The day of departure had finally arrived.
Rosenta had received consistent updates through Theodore's correspondence.
[t/n: Theodore is updating Rosenta as the one who would be taking care of the palace. As a result, Rosa has been getting updates as well.]
Theodore had sent letters regularly informing him of how close the preparations were to being complete.
Then, on the sixth day of this.
That day’s correspondence from Theodore was a bit different.
It said he was planning to leave tomorrow with the woman in purple and asked Rosenta to take good care of the palace.
As soon as he saw this, Rosenta couldn’t help but call out Enoch.
"Enoch."
"Yes, Duke."
Enoch, who was standing behind him, approached him and bent forward slowly.
Rosenta could see his black hair cascading down.
He turned his head slightly.
He could see Enoch's pale green eyes and light smile.
"I need you to bring my double right away."
“……Is it tomorrow?"
"Yes. Tomorrow, you too...… will have to leave this place."
The smile in Enoch’s eyes slowly disappeared.
Could it have been due to the fluttering curtains?
At that moment a deep darkness lay in Enoch's light green eyes.
"Leave."
Enoch violently wrinkled his brow as if he had taken bitter medicine.
Then, he quickly hid his expression.
"If possible, I wish you would have just said I was just going out for a bit.”
Leaving those words behind, Enoch immediately stood up straight.
Then, he opened the doors of the balcony without hesitation.
A wind so harsh as to make Enoch's black hair flutter.
In a flash, a familiar scene came to mind.
Rosenta tried to call out to Enoch, but Enoch was already smiling with his head tilted slightly.
"I'll bring him right away."
In an instant, he turned into a crow and Enoch flew into the sky.
***
It was the middle of the night.
Enoch, who said he would return right away, did not come until the afternoon.
Eventually, Rosenta couldn't wait for him, so he went to bed for the day, thinking, 'He'll be back in the morning.'
[t/n: Rosenta takes off the magical tools when he sleeps, making him Rosa now.]
Then, she slowly fell asleep.
She felt like she could hear someone at her bedside caressing her hair and calling her sweetly.
"Rosenta."
At first, it was ‘Rosenta’.
Then the names being called continued to change.
“Duke”, “you”.
After those familiar names, at the end...….
"Rosa."
Her eyes opened wide.
She stared above her into those light green eyes that glowed like stars in the dark.
Those eyes narrowed and smiled at her.
Then, he reached out to her.
"I'm back."
“……Yes, I'm back in good hands."
She held Enoch's hand and lifted herself out of bed.
After putting on her robe, she turned on the lamp.
Seeing her do so, Enoch immediately used magic to light all the lanterns in the room.
The room brightened up in an instant.
Then, in front of the window, she saw a strange middle-aged man standing there.
"Hello, I'm Hubert, a mage of the magic tower."
She had gone to bed without all the magic tools.
So now...….
She was quite embarrassed and couldn't open her mouth to say anything. After hesitating, she looked at Enoch with resentment.
Then Enoch, who noticed that she was upset, quickly explained.
"I'm sure he'll keep a tight lip because he's a mage working under Lysander. He's more sensitive to mana than other ordinary mages so he’s best suited to the job in case of emergencies.”
In case of emergencies.
Enoch said that par the most emphatically.
Rosa was now wondering.
"Even if the emperor is away, I am one of the four great dukes and am guarding the imperial palace…. What emergency are you expecting?"
“……Things could still happen."
Enoch’s eyes grew fierce in an instant.
Enoch looked like a vigilant beast, sniffing and exposing his sharp teeth and claws.
It was true.
Moderate doubt and vigilance are helpful.
Instead, Rosa had to clarify something: about Hubert.
"But if he’s Lysander's subordinate, I'm anxious."
"Why?"
Enoch's eyebrows shot up fiercely.
"Not long ago, Vivian showed up wearing goggles that looked like a magical tool. Her brother lent them to her...…. I can't believe it was a coincidence."
Wasn't the timing weird?
She hadn’t even known the goggles were for looking at traces of mana, and as soon as Lysander saw her at the banquet...….
He lent them to Vivian.
Anyone could see that it was a suspicious flow of events.
As expected, Enoch broke into a cold laugh.
Then he looked at Rosa and said,
"I didn't know. I’m fighting to be patient for you right now, so there’s no way I’d do something like that...….”
[t/n: I believe Rosa is implying that Enoch would direct Lysander to expose her to drive a wedge between her and her friend. Enoch is saying he’s trying to mature for her and wouldn’t do such a thing.]
Lysander must have done it on his own.
If it was the old Enoch, you could never be sure, but the current Enoch would never do this.
Even if it’s only because he’s afraid he’ll be hated.
"I know, but this still leaves me anxious."
She stared at Hubert.
Hubert waved his hands and said urgently,
"Although I serve under Lysander, I am first and foremost a mage of the tower. Of course, the Lord of the Magic Tower comes first."
Enoch was staring at Rosa without saying much, even as Hubert was making excuses.
And when he was done, he slowly told Rosa,
"It's late at night. You go to bed now. I'll take care of the rest...….”
***
When she woke up in the morning, Enoch was gone.
Instead, she found a note on the table that he left her.
"If I see the Duke's face, I don’t think I’ll be able to go out. So, I’m going out before dawn.
I'll be back by your side soon.”
The word ‘leave’ was completely omitted.
Instead, it was replaced with the words 'going out' or 'go out'.
"You always said you would come see my face."
She put the note inside of a jewelry box with a quick smile.
Then she headed to the secret basement.
"Rosa."
When the door opened, she saw Hubert waiting in advance.
"If there's an emergency, it'll be communicated via this magic brooch, but I'm here to inform you of the rest."
She gave a brief overview.
Don't attend any banquets as much as possible and keep an eye on the palace from time to time.
Even if people greet you, just will smile and reply as briefly as possible.
For now, that was it.
Then, she used the secret entrance to leave out so that the other servants wouldn't notice.
She went straight to the courier office.
"Ms. Rosa!"
As soon as she reached the office, Aphra came running as if he’d been waiting.
He rushed up and pointed to a crowded place.
"There's an imperial carriage...…. But His Majesty the Emperor!"