The teasing smile drained from Adrian's face immediately.
His expression froze, eyes wide, breath caught as he stared directly at Eleanor.
What?
The single word echoed through his mind, dull and heavy, ringing louder than anything she'd said out loud.
Eleanor closed her book with deliberate calm, setting it aside. It seemed reading no longer interested her today, she had found something far more entertaining. She rested her chin subtly on her hand, her eyes locked on Adrian with a knowing, dangerous softness.
"You think I wouldn't notice?"
she asked with frightening ease.
Adrian didn't answer.
Inside his mind, thoughts were colliding with each other
Every word Eleanor had spoken replayed sharply, slicing a little deeper each time.
He remained silent, fighting the rising chaos in his chest.
"You know what would happen if Father finds out," Eleanor continued
"You know the rules, right?"
Adrian's fingers tightened at his sides.
He hesitated, swallowing hard as new worries spun into existence.
How does she know?
"Ellie…" he finally managed, his voice low, fraying with caution.
"Don't worry," Eleanor interrupted lightly. "I won't spill a single drop of tea."
Her reassurance was nothing like comfort, if anything, it was more unnerving.
Her eyes glinted with amusement, a kind of power that came from knowing a secret she had no intention of using yet.
"I don't have interest in what you do," she added. "Nor would it benefit me to interfere."
Adrian parted his lips, closed them, then opened them again, unable to find steady ground in this conversation.
"I was just… playing with the peasants," he said stiffly.
"Were you?"
Eleanor tilted her head, her smile widening, the smile of a cat who had cornered something small and trembling.
"Big brother," she continued softly, "you don't have to be concerned."
Then she leaned back slightly, her voice dropping into a deceptively sweet whisper:
"After all… I'm still just your l i t t l e s i s t e r."
Her gentle, elegant smile never wavered
Adrian knew that Eleanor had him pinned completely.
…
Adrian knew his sister meant it. Eleanor wouldn't spill anything. She wouldn't turn him in.
She had always been on his side.
They were siblings who had grown together in the same cage, under the same roof, shaped by the same world.
And Eleanor, despite her terrifying calm, wasn't someone who would expose him for entertainment.
Not even if it benefit her.
That wasn't her nature.
But her reassurance didn't soothe him.
Not because he doubted his sister. Not because of her teasing
The unease twisted inside him
Maybe this secret of his wasn't a secret after all.
"…Ellie," Adrian said quietly, "can you not tell Charles about this?"
"Why would I tell him?" she asked, smiling faintly.
"Even if he asks," Adrian pressed, his voice firm, "don't tell him."
That was when Eleanor finally took a good look at him.
The seriousness in his eyes.
The tight tension in his shoulders.
It surprised her.
Adrian rarely showed strong emotion
Right now he was determined.
Eleanor blinked once, considering it.
Then she gave a small, elegant shrug.
"I'm just a bookworm of the manor," she said softly, raising both hands in a gesture of innocence before letting them rest gently in her lap.
Her tone was light and her smile was gentle.
But both siblings knew she saw far more than she ever admitted.
The tension in the room grew too heavy for Adrian to sit still.
He stood up abruptly, the legs of the sofa creaking under the shift. He walked toward the door, pausing only once to glance back at Eleanor.
"…Thank you" he said.
Eleanor didn't lift her head.
She simply smiled, waving her hand lazily, playfully, her eyes hidden beneath her lashes.
Adrian stepped out of the room.
Just as the door was about to close, Eleanor's voice drifted after him, sweet and chilling all at once:
"Have fun."
The door shut with a quiet click, leaving Eleanor behind.
Her gentle smile lingered even in Adrian's mind as he stood frozen in the corridor.
He remained motionless there for a long moment
thoughts spiraling too quickly to catch.
Then, without warning, he began to walk.
Faster and faster
His footsteps echoed sharply against the marble floor, each step quicker than the last, until he disappeared entirely from the hallway's view.
As Adrian hurried down the corridor, his steps sharp, his thoughts louder than the echoing marble, he failed to notice the quiet figure leaning against the corner wall.
Charles stood there in the shadows, arms loosely crossed, gaze following Adrian with calm, red unreadable eyes glowing in the dark.
***
The next day, Adrian did not come to visit Irene.
She waited by the shack for a while, glancing toward the forest path from time to time, but he never appeared. Eventually, she decided to head out to collect flowers again. A new basket hung from her arm, Carlo had woven for her the night before.
But misfortune always followed her like a shadow.
Lost in thought, Irene wasn't watching where she was walking. She bumped hard into something, or someone, and fell backwards, the basket tumbling from her hands. Few flowers scattered across the dirt.
She blinked up, startled.
It wasn't one child.
It was many.
A whole group of village kids stood around her, each of their faces shifting from surprise… to recognition.
"Misfortune! Look who it is!" one shouted, loud enough for the entire street to hear.
Irene didn't respond.
She kept her eyes lowered, heart beating uncomfortably as she picked up the flowers. She just wanted to gather them quickly and leave. Before things get worse.
But then a voice she recognized all too well cut through the noise.
"Witch. I haven't seen you lately."
Her stomach dropped.
Brian.
She hated him most.
And he hated her just as much.
Brian, pale yellow hair and sharp tongue, always acted like he owned the village children. A little tyrant who saw Irene as his favorite target. The leader of the pack.
He stepped forward slowly, casting his shadow over her as she reached for a fallen flower.
Then he crushed it under his shoe.
Irene froze.
When she lifted her head, she met his gaze, hard, cold, staring down at her like she was dirt he had stepped on. The sunlight was behind him, turning his face into a dark silhouette. All she could see were his eyes.
The sky disappeared behind his shadow.