BID Chapter 72

I gaped in shock.

Erhan, who seemed like the type to never lift a finger for bothersome tasks, had readily volunteered to tutor me?

As I stood there, unable to react out of sheer astonishment, Erhan flashed me a smile. It was a completely different smile from the somewhat mischievous one he had worn earlier. A gentle, kind smile that anyone would recognize. Upon witnessing that smile, Mother beamed.

“I’m truly grateful. I always worried that Oscar’s thinking might become rigid from being isolated for so long. But now, thanks to my dependable eldest son, I can worry less.”

“Not at all. It’s only natural that I help.”

Me, learning from Erhan? What kind of bizarre situation was this?

It wasn’t as if Erhan and I harbored particularly negative feelings towards each other. I wanted to become closer to him, and he didn’t constantly make my life miserable.

However, that was a separate matter from the unfathomable prospect of us studying together in harmony.

“Duke, no.”

I was so flustered that I even stumbled over the form of address. I hastily spoke up.

“Father, Mother. I’m fine, really.”

Moreover, I was already struggling to find enough time for my sorcery studies, and now they wanted me to receive tutoring from Erhan? As if I had nothing else to do. I had to care for Zachary and make occasional appearances at social gatherings.

I had to prevent this tutoring arrangement at all costs.

“I can’t impose on you like this. His Highness is busy, and for me to presume…”

“Oscar.”

I had barely trailed off when Erhan, who had sharply cut off my words, stared at me intently. Only then did I look directly at him. It was just a tea time within the mansion. Even though it was an informal gathering with family, his appearance was flawless.

His neatly combed hair and well-groomed attire were impeccable. Despite his dark clothing, Erhan possessed a striking presence. With his handsome face, he gazed at me quietly before abruptly asking, “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

…Ah, thank goodness I wasn’t drinking tea at that moment.

Otherwise, I would have undoubtedly choked and coughed like a madman.

‘Uncomfortable, you ask?’

He was asking the obvious. If Erhan and I had continuously resided in the same mansion, we might have become close by now. However, Erhan had been away from the mansion for a long time. Moreover, wasn’t he the type to act extremely friendly one moment and then firmly draw the line and push me away the next?

“No… That’s not it, but I don’t want to impose on you unnecessarily.”

Unlike my true feelings of intense discomfort and reluctance to study with him, my well-socialized mouth automatically spat out a plausible excuse. If I showed a poor relationship with Erhan in front of Mother, she would undoubtedly worry…

‘I’m scared.’

Above all, I was afraid that if I answered honestly about my discomfort, I wouldn’t be able to handle Erhan’s anger.

“Then, do you perhaps dislike me?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then what’s the problem? I’ll teach you well, okay?”

He coaxed me gently.

…I was going crazy. Erhan was now deliberately putting on a pitiful act. Just look at that expression. He wore a bitter look, as if I had just rejected his romantic advances. It was quite a spectacle. I was convinced that I had fallen into a trap.

‘What should I do?’

If only I were genuinely busy with vigorous social activities, I could have easily refused. But as it happened, I had recently been locking myself in my room, using studying as an excuse because of Zachary, so I had no pretext to block this proposal.

Seeing Mother’s eager eyes and Erhan’s machinations, making it impossible to refuse, I felt even more trapped. If I made a wrong move, I would be reduced to a bad younger brother who made his older brother uncomfortable and disliked him.

“…Alright. I’ll be in your care.”

“Oh my, how wonderful!”

Mother clapped her hands in delight, while Erhan just kept smiling with an inscrutable, enigmatic expression. And the Duke simply observed the entire situation quietly, as if spectating.

No, to be precise, he was intently watching his son, Erhan. As if carefully observing Erhan’s every action.

‘I’m going crazy…’

A rolling stone that should have been content to stay tucked away in a corner was now in a situation where it would receive teachings from a deeply rooted stone.

The problem was that this deeply rooted stone was none other than the enigmatic Erhan.

I closed my eyes tightly as I continued to look at Erhan, who was still smiling deeply.

I just wanted to quit being the second son of the Serpentine family.

Holing up in my room, saving Zachary, and living a peaceful life.

‘It’s so difficult.’

I gulped down the tea while inwardly weeping. Today, the tea tasted particularly bitter.

***

‘Was it just empty words?’

Two days passed.

Contrary to my expectation that Erhan would barge in at any moment to start tutoring me, he was nowhere to be seen within the mansion.

I spent another quiet day, feeling both perplexed and secretly relieved. I rolled up the bandage I was holding for Zachary.

The mouths on the bandage let out a belch. Satisfied from having a hearty meal of blood, they prepared to fall asleep. After carefully storing the rolled-up bandage in a box and placing it deep in the corner, I slowly approached Zachary’s side.

“You’re not eating properly, but at least you’re not losing weight. That’s a relief.”

