There was silence for a moment, then Beatrice had to ask again, just to be sure she heard that right. "What did you just say?"
"I said we're done," Ethan repeated in a flat tone. "This relationship is over. Leave my house."
Beatrice stared at him for a second, then burst into laughter.
"Oh, Ethan," she said between laughs, wiping a tear from her eye. "You're so funny when you try to be serious."
Ethan just stared at her blankly while saying, "I'm not joking."
Her laughter stopped abruptly and was replaced by a dangerous glare. Then she stood up from the bed, letting the sheets fall away completely.
Normally, this would've been the part where the original Ethan would've stuttered and looked away like some blushing virgin.
Even though he wasn't.
But it was not the same for this Ethan, who couldn't care any less.
Beatrice walked towards him slowly, with the curve of her hips moving in such a way that would disarm even the hardest of men. She stopped right in front of him, so close that her bare chest was practically touching his.
"Ethan," she purred, running a finger down his chest. "You don't mean that. You're just upset about something. Let me make it better."
Ethan grabbed her wrist and moved it away.
"I'm serious, Beatrice. We're done. This is the last time I'll ask you to leave."
Her red eyes flashed dangerously for a split second. Ah, right. Vampire. He'd almost forgotten about that part.
"You… you can't break up with me," she said, her voice trembling with rage. "You know who I am and who my father is, don't you dare!"
Instead of Ethan replying to her this time, he simply yelled, "Eduardo!"
Eduardo was his butler.
Beatrice's face contorted with fury, and she raised her hand like she was about to slap him again like before.
But this time, Ethan caught her wrist mid-swing.
"Don't," he said simply.
Beatrice's eyes widened in shock. The original Ethan had never fought back nor stood up for himself. He'd just taken it every single time.
"You…" she muttered, genuinely stunned.
Ethan released her wrist and turned away from her, walking back to the balcony. He saw no need to continue the exchange of words given that he'd already called for his butler.
For a moment, Beatrice just stood there, completely frozen. Then her shock morphed into pure, unbridled rage.
Her fangs extended, and her fingernails grew into claws. Then she took a step forward, attempting to approach Ethan, whose focus had already returned to the view of the city.
She lifted her hand toward him as a magic circle formed before her palm. Just as it seemed she was about to cast a spell, the door to Ethan's room swung open.
The one who entered moved so fast he was no longer at the doorway. In the same instant, the old man in the suit appeared beside Beatrice, with his white-gloved hand clamped around the wrist she had raised to cast magic.
Then he said, "Pardon me, Miss Morgenstein, but violence is not permitted within the house."
Ethan, who had turned back at this point, then said, "Eduardo, get her out of here now."
The butler nodded and turned back to Beatrice with that welcoming smile on his face. "It seems I shall be escorting you out, Miss."
Beatrice forcefully yanked her arm away from his hold. She knew enough not to be deceived by his wrinkly face or odd smile.
That butler had the power to raise hell on absolutely anyone who would try to do any sort of harm to Ethan now that he was here.
She turned back towards the bed, picking up the rest of her clothes before proceeding to leave. "You're going to regret this, Ethan Stark!" she screamed as she hastily pulled on her dress. "My father will hear about this! What's left of your family's name will be ruined! You'll be nothing!"
Ethan didn't even bother turning around.
Eduardo followed behind Beatrice, but before he turned to leave the room, he shot a glance at Ethan and smiled before leaving.
Even he had been waiting for this day for a long time.
Ethan's face had turned back to the view of Grayfort City. It was massive, a proper mix of Victorian-style architecture and what looked like magical technology integrated into the buildings.
Airships floated through the sky, and on most of them, even from that distance, he could see a symbol that looked like an "S" on their bodies.
That "S" was the symbol for Stark Industries.
The sight was actually pretty impressive. The original Ethan's memories told him that Stark Industries was one of the biggest producers of airship technology in the entire country of Gritnia.
They'd basically monopolized the market.
Ethan had come from more than just a respectable background. The starks were stacked!
A new screen popped up before him.
[Congratulations! You have completed your first self-imposed objective: Break up with Beatrice Morgenstein]
[Reward: +200 Experience Points]
[Current Experience Points: 200/1000 to reach Summoner Level 2]
Ethan grinned. "Oh, this is going to be fun."
—
Not long after, Eduardo returned to the room and announced his presence with the statement,
"I've escorted her out, Master Ethan."
Ethan nodded and said, "That's good."
Eduardo quickly followed up with another question. "Master Ethan, may I ask where the sudden change came from?"
Ah. There it was. The old butler was sharp. Of course he'd noticed something was different.
Ethan turned to him with a smile and said, "There'll be quite a few changes starting today. But first, how in the hell do I get this cursed seal suppressing my Dragon side off?"
Eduardo's eyes widened with shock. Of all the things to hear from the young master, this was the last thing Eduardo had expected. What in the world was really going on today?
"Yes… you're not answering, or do you not know how? Very well, I'll need you to find out then…" Ethan said, watching the butler's reaction.
"No, no, that's not the case, Master Ethan." Eduardo began. "It's just that keeping things the way they are was the dying wish of your parents."
Ethan's expression didn't change at all. Based off his memories, the original Ethan's parents had sealed away his hybrid nature for reasons the memories didn't fully explain. Something about protection. About keeping him safe.
Then Ethan replied, "They've been dead twelve years, Eduardo, and whatever they wanted twelve years ago died with them."
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A/N: Liking this so far? Kindly add to Library and support with Powerstones. Thank You For Making It This Far!
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