Falling into the Abyss

Tanisiel looked at Ethan in surprise. “There’s another person there?”

“That is, when I sleep, I can hear a breathing sound that is not from me.” Ethan seemed to feel very embarrassed that he had disturbed Tanisiel because of such a thing. “I don’t know if there is something wrong with my ears.”

Without replying, Tanisiel went directly to Ethan’s room. First, he turned on the light and looked inside and outside. Then, he stood in the middle of the room and closed his eyes, opening his third one. In the quiet air, Ethan couldn’t hear the sound of breathing he did before. Instead, the strange sounds of insects croaking in the night came from outside the window.

After a while, Tanisiel opened his eyes slowly and closed his eyes on his forehead. His expression seemed dignified and uncertain as he looked at Ethan.

Ethan laughed at his nervousness. “What’s the matter? Is there a ghost in your house?”

However, Tanisiel replied, “You’re quite right. It’s just that I didn’t expect you to feel it.”

Ethan thought Tanisiel was joking, so he laughed twice, only to find that the priest didn’t. His mouth was slightly open as he asked, “Huh? Are you serious?”

“This castle has a history spanning hundreds of years. Many people have owned it, and they were all important Eve princes and nobles. Most of these people died in this castle.” Tanisiel looked around as though he was seeing this room for the first time. “The Eves have more mental power than Earthlings, as you know. The more powerful a person is, the longer their mental power can remain or attach to something familiar or important to him after their death. Even if they disappear completely, these things will leave their eternal mark.”

“You mean the nobles who died here left their mark in this castle?”

The priest nodded and looked at Ethan with a kind of ghastly and mysterious look in his eyes in the night. “I’ve seen it many times because I was born with strong mental power. They are attached to every stone, tile, and brick of the castle. They became part of the castle. In a sense, the castle is alive,” he said, suddenly leaning forward and looking down at Ethan with a strange smile. “And the person who died most recently is my father. Until now, I can still feel him breathing here.”

Ethan looked at him with a frightened expression, and Tanisiel couldn’t help laughing. Clear laughter reverberated in the quiet room and instantly dispelled the strange atmosphere that had just gathered.

Ethan’s face turned red with anger. “How old are you to make such a joke! Childish!”

“It’s because you looked so calm until just now, so I was just trying to scare you~” The priest put his arm around Ethan’s waist smoothly and naturally, and took him to the bedside to sit down. “I like the way you look when you’re scared. You look like a rabbit. It’s a pity that you have gotten increasingly courageous recently, so there are fewer chances of scaring you. It’s truly a pity.”

“You are the one who’s a rabbit!” Ethan elbowed the priest aside. “So what did I just hear!”

“Maybe it’s the wind, maybe it’s the sound of the vent, or maybe it’s due to your recent mental stress.” After thinking about it, the priest reached out and rubbed Ethan’s hair. “Wait for me for a while. I’ll get something.”

A moment later, the priest came back with a crystal goblet filled with an amber liquid. He handed Ethan the glass. “It’s a liquid extracted from herbal medicine. Drinking a little every day can help you sleep and temporarily relieve your mental stress.”

Ethan took a sip. It was sweet, with a hint of rosin, causing the drink to taste slightly strange. He drank everything in the glass in one breath, but he heard Tanisiel smile and say, “You’re so straightforward in drinking it. Are you not afraid that I’d poison you?”

Although Ethan always knew that he had a slight desire to be abused, it was only in bed. He never knew that he could even like the burning pain.

Tanisiel took the glass from his hand, reaching out and wiping the corners of his mouth. Then, he touched his frown.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go to the temple tomorrow,” the priest comforted Ethan, who was obviously worried about something.

However, Ethan was not only worried about his own physical condition. “Is Theonile also back?”

“Yes……he should be back……”

“Then……he should have guessed that you would have brought us back.”

“I think he should have guessed.”

“Will you be in trouble?”

Tanisiel shrugged. “I’ve always been a troublemaker, ever since I was a kid.”

Ethan was amused and laughed. Such sincere laughter had not come out of his mouth for a long time. When he didn’t wear glasses, his smile seemed very naive, unlike a 30-year-old man. The priest looked at him tenderly as though he was obsessed.

Ethan was a little embarrassed. “Don’t look, I’ve got goosebumps!”

The priest seemed a little stunned. After a moment, he suddenly hugged Ethan’s body tightly. “I’ll sleep with you tonight, okay?”

Ethan was stunned and blushed. “Uh……okay……okay then……”

“What are you thinking?” Tanisiel knocked on Ethan’s head, his expression full of the intention to tease him. “I just want to hug you to sleep. Your body is too weak now. I’m afraid you can’t stand it.”

Ethan’s face reddened until he was almost as red as a carrot. “What are you talking about! How could I be so weak!”

“Of course, if you really want it, then I can try my best to satisfy you.”

“Who wants it! Scram!”

“No, let’s sleep together, please!”

“Then don’t touch me without my permission! How can I sleep this way!”

“Shh…… It’s late at night. Don’t talk……”

“You…..”

.

