Inside a spacious room with a warm atmosphere, unaffected by the cold weather or even the blizzard outside, Eva and Annabelle, far from each other at this moment, were finally sitting… quietly, their heads lowered.
With Sophia taking Nina and walking away, leaving them on their own, Christian, still standing, was silently looking at the two of them.
He was looking at their disheveled appearance, the strands of hair pulled loose, and their flushed faces, so different from the ones they wore at the beginning. That earlier expression of defiance was gone, replaced with one that was clearly from being worked up… or rather, now, from shame.
'So, they do know how embarrassing their situation is?' While he thought that, Christian continued to listen to Iris's voice through his earphones.
Even though it was just through voice, she still seemed able to describe and summarize the situation accurately for him.
After all, with all the taunting Eva did, it was pretty clear where things had been heading.
Christian cast his gaze toward Eva for a while, pondering what he should do… or say.
He thought their relationship had gotten a lot better during the past five months… but was that just his misunderstanding? Were their emotions just being bottled up all this time?
He couldn't help but wonder.
… In the end, it was he who chose not to come between them, leaving them on their own, hoping they would come to a compromise without his interference.
He didn't want to interfere and risk making things worse.
Because him stepping in could have even created a barrier between them.
No matter what he said… in the end, whatever it was, it would be bound to sound biased to one side. Even if only slightly.
The right answer to relationship problems doesn't exist… at least not for someone like him. He wasn't wity enough for that.
So, in the end, he chose to stay out of it.
… But now, with this, was it finally the time for him to step in?
But whose side should he take?
She was probably the one hurt the most, after all… probably?
… But while he felt Eva's words probably went too far, he wasn't exactly against the idea of his sister finally just thinking about her own situation, instead of just measuring everything through his.
It was a problem more than just about this current situation… it was more about her attitude, after all.
… At least that's what he thought.
Because he too didn't like her interference, back then, during the Damian incident.
… So maybe this situation was actually a good thing?
Still… she was too harsh. At least, that's what Iris's description made it sound like. He hadn't had time to listen to everything Eva said just yet.
But maybe… that was better?
Putting a hand on his face and sighing, Christian felt his good mood, as he had actually managed to perform his Talent Detecting Technique earlier without any issue… vanishing.
It was such good news.
But now, it was really ruined.
Putting aside who was at fault, or with whom the real problem lay, Christian decided that, either way, it wasn't right to scold either of them in front of the other.
He would need to talk to each of them alone, later.
With that, he decided to shift the focus away from the quarrel itself and instead return to the reason it had actually started, as he said, "The test was successful, and there was no problem at all with my technique."
It took just a few seconds from the moment the room fell silent at his words to the moment Eva said, "That's great," her voice louder than usual, joy apparent on her face… seemingly already forgetting what had happened earlier.
No, what she caused, more accurately.
Whereas his sister showed a more complex emotion, even though she too seemed happy to hear the news.
Christian took a moment to observe each of their reactions before directly getting into the topic and asking, "So, who should I test first?"
He didn't feel any need to delay things any longer… no, even if he wanted to, he couldn't.
… He was simply too excited to find out the results, after all.
Even then, he still asked about the order, which might've seemed pointless, considering the difference would be just a few minutes.
Would it worsen their problem? Or would it not?
Christian felt that he could find more clues for resolving the current problem between them, by watching how they'd respond.
But when both of them stayed silent, even Eva, who had a face full of enthusiasm, like that of a child, something entirely new to him, since she always seemed too mature for her age. And he couldn't help but think that maybe… he wouldn't get any clues at all.
"You should start with Annabelle," Eva suddenly said, lowering her head.
'So, it was really something important to them,' Christian could instinctively feel just how this seemingly pointless order, at least in his opinion, meant something to both of them.
Be it Eva, who conceded to his sister.
Or his sister, who clenched her hand, yet couldn't hide the small smile forming on her face.
Shaking his head, Christian decided not to comment on the topic any further.
After nodding, he silently walked to his sister's side.
He placed his hand on her stomach, just under her breasts, and intended to start immediately…
… when suddenly he paused and said, "How about you take off your top?"
Would normal clothes affect this kind of test? Affect the essence he was sending?
Christian was certain that wasn't the case.
Even then, he suddenly wanted to take some useless measure.
Luckily, his sister didn't mind either way and took off her top immediately, already used to showing her skin to him.
Christian too didn't pause to appreciate her slim waist, her unblemished skin, or the improvement to her figure over the past five months. Instead, he focused and finally cast his Talent Detecting Technique on her.