PT | Chapter 4.3

Danvers wasn’t one for sugar-coated words, but his presence was irritating enough for Aubrey, who didn’t want to be seen in such a state, so he buried his face back into the sheets.

Then Danvers casually remarked.

“It was Gray, not you, who had been sneaking around to meet with others. Do you really think father doesn’t know that?”

“…….”

Knowing he would just rant alone and eventually leave if Aubrey continued pretending not to know, it was still very annoying to be baited like this. Taking a deep breath, Aubrey slowly moved to sit up on the bed.

Although his wounds had been treated while he was unconscious, it still hurt terribly. The bandages were so tight around his chest that he grimaced and looked up at Danvers.

“This time, you were too hasty. It turns out Gray is quite cunning.”

Gray was impulsive and acted according to his moods, which seemed like it would leave him open to attack, but it wasn’t so simple. Ridiculous as it might seem, he was still the marquis’ son. No worm comes from a serpent.

Danvers didn’t need to point it out; Aubrey knew it. Telling Gray about Dalton yesterday and giving him time to prepare was his mistake. If he had collected more evidence when Dalton was leaking information and reported it to their father, he could have knocked Gray down in one go. Or he could have passed the information to Danvers, who was standing smugly before him now.

Depending on the choices Aubrey made in each return, the same events often resolved slightly differently. Previously, he had passed information about Dalton to Danvers, and that had been enough to send Gray packing. But this time, he had tripped himself up.

The more he chewed over it, the more bitter Aubrey felt as he glanced at Danvers.

“……From the way you talk, it seems you caught wind of it too. Why did you stay quiet?”

“How am I supposed to say anything when father is all excited, whipping you? If I had made a fuss, I’d have gotten hit too. And……”

“…….”

“It’s better not to meddle when someone is set on breaking your spirit like this, or else I’d end up being disliked for no good reason.”

Danvers’ words wrinkled Aubrey’s brow. Confirming the still vivid look in Danvers’ eyes, he squinted one eye.

Aubrey knew he was a bit of an oddball, but he didn’t realize to what extent.

If Danvers had been in the same situation, he’d probably become disheartened and endlessly depressed, worrying about what people would say and not noticing anything else.

Other people might pretend to risk their lives just to catch the marquis’ eye. After all, Aubrey wasn’t a child the marquis had brought in from outside. Being an illegitimate child to a father who was married off in a marriage of convenience, Aubrey was nothing more than a stain. He was inherently a weakness for his father, and bringing Aubrey in meant his father had great expectations for him.

Danvers was not unaware of his father’s feelings. Even he had once thought that if young Aubrey, who was incredibly intelligent, grew up properly, he would eventually take over the marquis’ estate. But Aubrey had changed strangely starting from the age of seven and grew up to be a troublemaker.

Watching Aubrey closely, Danvers muttered to himself.

“If I were father, I would have let you go right when you started changing pitifully. But father watched over you for another 13 years. That admirable patience seems to be running out though—”

“…….”

“Do you really think father doesn’t know that you plan to leave the estate as soon as you graduate?”

Danvers’ comment made one corner of Aubrey’s mouth rise.

You’re talking nonsense, and my back hurts, so don’t bother me and just go away—was what he intended to say, but he couldn’t quite manage to speak.

In his twenty-third life, he had chosen suicide right after returning. Maybe that’s why, as soon as he opened his eyes in this life, he felt like he was suffocating with a tremendous sense of depression. If he couldn’t shake off that depression, he’d end up finishing this life with suicide too.

If his life were a book, the story’s ending was always fixed. Running towards a predetermined end, what was the point in trying? That’s why he was half resigned, and it led him to make choices or actions that were different from before. This had caused the maids to mistakenly think he was looking after Lennock.

Frankly, he couldn’t care less what others said about him. He thought there was no need to mind others, but his father was different. He regarded everything derived from him as his own property. Knowing he wouldn’t easily let go, Aubrey had consistently acted contrary to what his father wanted over the years, and that had led to this blowup.

Was this his way of knocking some sense into him with a whip since words weren’t enough? But what could he do?

Looking up at Danvers, Aubrey grinned wryly.

“So what are you trying to say? That father loves me so much because I resemble him, so I should stop having foolish thoughts and behave? Would that really be okay? If I stay, you won’t be able to become the heir, will you?”

