Honestly, Elias had been feeling waves of hot and cold hitting him from behind at the same time for a while now.
At first he chalked it up to just not feeling well, but after a bit, the sensation only grew stronger, twisting into something that felt a lot more like killing intent stabbing straight into his spine.
He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but if someone was standing this close behind him, there were really only two people it could be, Evelyn and Elysia.
Sure, there was a chance someone here had more power than the rest of the room, but from what Elias had already scoped out earlier, most of the kids around him sat somewhere between E and D rank, with the strongest topping out around C.
‘You owe Lady Seraphina big time, Lucien.’
With that, Elias turned around and walked back behind Evelyn and Elysia, who’d already started to settle down.
“Big Sis… I want to rip that kid’s tongue out…”
“Fufu~ don’t go overboard, Elysia. Just pull out a few of his fingernails and teeth, that’s enough.”
“In that case, I want to pluck his eyelashes out one by one.”
“Goodness, you’re so clever~”
Elias immediately shoved any thought of “settling down” straight out of his head.
He pressed his palms together in front of his chest and bowed his head slightly.
‘I’m wishing you nothing but the best, Lucien.’
Seraphina made her way toward the staircase on the side of the room and climbed up to the second floor, stopping near the railing where every guest below could still see her clearly.
The room’s attention gradually shifted toward her, settling the noise down a notch, and Seraphina gave a small smile before speaking up.
“Thank you all for taking the time to come to this party tonight. I truly appreciate every one of you being here, especially those of you who traveled quite a distance to make it. So tonight, don’t worry too much about anything serious. Enjoy the food, the drinks, the music, and the time you get to spend with the people around you. Please, have fun and enjoy the celebration.”
With that, Seraphina raised her glass slightly before lowering it again.
A few of the guests followed suit, raising their own glasses in a small toast, and the party slowly picked back up around the room.
The music started playing again, and a handful of couples began drifting toward the dance floor at the center of the hall.
Seraphina came back down from the second floor and made her way through the crowd, eventually reaching Evelyn, Elysia, and Elias, who were standing not far from the dance floor.
“Good evening, Lady Evelyn, Lady Elysia. Thank you both for coming to my coming-of-age ceremony. Are you enjoying the party?”
Evelyn smiled and offered a small bow.
“Congratulations on your coming of age, Lady Seraphina. I hope today marks a wonderful new beginning for you.”
“Congratulations on your coming of age, Lady Seraphina,” Elysia added, keeping it short.
Elias, standing beside them, bowed his head slightly as well.
“Congratulations on your coming of age too, Lady Seraphina. I hope you enjoy tonight.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you all could make it.”
Seraphina studied Elias for a moment before asking.
“If I’m not mistaken, you’re Elias Veyron, right? I heard you’re working as the Caretaker for Evelyn and Elysia now.”
Elias’s brow furrowed slightly before he answered her question.
‘Wait, is this that Event where a commoner gets saved by someone, and that debt of gratitude ends up turning him into a Villain?
Feeling like he owes that person everything, the commoner ends up following them and eventually becomes a Villain himself.
Am I about to become a Villain?
Not gonna lie, that would actually be pretty cool.’
“That’s right, Lady Seraphina. I just started this job not too long ago.”
“How’s it been, taking care of those two? Doesn’t exactly sound like an easy job.”
Elias glanced quickly at Evelyn and Elysia before answering with about as much caution as humanly possible.
“So far, it’s been going fine. They’re really not that difficult to take care of.”
That was a flat-out lie, of course.
There was no way Elias was going to admit how genuinely hard it’d been, not if he wanted to keep both of them from getting annoyed.
The moment they heard that answer, Evelyn and Elysia both turned to look at him, but Elias just kept his small smile in place, acting like he hadn’t noticed their stares at all.
Seraphina let out a light laugh.
“I see. I actually figured you’d have a rough time adjusting to them.”
“Elias, don’t listen to a word this girl says. She’s got a mouth like a snake.”
At Elysia’s comment, Seraphina immediately clutched her chest and pulled out a handkerchief to dab at her very fake tears.
“Oh, goodness~ Elysia… You’ve wounded my poor little heart. How could a graceful, gorgeous girl like me possibly have a mouth like a snake? Evelyn, you agree with me, right?”
Evelyn just smiled, touching her cheek with one hand.
“Hmm~ how should I put this? Since Elysia and I share one soul, one heart, I’d have to agree completely with my sister.”
“W-what? This is so unfair! You two are being way too harsh on a poor, delicate girl like me. Huhu~”
“Could you please not do this every single time we meet?”
“Goodness, you’re getting cuter and cuter no matter how pretty your dress is, Seraphina.”
Evelyn reached out and pinched Seraphina’s cheek with a light laugh, and Seraphina just giggled without even trying to pull away.
Elysia, meanwhile, crossed her arms over her chest and watched the two of them with a completely flat expression.
She was way too used to Seraphina’s antics to take any of it seriously anymore.
“Don’t spoil her too much, Big Sis.”
“Fufu~ isn’t she just adorable like this, though?”
