42 – Cypress Mosaic

“How’s ​the ​house?”

“The ​house? ​Why?”

“I mean, is ​everything ​okay?”

“Same ​as ​always ​for us.”

Vincent answered with ​a ​tone that bordered ​on boredom, as ​if ​things ​were ​too ​peaceful. ​However, both of ​them ​knew ​all too well ​that such a mundane ​routine was, ​in fact, ​the greatest ​blessing of ​all.

“Still, ​seeing ​you now, I ​think your ​uncle has lost a ​bit of weight.”

“He’s been ​paying quite a bit ​of attention ​to ​it lately to lose weight.”

“Is he ​exercising?”

“He started riding bikes ​with ​me. ​Though ​it’s ​only for thirty ​minutes a ​day.”

“That’s ​good. He wouldn’t ​listen ​no matter how much everyone ​nagged him.”

“He ​needs ​to control his ​diet, ​but ​I ​think ​he still ​hates ​that. I ​keep telling him that Dad’s indigestion is ​caused by overeating. ​Mom is right ​about that.”

Vincent continued to ​grumble about ​the daily bickering ​between ​Lina and Matteo. ​Even though it ​was grumbling, ​it ​was merely ​another ​expression of ​affection. ​Elian enjoyed ​sharing ​in ​their daily lives ​and ​listening to ​their ​stories. ​To ​Elian, the Bellotti family was like the last remaining peaceful sanctuary.

While smiling and momentarily setting aside his worries as he listened to Vincent, Elian suddenly paused. The phone he had placed on the desk vibrated lengthily.

I don’t really have anyone to call. Who is it? Is it a contact from the center?

Elian picked up the phone.

“……”

Noticing Elian’s frozen reaction as he held the phone, Vincent asked with curiosity.

“What’s wrong? Who is it?”

“Lorenz Lockhart.”

This was the first time he had called.

What is it? He couldn’t have forgotten it was a holiday, and I already told Margaret that I was visiting the house in Brooklyn. Could something have happened to Lucas?

For a moment, his heart began to race with anxiety. Elian connected the call.

“Yes. This is Elian Bellotti.”

[Ah…]

He could sense a moment of hesitation and fluster from the other side.

Despite being the one to make the call, the reaction was as if he hadn’t expected Elian to answer.

“Mr. Lockhart?”

[Ah, um. Are you busy?]

“No. I’m just relaxing. Is something the matter?”

[Well, I’m in the middle of a card game with Lucas…]

At the hesitant words, Elian let out a small chuckle and breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been so tense because of the serious pause, and it was just a card game…

The embarrassed voice continued over the phone.

[No matter how I try, I cannot interpret the cards Lucas has chosen.]

“Did you call to ask for help?”

[Did I disturb you on your day off?]

“No, not at all.”

Elian shook his head, smiling repeatedly.

He went to see Lucas today as well.

He didn’t break his promise.

“What cards did Lucas choose?”

[A card with a child leaning their chin on a windowsill, and… a man setting off on a journey. The other one is a card with two birds flying around a tree. Three cards in total.]

Thinking of the image of Lorenz Lockhart portrayed in newspaper articles or news broadcasts, it was impossible not to smile. Just a few days ago, various media outlets had featured Lorenz Lockhart, radiating tension ahead of the announcement of the successor. After finishing a meeting at the Holdings Tower, the parent company of the Lockhart Group, he had stepped into his official vehicle with a brisk pace, without so much as a glance toward the numerous cameras waiting for him.

His expressionless, pale face looked as if he had willingly discarded even his emotions for the sake of goals and efficiency. It seemed as though no human appeal could create a crack in his heart. He truly lived up to his nickname, the ‘Count Dracula of Manhattan.’

And yet, that man was currently struggling because he couldn’t interpret the cards Lucas had chosen.

Elian cleared his throat a few times to hide his laughter and then strengthened his voice.

“What do you think the answer is, Mr. Lockhart?”

[Can’t you just tell me the answer right away?]

“You won’t improve your skills if you do it that way.”

After a sigh, Lorenz confessed.

[Honestly, I have no idea. This child seems to be looking at the scenery outside the window, the man is leaving, and what about the birds? Do they want to fly away freely?]

