Little Pink Starfish

No matter how you looked at it, Wendell Bonfrese truly was an innocent victim. He had only wanted to save his sister, Sharina. Originally, Carolina had agreed to send Sharina over, but instead, Wendell had ended up in this miserable situation.

At twelve years old, one’s thoughts were still simple. Even if he had suspected that his mother might intend to harm his sister, he never could have imagined things would end up so tragically.

In the original timeline, after the curse was transferred onto him, Eagle was able to awaken the Seed of Light by himself, neutralizing the curse’s effects and gaining immense divine power. But his eyesight never recovered. If nothing unexpected happened, Wendell would likely remain blind for the rest of his life—even if the curse were lifted.

Pei Sen sat in the carriage, looking at Wendell’s messy black hair. This young man, forcibly “accelerated” into adulthood, was too thin and looked immature. Though he frowned in pain, there was still an air of innocence on his face. His eyes were the same vivid green as Eagle’s, but his hair was black, as was typical for the Bonfrese royal family—he and Eagle were half-brothers, sharing the same mother.

In terms of looks, Wendell was clearly inferior to Eagle. Though he had a well-defined nose and deep-set eyes and could be called handsome, Eagle’s stunning beauty was likely inherited from Burke Angre.

“Who are you?” Wendell asked hoarsely.

Pei Sen sighed. “I’m Eagle’s steward,” he added quickly, afraid Wendell wouldn’t know who Eagle was. “Eagle Lanno, the child your mother had before marrying into the Bonfrese family.”

Wendell fell silent, saying nothing.

In truth, Pei Sen didn’t really want to bring Wendell to see Eagle. He knew he was being selfish. Seeing Atwell’s ever-so-sincere apologetic smile made him want to punch the man in the face. The last thing he wanted was for the Light Church to succeed.

But letting Wendell die out here wasn’t a solution either. After all, he was Eagle’s younger brother, and clearly a pitiable innocent.

“Why?” Pei Sen looked out the carriage window. “Leiser is still alive, the young master was nearly killed, Burke Angre is dead—” and now here was Wendell, barely clinging to life.

Yet Leiser still lived. What kind of curse was this man? After ruining so many lives, he alone remained untouched.

As they traveled from Lanno Territory back to Frost Maple Territory, Wendell’s consciousness faded. He was hanging onto life by a thread. If Atwell hadn’t kept him alive with divine magic and potions along the way, he likely would’ve died before they even left the capital.

Once at Red Maple Castle, Pei Sen carried Wendell straight inside, not even glancing at Atwell or the coach-driving priest. The two tried to follow, but were stopped by guards at the gate.

All the guards now were knights from the Frost Maple Order, trying hard to prove themselves. They carried out Eagle’s orders to the letter. Since they didn’t know Atwell, they simply refused to let him in.

Pei Sen walked down the dim corridor. In the distance, Eagle stood quietly. The lighting was low, so Pei Sen couldn’t see his expression clearly.

“Young master, Atwell and the other priest were stopped outside. He’s truly detestable—” Pei Sen said while approaching, but stopped midway when he noticed Eagle was looking at him with a completely expressionless face. Quickly, he changed the subject. “Young master, are you feeling worse again?” He looked like he was in a very foul mood.

Eagle’s gaze landed on the unconscious Wendell. “So that’s Wendell Bonfrese?” His voice was cold, showing no emotion even though this was his half-brother.

Pei Sen nodded. “Yes. Leiser’s curse has been transferred to him. He failed to awaken the Seed of Light and is on the verge of death. I think the Light Church is using him to find out how you awakened your seed.”

Eagle nodded, indicating he understood. Then he continued to stare at Pei Sen with a blank expression, making Pei Sen uneasy.

“Young master, what’s wrong?”

Eagle said slowly, one word at a time, “How long do you plan to keep holding him?”

Pei Sen: “?”

From Eagle’s perspective, this fragile boy had been artificially “aged” to twenty but still looked like a teenager. Curled up in Pei Sen’s arms, pale and trembling in pain from the curse, he looked pitifully weak.

Eagle knew Pei Sen had a soft heart. He had known that long ago—even considered using it to his advantage once.

Pei Sen handed Wendell over to a nearby male servant, bracing for a possible outburst from Eagle. He warned, “Be careful. He can’t take much more.”

Since they had brought him all the way here, they might as well keep him alive—at least he shouldn’t die at the doorstep.

Eagle heard this and pressed his lips together. As he moved forward, his fingertips trembled—he almost lost control.

Then, he stepped closer and rather roughly transferred his violently churning light power into Wendell through the top of his head.

Honestly, this method was extremely crude. Wendell’s face first contorted in greater pain, but soon the immense light energy clashed with the dark imprint in his body, partially neutralizing the effects of the curse. His expression calmed down slightly.

