Chapter 78: The Agitated Esper and the Royal’s Schemes

Buzzing—ringing—

Ethan Prescott gazed at the table with a troubled expression. Bliss Moore’s tablet and his own buzzed and rang in a cacophony, but before long, Ethan’s device fell silent.

Philip, who had been checking the new tablets nearby, confirmed their communication status before handing them to Ethan, Kyle Evans, and Maxon Ancaster.

“These are new tablets. We originally planned to replace them after the spring flower festival, but it seems we’ve expedited the process.”

“I will share your three numbers with those who absolutely need them, but for the time being, I will not share them with Enoch Cloud.”

“…If Lord Enoch truly sets his mind to it, he could find them easily enough.” Maxon remarked.

Philip offered a faint smile.

“We aren’t trying to hide them forever. We simply intend to inform Lord Enoch once he has calmed down and regained his composure.”

“It takes some time to track down a number, so a few days should suffice, don’t you think?”

Just then, Dale Kenis entered the room, looking for Bliss.

“Lord Bliss, Lord Enoch has arrived in person!”

“…Shouldn’t we meet him?” Ethan asked, his eyes wide with a hint of surprise.

Bliss, whose tablet was still ringing, checked the message on its screen. With an impassive face, he slowly rose to his feet.

“I will meet him.”

“Lord Enoch wants to see me, though. Because I dropped Scott off at the Cloud family residence.”

“Ethan, as you said, Enoch already knows you dropped Scott Kenton off at the Cloud family residence. And he is currently extremely agitated.”

“But…”

Ethan regretted refusing Scott’s request. If he had offered Scott the empty house as requested, perhaps this situation wouldn’t have escalated to this point.

While it might not have been true in the past, Enoch was genuinely sincere about Scott now. Although Ethan didn’t approve of Enoch’s methods, he had no desire to meddle in Scott’s romantic affairs.

However, he now wondered if the very act of sending Scott back—believing the two should resolve things face-to-face—was itself an intervention.

“Ethan. If Enoch Cloud, in his agitation, were to lash out at you, I might not be able to restrain myself.”

Ethan’s lips, which had been about to persuade Bliss to face Enoch together, snapped shut. Even if he himself could endure it, Bliss’s provoked attack on Enoch could lead to a catastrophic disaster.

‘Is Lord Enoch truly so angry with me that he’s lost all reason?’ Ethan wondered, hesitating slightly.

Bliss answered with unwavering resolve.

“You have not acted incorrectly. I am merely trying to prevent you from becoming the immediate target of his anger.”

“The person he should be angry with is himself, not you.”

He left with Dale, adding, “So, under no circumstances, blame yourself.”

The heavy door closed with a thud, and Maxon muttered quietly.

“…He’s quite forceful.”

Ethan fidgeted, pretending to check the features of his newly received tablet.

****

In the small reception room he had been led to, Enoch Cloud couldn’t sit still, pacing relentlessly. The magnificent view of Ashilton’s nightscape, visible through the large window overlooking the inner garden, offered no solace; his eyes registered none of it.

‘Damn it, damn it, damn it!’

He chewed on curses as he redialed Scott’s number, a number he must have pressed over a hundred times already. The skill shown in bypassing security and incapacitating only the necessary systems was no amateur Esper’s work.

Whoever had understood the system’s structure—a structure even he, an Esper of the electric affinity, hadn’t known—and extracted Scott, was at the very least someone with professional knowledge and training.

“…You look dreadful. In that state, you must have a headache too.”

Enoch, who hadn’t heard the door open, snapped his head up at Bliss’s voice, speaking from close by. His broken arm was in a cast, and his jaw and cheek were still covered in gauze and Esper-grade tape.

These were injuries that would have healed quickly with sexual guiding from Scott, yet his current appearance suggested he had received no guiding at all.

“…Mr. Ethan?”

“He has an important report to finish.”

At Bliss’s words, Enoch exclaimed in disbelief.

“Right now, a report is important? My Guide has disappeared!”

“Your Guide’s disappearance occurred after Ethan dropped him off at the Cloud family residence. I recall already conveying that fact, and also stating that there’s no further information my Guide can provide.”

“Mr. Ethan! Ethan Prescott! Was it really necessary to so coldly refuse Scott’s request, when Scott sought him out believing he was his most trusted friend?!”

*Crack!* Sparks flew from the agitated Enoch, striking the tablecloth and igniting a small flame. Bliss, observing it dispassionately, turned his gaze to a flower vase on the table. Water splashed out of the vase, extinguishing the fire.

“I wouldn’t advise wasting your abilities when your body hasn’t even recovered.”

“Scott risked everything to go to Mr. Ethan!”

“Enoch Cloud.” Bliss cut off Enoch, who was about to shout again, and retorted coldly.

“Perhaps he wasn’t a trustworthy lover to Scott Kenton.”

“…!!”

Enoch froze, meeting the warmth-less gray and blue eyes. The air around him felt excessively chill, and it seemed that this chilling response finally brought him back to his senses, if only a little.

