As we made our way to the table, Bellamy was blunt and to the point.

I gestured for the two of them to take a seat.

“Sit down.”

My mouth twitched at their stiffness, so I pushed myself up again and tugged on the servant’s rope by my bed. I knew it was late, but I thought some tea would help ease the atmosphere.

I gave my orders and the maids quickly set the table and left the room.

As we sat around the table, I didn’t know where to begin. I fiddled with my teacup until their eyes fell on my head. Finally, I spoke up.

“As you might expect, we’re going to talk about that night.”

“…”

I know very well why they hid the Count from me. I also know how absurd it all was. There was no way I could be disappointed in them. The notion of unconditional goodness that had been latent in me when I chose to join them in the first place was shaken. However, it was a matter of faith. If I decided that I no longer had faith in them, then our relationship was bound to continue to break.

“I thought the plan we had before had gone completely wrong, but it was just going on somewhere outside of my knowledge?”

“It was-”

“I know, and even if I had found it, I wouldn’t have helped.”

The plan to imprison and torture the Count was something I had already expected. The problem was that for three years I had been excluded and kept in the dark. In fact, even if the two men had told me the truth three years ago, I wouldn’t have stopped them.

I, too, was full of ill will toward the Count, and at that time, I was still considering the possibility of returning to my own universe. I assumed that I was a stranger and it was up to them to deal with everything else. I can’t blame them, after all, I wasn’t paying attention in the first place.

At my pitiful appearance, they remained silent.

“Bellamy, Damian.”

“…”

“Was it nice to leave me alone in my ignorance? To let me be stupid and trapped in my fantasies?”

Maybe I was being too emotional. Strangely, their eyes sharpened at the word ‘fantasies.’ That wasn’t my original intention, but it was true that I didn’t like how they hid their emotions.

I sighed once more.

“But that won’t be necessary now.”

“… What do you mean by that?”

“Literally, I mean… I’m sorry for everything.”

I was well aware of how much the Orca brothers had taken care of me, but I didn’t want that one-sided love.

“It’s funny that I’m saying this now, but I don’t want to… anymore.”

“Wait.”

Damian, who had been listening in silence, looked like he just heard the worst thing ever imaginable and raised one hand to interrupt me. Then, he jumped to his feet.

“Can you take responsibility for what you just said?”

“… Huh?”

“How could you come to that conclusion? Yes, you’re sick of it and yes, you’re so sick of us that we are disgusting to even look at, but are you sick of us that you won’t be with us anymore?”

Wait, wait, wait. What are you talking about?

“No, I think you’ve gotten the wrong idea-”

“What in the world do you think of us? Do you think you could do that so easily…?”

What is supposed to be hard?

Before I could correct him, Damian started to walk toward the window.

What the hell is going to do?

I panicked and jumped out of my chair to grab him as he suddenly opened the window. My teacup flew off the table and onto the floor. At that moment, Damian threw himself out the window.

“Damian!”

The falling teacup and its contents were hung in the air by Bellamy’s magic, but that didn’t matter now.

I rushed to the window and looked down, but no one was there.

I’m on the third floor… Should I be relieved that I don’t see him? At least he isn’t dead.

I clutched the window sill, all blood drained from my face, and I heard a cold voice behind me.

“Rose, you’re being impulsive this time. You have plenty of other options, even if they aren’t-”

“Brother.”

“…”

“I wonder how much it hurt Damian for me to tell you guys we shouldn’t have any more secrets.”

He didn’t want to hear it bad enough that he ran away.

My tone was heavy with disbelief as I looked out the window. Then, I turned to the remaining brother as he stared with a stunned face.

Bellamy quickly walked over to me and pulled me up, placing his hands on my shoulders and looking me in the eyes.

“So… How do you explain all the time you have taken avoiding us?”

“It’s a long story, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t what Damian is imagining. This is why I wanted to talk to you two today…”

“…”

“He’s not going to run away, is he?”

I asked, squeezing Bellamy’s hands. I felt like crying. If he turned away now, they would be no end to this.

Bellamy held me in his arms as he buried his head in my shoulder. His hunched posture seemed uncomfortable, but he didn’t move.

“Don’t move.”

“…”

“I’ll listen to you, so just stay like this for a while.”

We held each other for a long time. The thought of Damian was unsettling, but Bellamy’s beating heart was reassuring. Maybe it was because Damian had escaped out the window, but I felt like the only way to feel security was through holding hands. Bellamy seemed to be in the same state.

“I don’t blame you for hating us locking the Count up, but everything that happened to him in the first place was because I was reminded of you.”

“Then, that wooden sword is….”

“He did that to himself… Sorry, that’s not a good story to hear.”

So, it wasn’t Damian’s work?

According to Bellamy, the Count had tried to take his own life during the torture. How desperate he must have been to pick up the broken and dulled wooden sword and pierce himself with it.

“I thought you and Damian were getting revenge for the past eight years.”

“….”

“And I thought you were still stuck in the past…”

“I will not say that the experience hasn’t affected me entirely, but because you were there, I don’t think those days were only unfortunate. If the Count hadn’t tried to manipulate or harm you, he might have gotten away with just being sent to another continent. He crossed a line he shouldn’t have dared to cross and got what he deserved.”

Yeah, the rapist deserved to die.

As he spoke, he maintained eye contact, clasping our hands and squeezing a few times before releasing. Bellamy seemed to wonder what to do next, so he hesitated for a moment before speaking once more.

“The truth is, if there are people who wish you harm, I can’t guarantee we will change.”

“…”

“So stop looking away and look at us. If any other asshole gets their hopes up from the look in your eyes, I’m going to kill them all.”

I wanted them to be honest with me, and now Bellamy didn’t hold back with his feelings.

As he stared with obsession lingering in his eyes, I felt some invisible chain binding me. I didn’t hate it.

I pulled my hands out of his grasp and brought them to his face. My fingers brushed across his lips, which were littered with bite marks from the last two weeks. They parted at my touch, and my fingers flowed into them.

“Yeah, you’ve always been like that.”

“….”

He stared for a moment, then closed his eyes. My fingers began to move and explored his tongue.

“Damian said he was going to lock me up, but this is okay.”

Bellamy frowned at my words, then raised his eyebrows in displeasure. His lips were now moistened with saliva and regained their natural red color.

He grabbed my wrist with his hand and gently nipped my finger with his teeth.

“When did he say that to you?”

“When he came home drunk last night. He wasn’t in his right mind, so don’t give me that look.”

“Ha… you could have at least told me.”

“He was just drunk. Anyway, don’t say anything to Damian. I’ll take care of it.”

I laughed and Bellamy gave me an ugly look. Hasn’t it been exactly two weeks since I last saw that face? During that time, I’ve been feeling so guilty for leaving the Orca brothers to deal with their own traumas.

Bellamy had his own troubles, and he was riddled with unnecessary worry.

I removed my hand from his lips and briefly kissed him. As soon as our lips touched, I pulled away to check Bellamy’s expression.

“I’ll call you if I need help.”

“Do you need anything now?”

“Arrange a carriage to take us to the palace tomorrow. I don’t think Damian will come home unless I get to him first.”

“I can pick him up-”

“No.”

Why are the Orca brothers desperate to keep me away?

At my adamant refusal, Bellamy told me he would arrange for an escort. He refused to make further concessions.

Kofi