Otis’ cheeks were red and swollen, and his lips were bursting and stained red with blood. In addition, how hard he was being grabbed by the collar and the button on his shirt that was being held was even ripped off.

“Young… Masters?”

Irene unconsciously doubted her own eyes.

…Ahibalt and Otis were having a fistfight?

Irene, who was quite surprised by the situation she had never seen once in her seven lives, asked a question she would not have normally asked.

“What is this… What is going on here?”

“…Nothing. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Ahibalt, who tried to regain his composure, let go of Otis’ collar. Even though there was not that much of a difference in their physique, Otis staggered back a couple of steps back and frowned as he wiped his chapped lips.

“What do you mean, nothing? You hit your brother and that’s nothing, brother?”

“Shut your mouth, Otis.”

“Aren’t you lucky I don’t have a gun right now? Or, maybe you’re lucky that you were born a little earlier than me. If even one of those weren’t enough, it would’ve been brother who would be like this.”

“It seems that I’ve treated you too lightly. There’s a limit to seeing you as a younger brother. Or, was it not enough to give you that much discipline in Lichpen?”

Haha!

Otis’ sharp laughter suddenly broke the tension between the two.

“Discipline? Don’t you think that I accepted the job because I didn’t like the disturbance? Between brothers who have never lived so close together, what do you mean, ‘brother’? From the beginning, I don’t know if brother is even capable of disciplining—”

Thud!

The next moment, his sewn shirt crumpled again in Ahibalt’s grasp. The eyes, stained with anger, pierced Otis.

However, it did not go as far as it was a while ago. It was because Irene, who had been watching the two of them with confused eyes, ran inside as soon as Ahibalt grabbed Otis by the collar again.

“No, Young Master!”

As she hurriedly stood in the way of Otis and grabbed Ahibalt’s arm as if she was hanging onto it.

“Calm down. Please.”

“…Irene.”

“Young Master Rodion is still not fully conscious. If the two of you are like this, it’d be what the others want. I don’t know what’s going on, but… Please remember, there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

Internal divisions should never be allowed at such a critical time.

At any other time, she would not have been so presumptuous though Irene was so surprised by the situation that she did not even have time to think about it, and she continued.

“Come on, make up.”

The anger disappeared from Ahibalt’s face at her dissuasion, and sadness filled the void instead. The blatant change was heartbreaking for her.

Thud.

His hand that was holding Otis’ shirt fell into the air. The empty eyes turned to Irene.

“Irene, I…”

Ahibalt licked his lips several times as if he wanted to say something, but he could not finish his words. As he mumbled, Irene hurriedly turned to Otis, who could not hide his angry smile.

“Second Master, you were too harsh, too.”

“So, are you asking me to apologize?”

The smile disappeared from Otis’ face as he asked that question. Because of the added bloodstains and wounds, his sharp expression looked even more eerie though Irene didn’t care.

“If there’s a misunderstanding, it’s right to correct it and apologize for what was excessive.”

“Well. Of course, I’m willing to accept it if brother apologizes.”

Saying so, his arms wrapped around Irene’s waist. Embracing her from behind, Otis rested his nose against her shoulder.

While Irene took a step backwards from the soft bondage, Ahibalt’s brow furrowed in her bluntness. However, she did not see the scene because the moment when she reflexively turned her head to Otis, she was quickly distracted by him, who leaned against her and took a slightly painful breath.

No matter what happened, it was Otis who got hit.

“Second Master. Are you all right? I need to call the doctor.”

“There’s no need. The pain will go away, and it’s not going to leave any sediments anyway. Still, I can’t deny that there was almost a crack between brother and me if it weren’t for you, Irene.

“Why did you fight like this?”

Irene asked, frowning as she felt her head hurting a little.

‘I already have enough headaches with Rodion and Charlotte.’

In the midst of this, would she ever have thought that the two of them would be having a fistfight…?

In any episode, Ahibalt and Otis showed off a very good friendship. Therefore, it was natural that both of them cared for their brothers quite a bit. Of course, the reasons were different. The former was a sense of duty and affection stemming from the position of being the first and next generation head of the organization, and the latter was a lack of family love.

In particular, Otis had such a tendency. He looked down upon his parents for expecting affection and for trusting in love, but at the same time, he craved just as much affection. He treated only his half-brothers, who lived together in Lichpen, as people within the boundary.

Consequently, Irene did not mind if Otis, who returned from Lichpen, did not treat her the way he did before — the fact that Irene felt loneliness again after a long time after they had left, and that she was eagerly awaiting their return as she threw the calendar with a cross mark into the fireplace.

Nevertheless, this was such a crazy situation.

Moreover, the two kept their mouths shut side by side as if they had made a promise even though they were being asked questions.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s really not a big deal, though it’s a chance to see how unscrupulous my dear older brother is.”

Otis, who replied in a gentle tone, smiled softly as he continued.

“You’re amazing, brother. Who knew that you’ve pretended to be such a perfect and noble gentleman on the outside and yet had hidden such insidious intentions inside?”

“We’re in front of Irene, so stop it.”

“Why? Isn’t it brother who cares about Irene so much? Isn’t it time to let her know, too? You’re the one who—”

Puk!

Before he could finish speaking, Otis staggered back a couple of steps.

“Young Master, please!”

Irene hurriedly grabbed Ahibalt’s arm again. Though because he was so tall, it looked like she was just hanging on him.

“Please, calm down.”

His eyes, which were filled with madness and anger, then turned to her. Irene could see inside Ahibalt’s blue eyes being distorted as if the depth of water.

“Why are you…”

‘…Why only to the other people.’

He mumbled the last words he wanted to say.

Unfortunately, Irene did not have time to ask about it because Ahibalt quickly regained his composure as though he had never become so angry before. After wiping away his face once to regain his composure, he straightened out his messy clothes and turned his body.

“…He already looks quite rough. If there’s any more, one of his limbs is likely to be broken, so I think I should leave first.”

And so, Ahibalt left without waiting for an answer.

The moment the door closed with a light sound, Irene realized something she had not noticed earlier. From the moment she first met him until now… the fact that it was the first time she had talked to him that Ahibalt did not make any eye contact with her.

At that moment, she was seized by a strange impulse that she did not know herself. It was the impulse to chase after Ahibalt, who left, and to catch him right away.

Staring at the door that seemed to have the remnants of the person who left without realizing it, her steps moved. Nonetheless, she did not move any further. It was because there was a hand holding her from behind.

“Irene.”

When she turned her head, she could see Otis with a pitiful face.

“Are you going to brother?”

In a way that was far from the neat appearance he had always been aiming for. Unlike usual, where he kept his hair neatly combed, his hair was messy, and his lips and eyes, which were redder than usual due to the fight, looked as tempting as it was pathetic.

Is this how you feel when you face a wounded beast?

With the way the man curved his lips, he looked like the very personification of midnight’s immorality.

“Don’t go.”

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