“You probably thought you were doing well, glossing things over. But in his moment of greatest need, naive and dependent Scott Kenton chose Ethan Prescott, not you, Enoch Cloud, his partner and lover.”

“This situation is a consequence of the accumulated lies you carelessly built up.”

Enoch collapsed into a chair, letting out a long sigh and shaking his head.

“Yes… that’s my fault. Still, I wish he had been allowed to sort out his thoughts in that house for a while and then contacted me…!”

“You’re this concerned about a Guide who hasn’t even been matched or imprinted yet, so I would appreciate it if you didn’t treat an Esper’s Guide—one who is undergoing matching and imprinting—as if he were the instigator of this incident.”

“Enoch Cloud. Any further disrespect will be difficult to tolerate.”

“…Damn it!” Enoch cursed.

He was all too familiar with an Esper’s almost blind protective instinct for their Guide, especially during imprinting. The chilling warning that further provoking Bliss would yield no good results was certainly not an empty threat, so Enoch irritably ran his free hand through his hair.

Seeing him appear somewhat calmer, Bliss poured him a glass of cold water. Enoch, by habit, pulled out a small red pouch where he kept painkillers.

Bliss narrowed his eyes at the stylish ‘Bok (福)’ character on the pouch, which looked like Chilbok’s signature. He didn’t ask, sensing it would wound his pride, but if it hadn’t been for Scott’s foolish actions, perhaps Ethan might have been Enoch’s Guide by now.

And for Ethan, a multi-Guide, it was still a possibility.

‘It seems it would be better to find Scott and keep him by Enoch’s side.’

“Have you found the Esper with electric affinity who helped him?” Bliss asked, feigning concern for Enoch’s well-being, but truly seeking his own peace of mind.

***

*CRASH!*

The door to the director’s office burst open violently. Devon Green, who had just finished a lab inspection and reporting meeting, and was now shedding his lab coat to head to his private quarters on the top floor, frowned and lifted his head.

Through the opened doorway, the flustered faces of his secretaries were visible, but the door soon slammed shut with a heavy thud.

“I wasn’t aware that my first Esper’s memory had deteriorated to the point of forgetting basic etiquette.”

“And I wasn’t aware that Prince Devon Green, who champions himself as the most popular king, would bother with such trivialities.”

Devon scrutinized Huey Cloud, whose demeanor was unusually strained. Though still impeccably composed, Huey’s ragged breathing suggested he was quite distressed.

“Considering the chaos that ensued, you must need guiding. It would have been better to contact me first and meet in my private quarters.”

However, Huey, his face hardened, asked a completely different question.

“Did you abduct Enoch’s Guide?”

Devon’s head tilted sideways.

“Abduct? Do you think it’s appropriate to use such a word with me?”

“…Then, should I say ‘protect’? Enoch is my brother. I cannot allow him to wander around in such a state, without proper guiding!”

Devon stared at him for a moment, then mumbled as if unable to comprehend.

“Well, now… I thought you came to confront me about Trisha Haxson’s attack in the garden, but you’re angry about something entirely different.”

Huey swallowed a long sigh.

“Was Trisha Haxson’s incident also Your Highness’s doing?”

“I merely stated that she was an impediment to me; I don’t have so much free time that I need to specify the methods for every single matter. Besides, there’s already someone quite adept at that, isn’t there?”

*Grind!* A grinding sound escaped through Huey’s tightly clenched teeth.

“…It was Victor Frankl’s doing. Then, did he also abduct Scott Kenton?”

“I told you, it wasn’t an abduction. The good head of the Procyon Unit, responsible for public safety, simply happened upon a lost lamb and took him in.”

“Don’t worry,” Devon said with a smile, “that dog won’t devour the lamb.”

Huey, facing the smiling Devon, requested guiding. Although he wasn’t strictly in need of guiding, perhaps due to the aftereffects of his seizure in the bunker, his true intention was to read Devon’s thoughts.

“I require guiding.”

Devon, his face still alight with a hint of amusement, lightly brushed Huey’s hand away.

“I can clearly see your transparent attempt to read my thoughts while receiving guiding, so I can hardly oblige.”

“Your Highness. I am your first Esper. You used me to deal with Trisha Haxson, and I waited until Your Highness was satisfied with the outcome.”

“Huey Cloud. My first Esper. I know. But I desire loyal subjects to me, a royal. If that subject is an Esper, then such a punishment is sometimes acceptable, isn’t it?”

“…Understood. However… please send Enoch’s Guide back. He’s severely wounded because of me.”

“What touching fraternal love. You engage in such internal strife, ready to devour each other, yet when attacked from outside, you unite as one family.”

“Huey Cloud. It seems I am still not your first, even as your first Esper.”

“…You have always been my first.”

Devon chuckled softly.

“Then wait.”

Like a dog.

With a gaze that seemed to convey those very words, Huey Cloud, his face rigid, bowed respectfully to Devon before turning to leave. Behind him, Devon’s command dropped.

“Please look into those brought by Marchioness Annabelle Moore. See if they harbor any ulterior motives, or if they might be spies for Bliss’s faction.”

“…What will they be used for?”

Devon smiled enigmatically.

“Who knows.”