Karl looked around and felt his stomach twist in frustration.
He could see it clearly..many of the villagers were starting to feel pity for Lucien. That soft, tearful face... the shaking voice... the robe dramatically flapping in the wind. Even some of the toughest old ghosts were beginning to murmur things like, "Poor boy," and "Maybe Karl misunderstood."
Karl’s jaw clenched. He felt Milo shift beside him, clearly annoyed too.
So Karl made a decision.
If Lucien wanted drama, Karl would give him a better one.
He suddenly threw his head back and let out a loud, echoing cry.
The sound was so loud and unexpected that Lucien stopped mid-sob and looked at him in shock. His tear-streaming eyes blinked rapidly, confused.
Milo blinked too, but then calmly reached out and patted Karl’s back as if comforting a devastated ghost.
"Wooooooo!" Karl cried louder, holding the side of his robe like it was tearing his soul apart. "I know you three are poooooooor!"
Gasps filled the air.
"I want to help you!" Karl sobbed, pointing a shaking finger at Lucien. "But then I heard my own brother say... he wants to seduce my Wife!"
The crowd went silent.
Eyes widened. Mouths dropped open.
All heads turned slowly toward Lucien.
Lucien stood frozen, his mouth opening and closing like a confused fish. "No... no, that’s not true!" he burst out, bursting into even bigger tears. "Your ear must have misheard, Karl! Oh my dear brother, how can you think that I—I—I would even think of such a thing?"
But Karl wasn’t done.
He ran dramatically down the porch steps, still crying with loud sniffles, and grabbed Lucien’s hands in front of everyone.
"Then brother..." Karl said in a shaking voice, "promise me in front of the whole village that you won’t ever try to marry my wife... and you won’t try to take anything from our house ever again!"
Everyone leaned forward. The crowd was locked in.
Elira looked tense. Danny looked stiff. But all eyes were on Lucien.
Lucien stood frozen. His lips twitched. His eyes shifted to the crowd.
Because deep inside, his real plan was to get close to Ruby. To gain her trust. To become something more. He believed if he could just stay close enough, she’d eventually pick him. And with her money, her mind, her beauty—he could live like a prince forever.
But now... Karl had cornered him.
If he promised now, he’d lose that chance.
And that silence screamed louder than any cry he’d made earlier.
The crowd began to murmur again—this time not with pity, but with disgust.
One ghost whispered, "So it’s true?"
Another said, "That’s his brother? Disgraceful."
Karl slowly let go of his hands and stood tall. The tears were still on his cheeks, but now his face was calm.
"I waited," he said. "And you couldn’t even promise."
Milo stepped beside him, his arms folded, staring down at Lucien like he already knew the truth from the start.
Lucien’s lips quivered, but he said nothing.
And the crowd... turned away from him.
Just as the silence began to grow heavy, Elira stepped forward, her robe fluttering behind her as she placed herself between Karl and Lucien, her face trembling like she had been holding back emotion.
"Come on, Karl," she said, her voice cracking. "Don’t humiliate your brother !"
She turned to face the crowd, her eyes glistening suddenly—too quickly to be natural.
"He can’t make that promise, not because he’s guilty," she said, her voice raising as she looked back at Karl. "But because he’s hurt. Because he shouldn’t have to believe that you—his only younger brother—could think of him like that."
Her eyes filled with sudden redness as if she had been holding it all in for years. She touched her chest, trembling like the pain was too much to bear.
"Look at him," she whispered brokenly, pointing at Lucien, who quickly lowered his head and made his face look even more delicate. "Look at that innocent face... That’s the same face I saw when he was asking me daily if Karl had eaten and ’How’s Karl doing, Mother?’" she choked, sniffing. "He prays for you..."
Her voice broke completely. "I can’t believe this... That you would say this about your brother... the same brother who loved you more than himself..."
A few ghosts gasped again.
The emotional twist worked for a moment. A few neighbors whispered to one another.
"Did he really ask about Karl?"
"She looks truly upset..."
Even Milo looked mildly disturbed—not by the speech, but by how good she was at lying with a trembling voice.
Karl stared at her, eyes narrowing. He watched the fake tears, the shaking hands, the soft tone she used to paint Lucien as a misunderstood little lamb.
But Karl... he wasn’t someone who would just stand there and let lies twist the truth.
He watched Elira’s fake tears. He saw Lucien standing behind her, biting his lip and putting on that poor, broken-ghost act like he hadn’t just tried to snatch everything from him. And still—he smiled.
A slow, dangerous smile.
Karl took a breath, lowered his eyes, and said sweetly, "Aww... I’m so sorry, brother. I misunderstood you."
Lucien blinked, stunned for a second.
Even Elira looked confused.
Karl took a step forward, placing a hand on his own chest like he was ashamed. "Really, how silly of me. All those things I thought I heard... they must’ve been wrong. It’s my fault, right?"
The crowd stayed silent, watching.
Lucien looked up, eyes hopeful again. "Y-Yes! That’s what I’ve been trying to say!"
Karl smiled again. That same soft, fake smile.
"Don’t worry," he said warmly. "If you promise me now... right here... that you’ll never try to take anything from me again, and never go near my wife with bad thoughts..." His eyes locked onto Lucien. "Then I’ll forget all of it. Just one small promise."
Lucien’s smile slowly twitched.
Elira’s teeth clenched. Her eyes widened as she realized what Karl had done.
This was worse than anger.
He’d flipped the scene, played it with softness, with a gentle tone... and yet, he’d crushed their game completely.
Lucien stood frozen. He couldn’t promise. Not in front of everyone. Because it would mean throwing away everything he had secretly planned.
—To be continued...🪄