Pei Sen exclaimed in delight, “Young master, maybe you don’t need to help him awaken the Seed of Light at all—you can save him just like this!”

Although Atwell had used divine power to keep Wendell alive on the way, his abilities couldn’t compare to the sheer volume and purity of the light energy produced by the Seed of Light in Eagle’s body.

Eagle glanced at the now unfocused youth and snorted. “I haven’t decided to save him yet.”

Pei Sen was surprised. “Didn’t you tell Atwell to rescue him?”

“I wanted Atwell to bring him back before he was thrown into the ruins. Not… like this.” Eagle’s tone remained harsh.

Pei Sen didn’t quite get it. The young master had clearly just relieved Wendell’s pain. Was this a case of “harsh mouth, soft heart”?

“Alright, young master, when you do decide to save him, let me know. But he might not last much longer,” Pei Sen replied, playing along. He then instructed the servant to take Wendell to a guest room.

Since Pei Sen was not only High Steward of Red Maple Castle but also Head of Internal Affairs, he had to personally arrange Wendell’s accommodations and needs. He was just about to help the servant find a room when he felt a warm hand grab him.

Eagle’s body was radiating light energy now, making his temperature higher than normal. Pei Sen reflexively flinched at the touch—it felt almost like a burn.

…Not his fault. He had just come in from outside, where it was still late winter and freezing. His hands still held the chill of frost. Suddenly being grabbed by someone so warm—his recoil was purely instinctive.

“Young master?” Pei Sen looked at Eagle, whose face had darkened. He felt inexplicably guilty. Did he just reject the young master’s touch? That shouldn’t be a big deal… right?

Eagle said coldly, “You’re not allowed to go.”

“Young master, I’m still Head of Internal Affairs,” Pei Sen said helplessly.

Eagle said slowly, “Let someone else handle it.”

Pei Sen: “…” What does that mean? Let someone else be Head of Internal Affairs? Or someone else handle Wendell?

“You don’t have to be that concerned about him. He won’t die just yet.”

Pei Sen: “…” That’s your brother, not mine. Why the hostility?

Still, Eagle now looked like a moody kid throwing a tantrum. Pei Sen figured he wasn’t that hard to calm down. He waved to the servant, “Just find any guest room for now.”

He figured the burst of light energy earlier would keep Wendell alive for a bit longer. If Eagle said he wouldn’t die just yet, Pei Sen believed it.

“Young master, what’s wrong?” Seeing the servant carrying Wendell away, Pei Sen turned to Eagle again.

Eagle pressed his lips together, grabbed Pei Sen’s hand, and strode toward the study.

Pei Sen didn’t dare break free again and could only follow. “Young master, slow down—”

Did this guy not realize how tall he was? These big strides were dragging him along!

And maids were watching! Did his dignity as High Steward mean nothing?

As soon as they entered the study, Eagle shut the door behind them. Pei Sen was pushed back against the wall. Luckily, the walls were covered in thick, soft wallpaper, so it didn’t hurt.

But what came next did.

Unlike their kiss in the bathroom, this one was rough and aggressive. That time, Eagle had even been somewhat gentle. Since then, Pei Sen had taken care of him devotedly, and nothing further had happened between them.

This time, Eagle bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. The taste of salt and iron mixed with the lingering flavor of Eagle’s breakfast. It hurt, but it also felt electric—and, oddly, sweet.

“Young master…”

Eagle leaned close to his ear and whispered, “You’re not allowed… not allowed to be like that…”

“Like what?”

“Like that with anyone… other than me.”

Pei Sen: “???”

What did I do exactly?! Pei Sen honestly didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. Was this about carrying Wendell into the castle?

But Wendell had been half-dead! The only other people in the carriage were Atwell and that priest, and Pei Sen had already kept them outside. What was he supposed to do—let them carry him?

And Wendell was so fragile, he couldn’t risk having armored knights handle him either. If he died before even reaching the castle, that’d be worse.

So really, Pei Sen had no choice.

“Ah, young master, Atwell and the other priest are still outside!”

“Let them stay there,” Eagle said indifferently. “Pei Sen, are you trying to distract me?”

Pei Sen looked up at the ornate ceiling and thought, Too bad it didn’t work… now’s really not the time for this, young master!

Sure enough, a few seconds later, there was a knock at the door.

Atwell was clever. He wouldn’t let himself be kept out forever—especially since Eagle still needed the Church’s help managing the volatile power inside him.

“Young master—” Pei Sen pushed Eagle away, adjusted his rumpled clothes, calmed his breathing, and quickly reverted to his composed, reliable steward persona. “Let’s deal with the Light Church first.”

Eagle’s emerald eyes glinted as his mood seemed to improve again. He smiled faintly. “Alright.”

Pei Sen: “…”

Honestly, he would never understand this bratty young master’s emotional rollercoaster.

So unpredictable. So hard to read!