The Affairs of Those Noble Brothers Chapter 21

Even so, what did it mean that Logan had waited for me? To think that he had waited aimlessly until I came was hard to imagine, because Logan is such a busy man. Perhaps he had been given a long vacation? Was that why he was dressed in casual clothes? He might even have been betting with his subordinates on whether he himself, having once tasted the hotel, would come again or not. Employing every ounce of imagination to escape reality, Irodel was stared at silently by Logan. It was a cautious gaze, as if trying to measure something that could not be measured.

“Please answer me. I’m so tired and anxious right now that I don’t know what’s what. No, first of all, can’t you prepare some clothes for me? I came out in such a hurry that my clothes—ah, why I came out in such a hurry is….”

Overcome by the pressure, Irodel, who had been rambling incoherently, clamped his mouth shut. No matter what, he could not tell his brother about that incident. Was it only his brother? He could not possibly tell his parents, the servants, the soldiers guarding his room, or even a stranger passing by on the street. Living in a mansion where there were no secrets, but this one matter, no matter what happened, he had to carry alone to the grave.

“Clothes, never mind the clothes. Why are those people here? That’s too many to attend to me. Even just for a moment, please tell them to leave. I feel uneasy….”

“Irodel.”

As it had been sometime before, it was a calm and quiet call. Irodel, who had been chattering without even knowing what he was saying, looked at Logan. Logan gently stroked Irodel’s head as if to tell him to calm down.

“They cannot make you uneasy. Rather, they are the ones who can lose their heads at a single word from you, so they are probably more uneasy. How about it, shall I do that for you?”

What did losing one’s head mean? Did it mean being fired? That must be it. What else could it be? Everything sounded strange because he himself was feeling needlessly anxious. Irodel tried to compose himself and took a deep breath. It was not much use. Suddenly, Logan, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, gestured to one of his subordinates standing rigidly at attention.

“Brother!?”

Surely, that man’s head… Startled, Irodel sprang up, quickly gathering the sheet that was slipping down. Seeing Irodel like that, Logan let out a small, amused laugh.

“Calm down. Unless you ask me to, I don’t do pointless things.”

“B-but….”

“Why are you so anxious?”

That, even he himself did not know. It was just that his brain and his skin tingled as if an unknown danger lurked nearby. Even though his brother was smiling more gently than usual and his subordinates were said to pose no threat to him, he wanted to run away immediately.

Perhaps the shock of nearly being assaulted and confined by Tibane had not yet faded. Yes, that must be it. Though he had managed to escape well enough, anyone would find it hard to keep their composure after their twin brother did such a thing to them. Damn barbarian brat. The one who should lose his head was that brat.

While Irodel gritted his teeth inwardly, Logan’s subordinate brought a glass of water. It was just as he handed the glass to Logan. Irodel blinked slowly. It was an act of trying to process what he had just seen. Logan’s subordinate had a expressionless face and precise movements, but his hand trembled slightly. What he had seen was the fear detected in that tremor.

“Drink.”

“…”

Irodel clutched the sheet covering his body like a shield and looked around. Logan, offering him the glass he had received, and his subordinates, standing firmly facing forward without even glancing this way, were both unfamiliar and yet familiar sights. He had felt this kind of feeling before. It was in front of that large glass window that occupied one entire wall. When Logan was wiping his rain-soaked body, he had felt that Logan was unfamiliar yet familiar. Why? Logan had never wiped his body before that.

“Irodel.”

Irodel, who had been gazing at the hazy view beyond the window, looked at Logan once more and hesitantly took the glass. He held it without daring to put it to his lips, but he could intuitively sense that drinking this would resolve these strangely felt situations.

Could he trust his brother? Such a thought crossed his mind about someone he had never doubted even once. But if he could not trust his family, whom could he trust? He had no friends, no acquaintances, no mentor to rely on—things that others took for granted. He had had a tutor, but after the trouble with Tibane, they had stopped hiring one. Instead, he had pestered his mother to let him attend the academy, but everyone there only avoided him. His brother, his parents, and even his younger brother were all so excessively superior that they only instilled feelings of inferiority, and on top of that, he had been severely dealt with by that younger brother, but still, he had only his family.

It was needless anxiety. Thinking about it, from the day he briefly attended the academy up to today, he had been unusually exhausted. Yes, that was it. Irodel shut his eyes tight and gulped down the water. Nothing happened. Naturally. It was just water. Feeling deflated, the strength left his hand holding the glass. Logan, who had been observing Irodel for a moment as if studying him, took the empty glass and handed it to his subordinate. Then he lightly pressed on Irodel’s shoulder as if telling him to lie down. Irodel obediently lay down in place and looked up at Logan.

“You look tired.”

“I am tired.”

“What happened?”

Many things had happened. The day he came here and was made to wear a piercing of unknown purpose, Tibane suddenly went mad and tried to pull down his pants. Come to think of it, that happened first. What was it he said? Something about an ointment containing omega pheromones. As always, it was probably a ploy to torment him over some trivial fault. Then Orbon’s glass bottle broke and gave off a strange smell, and a major incident occurred. No, it seemed that he was the only one who thought of it as an incident. The moment Tibane heard the word ‘incident,’ his eyes rolled back and he tried to confine him, so he fled in fright. And then he met Logan. It was one exhausting thing after another.

“Hmm, I’ll have to change the question. What did Tibane do to you?”

“He tried to assault me.”

A sigh came from somewhere. When Irodel stared blankly at Logan’s subordinates, Logan took Irodel’s chin and gently turned it.

“I had hoped for a little crack… but I didn’t think that brat would go that far. How did it happen?”

“A glass bottle broke.”

“A glass bottle?”

“It was Orbon’s, and I stole it.”

It was embarrassing to confess to his brother that he had stolen something. He really must stop drinking and causing trouble. But why was he talking about this? He hadn’t even drunk anything, yet his head felt foggy and he felt good, as if drunk. Right now, he felt like he could talk about anything cheerfully.

“The glass bottle looked like this. Small, brown, and the stuff inside was supposed to be a poison that brings down alphas. So I was curious and stole it, I’m sorry….”

Irodel raised his hand and explained what the bottle looked like. Since the words were flowing easily, he intended to unburden all the guilt he had been holding in his heart. Logan, smiling as he watched Irodel mumbling his confession like a penitent, signaled to his subordinate with his eyes.

“Where is Orbon?”

“He is waiting below. Shall I bring him?”

“Bring him.”

Logan’s subordinate bowed his head and left the room. There were still many subordinates remaining in the room, but since the one who had just left was the one he often saw, the room felt a little empty without him. He wished that man would continue to assist his brother well. Where did he go? Irodel looked around the room, searching for the missing man.

“What’s the matter?”

“Where did that man go?”

“Who?”

“Your subordinate, brother.”

“I wonder.”

“What is that man’s name?”

Logan laughed lowly. His blue-glowing eyes narrowed slightly. Did he himself have such pretty eyes too? Were they as beautiful as that, yet sharp and cold enough to cut if touched?…

“That’s not for you to worry about.”

“Yes….”

He knew. Even while knowing that he could not enter the scope of everything shared among his family, he was foolish to keep trying to reach out. It was foolish for an island to keep wishing, knowing it could not see into the depths of the sea. Yet he could not give up his foolishness because he had only them. Because, like the young Tibane of those days, he was afraid of being abandoned by his brother, by his family.

“What should I do.”

Suddenly, Logan murmured as if to himself. Irodel blinked slowly.