“Hmph…”
Elysia looked away with a small sigh, while Seraphina just smiled with obvious satisfaction, like she’d just won some tiny argument between them.
After that, the conversation between Seraphina and the two sisters drifted into lighter topics, the party, their everyday lives, and other small talk.
Elias, still standing beside them, slowly realized he wasn’t exactly needed in the conversation anymore.
‘Time to go hunting…’
He glanced left and right before slowly backing away.
With their attention still locked on the conversation, Elias took the chance to slip off and head toward the long table lined with food and drinks.
Once he got there, he grabbed a plate and loaded it up with whatever looked good, then picked up a glass of something to drink before settling into a spot along the wall that still gave him a clear view of the dance floor.
He started eating at a relaxed pace, watching the young nobles twirling around the center of the room.
Elias just enjoyed his food and drink, taking it all in from a distance.
‘Shame it’s not wine.
Probably because some of these kids haven’t had their coming-of-age party yet.’
*SIGH~
“What’s even fun about dancing? People are happier when their stomachs are full.”
“I don’t get it either. They’d rather bounce around holding hands with someone than sit down and let out a good loud burp while rubbing a full stomach.”
“Seriously, these noble kids are all weird.”
“Agreed. I’m the only normal one here.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re right about that.”
“…”
“…”
Both of them seemed to catch onto something at the same moment and fell quiet for a beat.
Elias glanced sideways and found the guy holding just as much food as him, already looking right back at Elias too.
For whatever reason, Elias felt an instant connection with the guy.
It was rare enough finding someone on the same wavelength as him, let alone at a party like this.
The young man walked closer and lifted a hand from his side.
Elias, catching the gesture, raised his own hand and returned the high five.
“Dude, I swear we’re long-lost brothers separated at birth.”
“That’s weird. I felt the exact same thing.”
“I’m Felix Warren. Second son of Count Warren.”
“You don’t need to ask my name, it’s not important and you won’t remember it anyway.”
“Oh my god… You get me completely, man. Now I’m even more convinced you’re my long-lost brother.”
Elias piled a bit more food onto his plate before speaking up again. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“Honestly, I’m just doing my job here while also being forced to show up.”
“What do you mean? Forced by Marquis Nocturne?”
“More like both of them, actually.”
“Hmm… If it’s such a burden, why not just turn them down?”
*COUGH!
COUGH!
Felix immediately handed his drink to Elias, who’d choked on his food.
“Ugh… Thanks. I don’t even know how to explain it. But let’s just say, if I turn them down, my head’s coming clean off my shoulders.”
“What the hell…”
Felix could only give a strained smile, not fully buying what Elias just said.
“I’ve come close to dying because of those two more times than I can count. And honestly, that’s gonna haunt my nightmares forever.”
Elias’s body trembled slightly, the hair on his neck standing on end just from remembering it all.
*BURP~
“Anyway, forget that. What do you think about all these people dancing?”
Elias propped his chin up with one hand, staring dead serious at the dance floor.
His brow furrowed slightly as his eyes tracked every move the young nobles made out there.
He watched them for a good while, like he was trying to crack something incredibly important, and if he failed to figure it out, the fate of all humanity would hang in the balance.
“If you ask me, they’re just wasting their time. I mean, look at them! They’d rather move around all over the place than actually sit down and fill their stomachs with all that good food right there!”
“Goodness… Are you some kind of genius once in a century? You just looked at it for two seconds and cracked the whole thing wide open!”
“Heh… You can call me professor from now on, son.”
Elias wiped under his nose with one finger, wearing a smug little smile as he let out a small huff.
He looked thoroughly pleased with himself, as if he’d just solved a question no one else on earth had ever managed to figure out.
That pride, unfortunately, didn’t last very long.
“Absolutely infuriating.”
A woman’s voice suddenly cut in from behind him.
Elias recognized it instantly, no guessing needed for that one.
He let out a small sigh before turning around and offering a small bow to the girl standing behind him, with Felix quickly following suit and greeting her too.
“My Lady…”
“Greetings, Lady Evelyn, Lady Elysia.”
“Oh, hello, if I’m remembering right. Your name’s Felix Warren, isn’t it?”
“It’s an honor to be remembered by someone as lovely as you, my Lady.”
“Goodness, you’re too much, Young Master Warren.”
Here Elias noticed something interesting, the second he slipped back into Caretaker mode, Felix slipped right back into the elegant, well-mannered noble he was supposed to be too.
‘Not gonna lie, he’s actually kind of cool like this.’
“Ahem! Excuse me, Lady Nocturne. I’m truly captivated by how beautiful you both look tonight. Would I, Lucien Valmont, son of Duke Valmont, have the honor of a dance with either of you?”
‘Good grief, look at this guy.
Gotta give him credit for the sheer guts.
Is he the type who literally can’t speak a sentence without dropping his family name in it?’
Maybe Evelyn and Elysia could’ve let it slide if Lucien had asked a little more politely.
But instead he came in smirking, and on top of that made sure to drive home the fact that he was a Duke’s son.
That alone was more than enough to drag up every bit of old resentment Evelyn and Elysia had been holding onto.
‘I can feel that hot and cold sensation coming back again.’