“…….”

For a moment, Danvers’ expression disappeared.

Even in the cycle of returns, some things remained unchanged, and Danvers was one of those constants. All he wanted was to inherit the marquis estate, and he would do anything for it, showing no mercy to anyone who might be a rival.

At Aubrey’s provocation, Danvers immediately hardened his expression and then raised one corner of his mouth.

“Even if you try, you’ve already lost all of father’s favor. What can you possibly do now? It’s too late to come to your senses…….”

“If I come to my senses now, father would be overjoyed. After all, he loved the day I resembled him the most.”

Aubrey narrowed his eyes and lifted the corners of his mouth as high as they would go.

He said he resembled the marquis, but that wasn’t quite true. If you were to judge by appearances, the three brothers above him resembled the marquis much more. Aubrey was handsome, but his features were finer and more delicate than the marquis’.

If there was any resemblance between Aubrey and the marquis, it was only in their black hair and eyes. And the marquis was particularly partial to Aubrey, who shared the color of his eyes and hair, within the vast marquis estate.

The Wiidin marquis family had given him a chance to rise in status and brought him tremendous opportunities. Based on that, he could have led a successful business and been recognized as a true nobleman of the Toroso Empire, but an inevitable sense of inferiority had drawn him to Aubrey. Only by passing everything on to Aubrey would he finally feel that everything he had achieved was truly his.

The marquis was a man never satisfied, and Danvers had inherited that trait. Despite being the third son, he naturally believed that the marquis estate would become his.

For him, Aubrey was nothing more nor less than a thorn in his side. Aubrey knew this, so he tried to exploit that twisted aspect of Danvers.

“As you said, I planned to leave as soon as I graduated. But since father seems to be making such a fuss, I might have to change my approach.”

“…….”

“If you cooperate with me, I can guarantee you a one-shot solution.”

He meant that he could help Danvers eliminate both himself and Gray from the marquis estate in one go. Aubrey didn’t need to elaborate further for Danvers to grasp his meaning.

“……How can I trust what you say?”

“You’ll have to. As long as I’m here, father will keep focusing only on me.”

Danvers wanted to counter Aubrey’s smug words but couldn’t.

“Damned brat. If you ever change your mind and decide to stay in the estate, then I’ll strangle you with my own hands.”

“Suit yourself, brother.”

Aubrey shrugged and smiled again, his eyes curving like crescents.

Aubrey and Danvers were the same age, which made their relationship even more ambiguous and sensitive than with the other brothers. Danvers had been born around the same time the marquis had an affair that resulted in Aubrey’s birth.

People still gossiped about it, but Danvers and Aubrey consciously ignored this aspect. It was the same now. Being called “brother” seemed like an insult to Danvers. In contrast, Aubrey’s face was utterly indifferent.

Danvers often felt, even when standing right in front of him, that Aubrey wasn’t really seeing him, as if a transparent barrier blocked his view. Disliking that unpleasant sensation, Danvers stepped back a few paces, turned around, and left the attic, locking the door behind him. Aubrey closed his eyes as he heard Danvers lock the door.

He let out a long sigh and let one leg hang off the bed.

There was still difficulty in moving his body, but he ignored it and slowly rose from his spot.

“Damn it…….”

He cursed quietly as he checked his physical condition while struggling to walk.

How hard had he been hit to lose consciousness after just a few strikes? Judging by the pain, it seemed he had been whipped a few more times after he passed out. If you’re going to beat someone to a pulp, you should at least make sure they’re properly healed. It felt like they would keep him locked up until he admitted his wrongdoing.

“Don’t make me laugh.”

Even if he became the son his father wanted, he was bound to die when the time came. Knowing that, he couldn’t cling to his father and help with his bothersome business dealings and various shady activities. The work was not only dirty but also too demanding.

There wasn’t much time left, and he couldn’t spend it slaving away.

“If I had known, I would have run away earlier.”

There were things he regretted, but that didn’t mean this life had been a complete mess. Hadn’t the marquis told him to study at home with a tutor, and he had refused and enrolled in the academy instead? At the academy, Aubrey had been able to do various things he had never experienced before. Thanks to that, he had even made a few friends he could call such. Of course, he hadn’t enrolled at the academy just to enjoy a normal academic life.