Left alone in the annex, Shioana leaned against the wall. Eli poured out every curse imaginable and had Joseph lock the door. It felt as though all hope vanished the moment the basement door closed.
"Why am I going through this again?"
She did almost everything Eli told her to do, but as always, no kind words came in return. Far from being praised, she ended up trapped like this.
"I didn't want to go from the start."
Shioana, exhausted in body and mind from her trip to Highbell, ran her hand over her face. A chilling wind seeped in through the crack in the door, creating a strange noise.
Hwiiing.
The gloomy space said to be haunted by ghosts didn't scare her at all now. She was only afraid of not being able to meet that one person, him.
"... Etienne."
She had intended to go find him as soon as she got out of the carriage, but what a mess she was in. As Shioana ran her fingers through her tangled hair, the area under her eyes immediately felt hot.
"What difference does crying make?"
Shioana rubbed her eyes vigorously with the back of her hand, sprang to her feet, and clutched the bars leading to the semi-basement. She wanted to get out of here and meet Etienne somehow. However, even as she shook the bars until the veins beneath her thin hand bulged, they wouldn't budge, leaving only rusty debris behind.
"If I get out this time, I won't wait anymore."
It would not be possible to change her brother's mind even if the sun rose in the west.
'Because I hadn't even received Martha's understanding.'
Only then did Shioana realize that she had been foolishly optimistic. Trapped in a small well called Regbell, she thought that was the whole world.
She believed Count Noah's visible kindness was genuine, and she thought that if she tried, her brother and father would eventually acknowledge her.
"I wanted to believe that."
Then, remembering that there was a secret passage under the bed, she bent down, holding the candlestick. She couldn't just keep suffering forever. Even if she were caught and beaten, Shioana had to meet Etienne right now.
"...What? I can't see anything."
She crawled into a dusty corner and shone the candle, but she saw nothing but the wall. She heard the sound of a mouse scurrying past her, followed by a strange squeaking noise.
"What is that sound?"
Only then did the past terror of being trapped in the basement of the annex surge in all at once.
"...Gasp."
Hadn't they said beasts sometimes came and went from the annex?
Shioana deliberately struck the floor with a candlestick to threaten the unseen opponent. However, the strange noise only grew louder.
Just as the tension reached its peak, a hand sprang out from inside the wall. Startled, Shioana hurriedly stood outside the bed and blocked the way with a candlestick.
The person who got out of bed stood in front of her and swept back their disheveled hair.
"Is it a candlestick again?"
"...E, Etienne."
At his voice, Shioana's feet sank deep into the mud, and she remembered the night a tree was struck by lightning and burned. Even then, she had clutched the candlestick tightly to protect herself.
Danggeurang.
Shioana, having dropped the candlestick just as it was, only opened her mouth.
'I feel stupid.'
She had so much she wanted to say when she met Etienne, but when she actually saw him, she was speechless.
"This is dangerous, Miss."
Etienne gently set the candlestick lying on the floor upright on the table and approached her. He didn't know why she had gotten smaller than when he last saw her.
Beneath the stained blue dress, her fair, slender neck and the face he had longed to see came into view one after another. Dried tear marks were clearly visible on her cheek, as if she had been crying.
Etienne frowned briefly because he did not like that.
"I left like that without saying a word..."
Shioana felt ashamed, so she stopped speaking and bit her lip. If she had been in this situation, it would have been difficult for her to remain so calm.
"You're going to bleed if you keep doing that."
Etienne reached out and gently stroked her lips. At the cold touch of his fingers, Shioana lifted her head straight.
"There is no need to look apologetic. I am not angry at all."
When he learned that Shioana had left for Highbell without saying goodbye, he was not disappointed at all. Her confession of love was sincere, so there was no reason to waver.
"Surely you haven't changed your mind?"
As the fingers that had been caressing her lips slowly cupped Shioana's cheek, she slowly approached him and hugged him. A refreshing scent that she had longed for wafted from Etienne.
Shioana took a deep breath, peeked her head up, and looked up at his chin.
"That can't be true."
