# 118
118. Even Coincidences Are Ultimately Fate (15)
After an uncomfortable rest with Vincent, evening fell, and I prepared Ethan's meal and went to his room. However, Ethan skipped dinner. I told him to at least have a spoonful, but he said he had no appetite.
Judging by Ethan's reaction, his conversation with Vincent must not have gone well. He pretended it was nothing, but his darkened expression weighed on my mind.
In the end, unable to shake my worry, I found myself stepping out of my room in the middle of the night.
I woke the sleeping chef and asked for a light soup. The chef, who tried to refuse with the most annoyed face in the world, reluctantly boiled the soup at my persistent urging. After offering my thanks several times, I placed the soup on a silver tray and headed to Ethan's room.
Hurrying my steps with the thought that I must make him eat this, I suddenly sensed a presence from afar. I stopped walking and held my breath, watching the figure shifting in the darkness.
Recognizing the approaching figure, my eyes widened.
"Lord Ethan?"
"Paula?"
Ethan, dressed casually, walked over from the opposite direction. He also seemed to not have expected me to be walking the hallway at this time of night, looking at me with a surprised expression.
"Where are you going?"
Asking so, I glanced at the bottle in his hand. It looked like a wine bottle.
Ethan's gaze fell on the lidded bowl on the tray I was holding.
"What about you, Paula? Where are you going? You're not... going to eat dinner, I assume."
"I was going to Lord Ethan."
I lifted what I was holding up and down. Ethan's brown eyes followed my gesture up and down. Then he smiled awkwardly.
"Is that for me?"
"Yes. You didn't eat dinner."
"I had lunch..."
He resisted slightly, but I responded with an expressionless face. Since there was a precedent of him skipping a meal and then not eating at all, I couldn't just let it slide.
"Are you going for a drink?"
I nodded towards the bottle in his hand. At that, Ethan casually hid it behind his back. There was no need to hide it, but he must have been embarrassed about sneaking a drink in the middle of the night. Especially since he came outside instead of drinking in his room.
"Were you on your way to Lady Joeli?"
"You're sharp."
Not that sharp. Who else staying here is there besides Joeli? It's not like he'd ask young Robert for a drink, and he has no reason to drink with the nanny either.
Did he perhaps drink like this often? If so, it made sense why he was so vulnerable in the mornings.
"Take this and eat it with her. It's a light soup, and it will soothe your empty stomach."
I offered the soup I was holding to him. It would be better to eat this than to drink on an empty stomach.
Ethan stared blankly down at the soup bowl offered to him.
"Did you really come because I didn't eat dinner?"
"Yes."
What other reason could there be? As I pushed the bowl out further, signaling him to take it quickly, Ethan raised his head and looked at me softly.
"Were you worried about me?"
"Yes."
"Being this honest at a time like this touches me deeply."
"Then don't leave any and eat it all."
"……"
"Please take it quickly."
However, instead of taking the bowl, Ethan lightly shook the bottle in his hand.
"Want to come along?"
"I'm not good at drinking."
Nor do I like it. In fact, I detest it. Having grown up watching my father wreak havoc while drunk, it was only natural that I never touched alcohol.
"Then just stay by my side. Watch me eat my soup too."
Ethan shook the bottle once more and walked past me. I ended up following him.
"I thought you'd feel uncomfortable if I went."
"It's fine. I'm not that kind of person."
Eventually, we arrived side-by-side at the reception room. I thought we were going to Joeli's room, but it seemed they were drinking here. When Ethan knocked on the door, Joeli's voice telling us to come in was heard immediately.
Ethan, opening the door and entering the reception room, suddenly paused. Following behind him, I stopped, practically burying my nose in his back. Wondering why he suddenly stopped moving, I peeked my head out, only to freeze as well.
"Ethan, come on in."
Joeli gestured for Ethan. Seeing her greet him so naturally, it seemed they had made plans to meet tonight. But what surprised me was that Vincent, of all people, was sitting to her left.
Why was that man here at this hour...? The person who clearly left the mansion in the evening was sitting prominently on the reception room sofa. Seeing his casual attire, did he come back in the middle of the night? Seeing Ethan freeze upon discovering Vincent, it seemed he was an uninvited guest.
But there was something else that shocked me more than Vincent's appearance. Alicia was sitting on the sofa opposite Joeli.
She seemed to be sleeping in our room just a moment ago, so I couldn't tell if I saw wrong or if Alicia had come out after I left. She looked like she came out in a hurry, wearing pajamas with a light coat over them, but her face was fair and beautiful.
Alicia, who had raised her head with a smile, discovered me standing behind Ethan and fiercely scowled.
"...Vincent is here too."
"It just happened. Hehe, I thought it would be nice to drink together. Is that okay?"
Joeli said with a gentle smile.
"Fine."
Ethan answered unenthusiastically and moved forward. I stood frozen before following him a beat late. The gaze piercing my cheek stung.
"Oh my. Ann came too? Were you two together?"
Joeli, who noticed me late, asked in puzzlement. Certainly, it wasn't a combination you'd expect to see together in the middle of the night. Sitting on the sofa to Joeli's right, Ethan calmly replied.
