had barely been consumed.

‘What’s with this atmosphere?’

The Duke and Erhan were simply eating in silence, but the air between them was extremely chilly.

I had always been curious. What on earth was the reason for their strained relationship? As someone who knew that the Duke had occasionally met and taught spells to Erhan while he was away from the mansion, I was puzzled. I thought they would have grown somewhat close since they met and frequently kept in touch.

‘No matter how bad their relationship is, can they really just eat like this without a word?’

Glancing at Mother, I noticed she was merely engrossed in her meal.

Erhan, who I thought would tease me about my disheveled hair like earlier, was the same. In the end, I also pressed my lips together and continued eating.

However, the stifling atmosphere made me feel like I would choke. What kind of meal is this? With my already lacking appetite, forcing myself to eat was a struggle. The salad seemed to never diminish no matter how much I ate. As I glared at the innocent salad and slyly rolled my eyes, I accidentally made direct eye contact with Erhan.

‘What’s so funny?’

When our eyes met, Erhan smirked. Unlike his slightly grinning eyes, his mouth wasn’t smiling at all. Flabbergasted, I slightly parted my lips. When Mother glanced at him, Erhan effortlessly reverted to an expressionless face and continued eating as if nothing had happened. Is he crazy…?

“It’s so wonderful to have everyone together!”

At that moment, Mother clapped her hands once, smiling brightly. Thanks to Mother’s girlish grin, the chilly atmosphere thawed a little.

“Erhan, it’s been so long. I’ve seen you at banquets, but we never had a proper chance to greet each other.”

“Me too. I’ve only admired you from afar, Mother, as you’re always popular. It’s delightful to share a meal together.”

“Yes, it feels quite special. I can’t believe you’ve already grown so much. Don’t you agree?”

The Duke slowly nodded. It felt like I could breathe a bit more freely, but that was it. Afterward, the conversation flow continued with Mother speaking and the Duke and Erhan responding. Mother occasionally addressed me, but only with a few casual remarks.

“Won’t you have some tea?”

“I’d love to join, but I need to unpack first. Please excuse me.”

After the meal, Erhan was the first to rise from his seat. Mother tried to stop him, but he had many tasks to attend to. After all, Erhan had started with a meal right after returning home after several years. Even though the servants would unpack his luggage, he would still be busy checking the arranged items.

“Well, there are plenty of days ahead. You’ll have a lot of work settling in.”

Mother readily yielded. While Mother expressed her concern to Erhan, the Duke silently observed him alone, as if studying him.

His gaze was peculiar. Why was he looking at his own son in such a manner?

Judging by the preparation of three teacups, Mother seemed intent on having tea with me. However, given the circumstances, I should probably decline…

I hadn’t finished tidying up my room since I had rushed out, and above all, I was worried about Zachary, whom I had crammed into the snake’s passage.

“Then, I’ll also…”

I cautiously pushed back my chair, gauging their reactions as I spoke.

A rather sharp gaze flew my way. Did Mother have something to say to me?

I had a feeling she wouldn’t let me go easily. The moment I sensed the inevitable fate of being dragged to have tea, someone tapped my arm.

Looking to the side with a puzzled expression, I saw Erhan. As our eyes met, his chilling gaze pierced through me. However, it was only for an instant. Erhan immediately spoke with a gentle tone.

“Oscar, could you help me out?”

Huh? I nearly stumbled in my seat.

I had never seen Erhan speak this way before. A friendly and kind tone, as if gently pleading. My mouth fell open in surprise, and Erhan made a pitiful face, as if he were truly in a bind.

“I have so much luggage that it seems difficult to handle alone…”

He sounded genuinely troubled.

I stared at Erhan with a dumbfounded expression before closing my mouth. Even if I went, I would just be a burden. Judging by his large build, Erhan could carry four items by himself while I struggled with one.

‘What kind of request is this?’

