The banquet was filled, for a moment, with exclamations over the calamity that had befallen Shaw Gotham — a half-empty champagne glass had spilled all over his suit.
Elfric couldn't help the half-smile of mockery tugging at his lips as he took a sip of his own drink. Such lives they lived — making such a fuss over something so trivial.But that wasn't the case, as Elfric soon realized.
The Nobles feared Shaw Gotham. He wasn't the most powerful Noble in Luxdale — there were far stronger families. For example, the Cosmos Group, who were hosting this banquet.
However, Shaw wasn't weak either. Elfric could feel that for sure.
He almost pitied the brunette whose once-enchanted face was now coated with terror over what she had done. He couldn't hear what she said to Shaw through the murmurs and gasps of the crowd that tangled together into one loud noise, but he could make out a few words from the movement of her painted lips.
Shaw raised his hand to stop the woman, who was nervously clutching a handkerchief and offering to help him."There is no need to worry, my lady," Shaw said, forcing a polite smile. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, gentlemen."
Before he even finished, the crowd that had gathered around him began to part — creating a clear path from where Shaw stood to the hall's door.No one dared to stop him or offer to accompany him, just as Elfric had expected.
'You did that on purpose,' Orathan finally spoke after watching what happened.
"I'd call it a coincidence," Elfric lied.
'There's no such thing as coincidence,' Orathan replied. 'Everything happens for a reason.'
Elfric's lips curved into a faint smile. "Then this is where we jump in."
He swiftly moved through the crowd, placing his slim glass on the tray held by one of the statue-like servants, and followed after Shaw — keeping a good distance between them.
He had a gut feeling that Shaw was aware of his presence. But let's hope he notices everyone; after all, it was a banquet. Nothing suspicious about two guests heading to the bathroom at the same time… right?
Elfric took a deep breath and picked up his pace. His shoulder came within an inch of brushing against Shaw's. From over his shoulder, he could feel the brief glance Shaw gave him.
Elfric silently prayed that he didn't notice the beads of sweat sliding down his temple.
'Can't be that you're scared?' Orathan scoffed.
"Not scared — I just hate surprises," Elfric muttered.
In his head, he pictured Shaw leaping at him from thin air and beating the life out of him the moment he realized who he was. Elfric shook the image away. There were only two options here — either Shaw really didn't know him, or he was incredibly good at hiding his emotions.
Elfric didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until he pushed open the bathroom door. But there was no time to relax. He slipped inside one of the stalls and locked the door.
'You planning to pee?' Orathan asked, puzzled.
"I have to act like I actually came here to use the bathroom, not just to wash my hands," he murmured.
The sound of the door opening outside made him freeze for a second.
This was it — the moment of truth.
When he came out, Shaw should be there, standing in front of the mirror, wiping champagne from his suit.
First things first — Elfric flushed the toilet. Neat. Necessary, even. He couldn't risk being remembered as the disgusting human who didn't flush.
He took a deep breath before unlocking the stall and slowly walking toward the sinks. He never thought ignoring someone on purpose could be this difficult — or that hiding his nerves would be even harder.
Shaw glanced at him through the mirror.
Something inside Elfric went still. No need to panic. Not yet. He was used to being stared at. There were two possibilities — and that alone was driving him insane.
Shaw, like everyone else, stared for a moment. Even though Elfric himself stood tall at 190 centimeters, Shaw still towered over him with broad shoulders and a presence that filled the room.
Then again, even someone like Shaw probably hadn't seen someone quite like Elfric before.
And Elfric, in return, had never seen anyone quite like Shaw.
He tried to steady himself, hoping the tension wasn't visible, as he took a pump of soap from the dispenser. The silence was sharp — the only sound was the water running from Elfric's sink.
They were alone. That much was certain.
If Shaw recognized him, he would've done something — glared, struck, anything. Some kind of fury should've surfaced, especially since the man who'd killed his son was standing right here. (And the other son's killer lived inside him.)
But Shaw didn't even look at him now. His focus remained entirely on cleaning his suit.
That should do it, Elfric thought. He'd made it this far.
Now all that was left was to get the hell out of here.
Elfric dried his hands and headed for the door. So close — he was so close to freedom.
Part of him was already celebrating that Shaw hadn't recognized him. The other part kept whispering that it wasn't over until it was over.
He still had to make it out of this damned hotel, back to his cheap apartment, where he could breathe again — where he could spend time with his family.
"Excuse me," Shaw's raspy voice echoed through the bathroom.