Early the next morning, Ethan was awakened by a sort of pleasant birdsong, which sounded like a wind chime. The cool wind carried the dry warmth of the sun as it blew in from the window. Ethan emitted a comfortable sigh before turning around with the desire to embrace the person behind him, but he embraced emptiness.

The priest was already gone.

Ethan’s heart suddenly felt a bout of emptiness, and his urge to sleep was half gone.

He sat up from the bed and thought that he was still in a dream. Not long ago, he was a prisoner in the Forbidden City. He got up at five o’clock in the morning every day, he could never finish his work or leave, and he might die in an atonement mission or a brawl between nonhumans at any time. Now, however, he was waking up naturally and could even look at the lavender sun like how he had just done for a while.

He went to the bedroom’s bathroom and washed his face, brushed his teeth, clumsily donned the clothes that Tanisiel had prepared for him, and stuck the two ear clips that could morph his face onto his ears. Then, Ethan hesitantly left his room and strolled to the first floor.

The dining room was located on the west side of the first floor. A long table had been set up for the sumptuous breakfast. Samuel was drinking a cup of a warm crimson drink while watching the news at the table. When he heard Ethan coming in, he just looked up at him.

“Do you know what happened to the Forbidden City?” There was something indescribable about Samuel’s smile. Ethan frowned. “You mean after we left?”

“Yes.” Samuel hummed and laughed. “I really have some slight admiration for this brat Chen Zeng. Previously, after the higher-ups learned about the Lord Grace’s Association, it seemed that Chen Zeng was to be executed secretly, but the news leaked out. Many devout believers outside the city asked for his release and planned a siege. Obviously, many of the guards who had become his followers turned off the lock system of the Forbidden City, so the ‘mob’ drove straight in and almost ‘rescued’ Chen Zeng. There was a big fight this time, and many guards and civilians died.”

Ethan took a sip of the warm liquid from the cup the housekeeper gave him, which looked like red wine. Unexpectedly, it was mellow. “And afterward?”

“President Appiah was enraged and decided to publicly execute Chen Zeng. Additionally, it’s by hanging.” Samuel was still smiling, but his eyes were cold. “A very appropriate way to die.”

Ethan frowned. “What? But the Earth Union has not had the death penalty for a long time!”

“Well, is the Forbidden City different from the death penalty? They just want to squeeze out more value from us scums.” Samuel casually dropped some light green fruit from the Eves’ planet into his mouth. “The most interesting thing is that some Lord Grace’s Association members outside the city sent a warning letter anonymously through the internet, saying that if the government really wants to persecute their leader, then they will have to pay with their lives. Some critics said that they would likely commit terrorist attacks against innocent citizens.”

Ethan didn’t expect that the Lord Grace’s Association could make such a huge ruckus.

At the end of breakfast, Ethan saw the housekeeper walking past the dining area with something like bedding in his hand. Ethan ran after him and asked in the Eves’ language, “Hello, Tani……did the tutor leave?”

The housekeeper nodded, and he still acted in a serious and distant manner towards them. “He asked me to tell you that after going to the temple, he would come back as soon as possible and to remember to take your medicine every day.”

Ethan nodded, relieved. He didn’t even realize he was worried.

Just as the housekeeper was about to leave, Ethan suddenly thought of something and called out to the housekeeper in a hurry, “Excuse me, can I ask you something else?”

“Please go ahead.”

Ethan pursed his lips and asked, “The tutor’s father……the Duke of the Western River, what disease did he die of?”

The housekeeper raised his eyebrows slightly. “Regarding this matter, isn’t it better for the young master to tell you about this?”

Ethan let out a little disappointed noise before thanking him and leaving. However, this time it was the housekeeper who stopped him.

Seeing Ethan’s young face showing his disappointment, the housekeeper felt he appeared pitiful, and his heart softened. He revealed, “In fact, it’s fine to tell you. It’s not a secret. At that time, the Duke suffered from a rare kind of ‘pallor.’ The disease caused his various bodily functions to gradually collapse, just as though his organs that originally worked normally suddenly decided to stop cooperating. It seems that his mental strength has also been infected.” The old housekeeper spoke with some nostalgia and sadness on his rigid face. “At that period, at the end of his life, the Duke’s temperament changed. He often talked nonsense, and he was also very skinny. At that time, the young master stayed by his bedside day and night and tried all kinds of ways to cure him. He even used the God of Order’s egg, but he couldn’t stop him from dying……”

Ethan nodded and imagined the young Tanisiel lying helpless beside his dying father, his eyes filled with despair and fear. His heart suddenly throbbed.

If only he could have been with the priest at that time.

But that was not enough. What he really wanted to know was, “That……in which room did the Duke die?”

The housekeeper was stunned, and his eyes grew alert. “Why do you ask this?”

Ethan bowed his head humbly. “The room I lived in last night is decorated differently from the other parts of the castle, and the tiles and floors look relatively new. It’s like……it has been completely renovated.” He raised his green eyes and looked at the housekeeper sharply. “Am I living in the room where the Duke previously died?”

T/N: Next chapter update will be next Sat, as mentioned in discord! Updates will resume after next week.