It had already been two days since the tea time with Erhan. Today marked over a week since Zachary had lost consciousness.

During that time, I had been observing Erhan. He showed no signs of going out anywhere; he just stayed cooped up in his room. Of course, he was occasionally seen going to the library, but that was it. Thanks to Erhan’s inactivity, I could somewhat relax my heightened vigilance and focus on caring for Zachary.

‘I’ll hide it and dispose of it tomorrow.’

The meals I fed Zachary were nothing more than thin porridge. When feeding someone who was asleep, porridge-like dishes that could be poured in were the only options.

However, despite only being fed porridge, Zachary didn’t become emaciated, and his body showed no abnormalities. It was probably due to the holy power circulating within him.

‘It’s so hard to find records about holy power.’

Sorcery and holy power could be considered opposite forces. However, the unfortunate thing was that apart from that fact, there was no additional information I could properly uncover. The Holy Empire not only antagonized our family but was always shrouded in mystery. As a result, information about holy power was extremely limited. It wasn’t as if I was well-versed in the original story either.

“Wake up soon.”

Sighing, I rested my chin on Zachary’s shoulder and gazed at his neat lips and nose.

“I’m starting to get scared too…”

Even after searching through all the records, I couldn’t find any cases of someone remaining asleep for such a long time. Of course, I might find something if I searched the Duke’s study further, but these days, the Duke spent most of his time at the mansion, so I couldn’t rashly make a move.

‘Should I really find a doctor to examine him?’

I was sighing deeply, feeling worried.

Knock, knock! Someone was knocking on the door. I froze, having been tending to Zachary from the serpent’s passage while no one was expected to visit at this hour.

When I remained stiff and silent, the knocking continued. The handle rattled as if someone was trying to force the door open. I hurriedly put Zachary back into the serpent’s passage and put away all the sorcery books and tools.

‘Is it Mother?’

Inside the mansion, the only people who would knock on my door were Mother and the Duke. Recently, I had been locking the door at night and not coming out, claiming to be dedicating myself to studying because of Zachary. For someone to seek me out at this late hour, they must have something urgent to say…

‘Wait a moment.’

I halted my steps, just about to open the door. Knock, knock, knock, the visitor at the door was still knocking. When Mother came to my room, she would knock out of habit but stop after a few times. As for the Duke…

‘Six times.’

He always knocked six times out of habit and waited for me. So the person continuously knocking on the door was neither the Duke nor Mother. The moment I finally sensed who the other party was…

“Oscar. Open the door.”

The person on the other side of the door spoke. As expected, it was Erhan.

I flinched at the low voice and glanced at the clock. It was already close to midnight.

There was no reason for him to visit at such a late hour, so why did he suddenly come?

‘Could he have noticed something?’

I had done my best to conceal Zachary’s presence. However, Erhan was exceptionally sharp, so he might have sensed that something was amiss.

I hastily looked around in a fluster. Anything that could be deemed suspicious was well-hidden in corners out of sight. But that wasn’t enough. I placed a large potted plant at the entrance of the serpent’s passage and meticulously tidied up any spots that looked even slightly awkward…

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

Erhan was impatient. He knocked so frantically that it seemed like the door might accidentally swing open at any moment. Finally, after finishing the cleanup as quickly as possible, I took a deep breath and opened the door. The door creaked open with an unpleasant sound. As soon as the door opened, a large hand grabbed it, as if it had been waiting.

“Why are you here at this hour?”

Moreover, he seemed to have just finished bathing, as his attire was more relaxed than usual. With buttons undone down to his chest and damp hair, he exuded a sensual aura, as if he were about to meet a lover. The distinctively artificial sweet scent emanating from his body clung to my nose. I gaped in surprise at his unexpected appearance.

“Ah, no matter how urgent your business is… Isn’t it too late?”

More than the sudden visit, Erhan’s appearance was even more startling. He was a truly masculine man. Other nobles would surely agree. Standing guard at the door, Erhan looked as strong and beautiful as a deity from mythology.

I tried to avert my gaze by lowering my head, but he followed my line of sight. Suddenly, he bent his upper body, bringing his face right in front of mine.

What kind of crazy behavior was this in the middle of the night?

As I stood frozen in bewilderment, Erhan stared at me intently before pulling out something he had been hiding behind his back. His demeanor was so fierce that I thought he might draw a weapon. It made me instinctively hunch my shoulders, but…

‘Books?’

Erhan was holding two books in his hand.

The title, “The Flow of Capital in the Kingdom of Solaris and Its Relationship with Noble Families,” was handwritten on the books. They looked crudely made, as if they had been personally bound. More than the appearance of the books, the neat handwriting of the title caught my attention first.

Erhan lightly tapped the bridge of my nose with his fingertip and said, “Aren’t you going to study?”