"Have you seen Edmund?"
"He went that way earlier looking for you, my lord."
"Thank you."
Rosenta asked the servants and searched for Edmund.
Then, he saw a familiar back rushing somewhere in a hurry.
He wondered if it was Edmund.
It would be difficult to run after them, and he needed to make sure that his eyes were correct, so Rosenta called his name.
"Edmund!"
He could see the figure jump and stop at his call. They turned around.
He looked at Rosenta, as though he was making sure, and immediately ran to him.
"Duke!"
As he ran up to him, his face became more visible.
After running around so hard, sweat was pouring like rain from Edmund's red face.
"What's going on?"
It couldn’t be a normal situation for Edmund to be like this.
Rosenta waited for an answer with the utmost nervousness.
"Well, that's...…. Ugh."
Edmund handed over a newspaper he was holding, breathing hard as though he’d fall over at any moment.
Then he said,
"I apologize for my unkempt appearance. It's because of this newspaper...…. Whew."
Edmund paused for a moment, exhaling deeply as though he had been holding his breath the entire time.
‘What could possibly be printed in this newspaper?’
Rosenta couldn't help but wonder. First, he took the newspaper Edmund was holding out.
But as soon as he looked at the newspaper, Edmund began spitting out words like a machine gun.
He said an unexpected name.
"Oh, Duke, why is Enoch's name written here? Did he come here to deceive us? You have to do something, Duke!"
“……Enoch?"
‘Why would Enoch's name appear in the newspaper...….’
‘Oh, no way.’
"Just in case, fire the wizard...….”
"Quiet."
Rosenta brought his index finger to his lips.
Edmund immediately closed his mouth at Rosenta’s command and stepped back.
It was then that he was able to take a proper look at the front page of the newspaper.
"The Magic Tower appears, bringing with it a storm of blood!"
Recently, the Magic Tower’s actions have become strange.
No matter how much money was offered, no one would accept any requests, and mages would appear in various locations under the pretext of looking for someone.
There were many rumors about this matter.
A very rich woman previously commissioned the tower, and the Magic Tower Lord has disappeared and is looking for him.
Or the rumor that the Tower Lord has changed.
Our Nota newspaper has been undercover for quite some time to get to the bottom of these rumors.
Then, I came across a mage at a local bar where mages often appear lately.
After much persuasion, I was able to extract information from him.
One day, a man named Enoch Wolf appeared and wrecked the Magic Tower.
And...….”
There was no need to read more.
Rosenta folded the newspaper in half. Then, he stared ahead.
He could see Edmund staring at him with a stiff expression.
Now that his name was openly mentioned in the newspaper, it wouldn’t be long before the other servants find out.
But what was Enoch’s intention?
‘You clearly reassured me that you would come back to me not long ago.’
It would be impossible for such a famous person to do so.
"Why on earth...….”
While he was trying to sort out his thoughts, Edmund called him as if it were strange.
"Duke?"
Edmund was looking at his hand.
Rosenta also followed his gaze down at his hand, where the newspaper was held.
"Oh."
The newspaper was crumpled, perhaps because he was applying strength to his hands without realizing it.
‘Why am I thinking like that at a time like this...….”
He touched his forehead. Then he quickly pushed away his concerns related to Enoch.
He handed Edmund the newspaper.
"It’s as you think, Enoch is the one mentioned in this newspaper."
"Did you know?"
He nodded calmly.
He then began telling Edmund what to prepare for in detail.
"All the newspapers will be sending reporters to the castle, so set up more security and thoroughly crack down on the servants."
Edmund was smart.
He asked no more questions about Enoch. He just listened to Rosenta and silently took notes.
Then, he answered him with a firm voice like a soldier who was about to enter battle.
"Yes, I will prepare thoroughly."
***
Rosenta went straight to his bedroom.
He pulled out a piece of jewelry hidden in his jewelry box.
It was a brooch, the magical communication tool he took to Nequitia.
"Will be able to get in touch?"
The reason he’d dug this up was to get in touch, of course.
But questions arose.
