Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 94

[Translated By Divinity]

Returning to the living room after the call, Damian saw Lilliana looking quite uncomfortable, while Casey and Annette were sitting side by side on the three-seater sofa, chatting excitedly.

Unlike Damian and Lilliana, Casey seemed to get along quite well with Annette. Timo was lying down at Lilliana’s feet, blinking her eyes.

“Mr. Asher says he won’t be joining us for dinner tonight.”

Annette clicked her tongue and grumbled,

“That man has no sense of fun.”

Damian felt strange hearing someone else say the same thing he heard every day. He wondered if he appeared that way to others as well.

“Anyway, I’ll try to make something Casey likes. I think I need to prepare some ingredients for that. If I go out now, it will be just in time to do the shopping and cook!”

“Good. Then you’ll need someone to carry the groceries, so shall I go with you?”

“I’d appreciate that. What about you, Lily?”

Annette asked for Lilliana’s opinion, but she was busy narrowing her eyes and staring at Casey.

Casey taking the initiative to be considerate and offer a suggestion…?

The Casey that Lilliana knew wasn’t that kind of person. He wasn’t particularly interested in anyone other than himself and wasn’t the type to care about someone else’s convenience.

At least, that’s what she thought.

“Lily, do you want to go too?”

“Huh? Uh… Yes, okay. I’ll… go? Since it’s because of my brother?”

Lilliana, lost in thought, was startled by Casey’s question and answered hastily.

“What about Damian?”

Lilliana called out to Damian, who was also looking at Casey with a troubled expression. He too snapped out of his thoughts and looked up.

“Ah, I…”

Three pairs of eyes were focused on him. Damian looked at Casey and Lilliana in turn.

To be honest, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to go, but rather that he was a bit troubled. He wasn’t confident that he could remain calm beside Lilliana.

However, Damian was Lilliana’s employee and responsible for her safety. So, for her safety, it wasn’t the right choice to leave Casey and Lilliana alone without him.

He knew that logically. It was the most sensible thing to do.

Nevertheless, what came out of Damian’s mouth was something else.

“I’m a bit tired… I’ll stay home and rest.”

Annette waved her hand dismissively and said,

“Okay, then rest. I wasn’t going to force you to come, so don’t feel pressured. I don’t think I’ll need two people to carry the groceries. And you still need to be careful with your prosthetic hand.”

“Thank you.”

“Then we’ll be off.”

Annette brought a shopping basket and handed one to Casey and Lilliana each.

Casey was all smiles, but Lilliana flinched every time she made eye contact with him. Annette didn’t seem to notice, just cheerful as ever.

Damian didn’t want to get involved between them. His head hurt too much.

As the three of them left and the lock on the front door clicked shut, Damian quietly went to his room alone.

He opened the window, leaned his arms on the balcony railing, and stood hunched over, muttering as he watched the three people, especially Lilliana, walking towards the market,

“I knew she was a blonde.”

A chuckle escaped his lips. He didn’t know if it was out of joy or emptiness. All he knew was that he had to somehow manage this turbulent feeling before Lilliana returned.

Otherwise, he might rush out and hug her, spouting nonsense.

Damian covered his face with his left hand and muttered again,

“I knew she was a blonde.”

***

The dinner Annette prepared was a veritable feast. It was a shame that Asher wasn’t there, but Casey, the guest of honor, was quite satisfied, and even Damian, whose mind was in turmoil, could enjoy the food.

However, Lilliana kept glancing at Casey and fidgeting restlessly. It wasn’t noticeable on the surface, but once he became aware of it, Damian could see it.

Eventually, Lilliana put down her fork, leaving some food on her plate.

“Lily.”

Lilliana looked up with a smile at Casey’s call, but the corners of her lips were trembling slightly.

“Aren’t you going to eat anymore?”

A hint of puzzlement appeared on Casey’s face.

“Ahahaha, I ate too much street food when we went to the market earlier, so I’m fuller than I thought… I’m sorry, Annette. It’s definitely not because the food isn’t delicious! I’ll reheat and eat what I left tomorrow morning, so please don’t throw it away.”

Lilliana felt like she was going to get indigestion just from sitting at the same table as Casey. She ended up getting up first.

Timo followed Lilliana.

After she went up to her room, Annette asked cautiously,

“Casey, are you and Lily awkward with each other? You didn’t seem that close at the market earlier…”

Damian thought as he chewed on the broccoli seasoned with tomato sauce.

‘I don’t know what happened, but Lilliana was acting stiff.’

For someone as bright as her to act that way, there definitely seemed to be a problem between the two. Casey scratched his cheek and shook his head.

“No, we’re usually close. But Lily is a bit unwell right now, isn’t she? She’s lost her memories of the good times we had together.”

“If that’s true, it means you weren’t close two years ago. What happened between you two?”

Damian asked in an accusatory tone without realizing it.

So what happened to Lady Lintray?

“We used to be distant, but we had a really good time during the past two years. We were close,”

Casey replied, blinking his eyes.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence fell between Damian and Casey. Finally, Annette, unable to bear it any longer, asked with a forced smile,

“Um… shall we clean up if everyone’s finished eating?”

Annette got up and carried the empty dishes to the sink, and Casey helped her. Unlike Casey, Damian felt a bit humiliated that all he could do was gather the forks, knives, and spoons.

Casey naturally rolled up his sleeves and took the dishes that Annette had washed with detergent to rinse them. Damian, unable to join them, felt awkward and just went up to his room.

He plopped down on the bed and ran a hand over his face. He had thought about it while Lilliana and Casey were out shopping, but now he couldn’t come up with anything to do.

First, he had to get Casey to confess what he knew…

As he was thinking this, someone knocked on his door. It was Lilliana, accompanied by Timo. As soon as Lilliana saw Damian’s face, she grabbed the hem of his clothes.

“Damian, I…”

“Yes.”

Damian responded, but Lilliana didn’t say anything for a while, just fiddling with the hem of his clothes.

Damian didn’t want to seem upset about the morning’s incident, so he put on an even more indifferent expression than usual.

As Damian waited patiently, Lilliana avoided his gaze and spoke,

“I want to talk to my brother…”

“Yes.”

“I’m a little scared. So, could you come with me?”

She seemed embarrassed to ask such a thing.

She was ashamed to need someone to accompany her to talk to another person, even though she was an adult. But what else could she do? She was still scared of Casey…

At Lilliana’s request, Damian answered without hesitation.

“Lilliana, it’s my duty to do so, even if you don’t ask me like this. I can’t put you in potential danger. But…”

Damian continued, looking over Lilliana’s shoulder,

“Before that, may I speak with Casey alone first?”

Lilliana followed Damian’s gaze and turned her head. There, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, stood Casey. He had arrived without them noticing.