Chapter 358: The One Who Gives Good Advice [Part 1]
Chapter 358: The One Who Gives Good Advice [Part 1]
Ethan sighed for the umpteenth time as he lay down on his bed, looking at the ceiling of his room in Dud Manor.
He and Chloe just had a heart-to-heart talk about their relationship, and it made his heart feel heavy.
Never before in his life would he have chosen to have more than one wife. Unfortunately, things that happened since he entered Brynhildr Academy were outside their control.
Before he and Lily had been sent to the Lands of Alastor, his feelings for her were on the level of acquaintances.
They weren't friends, and they certainly weren't lovers.
But since the situation called for it, they had no one to rely on but each other.
That was how their connection started, which eventually led them to develop feelings for each other.
It was impossible for a young man to not like someone like Lily.
She was caring, loyal, brave, and the moment you gained her unconditional trust, she would be by your side through thick and thin.
Simply put, he couldn't see himself living his life without Lily by his side anymore. She had become that important, and now, she held a special place in his heart.
Chloe was also very special to him. She was the first girl whom he had spent his entire childhood with.
He knew what she liked, what she didn't like, and he knew, with every fiber of his being, that if there came a time when his life would be in danger, she would come running to help him, wherever she may be.
Another sigh escaped his lips as he covered his face with both hands.
Sebastian and his Other Half remained silent, not bothering to say anything. Perhaps they knew that this wasn't the time for jokes, so they gave the young man some space in order to set his feelings straight.
Lilith, who was lying on top of the table, would look at Ethan from time to time. Having many wives and lovers was very common in their Clan.
Beast Kins, in particular, were very attracted to the strong.
They believed that if they were to get a strong one's seed, they would give birth to strong children, which would, in turn, make their clan stronger.
This was why she couldn't understand Chloe's perspective and even thought of her as a very selfish girl for making her Master suffer like this.
Lilith thought that everyone had already accepted the fact that her Master was an exceptional young man, whose talents were more than enough for any sane Wizarding Family to approach him and try to rope him into helping to strengthen their bloodlines.
'I guess this is what happens when someone is raised in an Ordinarious Household,' Lilith thought. 'Maybe it is best for the Master to forget about her.'
Of course, Lilith wouldn't say this out loud.
She knew that Ethan had strong feelings for Chloe, and she feared that, if she were to say something like that, her Master might hate her.
That was the last thing that Lilith wanted to happen, so she kept her lips shut tight and only cursed Chloe in her heart.
Suddenly, Ethan heard a knock on his door.
"Ethan, it's dinner time," Luna said. "Do you want to eat together?"
The young man pondered for a bit before walking toward the door. When he opened it, he saw Luna with a worried look on her face.
"Sorry, but I won't have dinner tonight, Luna," Ethan replied.
"Then, would you like me to bring you something to eat from the dining hall?" Luna asked.
"Yes, please," Ethan nodded. "I'm sorry that I won't be able to go with you."
Luna eyed Ethan's face before nodding her head in understanding. "Don't worry about it. Also, Ethan, if you need someone to talk to, I'm always here, okay?"
"Thank you, Luna," Ethan gave the young lady a gentle hug and held her close. "I promise that I'll be okay by tomorrow. For now, I just need some time to think."
"Un," Luna replied as she closed her eyes, feeling her lover's warmth.
A few minutes later, Ethan reluctantly took a step back and let her go to the Dining Hall to eat.
When Luna left, he once again laid down on the bed and closed his eyes.
Perhaps after being drained mentally and emotionally, the young man unexpectedly fell asleep and went to the world of dreams.
In his dream, he saw an extremely handsome man, sitting on top of a pile of corpses while drinking a glass of wine.
Countless dead people lay around him, and their blood dyed the ground in a deep shade of red.
The man then started to draw symbols in the air, which all glowed and danced around him as if they were newly born entities that he had created.
"You know, it's rude to peek at someone without their permission, right?" the man asked in a teasing tone. "Tell me, boy. Why are you here?"
The man looked straight at Ethan while swirling the glass of wine in his hand.
Ethan then looked at his left and right side before pointing at his face.
"Of course, I am talking to you," the man said with a smile. "Who else do you think I am talking to? A ghost?"
Since Ethan thought that this was just a dream, he decided to play along and opened his mouth to speak. However, no words were coming out of his lips. He tried again and again, but still, nothing happened.
"What's this?" The man arched an eyebrow. "Don't tell me that your spirit has traveled so far from your body that you don't have enough spiritual power to speak? Either way, I welcome your company, so why don't I help you with your problem?"
The man drew a symbol that looked exactly like the symbol on the back of Ethan's right hand and Emma's chest.
After empowering the symbol with his magic, he gave it a flick. It flew towards Ethan, making him feel as if a bucket of cold water had been splashed over his head.
"Alright. Can you talk now?" the man asked.
"I don't know," Ethan replied.
"That's better," the man grinned. "Now, tell me, boy. Who are you, and how did you get here? Are you one of my admirers? Although you are quite handsome in your own right, I don't swing that way. I prefer to embrace beautiful ladies…"
The moment the man said those words, he immediately stopped and looked at his left and right side as if he had sensed a pair of cold eyes looking in his direction from thousands of miles away.
"Um, let me rephrase that." The handsome man cleared his throat. "I like beautiful ladies, but even if I want to embrace them, I will never. My wife is the most beautiful, the best in the world. How can I possibly hold any other woman aside from her? I might be handsome, but I am not stupid, you know?"
The man then chuckled after sensing that the cold gaze aimed in his direction had been retracted, making him pat his chest in relief.
"Boy, you almost made my wife kill me," the man said in a bitter tone. "Can you not make me say such things? It's bad for my heart."
Ethan blinked once then twice as he looked at the man in front of him. He didn't remember saying or doing anything that might have caused the man's discomfort.
"Have you turned deaf as well?" the man shook his head helplessly. "Fine, I'll introduce myself first. The name is Vincent Valentin. How about you, boy?"
"Ethan," Ethan replied. "Ethan Gremory."
Vincent nodded. "Now, tell me, Ethan. What are you doing in the lands of Saraqael? Don't worry. I give good advice. My wife said that it is one of my most redeeming qualities."
Ethan didn't know how or why he had appeared in this place in his dream. However, since he was already here, he decided to tell Vincent about the thing that was weighing on his heart.