His suspicious expression and tone were more alarming than his attitude of asking for my help. I knew very well how fierce and unpredictable Erhan could be. Yet, in front of the Duke and his wife, Erhan appeared as a gentle and docile firstborn. It was so astonishing that I couldn’t utter a word. Mother gazed at us in surprise.

“Hmm?”

If Mother reacted that way, imagine how startled I was. As I blankly stared at Erhan as if I had encountered a ghost, Mother spoke with delight.

“You two still have a wonderful bond.”

Ah. The moment I heard those words, I had a realization.

With Mother being so delighted and the Duke watching, there was no way I could boldly declare that I wouldn’t help Erhan. As I merely smiled awkwardly, Erhan pointedly draped his arm over my shoulder.

“Of course. I returned to the mansion for Oscar’s sake in the first place.”

Despite the absurdity of his words, Mother happily clapped her hands, clearly pleased with our display of brotherly affection. What wouldn’t I do for Mother when she was so joyful? I also grinned and managed to speak.

“Yes. We’re clo-se.”

Trying to say something I didn’t mean, even my pronunciation faltered. Erhan, who was close to me, noticed and let out a small snort.

‘By the way, is it okay for us to touch like this now?’

Although the area of contact wasn’t extensive, Erhan readily grabbed my clothes with his bare hands, without even wearing gloves. Our skin brushed against each other slightly. Moreover, the distance between us was quite close, but unlike when we were younger, Erhan seemed unbothered.

Back then, he couldn’t endure even the briefest contact. How much effort had Erhan put into hiding his mysophobia in front of the Duke? Even after so much time had passed, the image of young Erhan was still vivid in my mind. Without realizing it, the old memories resurfaced, and I reflexively glanced at the Duke.

“…”

The Duke was still gazing at Erhan as before. However, I could tell. It wasn’t a simple gaze but an observant one.

“We’ll go up to help.”

It was like sitting on pins and needles, both here and there. It’s better to face the music head-on, so I thought it would be wiser to follow Erhan and try to have a conversation. There was no way he had genuinely returned to the mansion solely for my sake.

In the end, I bowed to Mother and the Duke, bidding them farewell, and followed Erhan.

As expected, Erhan’s beaming face changed as soon as we left the dining room. As I trailed behind Erhan, who was walking ahead with a coldly expressionless face, I spotted a box placed in the corridor.

‘Is this luggage?’

Since it wasn’t there before, it seemed to be something Erhan had brought. Glancing around, I noticed the servants were still busily moving about. With a sigh, I lifted the box, gauging their reactions.

‘Oh, it’s lighter than I expected.’

I determined it was manageable to carry. However, lifting and moving were entirely different matters.

As I hurriedly followed behind Erhan with the box in my arms, my breathing unconsciously grew rough. I grunted as my breath caught in my throat.

It’s quite heavy, I thought as I walked. At that moment, Erhan abruptly spun around.

“…?”

Since I was hugging the luggage, I barely managed to stop, blankly staring at Erhan. He suddenly strode toward me with an irritated tone.

“Why are you carrying this?”

I flinched. The earlier gentle tone was gone, replaced by an angry voice.

“Well, you asked me to help move the luggage…”

“That’s what I’m saying. Why are you doing it?”

Did I really do something wrong? Puzzled as to why he was speaking so irritably, I looked at Erhan with a dumbfounded expression. He soon let out a deep sigh and reached out to me. His forcefulness made me shrink back.

‘Is he angry because I touched his luggage?’

I felt a bit wronged. He asked for my help, so I merely assisted him. What does he expect me to do if he asks why I’m doing it?

“I was just helping because you asked me to…”

As I attempted to explain, the luggage I was holding suddenly vanished. Surprisingly, Erhan had snatched it from me and was now carrying it himself. He looked me up and down, clicked his tongue, and then roughly set the box on the floor as if throwing it.

The rough movement caused a clattering sound from inside the box as items collided. If there had been any glass objects inside, they would have surely shattered.

‘…Is he crazy?’