Lily Bennett let out a sigh of relief.

　　Thank goodness.

　　She couldn’t possibly keep guessing his intentions correctly forever.

　　Controlling him wasn’t easy; she needed to learn more about his background.

　　Lily Bennett thought for a moment, walked over to the pile of dirty clothes, avoided the nanny’s gaze, found the first aid kit, and took out an energy bar.

　　Chocolate flavor—hopefully he’d like it.

　　She tore open the wrapper, broke it in half, and handed it to him: “It’s sweet, can help restore your strength. We can each have half, is that okay?”

　　Lily Bennett ate her half first.

　　Eric Carter stared at the chocolate for a long time before finally reaching out to take it.

　　Chocolate already existed in this era, so he wasn’t confused about what it was. Instead, he lowered his head and carefully sniffed its scent.

　　After several seconds, he tilted his head slightly, lifted a corner of his mask, revealing a small part of his jaw, and took a bite of the energy bar.

　　This was the first time Lily Bennett had seen his real face beneath the mask, even if it was just his jaw and lips—he didn’t seem ugly at all. His jaw was thin and sharply defined, his lips pale, almost blending in with his skin.

　　Just judging by the outline of his jaw, he could definitely be called handsome.

　　She wondered which version of his disfigurement he had—did he look like a skeleton as in the original novel, or did he at least have half a normal face like in the musical?

　　Lily Bennett wisely refrained from commenting on his chin.

　　It was still early. She decided to try to get closer to Eric Carter before interrogating the nanny.

　　Lily Bennett sat down, tentatively reached out, and slowly took hold of his wrist.

　　Eric Carter lowered his head, looking at her fingers, but didn’t pull his hand away.

　　Lily Bennett quietly let out a breath of relief and whispered, “Let me tell you a secret.”

　　No response.

　　“When I woke up, I’d forgotten a lot of things… I don’t even remember who I am, or why I tried to frame you by stealing the gold pocket watch. All I could find was my own diary and a strange-looking bag… The diary warned me not to get close to you, said you were dangerous. But for some reason, I just feel like I can trust you.”

　　“Maybe you’ll end up killing me,” she said, “but I won’t blame you, because it’s my own choice. I chose to approach you, to be your friend. I can feel that you’re not a bad person—”

　　She reached out her injured hand to him, the bruise now swollen into a frightening purplish-red:

　　“When you saw I was hurt, your first reaction was actually to help me get revenge… You didn’t even know if I had some other motive for approaching you, for being nice to you, but you just did it. If you’re a bad person, then I don’t know what a good person is.”

　　Lily Bennett looked at him steadily. “I don’t know what you’ve been through, and I won’t judge your past, but I want to know more about you—can I be your friend?”

　　A long silence.

　　Eric Carter looked at her palm, lost in thought.

　　After a while, a voice sounded in her ear: “…Why.”

　　Lily Bennett suddenly looked up at him.

　　He actually spoke!

　　She was so shocked she didn’t even know how to describe his voice—she only remembered it was very clear and pleasant.

　　It was almost the most beautiful young man’s voice she’d ever heard.

　　After a while, Lily Bennett finally found her own voice: “Because you make me feel safe.”

　　It was the truth.

　　Even though he could kill her at any moment, she still felt a twisted sense of security because of his presence.

　　Maybe it was because he was the only person she knew in this era.

　　She even knew the trajectory of his fate, knew that he would one day live in the underground labyrinth of Paris and fall in love with a ballet dancer named Christine.

　　At that moment, a mocking laugh rang out.

　　Lily Bennett looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the nanny had, at some point, spat out the rag from her mouth and was now staring at them, sneering coldly.

　　Perhaps because she was wary of Eric Carter, she didn’t shout or scream as she had yesterday, nor did she struggle. She simply lifted her chin high, looking at them with eyes full of both disgust and fear.

　　Lily Bennett moved quickly, immediately picking up the fire tongs from the corner and aiming them at the nanny’s head: “Without our permission, you’re not allowed to make a sound. Otherwise, I won’t mind making you suffer a little.”

　　The nanny glared at her, eyes burning with humiliated fury, but after a moment, she swallowed her anger and nodded.

　　Lily Bennett put down the fire tongs. “It seems like you have something to say. Go ahead.”

　　Given permission, the nanny immediately let out a weak, cold laugh: “You think you’ve found a good friend who’ll stand up for you from now on… Have you ever wondered why he didn’t speak before, or why he has no friends?”

　　“…” This was clearly an attempt to sow discord. Lily Bennett would never play along, so she joked, “Maybe he’s just introverted?”

　　The nanny looked at her as if she were an idiot. “He can speak, and he can speak more than a dozen languages. We found him in Persia. According to the locals, he became a famous master of trapdoors before he was even fourteen… But no one dared talk to him, and no one dared discuss him. Do you know why?”

　　Lily Bennett vaguely remembered this from the original novel, but she’d read it so hastily that she couldn’t recall the details.