27 – Cypress Mosaic

“Yes, ​well… ​they ​are ​rare around us, ​but ​they ​do ​exist.”

“Us?”

Joshua’s ​voice sharpened, his tone ​rising ​at the word ​that grouped him ​and ​the ​man ​together.

The ​man ​raised both hands ​in ​a ​gesture of surrender, ​as if admitting a ​mistake.

Then, resting ​his crossed ​arms on ​the bar, ​he ​asked ​in a nonchalant ​tone.

“But who ​on earth is this ​person that you’re searching ​for so desperately? You ​don’t seem ​like ​the type to wander around looking ​for someone just because ​of ​their ​looks. ​Are ​you planning a ​revenge or ​something?”

He ​asked as if ​it ​were a passing comment, but ​Joshua knew ​well ​that none of ​the ​words ​this ​man ​uttered were ​merely ​casual.

“Useless curiosity ​only hastens one’s demise.”

The paper airplane was ​complete.

Holding it with ​his fingertips, Joshua ​weighed where to visit our sitethrow ​it for ​a [visit our site]moment before ​flicking ​his creation away.

“Your ​job is simply ​to find ​that ​man as ​requested.”

“Yes, ​yes. I ​shall ​do so.”

The ​flying ​airplane ​hit the window ​and ​dropped with ​a ​thud ​onto ​the hall floor.

Bringing a glass to his lips, Joshua muttered to himself.

“Unless he vanished on purpose just to screw with me…”

Watching the raindrops form and slide down the window, Joshua repeated the man’s words in his mind.

Vanished.

Not like a flower, but like a fragrance…

■

Walking up 1st Avenue, Elian turned right onto 3rd Avenue. The further north he went, the less car traffic there was, and the trees lining both sides of the road increased noticeably. It was a pleasant environment for a bike ride to enjoy the breeze.

There was a time when he thought the Upper East Side consisted only of high-end supermarkets, restaurants, and luxury brand boutiques. Certainly, the proportion of such establishments was higher than in other visit our sitedistricts. However, ordinary pizza parlors, cheap sushi [unauthorized copy]bars, and accessible Mexican restaurants could be found surprisingly easily. He had mistaken Madison Avenue between 60th and 79th Streets for the entirety of the Upper East Side.

As he turned left toward East 86th Street, the street became even quieter.

At the very edge of this road, where it met Central Park, sat the Lockhart estate.

Feeling the cool air brush pleasantly against his face, Elian recalled his conversation with Margaret from yesterday afternoon.

After finishing the consultation with Lucas and leaving the room, he found her waiting.

“Elian, do you have a moment?”

“Of course. Is there something you’d like to say…?”

“There was something about life at the estate that I hadn’t yet informed you of.”

Usually, she never hesitated. She always knew exactly what she had to say and do, and she was a person who carried them out without hesitation. However, yesterday, a hint of hesitation was visible on her flawless and poised face.

“Actually, outsiders are prohibited from entering the annex.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Elian, you are working here for Lucas, but you are not an employee of the estate…”

“Yes, that’s true. I’ll be careful from now on.”

Even after hearing Elian’s answer, Margaret’s expression didn’t improve much. It didn’t feel as though she was delivering these words voluntarily because she wanted to.

Who had told her that Elian had been entering the annex? Who had suggested that she warn Elian? There was no need to even ask.

“I’m not trying to interfere with who you spend your free time with.”

“Yes, I understand what you mean. If those are the rules, I should naturally follow them. Please don’t worry about it.”

Elian reassured her with a smile.

Inside, however, he let out a hollow laugh at Lorenz Lockhart’s schemes.

When they were alone in the study, Lorenz had explicitly warned him about his relationship with Noah, stating that romance between employees within the estate was forbidden. If that were the case, he could have mentioned this rule right then and there.

Instead, rather than pointing it out himself, he chose to use someone else’s mouth. His tendency to manipulate situations from behind the scenes without getting his own hands dirty was truly that of an entrepreneur.

“That’s why I said ‘just in case.’ I’m simply telling you for your reference.”

Though he had smiled leisurely and pretended not to care in that moment…

With this, Lorenz had effectively blocked both Elian’s access to the annex and any potential romance with other employees. At the very least, he had established a foundation upon which he could hold Elian accountable.

However, if the estate’s rules were indeed such, he did have the right to demand it. Even if it felt somewhat unfair to Elian, his grounds for protest were weak.

Before he knew it, the estate was close.

The dense, old trees surrounding the area seemed to secretly hide the mansion. Thanks to its understated exterior finished in cream-colored marble, the estate didn’t stand out much despite its rare scale for the area.

Elian stepped off his bicycle to enter through the side door of the annex. He unbuckled and took off his helmet. It was a new helmet he had bought during an outing with Vincent on a holiday.

“……”

Just then, a car slowed down and approached beside Elian’s bicycle.

Turning his head instinctively, Elian flinched the moment the car entered his field of vision.

It was that car.

A Rolls-Royce Wraith in a color close to burgundy, like wine mixed with blood.

A car he could never forget.

Without realizing it, his grip tightened on the handlebars.

The window of the driver’s seat, not the back seat, rolled down, and Lorenz Lockhart’s face appeared.

“I see you on the road often.”

It was a remark with an ambiguous meaning, but Elian didn’t bother to ask. He simply replaced a greeting with a light nod.

“Are you on your way back from the center?”

“Yes.”

Lorenz’s gaze swept over Elian’s bicycle and lingered for a moment on the helmet in his hand.

“You bought a new one.”

“…Yes.”

How did he know I bought a new helmet? The question flashed through his mind, but he couldn’t dwell on it for long.

It was surprising enough that the man had stopped his car in front of [Read on Read BL Novels]the house to greet him, but the unauthorized copynext action was even more unexpected.

Lorenz Lockhart stepped out of the car.

Fastening the jacket buttons he had undone while driving, he approached Elian’s bicycle.

“How about it? Shall we proceed with the interview again?”

“We should. But before that, please promise me one thing.”

“What promise shall I make?”

“Please agree to prioritize Lucas’s recovery above all else.”

“My goal is also Lucas’s recovery.”

An unwavering answer.

At this moment, Elian could believe those words.

However, it was also true that there was a problem with this man’s way of expressing things.

“You demanded that I make it so Lucas could enter Ashford without any issues.”

“I did. Being able to enter school without issues would mean the child has improved that much. My way is to set a goal first before moving in any matter.”

To this man, waiting vaguely and striving until the child improved was an inefficient method. He set a visible and concrete goal—entering school normally—and used that as the standard to evaluate the result of the achievement. It was a strategy befitting a businessman. However, it could not be called desirable for a child’s guardian.

A businessman, and a child’s guardian.

It was clear that he did not know how to separate and apply those two roles within himself.

Just think of him as another child in need of counseling. ⎯ That was how Elian intended to treat Lorenz.

“Regarding Lucas’s issues, please focus on the process rather than the result.”

“……”

“This is a matter of opening and touching a person’s heart. It is by no means easy. We must gather our strength for Lucas, not for the sake of a goal.”

Lorenz silently gazed at Elian’s face, which looked determined yet desperate. Now, he could understand to some extent what Elian Bellotti was saying.

Since he had hired him to receive professional help, Margaret’s words that he should trust him for now also made sense.

“It won’t be easy since it’s against my nature, but I’ll try.”

“Are you saying you’ll make an effort?”

“Yes.”