It was midnight. Inside the dimly lit room, Briny was sound asleep. Hathaway scooped her up in her arms, carried her to the adjacent room, and then returned to the bedroom. She moved the chair aside, freeing Jenkins and his cat from the wardrobe.
The curtains had been drawn back, and a sliver of moonlight streamed down from the sky, bathing the red-haired girl in its glow. With her skin faintly flushed, she looked like a goddess.
Neither the one inside the wardrobe nor the one outside spoke, but their eyes were locked on each other. Only the cat let out a disgruntled meow, but no one had any time to pay it any mind.
“I think you should say something now.”
Hathaway’s reminder was a soft whisper. She was wearing a simple nightgown, and Jenkins knew precisely what lay beneath it.
He had never imagined he would one day be forced to face such a scene. His mind went blank, and his mouth began to move on its own accord:
“The... the performance... was wonderful.”
He immediately wanted to punch himself.
Jenkins had no intention of answering that. He had an image to maintain.
“Excuse me, but... what... what exactly was all that tonight?”
He had wondered countless times if he was dreaming, but no dream could be this vivid. An indescribable scent permeated the room, a heady, strange mixture of something feminine and the aroma of wine. Jenkins’s back was soaked with sweat, and his arms ached from holding Chocolate for so long. It was all too real; there was no mistaking it.
He was supposed to be dealing with the threat of the undead, worrying about his new neighbor and a letter from Mason Pisco, yet here he was on a Sunday night, facing this. Jenkins felt the full weight of life's malice. This joke by Fate’s Hermit was going too far.
“Do you like me, Jenkins?”
Jenkins couldn’t follow the conversation’s logic. He had been the one to ask the question, but not only had Hathaway ignored it, she had thrown a new, impossible question back at him. She was completely disregarding the normal rules of conversation.
His thoughts began to drift, and he vaguely recalled that last night on the train... a blonde girl had seemingly asked him the very same question.
“Answer me, won’t you, Jenkins?”
Hathaway’s face was flushed crimson. Jenkins couldn’t tell if it was from the wine or the intensity of the moment, but he suspected his own face was much the same.
“Are you going to keep playing dumb?”
He couldn’t answer that question either. He stepped out of the wardrobe, cat in tow, and Hathaway shifted to the side to give him room.
As he brushed past her, Jenkins caught the heavy scent of wine. It was hardly surprising; the girls had wasted quite a bit of it during their games. The sheets and duvet would need a thorough wash before they could be used again.
“Is it that you don’t want to answer, or you don’t dare to?”
Hathaway pressed, relentless.
“Act like a man, Jenkins. What are you so afraid of?”
“Can you really not tell what I’m thinking?”
“Why are you... I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
Gentle moonlight enveloped them both, and an inexplicable emotion filled the space between them. The red-haired girl looked up, staring into the man’s eyes in disbelief. She hadn’t actually expected him to say anything; she didn’t think Jenkins was the kind of man who could say such things.
“I’m not saying it again.”
Jenkins quickly shook his head. He had already used up all his courage.
“If that’s the case, then why...”
“Because you have Briny. I don’t want to do something immoral.”
She looked into Jenkins’s eyes again, her gaze as sharp as a sword:
“On the train back to Nolan City from the mountain villa, that last night... what did you two do?”
“We didn’t do anything!” The most update n0vels are published on NoveI★Fire.net
The man’s voice suddenly grew louder.
Hathaway lifted a hand to the top button of her nightgown. It was a beautiful button, but not as beautiful as her hand.
Jenkins’s hand was faster. He grabbed Hathaway’s arm.
His expression was dead serious. He didn’t want a repeat of that night on the train.
“I told you, I don’t want to do anything immoral.”
“Even if it hurts us?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No, you do understand. You’re just running away. Jenkins, what are you running from? I can feel your fear, but I’ve never known what it is you’re afraid of.”
“I told you, I won’t do anything immoral.”
“If you don’t mind, I’ll go wake Briny right now.”
Jenkins shook his head like a madman, backing away step by step as Hathaway advanced on him.
“I know this isn’t right, but if...”
“Please, don’t say any more!”
“Briny and I both come from noble families. This sort of thing...”
The window behind Jenkins banged open. Like a mouse escaping a cat, he scrambled out, where he was caught by a unicorn and carried into the night sky.
The red-haired girl stood quietly at the window, letting the cold night wind blow through her long hair. The figure flying under the moon grew smaller and smaller, but before long, the runaway man returned, ringing the bell below.
“I don’t want to be a coward. It’s shameful.”
He said in a trembling voice, but he remained downstairs, not entering the house. From behind Hathaway in the doorway, Chocolate darted out; the man had forgotten him.
“I feel disgusted with myself. I really... for you both... I... you... she... Oh, what am I even trying to say? I have feelings for both you and Briny... I shouldn’t hurt either of you, but... Oh, Sage, I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.”
“I understand. You don’t have to explain...”
This time, it was Jenkins who reached out. He pulled the girl in the doorway into his arms for a kiss, then scooped up his cat and fled into the thick of the night.
“He doesn’t understand anything.”
Hathaway touched her lips, leaning against the doorframe. Even though Jenkins was long gone, she didn’t move.
“That fool. He doesn’t understand anything.”
She was right. Jenkins truly didn’t understand anything. Or perhaps, he simply didn’t want to.