"I'm sorry, Edgar," (F/n) murmured, keeping her gaze elsewhere, but Edgar gripped her chin with his left hand and forced her to look at him. His right hand was still clamped around her wrists, and his visible eye still held evident rage. Couldn't he understand that his current behavior wasn't helping the situation in the slightest?

"Look at me when you're apologizing! Now, say it again!" he exclaimed, which caused (f/n) to worry that his brother might overhear their conversation.

She wanted to shrink back; she felt like a mouse facing a roaring lion. "I'm sorry, Edgar, but please let me state why I came in here; it's important," she answered, managing to keep herself from stuttering.

"Fine, go on," he replied, calming down a bit, but his grip on her remained the same.

Her nervousness only increasing, she told Edgar what Frederic had proposed to her. During this narration of information, she never saw his gaze lighten. Rather, it maintained a quiet anger that could flare up again. Did he really hate his brother that much? How could such hatred develop if they rarely saw each other as kids and young adults?

When she finished, she waited for his response, which came out in a low threatening tone. "Well, what do you think of this plan? Obviously, you did some debating about it, since you didn't come to me sooner. Tell me, what convinced you to even consider accepting, (f/n)? Was it my brother's looks? The way he talked about how I was so cruel to him? Could it have been the exciting trips that he promised you? Or, was it perhaps the fact that you would have more control in this company than me? Have you all this time actually just wanted to be away from me? Have you been deceiving me, playing me, until you get a chance to run away?"

"You already know my reasoning for sneaking around back then, so don't accuse me of wanting to leave you," she responded, hurt by the accusation. "Sure, traveling around the world sounds exciting, but I found that I couldn't do that if it meant forcing you to be farther away from your creations. I couldn't betray you, Edgar. So, that's why I'm in here telling you all of this. I wanted you to know, so that Frederic wouldn't kick you practically out of the company."

"Is that case? You still haven't told me what your thoughts are about expanding," he answered, seeming to be unaffected by what she just told him. When she didn't answer immediately, he tightened his grip on her.

Wincing, she muttered, "I thought that it wasn't a bad idea." Now, it felt like he would break both of her wrists, and she really wanted him to let go. "It's just that more kids would have access to them; you could hire people that you trust. I could even help you make the additional toys, so that you could observe the process."

He released his grip on her, as a light chuckle escaped his lips. "I-is th-that wh-what you wa-want?" Covering his mouth with his right hand, he laughed a bit more before he calmed himself down. "Don't you see (f/n)? That's exactly what he wants you to do. Didn't you just tell me that he wanted you to have me show you how to make toys? This way you could take over my position. I didn't think that you would reveal what you actually wanted so foolishly to me. Clearly, you thought that you could deceive me. Well, (f/n), it didn't work, so it would seem that I have some business to take care of."

Edgar proceeded to climb out of his bed and head for his room door. (F/n) just felt shocked and injured. Now, he was probably going off to talk to his brother. Well, she didn't know if it would just be talking with him. Frankly, Edgar's laughing terrified her even more, since there was a dark undertone to it. The pissed off gleam in his visible eye didn't help ease her mind either. If anything, it he seemed like he was going to rip his brother's head off.

As he reached for the doorknob with his left hand, she decided that she wasn't going to let him storm off like that. He had misinterpreted her in his state of utmost vexation. Getting up from the bed, she hurried over to him and grabbed his right arm. Edgar peered back at her, as a frown had plastered itself on his lips. For a moment she froze at the glare on his countenance.

"Let go of me, (f/n)," he warned, trying to pull away his arm. When she refused, he added, "I'll not have you protecting my brother."

"I'm not trying to protect him. I told you all of that because I want to protect you, Edgar. I can't give up working by your side because I love doing so. I love the time that I get to spend with you in the workshop. Even more so, I'm honored that you're basing the winter holiday doll off of me. Sure, I may think that expanding might be a good idea, but the decision is ultimately yours, not mine. So, if you don't want to go through with such a thing, you don't have to. Please, believe me that I came in here to warn you, not to deceive you."

Keeping his tone the same, he voiced, "Fine, if that's the case, promise me that you'll help me ruin my brother. There's no middle position in this. Either, you agree to help me deal with my brother, or you agree to help him. Which will you choose (f/n)?"

Personally, she didn't want to ruin anyone's life, but she didn't want to lose Edgar either. Besides, she knew that Edgar wouldn't budge on his position, so negotiation was out the window. Sighing, she uttered, "You, Edgar."

His left hand fell away from the door before he pulled her hands away from him. The anger present in his right eye finally started to dissipate away. "Let's get you back to bed, (f/n). You need your sleep after all, so we'll discuss the plans regarding my brother tomorrow," he mentioned calmly, as he signaled for her to return to her room.

Just nodding in response, she followed him back into her room where he closed both bathroom doors behind them. She gave him a confused look before he signaled for her to get into bed. Not knowing what he was up to, she cautiously climbed back into her bed and pulled the sheets over. Instead of Edgar leaving, though, he climbed onto the other side of the bed and pulled the sheets over himself as well. "Just think of this as the price you're paying for having talked to my brother," he commented.

A light blush decorated her cheeks, as she moved a little bit away from him. Despite not wanting to share a bed with him, she was glad that he was returning to his usual self. Still, she found that she couldn't go to sleep, even more so now that Edgar was in her bed with her. She just stayed sitting up, as she heard Edgar sigh next to her.

"Come here," Edgar ordered, but before she could even register what he said, he had pulled her over to him.

With her head now lying on his lap, she was position diagonally across her bed. She looked up at Edgar, as he glanced down at her. He pushed strands of her hair away from her face with his right hand. Her gaze turned to his covered eye, and she was half tempted to pull back his hair.

"Tell me, what's still bothering you? Is it the deal you just made with me? If it is, then don't worry about it. My brother deserves what's coming to him," he answered, twirling some strands of her hair around his left index finger.

"Why, though? Your brother mentioned that you two rarely saw each other and that you each had your own part of the business that required contact only at certain times. It's true that you insult your brother, but why? Just why is there so much dislike between you two? What's missing that he didn't tell me, Edgar?" she dared to ask, as she studied his gaze carefully.

Moving his right hand from her face to her left arm, he glided his fingers down her skin and stopped at her hand. He intertwined his fingers with her hand, as his countenance took on an unreadable expression. "He did something horrendous to me. I was always an introvert. I have always loved working in my workshop on the toys; I have always required little contact with people outside of my home. Even the house staff and workers, I would only talk to them when needed and that applies to now as well. My brother, though, hated the attention that I received from our father.

"He despised the fact that our father would always praise me for my craftsmanship, while my brother would only receive more work. Evidently, my brother never understood the reason behind this. I already had my craft down; I was constantly working. He still had to learn his trade; he even had free time that I didn't have. Granted, I didn't require free time because my work was and still is my passion.

"My brother would go off to social gatherings constantly. Some were for learning the business; some were for fun. He would brag about the spotlight that he was allowed to bathe in to me when he came home. Frederic attempted to bother me, but he never did. I found my work more important, and I thanked my father every time he complemented my work. As for my brother, he was just trying to earn my father's attention; my father, though, understood that my brother was just in the business for the fame and money. I believe this is part of the reason why my father gave him few praises.

"Regardless, my brother thought of a way to get back at me; a way to keep me forever in the shadows and out of his limelight, a plan that would allow him to feel better about his fabricated role as owner of the company," he explained, as he lifted her hand up towards his face. Carefully, he placed her hand under his left bangs and over his hidden eye. "He's the reason for my left eye's concealment."