The urgent knocking continued assaulting Ethan's door persistently, making him and Gwen lock eyes in apprehension.
"What should we do?" the girl whispered, her cute face scrunched out of despair. "Maybe the guard will go away if you don't respond? Or can I pretend to be your maid?"
Ethan shook his head in amusement. Gwen could be an airhead sometimes. "The castle guards are very thorough, especially those patrolling the royal corridor."
"Didn't you get the memo?" her brother added. "The Constable laid down new rules recently, making it compulsory for guards to investigate suspicious activity around me. The rules were formulated in the backdrop of both I and Hilda being attacked by dark nymphs."
Hilda's encounter with a dark nymph was a lie, but they had mutually agreed to legitimize the story.
Gwen bit her lip in disappointment. "Is that so? I didn't get any security upgrades. They always send me the laziest and the most incompetent guards fresh out of training."
Ethan offered no comment on the discrimination against his female sibling. It was natural to have heightened security for the Cromwell heir, especially since he was a fertile male. His only objection was—why didn't he get the fresh-out-of-training guards? The boy was only followed around by women in their mid-thirties.
"If I don't open the door right away, the guard might summon the Constable," Ethan warned his sister. "Moreover, corridor security has spare keys to our rooms."
"What? Really?"
The boy nodded. "Of course. They can use the keys only under exceptional circumstances, though. After two dark nymph sightings, the most harmless suspicious activities are being investigated."
"So, I can guarantee the following—if there's no response from me soon, the guard is likely to suspect there's an intruder. She'll use the spare keys to unlock my bedroom door and barge in."
As if on cue, the siblings heard metal jangling outside the room. The guard was looking for the spare key!
"I'll go back the way I came," Gwen said, jumping to her feet in panic, and walking away from him. "The closet tunnel will lead me back to my room."
Ethan rushed behind his sister, grabbed her by the waist, and pulled him towards himself. It resulted in an awkward position, where he embraced Gwen from behind with arms wrapped around her.
"What are you doing…?" the girl whimpered in surprise. "The guard is about to enter your bedroom, and you're getting us into a compromising state?! Think about our reputation! It'll blow up into a scandal!"
"There's no time," Ethan whispered into her ears. "Even if you climb into the secret passage right now, you wouldn't make it through by the time the guard enters my bedroom. You'll be caught red-handed."
" Shall I hide in the closet or hide under the bed?" Gwen asked, not resisting his arms around her. In fact, the girl felt a natural coziness, settling into her brother's warm embrace.
" Those are the first places where she will look for intruders."
"Then where should I go? I don't have the power of invisibility!"
Ethan turned the girl around and looked into her dreamy eyes. "I have an idea. But you must keep your mouth shut and do exactly as I tell you."
Gwen was trembling with anxiety, but she trusted her brother and nodded obediently.
The guard fumbling with her spare key set was named Donna. She finally found the right one and was about to insert it in the keyhole. Her efforts turned out to be pointless because Ethan Cromwell's bedroom door suddenly opened by itself.
The Young Count stepped to the entrance wearing only a bathroom towel. He leaned against the door frame, sporting his washboard abs and toned muscles.
Donna was momentarily speechless, smitten by Ethan's topless bodily display. Wasn't the Cromwell heir a prankster boy, always grounded in the castle? When did he get so hot and alluring?
Donna blushed like a beet but tried to keep her voice professional. "Young Count… Are you okay? I called out to you a few times, but there was no response. So I was about to enter your bedroom using the spare keys."
Ethan swept back his moist hair seductively before answering. "What's this about? I was in the shower, and that's probably why I couldn't hear your voice."
" I see…" the guard said, shifting uncomfortably in her position. "I heard sounds inside your bedroom and suspected an intruder."
The Cromwell heir shrugged in a carefree manner and crossed his arms, offering a more flexed view of his abdominals. "I didn't see any intruders. Unless you intend to be one."
Donna was taken aback by the boy's direct flirtation, blushing a deeper red. "I… I…" she stammered. "I am confident I heard noises. It sounded like… Someone was walking inside the walls…"
Ethan almost laughed out loud. The guard was obviously talking about Gwen moving through the secret passage from her room to his. She was light as a feather but not exactly good at sneaking and spying. It was a wonder how the entire castle wasn't alarmed.