“You really have no talent for this.”

Lorenz replied in a sullen voice.

[That is why I told you. Do not expect artistic sensibility from me.]

“You’re way off the mark. First of all, visit our sitethe unauthorized copyfirst card isn’t about looking out the window; it’s [stolen content]about waiting for someone.”

[Ah…]

“And the man isn’t leaving; he’s the one returning.”

[Then these birds are…]

“Two birds are chirping together and getting along well.”

[……]

He fell silent. He might have been frustrated by the fact that he hadn’t gotten a single one right, not even close.

“I think it means Lucas was waiting for you, Mr. Lockhart, and he’s happy that you came.”

Silence continued over the phone.

The image of the two of them sitting opposite each other with cards spread out on the sofa was vivid in his mind. Lucas hugging his rabbit doll, and Lorenz, holding the cards with a serious expression, breaking into a cold sweat. It was almost a shame he couldn’t see it in person.

“See? I told you Lucas doesn’t dislike you, Mr. Lockhart.”

A hint of laughter inevitably leaked into Elian’s voice.

[That’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh out loud like that.]

“Is… that so?”

[It is. You were always cold in front of me.]

Cold?

Elian let out a hollow laugh at the remark, which made it stolen contentsound as if he had intentionally been cold. [visit our site]Moreover, there [unauthorized copy]was something like a pouting child in Lorenz’s voice, as if he were complaining.

Opposite him, Vincent looked at his friend with curiosity. A faint smile had been lingering on Elian’s face throughout the call, wondering what he was talking about with Lorenz Lockhart. Vincent checked that his beer bottle was empty and soon rose from the bed. Before he knew it, all six bottles in the pack were gone.

Vincent patted Elian on the shoulder.

“Do you want more beer too?”

Elian looked up at his friend and answered in a small voice.

“No, I’m okay.”

Vincent scratched the back of his neck and left the room, and Elian returned to the call.

“I wasn’t being cold. I was just drawing a line whenever you were being rude, Mr. Lockhart.”

There was no reply from the other end. Had the call been cut off?

“Hello? Mr. Lockhart?”

[Are you with a man right now?]

The unexpected question came with a strange nuance. Normally, one would ask if they were with a friend… it felt as if there was some meaning in specifically using the word ‘man.’

“He’s a friend.”

[I see you’re drinking too.]

“I’m at a legal drinking age. I drank with you too, Mr. Lockhart. During dinner.”

[Hmm.]

It was a dissatisfied breath, suggesting that it wasn’t a sufficient answer.

However, Lorenz Lockhart had no right to interrogate him for such a reason. He surely didn’t intend to restrict drinking on a holiday under the pretext of being an ’employer.’

[I have a villa on the outskirts of Tarrytown.]

Conversations with him could be unpredictable.

Once again, the topic suddenly shifted in a completely unexpected direction.

“A villa?”

[It’s a country house built in the English manor style. There’s a forest right behind it, and the Hudson River is close in front. You can collect insects or mushrooms, and you can take a rowboat. There’s also a small cabin by the river. It’s a place where you can really get a rural feel.]

“Yes… it sounds like a wonderful place.”

Though he couldn’t tell the purpose of bringing it up, Elian responded moderately for now.

[When Lucas is able to leave his room, let’s go there together.]

As expected, conversations with this man were unpredictable.

One moment he seemed willful, then he would reveal a human side; one moment he seemed considerate, then he would relentlessly steer the conversation in the direction he wanted.

By the time you realized it, you would have arrived at a place completely different from where you expected when the conversation first began.

However, that destination wasn’t always unpleasant.

Elian nodded while looking at the skyline outside the window.

“Alright… I’m sure Lucas will love it too.”

Lorenz Lockhart’s low laughter could be heard. It was a relaxed and intimate sound, visit our sitedevoid of tension. What kind of [Read on Read BL Novels]expression was he wearing while laughing like that? Rubbing the beer bottle that had already turned lukewarm in his hand, Elian quietly listened to the breathing unauthorized copyover the phone. Across the river, Manhattan was still scattering light like an artificial Milky Way.

■