Louis York clicked his tongue, scolding: "Wasn’t it to ensure the secrecy of the entire plan? But then again, we really have Julian’s incident to thank for baiting public opinion. If those people happen to dig up the fact that I came here, at least I still have a solid shield called ’coming to rescue a friend’."

"Whatever, worrying won’t help. When they arrive, make sure you two go out and lead them in. I’m heading back to my room with Jules; I don’t feel at ease leaving him alone." Ethan Caldwell stood up and stretched: "As for the matters we were discussing earlier, just proceed according to plan. I’ll have someone handle the remaining trivial details right away."

With that, Ethan strode toward the door. Just as his hand touched the handle, he suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Kieran. The entire room was still engulfed in silent darkness. It was just that after staring into the dark for long enough, their eyes had gradually adjusted, allowing them to vaguely make out the outlines of the furniture and the people within the thick blackness.

Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly, his long, narrow gaze flashing with an unpredictable glint of danger. A natural, oppressive aura radiated from him. If Julian were here to see this look, he would definitely pout and say that Ethan was brewing some scheme in his head again. Having been together for so long, even these tiny expressions helped them understand each other completely.

"Tell your brother to go to my old family estate. My grandfather will look after him."

"Actually, you just don’t feel at ease about Grandpa Arthur, do you?" Kieran understood his childhood friend all too well. "But what is there to worry about with your grandfather? Hasn’t all the power been transferred to you? From what I see, he’s even calmer than you are."

"I agree that he is normally very calm." Ethan had already reached the door, his long, slender hand resting on the cold metal handle, his voice suddenly dropping a few pitches: "But do you know why my parents died?"

Both men in the room fell silent. The atmosphere, which had carried a hint of mockery, instantly grew heavy.

This story used to be Ethan’s greatest pain and fatal wound, they didn’t understand why he would suddenly bring it up at such a critical moment. Even though... as brothers who had gone through life and death together, both of them knew perfectly well that the label "died in a traffic accident" was just a flawless excuse to blindside the media and outsiders. They were intimately familiar with the true reason behind that pool of blood all those years ago; it was incredibly bloody and cruel.

"The people of the Caldwell family, everyone has madness flowing in their veins. My father had that mad blood, and my grandfather... well, I think the biggest psychiatric hospital in the city should have set up a special isolation ward just for him." The corners of his lips curled into a mocking smile, his sharp gaze sweeping across the darkness in the room.

Ethan stepped outside and decisively slammed the door shut. The dry sound of the door closing echoed down the hallway. He lowered his head slightly to adjust his silk lapels, covering the fresh, ambiguous marks from earlier, and muttered to himself in the quiet space: "...Or maybe, that place should have been reserved for me."

Then he strolled down the wide corridor, making his way downstairs to return to his warm bedroom.

It was just past noon, and the sunlight outside was blinding. When Ethan carefully opened the door and walked in, he saw Julian curled up into a ball, having pulled the large blanket up to completely cover his face.

The man stood still and watched for a moment, just as the harsh sunlight pierced through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a soft patch of light right onto the corner of the bed where the younger man lay. Helplessly shaking his head, Ethan walked over with light steps to draw the curtains. However, he deliberately only used the sheer outer layer to block out the glaring rays, keeping a soft, gentle light inside just enough to see, rather than drawing the curtains pitch black like in Kieran’s room.

Ethan Caldwell slowly climbed onto the soft mattress. Just as he was about to reach out, pull the person into his arms, and close his eyes to catch up on some sleep to recharge, the person on the bed seemed to sense the familiar warmth. Wrapping himself up in the blanket, Julian automatically snuggled into his embrace. He wriggled around to find the most comfortable position, his voice ringing out hoarse from exhaustion: "Where did you just go?"

Ethan Caldwell didn’t answer him right away, patiently peeling back the thick blanket to reveal Julian’s delicate face, his eyes still heavy with sleep. The man wrapped his arms around Julian’s waist, habitually leaning down to plant a loud kiss on that forehead dotted with a thin layer of sweat, only for Julian to shyly bury his face into the blanket to hide.

"What is it? Are you uncomfortable somewhere?" He asked gently, his hand softly patting the younger man’s back.

"I’m covered in sweat, it’s so dirty, don’t kiss me randomly." Julian complained gloomily, his tone carrying a hint of adorable sulking.

His mouth said that, but he didn’t struggle or dodge when Ethan Caldwell dominantly pressed him down to kiss him anyway. The man pressed a deep kiss against Julian’s forehead, the tip of his nose rubbing against his cheek before he finally settled down: "Why don’t you sleep a little longer to regain your strength? You only dozed off for a short while."

The result of this concern was Julian looking up and giving him a fierce glare. His eyes were still watery, looking completely devoid of any lethality.

"I passed out from what you did to me, it’s not just normal exhaustion, do you understand?"

Hearing the scolding, Ethan Caldwell wasn’t angry in the slightest but happily burst into laughter, his chest pressed tightly against Julian’s vibrating slightly: "Ah, making you feel that comfortable, that is my great honor."

"Shut up, Ethan Caldwell..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the man gently pinched his lips shut and gave him another kiss.

In the end, it turned into a playful commotion on the bed for a while. The blanket wrapped around Julian slipped down, exposing his bare shoulders. He lay completely naked face down on top of Ethan Caldwell, his lower half covered by the blanket. The man patted rhythmically on Julian’s back, only now answering his earlier question: "I went to Kieran Talbot’s place."

Julian lifted his head to look at Ethan Caldwell, muttering: "Does your reflex arc wrap all the way around the planet? We’ve been talking forever before you finally answered."

And so, Ethan Caldwell simply laughed again.