Ethan racked his brain for an excuse. "Oh, that was just me doing wall push-ups upside down."
"W-wall push-ups?" Donna stammered uncomfortably. "So late at night?"
When was the last time she had seen a male working out? Probably never! She was an unmarried virgin woman in her mid-twenties. All she desired in her dreams was a young, sexy man to love and protect.
"Yeah, that's right," Ethan replied in a baritone voice. "The workout made me sweaty, so I took a warm shower."
He ran his fingers through his wet hair again to make a point. Donna gulped distractedly and nodded. " It is working," she finally mumbled.
"What is?"
"The… The workouts I meant… If you don't mind me saying… You appear to have developed a… Umm… A healthy layer of muscle…"
Ethan nodded with a playful smirk. "Thanks."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" the guard exclaimed, realizing she had gone too far. With great difficulty, she peeled her eyes off the boy's abs.
"So, are we done?" the Cromwell heir asked, rubbing his eyes.
"The… Umm… The rules dictate I check your bedroom to ensure there isn't an intruder. Just as a precautionary measure. The Constable's orders."
Ethan shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure. But give me a minute to put on some clothes."
"Of course!" Donna replied, looking away and crossing her arms awkwardly. A minute later, Ethan returned, fully dressed. He pushed open the door wide.
"Feel free to take a look," the boy offered, standing aside. The guard apologized again and entered his bedroom. First, she looked into the closet, followed by under the bed, and then finally in the bathroom.
"It's all clear," Donna said, stepping out of his quarters in a hurry. "I thoroughly apologize for disturbing you so late at night!"
"Oh, don't be sorry for doing your job!" Ethan replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Thanks for protecting me, and have a good night!"
Donna bowed to the Cromwell heir, smiling like a teenager in love. She walked away with a spring in her step. Now she had an exciting story to tell her colleagues—how she entered the future Count's bedroom late at night.
Ethan sighed in relief and stepped inside, bolting the door firmly. He walked back to his bed and dropped into it in exhaustion.
At this point, one would wonder where his lovely sister Gwen was. Was she already back in her room after going through the secret passage? Or did the boy hide her somewhere else?
The latter theory was not far from the truth. Ethan lay in his bed staring at Gwen. She was hovering twelve feet above him near the ceiling.
"Please let me down now…" the girl whimpered. "I am scared of heights…"
Ethan originally planned to seduce the corridor guard and make her leave without a chance to investigate. It worked initially, but the rules were too strict to be bent. Hilda ran a tight ship as the Constable, and a foot soldier like Donna wouldn't dare defy her instructions.
The backup plan was to pick up Gwen with his ghost hands skill and flatten her body against the ceiling. No investigator would imagine an intruder hovering in the air like a ghost. The former would focus on hiding places at a human level.
The idea depended on the assumption that Donna would finish her investigation within thirty seconds—the effect period of the ghost hands skill. The plan worked flawlessly since the Cromwell heir's crude flirtation techniques had already riled her up.
Ethan smirked and lowered his phantom arms slowly, bringing Gwen down from the ceiling. He released the girl just above himself so that she fell directly on him.
"Ouch!" his sister yelped, entering the boy's embrace without resistance. She began giggling helplessly. Ethan joined in, and the siblings laughed for an entire minute, wrapped around each other.
"Phew! That was close," the boy finally whispered.
"I know!" Gwen lay prone on his body, her head nestled against his chest. The girl felt his toned muscles tense against her soft constitution.
"How did you become so strong suddenly?" she asked softly. Ethan had exhibited superior strength in the morning, trouncing a trained warrior like Ivy in arm wrestling. Moments ago, he showed incredible magical skill with invisible hands.
"You better leave quickly through the secret passage," Ethan replied, ignoring his sister's intrusive question. "If Ivy comes to know that you're in my bed at this time of the night, she'll kill me in my sleep."
An awkward minute passed, and neither sibling spoke anything during this time.
"I'm scared, lonely, and unable to sleep…" Gwen broke the ice with a babyish tone. "Do you want me to leave?"
Ethan could feel his sister's heart hammering against his body. What was on the girl's mind? Why was she acting weird so suddenly?
"No. I want you to stay."