I Don’t Trust My Twin Sister

Every time he pictured Lawrence’s face, a rising desire filled his lips. If it had been Lawrence who asked that question, he could have given a positive answer. But it was Ercia. She was unattractive and unlikable, but she was useful, and that was Ercia’s value. However, since he could not reveal his true feelings, Beralt smiled once again.

 

“We keep too much a secret to make a conclusion like that, don’t we?”

 

Ercia tried to laugh along with Beralt’s smile, but froze when she heard the voice that came after her. She was in the same boat. He was able to explain everything with this one sentence. In other words, it meant that each side was taking advantage of each other’s weaknesses. Beralt sneered inwardly. He was based on the prince and lord of the Alpensia family, but what about her? If he spread the word, did she think there would be someone who would protect her? How big of a deal was it for a humble noblewoman? Although he didn’t say it out loud, it was as if he had already said it out loud. Ercia was not so foolish that she would not understand unless she heard it directly. She looked at Beralt with her hardened face and pursed her lips. But Beralt opened his mouth again with a relaxed expression. 

 

“Okay then, let’s get back to the topic.”

 

He bent his upper body forward once again and opened his mouth as if in a low whisper.

 

“You can bring it, right, Ercia? It’s no big deal, bringing Lawrence’s seal.”

 

“That…”

 

“Ah! I’m not asking you to bring Lawrence’s seal. How could I do something like that?”

 

He laughed like a low snort. Then he wet his lips with his tongue and spoke again.

 

“It’s modeled after the stamp’s engraving… isn’t it?”

 

“…that’s right.”

 

“It’s not that difficult. I do all the work after that. I will take care of all the difficult and complicated tasks, so nothing will be difficult. Just take my word for it.”

 

Ercia wanted to avoid the eyes staring at her. No, she had to avoid it. She knew something was going wrong, but there was no way out. She said she was in the same boat, but that was a misrepresentation. She got on the boat on her own feet, but she couldn’t get off.

 

“What are you going to do if I bring that??”

 

“As I explained before, it will be used for a very important purpose. Why? Do you want to hear it?”

 

Ercia shook her head. She didn’t really want to hear it. Knowing this man’s true nature, Ercia was able to guess how obscene and dirty he was planning to do. She knew, but she couldn’t stop. She had no way to stop. But his extreme transformation tickled Ercia’s innermost inner self. The recent conversations she had with Laurencia and the images Benson showed her flashed in her eyes.

 

‘Home’

 

Benson described Ajstain’s residence, which provided space for his brother and himself, as home. That expression was unfamiliar. Ercia asked herself. Had she ever considered the Ajstain family as home? Yes, there was. It wasn’t there before, but now? Well, she was not sure anymore. Just a few months ago, she would have definitely answered ‘no’, but she didn’t know if that would still be the case now. Beralt said a few more words, then got up from his seat and immediately disappeared, telling her to behave. He didn’t seem to care what answer he would get. He may have decided that the fish was in his hands anyway, and he may have known that there was no place for Ercia to return to anyway.

 

Left alone, Ercia looked blankly at the ceiling. The dull-colored ceiling of the dark mansion gave her a gloomy feeling. Her eyes trembled slightly, resembling her green eyes as she rolled around in a daze.

 

“…gy.”

 

A voice resonated from deep within her, causing a low vibration on her skin. She closed her eyes tightly. Her breathing was slightly shaky.

 

* * *

 

In a strange place where daily life was going smoothly, progress was not going smoothly. The plan to further pressure the Alpensia family by sponsoring Count Nemir and obtaining enormous funds was revealed from the deepest level. Moreover, the events revealed in the process were strangely connected. Some facts revealed in the life-threatening gambling case that he committed recklessly, and the contents mentioned by Count Nemir, whom he supported, were intertwined. The mysterious whereabouts of alchemists and witches, and the circulation of counterfeit money are almost becoming a fact. What was finally reaching the end was a rather large conspiracy. Simply making financial gain through counterfeit currency is a huge crime, but if they use that currency to make a large amount of bombs with the essence of fire, they could be exposed to a serious threat. Therefore, a member of the Berdian family, under Ian’s orders, tried to find out the inside of the site owned by the Piero family by moving the manpower that could move most secretly. However, it was difficult to infiltrate because they completely cut off the inside and the outside. The information guild run by the Ajstain family also conducted a similar investigation, but the results were so insignificant that they were completely ineffective. It was not possible to search and seize the premises just out of curiosity. There was no authority to do so, judicial and police powers were held by the imperial family, and the authority held by the Berdian family was limited to military power. Ultimately, no action could be taken until some information came to light and a public petition was made to the central government. And if they had secured a large number of bombs made from the essence of fire, they could have taken extreme action if they were in danger. Therefore, I had no choice but to move as carefully as possible. But…

 

“You’re carefree, Ian.”

