Chapter 222: Sneaking in, huh?

Fortunately, the amount of time Blake had to spend at the mansion this time was basically half of what it had been during his previous visit.

That alone felt like a blessing.

’I’m so sleepy...’

Blake yawned so hard that his eyes watered.

Truthfully, Myles was entirely responsible for that.

The man had barely let him sleep, not even two hours!

Every time Blake finally began drifting off, Myles would somehow find a reason to make noise. Sometimes he wanted to talk, sometimes he wanted Blake’s attention.

And sometimes, for reasons Blake still couldn’t understand, Myles would suddenly become interested in discussing something completely random in the middle of the night.

At one point, Blake had seriously considered putting a pillow over his head.

He yawned again.

’And to think today is Alexander’s birthday...’

Blake looked half dead.

He stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his collar and examining his reflection.

His eyes were slightly tired, his hair was messier than usual, and faint shadows rested beneath his eyes.

’I’m not looking that ugly, this face is still pretty good.’

Blake took out his phone and snapped a picture.

He looked at it for a few seconds before deciding it was acceptable.

Then he opened Myles’ chat.

Next time I’m traveling, I’d rather not call you at night...!

He attached the picture, then sent it as he chuckled.

He could already imagine Myles’ expression.

He slipped his phone into his pocket and headed downstairs.

After the interaction he’d had with Alexander two days ago, Blake had maintained an extremely low profile.

He didn’t wander around, talk to anyone unnecessarily or even leave his room except to eat.

It was honestly quite peaceful. Unfortunately, today was different, since it was Alexander’s birthday. Which meant Blake was supposed to celebrate with the rest of the family.

The thought alone made his stomach twist.

He slowed down on the stairs.

’That woman is going to be there too, isn’t she...?’

A chill ran down his back.

He remembered her expression from the previous visit.

That disgust, contempt and, most importantly, those words.

’Being called the son of a slut doesn’t exactly sound enticing. But then again, at Calliope’s birthday, I was ignored pretty well.’

Maybe that would happen again.

Although, thinking about it, that event had been different.

There had been guests from all over the world.

Politicians, businessmen, overall mportant families.

People who had come not only for Calliope’s birthday, but to establish connections.

The family couldn’t exactly cause a scene in front of everyone.

’This time, though...’

Blake scratched his cheek, sighing.

’Maybe they’ll go all out. The step-mom’s family is also going to be there, I bet. Considering I’m an illegitimate child, I expect a shitty treatment from them especially.’

He reached the bottom of the stairs.

Then stopped.

Something felt strange.

His family wasn’t in the dining room, instead, they were all standing in the hallway, dressed up.

Blake raised an eyebrow.

’...Should I ask?’

He looked around.

Normally, someone would knock on his door before meals. Today, they did not do that, now that Blake thought about it.

He remained halfway down the stairs, watching them.

Then the front doors opened, and everyone simply walked outside.

Blake blinked.

"...Oh."

And just like that, they left.

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

He remained there for several seconds.

’Was I supposed to know about this?’

Considering they probably noticed his presence, it definitely wasn’t much of an issue.

’Ah. Whatever.’

He walked into the dining room and sat down.

A few minutes later, a servant arrived and placed a plate in front of him.

Bread.

Jam.

Nothing particularly elaborate, compared to the meals he ate the previous two days.

Blake picked up a piece of bread.

"Where did everyone go?"

The servant hesitated.

"They are having an outing, young master. I’m not certain where."

"Oh. I see, thanks."

He spread jam over the bread.

Then, after a moment, he took out his phone.

He opened Myles’ chat.

Today they went out without me.

lol

Blake smiled faintly.

He put his phone away and continued eating.

The bread was good.

The jam was good.

Everything was perfectly normal.

And yet... domething about it bothered him.

Not because he’d wanted to go, he absolutely hadn’t.

So why did being left behind sting?

Blake frowned.

’What a pain, having to deal with these unrelated feelings.’

He finished breakfast and eventually stood.

The dining room felt even larger when he was alone.

His footsteps echoed faintly as he walked toward the stairs.

His fingers curled around the railing.

Something ugly stirred inside his chest.

At first, it was only a pressure.

Then came warmth.

His jaw tightened.

His nails dug into his palm.

For some reason, an image appeared in his mind.

Blood.

Someone lying motionless across it.

Blake standing nearby.

His own hands covered in red.

His breathing became shallow.

He stopped halfway up the stairs.

"...What the?"

He stared at his hands.

They were clean.

He swallowed.

’Why did I just think that?’

The image vanished.

But the feeling remained.

A violent impulse crawled underneath his skin, so foreign that Blake didn’t even know what to call it.

He shook his head.

"Nope."

He continued upstairs.

’I definitely need sleep.’

By the time he reached the last floor, the feeling had faded.