"We met by chance. I didn't eat dinner, so she came to check on me."
"How thoughtful of her."
Joeli smiled and didn't hold back her praise. I forced a smile, trying to hide my discomfort, and handed the soup bowl to Ethan. Then I stood behind him.
Ethan, who placed the soup bowl on the table, looked back at me.
"Why are you standing there? Sit down."
"No, I'm comfortable standing here."
When I refused, unable to bring myself to join them in those seats, Joeli added.
"Why? Your legs will hurt. You can sit down."
"But..."
"It's fine. Oh, do you want to sit next to Alicia? Since you're sisters, that would be better."
She clapped her hands and happily patted the seat next to Alicia. The sofa Alicia was sitting on was long enough for two people to sit comfortably. If it was that seat, I wanted to decline even more. However, unable to resist Joeli's well-meaning insistence, unaware of my feelings, I hesitantly approached Alicia and sat down next to her. In that instant, I saw Alicia's eyes turn fierce.
"Sister, I thought you were sleeping in the room. When did you come out?"
"Just a moment ago... I thought you were sleeping too, so when did you come out."
"Is that so? Pay some attention to your little sister."
Alicia laughed and playfully tapped my arm. I stiffened. I knew better than anyone that there were thorns in Alicia's words.
'This is uncomfortable.'
If I'd known this would happen, I should have just handed the soup to Ethan and gone right back. I wanted to run away. I lowered my head deeply, afraid that my feelings might show on my face.
"Younger sister?"
"Yes. Ann's younger sister, and she is attending to me. Maybe because Audrey is older, she fell asleep early in the evening. I felt bad waking her, so I called this child instead. It's okay for her to join us, right?"
"Yeah," Ethan answered shortly, and I felt his gaze land on me. I buried my head even lower towards the floor. I knew he was looking back and forth between me and Alicia. I didn't want him to see me sitting next to Alicia. I really didn't want to see him comparing me to Alicia.
"You're sisters, but you don't look much alike, huh? Oh, is it okay to say that? I don't mean it in a bad way."
"It's fine. We hear that a lot."
At Joeli's apology, Alicia replied nonchalantly. Then she put her hands on my shoulders and smiled.
"My older sister is prettier, right?"
At that moment, my face flushed bright red. Anyone with eyes could tell who was prettier. Even so, she brought it up directly with the intention of pretending to be a good sister and acting like we were close.
Feeling ashamed was my share. My hands on my knees were trembling, so I clasped them tightly together. I pulled up the corners of my mouth to try and look nonchalant, but I couldn't maintain it.
"Our sister has been so capable and kind since she was little. Our sisters liked her so much, and unlike me, she received a lot of love from our family."
"Oh my, it seems you have more sisters. You must have all been close?"
"Of course. None of them looked like her, but they still liked her a lot. They doted on her so much. You too, right, sister? You liked us?"
Stop it.
My insides twisted. But I couldn't possibly show it. Alicia was mocking me with a smile. It was a condemnation only Alicia could make, knowing what kind of deaths our sisters met. I couldn't lift my head and only gave a small nod.
"Did your other sisters not come with you?"
"Yes. Everyone went their own ways. It's been a while since I've seen them. Now it's just me and my sister."
"That must be really sad."
Joeli let out a pitying sigh. Alicia replied with a bitter voice, saying it wasn't. I felt like throwing up. I secretly covered my mouth.
"I'm used to it now. We rely on each other to live. We went through a lot of hardship since we were young. I've even done hard labor..."
The words Alicia was spouting didn't reach my ears.
"Actually, I've done something similar to this before. It was so hard then, but thinking about it now, it seems like a precious memor..."
At that moment, something was suddenly shoved in front of my eyes. My gaze naturally fell on it. A large hand was waving back and forth in front of my face.
I stared blankly at it, then looked behind, and emerald eyes stared intensely back at me.
"Are you okay?"
A slightly furrowed face was examining me. Uh... My mind couldn't process what was going on. So I met his gaze blankly before suddenly snapping out of it.
I quickly raised my head. Alicia's voice had stopped at some point. Vincent, who had bent over to meet my eyes, slowly straightened his posture. I lowered my eyes again.
"Why? Is something wrong?"
When Joeli asked, Vincent answered without taking his eyes off me.
"Your complexion doesn't look good."
"I'm fine."
I waved my hands and forced a laugh. I must have looked strange enough for Vincent to ask if I was okay. Embarrassed, I scratched the back of my neck and added that it was nothing.
"Sister, are you sick somewhere? Then go back to the room and rest."
"No... I'm fine."
When I refused, Alicia's fierce gaze poured down on me stinging. But receiving the attention of all three people bothered me more than Alicia's gaze. I shrank back and only smiled awkwardly.
As if to dispel the momentarily awkward atmosphere, Ethan interjected.
"Joeli, I brought something good."
He placed the wine bottle he brought on the table. Joeli checked the label and smiled broadly.
"Oh my, it's my favorite! Thanks, Ethan."
"It should be perfect for a glass each."
"I will do it."
Perhaps displeased that her words were cut off, Alicia, who had been wearing a displeased expression all along, quickly stood up. I lifted my body a beat late and then pressed my hips back into the sofa.