 

When he said he would rent a training hall, I told him to use it comfortably. After saying thank you and saying he would move around for a moment, he disappeared and I couldn’t see him again as time went by. I went to look for it myself, and what was this? Instead of training or meditating, I was dumbfounded to see him lying asleep in the middle of the training hall. Who would have thought that I would be sleeping like this after working so hard to organize documents and prepare for future events? When I looked at Ian, who was lying on his back, he stood up, brushed his hair up, and smiled at me with blurry eyes. Are you laughing, Ian?

 

“Did you come looking for me?”

 

“Yes. I came to look for you. I can’t help but complain about the unfairness of feeling like I’m the only one working!”

 

Ian slowly moved his body, stood up, looked down at me, and slightly bent his waist.

 

“Sorry.”

 

At first, he bowed slightly, but when he noticed me and lowered his head, my intention to hit him disappeared. On the contrary, it was to the point of self-reflection that I wondered if I had pushed myself too far. If I apologize like that, it seems like I’m a bad person.

 

“…”

 

What should I say? If I were a shameless person, I would probably ask, ‘Is it okay if I say sorry? Would you say sorry even if you killed someone? I would have said, ‘If you’re going to sleep anywhere from now on, report it officially and make me cry!’, but I wasn’t that shy. In particular, Ian finally took a step back with a sigh.

 

“What’s wrong? You don’t usually show yourself tired.”

 

Ian rarely said he was sleepy or tired. Although he had great physical strength, he didn’t seem to sleep much. I rarely saw Ian sleeping. No, was this a strange thing to see?

 

“What’s wrong, suddenly? Where does it hurt?” I asked worriedly. Ian blinked at my question, then smiled sheepishly and shook his head.

 

“I’m just a little sleepy. I haven’t been able to sleep much lately.”

 

“How much?”

 

Ian tilted his head with a thoughtful expression for a moment. Was my question so difficult that he had to think about it for a long time? I was not sure about Ian.

 

He answered indifferently, as if it were no big deal.

 

“Have I not slept for a week?”

 

“…?”

 

Did I hear it wrong?

 

“A few days?”

 

When asked again, Ian burst out laughing.

 

“I think the last time I fell asleep was about a week ago. I don’t really remember.”

 

It was surprising that it was a week ago, but it was even more absurd to say that I couldn’t remember. So you’re saying it might not be true?

 

“Are you out of your mind?”

 

Ian smiled again and nodded his head as if to say it was okay. No, I didn’t ask for an answer.

 

“No matter how different you are from the culprit, what should I do if you don’t sleep for over a week?”

 

I felt like my body would collapse right away if I stayed up all night, but how could I last a week… I grabbed Ian’s hand and pulled him right away. I laughed empty-handedly and let out a storm of nagging thoughts as I felt his body being pulled against my not-so-strong strength.

 

“And then you pass out! Why aren’t you sleeping? What do you do at night? Do you meet other women?”

 

“No way.”

 

“Then what do you do at night that prevents you from sleeping? How long ago? I heard you gave me a drink, a strong drink. I drank it and straightened up, but did Ian sleep at that time?”

 

Ian’s answer was a shrug of his shoulders. No, what did he do when he wasn’t sleeping? This was absurd.

 

“Hurry up and go to sleep. No, you can just say you’re sleepy and want to get some sleep. Why don’t you say that!”

 

I was really upset…

 

“How can someone say something like that when so-and-so works hard and loses sleep at night?”

 

“Oh my, if you’re thinking about that, could you please think about myself too? I don’t want to wait on my old, sick husband!”

 

His attitude was so irreverent that my voice suddenly became sharp. But Ian seemed to find my attitude amusing and laughed and opened his mouth again.

 

“That’s good to hear.”

 

“What?”

 

He stopped his steps, stood next to me, bent his waist slightly and whispered softly.

 

“The word husband.”

 

Was he kidding me? He hangs on by the tail of his horse. Just as my eyes were about to become sharp, Ian raised his arm and pulled me into his arms. His eyes widened in surprise at his sudden action. It happened so quickly that I couldn’t react. While I was stiff because it was something I had never thought of, I opened my mouth.

 

“Calm down. I’m not dying. I’m not falling down.”

 

“Who was the person who collapsed in the training hall just now?”

 

“It’s just a moment.”

 

“That’s it.”

 

Ian’s shoulders were shaking slightly. Was he laughing? When I lifted my head slightly, Ian gently patted my back as if he was okay and briefly kissed my forehead. Just now…

 

“Why are you so cute? Was it appropriate for me to sleep? I just slept for a little while.”

 

“If you sleep in bed, they don’t even talk. The person who wanted to use the training camp for a while has passed out…”

 

Ian chuckled and relaxed his hands. As I took a step away from his pain, I was met with a gentle gaze. Ian lightly stroked my head, smiled, and patted me as if comforting a child.

 

“Are you still going to worry about me like that later?”

 

“That’s what I mean…”

 

“I’m glad. Even if it’s just empty words, they say that.”

 

“Do these seem like empty words?”

 

Ian just looked at me and shook his head. Even though I knew that.

 

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