Blake stopped in front of his bedroom door.

He wasn’t particularly eager to enter.

There was nothing inside.

Just the same bed.

The same furniture.

The same boring walls.

He sighed and took out his phone. There was a message from Myles.

Okay, let’s stay together for a while.

Blake stared at it, then smiled.

’He really is...’

He couldn’t finish the sentence.

A quiet chuckle escaped him.

’Fine.’

He opened the door.

Then immediately jumped backward, covering his mouth.

"M-Myles?!"

There he was, standing inside the room.

Myles turned toward him.

"You’re here!"

"Yes."

"How did you get here?!"

Myles walked toward him.

"The security here is good."

Blake’s eyebrow twitched.

"Yeah well... I suppose it still wasn’t hard for you to sneak in but..."

Myles leaned forward, kissing Blake’s cheek.

Blake blinked.

"...You’re really something else."

Myles looked at him calmly.

"I came because you wanted me here."

"I did text that, but I didn’t think it was possible."

"Why would you think that?"

Blake paused.

"I mean, I don’t know, honestly. The way here is super long."

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Myles.

Myles immediately embraced him in return.

Blake buried his face against his chest.

"You’re being a little reckless."

"Hm."

"I was already thinking about going back to sleep."

"You should."

"I barely slept..."

"I know."

"Because of you!"

"I know."

Blake lifted his head.

"You don’t even feel guilty?"

"..."

"Woah."

He rested his head against Myles again.

"Man, I missed you."

Myles’ hand paused for a second.

Then continued moving slowly across his back.

"I missed you too."

Blake laughed.

"I had a weird morning."

"Because your family left?"

Blake’s smile disappeared slightly.

"...I mean, it’s not like I’m hurt but, I guess it was still annoying, you know."

Myles looked down at him.

"They did leave without telling you."

"Yeah. Maybe I would say it was a bit humiliating."

He pulled away enough to look at him.

"I mean, I didn’t want to go. But..."

Blake scratched his cheek, looking toward the window.

"It still feels weird."

Myles understood.

At least, Blake assumed he did.

"Did he say anything else to you?"

"You mean Alexander? No, I was telling the truth when I texted you I was avoiding confrontation."

Myles looked to the side, eyebrows raised.

"Stay away from him."

Blake snorted.

"We don’t like anyone in this family anyway, what makes you think I want to approaching any of them voluntarily."

Myles touched his cheek.

"Blake, don’t worry about them."

"I would say I don’t, most of the time."

Blake went quiet, then smiled. He reached up and gently flicked Myles’ forehead.

"You’re being too serious."

Myles didn’t react.

Blake laughed.

"Come on. It’s Alexander’s birthday. I don’t want to spend the entire morning talking about him."

"I’ll make you something to eat when you come back tomorrow."

Blake’s eyes brightened.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Can I choose?"

"What do you want?"

Blake immediately answered.

"Steak."

"You had steak yesterday."

"And?"

Myles stared at him.

Blake smiled innocently.

"And I like steak."

"Fine. But you should eat less in a week, Blake."

Blake hugged him again.

"You’re the best."

Myles rested his chin against Blake’s head.

"You say that whenever I give you food."

"That’s because food is important. No wait, actually, I always say you’re the best, don’t play victim.."

Myles hummed.

Blake remained in his arms for a while. Then he remembered something.

"Wait."

"What?"

"Now that I think of it, this is the last floor."

Myles remained silent.

Blake narrowed his eyes.

"...You didn’t climb through a window, did you?"

"No."

"Did you sneak through the servants’ entrance?"

"No."

"Did you threaten someone?"

"No."

"Did you—"

"The security here is good, but for me it’s not difficult to penetrate."

Blake stared, muttering under his breath.

"Said like a true main character..."

Myles kissed his forehead.

"You’re not telling me how you did it?"

"It isn’t as interesting as you think."

"Fine."

He stepped away and dropped onto the bed.

Myles followed.

Blake looked at him.

"So you’re staying?"

"Yes."

"Until when?"

"Until you leave."

Blake smiled.

"That’s a long time."

"I know."

"Hehe, you’ll have to hide if a servant tries to get in."

"That won’t be difficult."

Blake rolled onto his side.

Myles reached over and brushed Blake’s messy hair away from his forehead.

His eyes slowly closed. He was still so tired. But with Myles there, the mansion didn’t feel nearly as suffocating.

"I might sleep."

"Then sleep."

"But you came here to spend time with me, I can’t just sleep."

"It doesn’t matter.bYou’re still entertaining while you sleep."

Blake gasped.

"Ayo! You’re slowly turning into a comedian these days... so out of pocket"

Myles pulled the blanket over him.

"You should rest."

Blake settled beneath it.

His eyelids grew heavier.

"Myles?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for coming."

Myles leaned down and kissed his lips.