By Some Unbelievable Twist, I Became the Villainess’s Older Brother - Chapter 14.2
He had believed at the time that he must not. Though money had been tight, life was not utterly unbearable, and he considered that enough.
More than anything, unlike his father, his paternal grandmother had stayed beside him until the end. But for that very reason, after she died, the word “love” ceased to exist in his life.
It was the same when he made friends. Friendship might exist, but affection would not. He had decided that long ago. He had believed he did not even want it.
Yet as he watched these people welcome him as family, Enoch had begun at some point to wish that affection were his. He wanted it despite knowing perfectly well that the love they gave was not truly meant for him.
‘…No. Even so, I am Enoch now.’
The more he thought, the lower his spirits seemed to sink. Biting the inside of his mouth hard, Enoch forced his long train of thought to an abrupt end.
In truth, he did not even know where the real Enoch was. Until then, surely Jaeyi could remain here.
‘I don’t know how to leave this body anyway…’
If he helped Enoch avoid his terrible ending, perhaps that would at least compensate him for having taken his place, if only temporarily. Enoch blinked and moved his hand again.
Then he sincerely resolved once more to do his utmost to change Enoch Laochenes’s story.
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[To my dear Sir Enoch.
It has been a long time, Sir Enoch. Have you been well?
I do not know what aftereffects you suffered from the accident. I sincerely hope you have recovered by now.
The reason I send yet another letter is…]
“I have lost count of how many this makes…”
Enoch murmured as he slowly read the invitation in his hand.
The First Princess was far more persistent than he had expected. He thought he had already given a proper answer the last time, but apparently, he alone had thought so.
Including today’s, this was already the fifth invitation. Through the fourth, he had managed somehow to plead that his body hadn’t yet recovered, but that excuse was no longer possible.
He had even decided to return to duty. If he refused this invitation despite that, the First Princess would certainly conclude that Enoch did not wish to meet her.
‘Or does she already think that?’
If so, he had even more reason to go… Enoch frowned. Though he had nearly made up his mind, he couldn’t shake his unease.
‘…Has the culprit not already been caught? Moreover, I heard he died in prison. Surely you have not forgotten already?’
‘There is no chance you believed that account, Sir Enoch. Am I wrong? Is that not why you refused the First Princess’s invitation?’
Suddenly recalling his conversation with Adelio, Enoch sighed quietly. The man truly was uncanny.
To think he had guessed even that. He knew Enoch suspected not just anyone, but the First Princess.
‘Does he think the same thing?’
Seen that way, it made some sense. The First Princess was the Emperor’s eldest daughter, born to him and the late First Empress, and the firstborn among all the imperial children.
Perhaps because of that, she received more of the Emperor’s favor than her siblings. She had also accomplished more than the other children and often received the people’s praise.
And that was not all. When an epidemic once plunged the nation into chaos, the Divine Physician she discovered reportedly made it possible to develop a cure. Because of that deed, people still sometimes called her a Saintess.
In truth, Enoch found the incident somewhat strange. How had the First Princess managed to find the Divine Physician as soon as the epidemic began?
Of course, it could have been a coincidence. But that was not the only reason Enoch felt uneasy about her.
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