Whenever she closed her eyes, Etienne's delicate face came to mind, and her heart pounded. Neither the sculptural scenery of Highbell's garden nor Madame Veil's luxurious bedroom evoked any emotion in her.
Standing on tiptoes, Shioana tucked the bangs covering his eyes to the side of his ear. Beneath his smooth forehead, his lowered eyelashes swayed elegantly.
Shioana's face was entirely reflected in his red eyes, which looked as if they were set with rubies.
"Etienne, you shouldn't come here."
As soon as she saw her reflected in Etienne's eyes, she snapped back to reality.
Overwhelmed by anxiety, Shioana trusted her heart tightly. If her brother found out the two of them were together, Etienne would not be safe.
'As soon as I inherit Regbell, I'm going to beat that bastard up first.'
This will be a good excuse for Eli, who habitually says he will get rid of Etienne.
"... Miss."
He lightly wrapped his fist around Shioana's, bent down, and looked into her eyes.
"I am not going anywhere."
“But my brother..."
“I will be by your side.”
"...Ah."
At Etienne's low voice, she bit her lip tightly again. Otherwise, she felt as though she would look pathetic. It was a remark she never expected to hear from anyone in her life.
"Etienne, I missed you."
In the end, what slipped out of her mouth were the words she had been muttering to herself the entire time they were apart. Just as she was about to hang her head low, Etienne held her chin with one hand and lightly kissed her.
"Didn't I tell you that if you do that to your lips, they will bleed?"
"E, Etienne."
Maybe it was because it was the first time they were kissing outside of a barn, but she felt strange.
“Did you not like it?”
"No, that's not it...
There was no way she didn't like it.
In fact, it was to the point where she felt regret that their lips parted so quickly. As Shioana, her face flushing bright red, tried to turn her head away, he smiled very quietly.
"Alone every night while apart."
Etienne whispered, without withdrawing his hand that was still fiddling with her chin.
"...What?"
"I soothed my loneliness by thinking of you, young lady."
It was a meaningless remark, but for some reason, her heart was pounding hard.
"So what! I used to stand by the window every night, staring in Regbell's direction for a long time, too."
As Shioana spoke forcefully, he grabbed her shoulders tightly.
"Did you think of me being here?"
“Then guess who?”
"It would have been better not to think about it."
Shioana flared up at his words, which left a strangely lingering impression. Etienne had a bit of a bad habit of speaking; he kept stopping mid-sentence and saying things she couldn't understand. Why was he acting like such an adult when there was only a one-year age difference?
He doesn't know if she does. After all, it's been a long time since he turned adult.
"Why?"
"I don't think I can say any more.'
"...What?"
Etienne, with his fine white eyes, gently stroked her hair. She raised her eyebrows because Etienne was clearly treating her like a child.
"Didn't I tell you not to mess around? Tell me right now what you mean!"
"Miss, I am not a clergyman."
Etienne wore a slightly embarrassed expression as he ran his hand over his reddened eyes.
"Do I look like a little kid to you?"
"... That."
When Shioana asked boldly, he was left speechless this time. Slowly stroking Etienne's chest, she opened her mouth.
"Do you kiss a child?"
"... Miss."
Although she possessed an innocent appearance, Shioana did not look childish at all. Her slender waist, full breasts, and long, delicate neckline were unmistakably those of a woman.
As Etienne, who had been pushed against the wall, swallowed hard, she reached out and fumbled at his neck.
"Etienne, you know, I want to kiss you longer, and I want to touch your body like this."
"...Ha."
Etienne's face flushed bright red as he caught the breath he had been holding. Even though it was clear he didn't know what it meant, his desire boiled over in an instant at that clumsy whisper.
“S-stop it.”
It was no longer dangerous.
The moment he embraced Shioana's soft body. The moment he lusted after her moist lips—no, just thinking of her made his body burn. As Etienne squeezed his eyes shut, she pressed her body against him tightly.
"Why do I have to quit..."
As she reached her fingers toward his chest through the gap in his open shirt, Etienne stopped Shioana's hand.
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