Anyone Can Replace Me

The moment their eyes had met in the billiard room earlier, Eren had felt a sneer from Jerry.
It seemed that must have been his true feelings revealing themselves.

More importantly, the fact that Kazen had carried him home in his arms was something Eren was hearing for the first time.
He had been told that Kazen brought him back to the Ducal residence, but he had vaguely imagined being dragged along.

“Then Her Ladyship Catherine was right.
He’s been offering his body to His Grace all this time, playing the part of a concubine.
Because His Grace trusted him, he let him run wild until now, but I can’t tolerate it any longer.”

Should he be astounded that the two were whispering like this?
Or rather, should he feel relieved that his suspicions had been confirmed?
What was unjust was that Eren had never offered his body to Kazen.

‘Actually, that’s not entirely false either.’

He hadn’t denied being intimate with Kazen to Aila.
It was as good as established fact.

Even if the two hated him, Eren didn’t particularly care.
The only person important to Eren was Kazen.
What angered Eren was that, because of this incident, he had no idea how much of his six-month lifespan had been shortened by recharging the mage-stones.

‘If you continue using magical power in your current state, it could be shortened to three months.’

According to Doctor Rosalin, he might only have three months left.
Even if he managed to resolve the situation, that fact wouldn’t change.

“But do we really have to go this far?
Isn’t this a bit too much….”

As Eren was lost in bitter thoughts, another person suddenly interrupted their conversation.
That voice was unmistakably Jayden’s, the one person in this mansion Eren had somewhat opened up to and grown close with.

“You’ve already taken the money, so it’d be best to keep quiet.
Unless you want us all to die together.”

Jerry’s sharp voice followed, but Eren, already in shock, didn’t hear it.

The fact that Brennen and Jerry were trying to drive him out wasn’t particularly surprising.
Those two had always been openly hostile to him.
But why was Jayden with them?

Unable to believe it, Eren slowly backed away, then hurriedly distanced himself from them as if fleeing.
At this point, he began to think he might truly be in the wrong.

It was fine that Brennen disliked him, that Jerry and the other servants cursed and pointed fingers at him.
They were people who didn’t know him.
But the fact that even someone who knew him well was participating in framing him came as a great shock.

Was I really such a bad person?
Had I been the only one unaware of this all along?

As he kept thinking these thoughts, Jayden’s cheerful words from the other day came to mind.

‘My younger sister is getting married this winter.
I’m saving up diligently to make her the happiest bride in the world.’

So in the end, it was all about money?
They say there’s no grave without a story, but regardless, Jayden had caused him trouble.
So he should run to Kazen right now and tell him everything truthfully.
But doing so would make Jayden lose everything.

No matter how much Jayden had participated in the scheme, he was one of the few people who had been kind to him….

Eren reminded himself that he had less than six months left anyway.
If Jayden had gained something from this, he could console himself that it was repayment for the kindness Jayden had shown him.

He felt sorry for not revealing the truth to Kazen, but even if the truth came out, he probably wouldn’t care much anyway.

“Eren.”

As Eren stood dazedly in the corridor lost in thought, something suddenly emerged from behind and wrapped around his waist.
Though startled, Eren soon recognized the familiar voice.

“Your Grace?”

“Why have you been so absent-minded lately?
You don’t hear me when I call, and you seem like your mind is elsewhere.”

Kazen spoke clearly into Eren’s ear.
Judging by his tone, which seemed to suppress irritation, he had apparently called Eren several times.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace.
I didn’t mean to ignore you; I was just lost in thought for a moment.”

Only after hearing Eren’s apology did Kazen’s hand release him.
He grabbed Eren’s shoulder and spun him around.

“I have important matters to discuss with Harold, so I’ll be going out.
Eat dinner alone.
I’ll check with Bennet later whether you ate, so don’t skip it.”

“Yes, I’ll follow your instructions.”

Eren, still troubled, bowed his head deeply to hide his expression.
Then Kazen flicked Eren’s chin up with his fingertip.
As their eyes met, Eren saw Kazen furrow his brow slightly.

“You look like you have something to say.”

“I have nothing in particular to say.
Did my expression seem that bad?”

“Yes, I’ve seen you make that face before.
When Catherine accused you of stealing her cherished silverware, and when you mistakenly delivered documents to Mr. Hummel and got entangled in a lawsuit, you had that same look.”

The silverware theft had been a false accusation by Catherine, and the mistaken document delivery had been Brennen’s error.
But back then and now, Eren simply nodded without any explanation.

He knew that Kazen wouldn’t listen to his voice anyway.

“If I had fired you each time, would you still be here now?”

“No, Your Grace.”

“Then go back and do what you can do.
That’s why you’re here.”

Naturally, Kazen wouldn’t fire Eren over something like this.
He never did.

Even so, it wasn’t because he trusted Eren or needed him.
Just as he didn’t care when other servants did their jobs half-heartedly, it was merely because this was a bothersome matter to him.

“I might not come back tonight, so don’t wait up.”

“Yes, Your Grace.
I hope you enjoy your meal with His Highness.”

Eren watched Kazen’s retreating figure, then approached the window.
He stood there like a nail driven into the spot, watching the carriage carrying him and Harold disappear into the distance.

‘I wouldn’t care at all if you left the mansion right now.
There are plenty of others who could replace you.’

He wiped away the now-familiar nosebleed with the back of his hand.
Standing in the corridor as darkness began to fall, Eren replayed Kazen’s words in his mind.

He had wanted to spend all his remaining time for Kazen.
But he began to doubt whether his worthless time was even needed by Kazen.

Perhaps….
He worried that staying by his side, weak and sick as he was, might actually be a burden.
As Kazen himself had said, he was merely a consumable item that could be replaced at any time.

A week had passed since the mage-stone incident.
Despite Brennen and Jerry’s firm resolve, their scheme had fizzled out inconclusively.

Though Eren worked busily as usual, his mind constantly felt adrift, in a daze.
Even though he ate properly under Kazen’s supervision, Eren grew thinner and more haggard with each passing day.

“If I don’t want to be late, I should start getting ready.”

Putting down his pen, Eren murmured quietly as he rubbed his tired face.
He had been working frantically since dawn to finish his tasks in order to meet Arnold in the afternoon.

Kazen had left in the late morning to attend a luncheon at the Imperial Palace.
He probably wouldn’t return until late afternoon.
Eren had deliberately scheduled the appointment on a day with an important engagement to meet Arnold without getting caught.

Eren hurriedly put on his coat and left the mansion.
He navigated unfamiliar streets, searching for the address Arnold had given him.

“Is it around here?”

Eren looked around the street lined with rows of similar-looking houses.
He seemed to have found the right place, but only modest buildings were visible, hardly believable as the residence of someone from the famous Harrison family.

‘Surely he doesn’t live here?’

Thinking this, Eren lightly knocked on the door.
Soon the door swung open and a housekeeper appeared.

“Welcome.
You’re Mr. Eren Lloyd, aren’t you?”

A middle-aged woman with a very pleasant impression greeted him warmly.
Eren nodded with a still-bewildered expression.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I was expecting you.
Please, come inside.”

A narrow staircase led up from the very small entrance, and beside it was an old door.
It was a house with an interesting structure.

“It’s quite cold, isn’t it?
Let me take your coat.”

With practiced hands, she took Eren’s coat and guided him up the narrow staircase.

“Please knock on the door and go in without waiting for an answer.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Watching her descend the stairs again, Eren awkwardly knocked.
He waited for a response, but hearing none, he simply opened the door and entered.

There was no one in the cramped living room.
It felt awkward to sit down without the host present, so Eren wandered around, looking at the interior.