Now that he was back from Nequitia, he hadn’t thought he’d need it anymore.
‘Let's give it a try. Just trying won’t hurt anything.’
“……Hubert."
He did everything in the same order as last time.
He stroked it and called Hubert by name, but there was no response.
There was nothing he could do.
"I guess I’ll have to wait until later to ask Enoch what he was thinking...….”
He was fiddling with the brooch and was about to put it back into the jewelry box.
Suddenly, the brooch’s jewel glowed.
There was no response when he’d called Hubert, but when he mentioned 'Enoch', it started working properly.
Suddenly, Enoch's flustered face appeared on the screen which looked like a hologram.
For some reason, his surroundings seemed busy.
Even the lights weren’t properly visible, perhaps because he was in a confined space.
Enoch's light green eyes seemed to float in the air.
"Wait a minute, please."
The screen completely changed.
He’d left the brooch somewhere else, and all Rosenta could see was a pitch-black ceiling.
Some people could be heard in the background.
However, he couldn’t understand the conversation in detail, only hearing sounds.
"As expected, there’s nothing to say...….”
"What should we do...….”
“……Even mental magic."
About 2 minutes passed.
Enoch's eyes appeared again, and the screen suddenly changed.
A sun-filled sky.
Enoch was smoothing his flowing hair against the backdrop of the sky.
Then he opened his red lips.
"Did you call me?"
"Yeah. I tried to contact you through Hubert, but it turned out to be unnecessary."
“……I couldn't keep leaving the brooch with Hubert."
Enoch grabbed the fabric around his neck that was blowing in the wind.
[t/n: his leash.]
And he kept fiddling with it.
Rosenta was strangely concerned about that fabric. He wondered how long it would be this cumbersome.
‘He won’t take it off even if I tell him to, so should I buy him a necklace that looks good?’
Tsk.
After clicking his tongue lightly, Rosenta tried to take his eyes off the fabric he’d wrapped around his hand.
"Enoch."
He called him, but the question wouldn’t leave his mouth.
‘Do you want to leave me? Do you want to faithfully fulfill your duty as tower lord?
‘How should I say it so that it doesn’t sound strange?’
Rosenta was caught up in a belated agony.
Then, he started to feel dumbfounded, wondering if this was something to really be worried about.
"What's going on?"
Enoch's cold voice cooled Rosenta’s constantly overheated head.
Only then did he look straight at Enoch.
Enoch was looking at him with an unusual expression as if something was bothering him. Then he spoke in a jittery tone.
"If I had been there...….”
"No."
Funnily enough, a smile appeared on Rosenta’s mouth. Up until a moment ago, he had been unable to speak.
Enoch's words collapsed the tense atmosphere in one fell swoop.
Rosenta let out a hollow laugh and pushed his bangs back.
Then he said to Enoch,
"There's an article. With your name in it. A mage at the bar confided to a reporter."
Enoch's expression hardened frightfully at his words.
He distorted his expression like a demon and opened his eyes fiercely. He looked as if he was going to kill someone at any moment.
‘Well.’
‘I guess the article was not directly orchestrated by Enoch, it was just an interview given by a drunk mage.’
Why did he think it was Enoch's doing?
It was a really silly idea and a misconception that wasn't like him to have.
"If it's just a name...….”
"No. Your hair, your eyes, and your appearance are described."
"Ha!"
Enoch let out a strange laugh.
Rosenta could say with confidence that it was the most murderous sound he'd ever heard.
"No matter how much you crack down on things, there’ll always be a rat...….”
The angry words suddenly stopped.
Enoch's eyes, which had just been filled with viciousness, stared at Rosenta with a serene gaze.
A spring breeze blew in suddenly.
His expression, which had been frightening, melted away at once.
“……Then did you contact me to clarify that?"
"I did."
Only those two syllables were uttered.
However, Enoch smiled brightly as if he was more than happy with the words.
"Are you afraid I'll leave?"
There was no immediate answer.
Enoch's gaze towards him became more mischievous.
"Don't worry. Appearance can always be changed with magic."
Enoch saw right through the reason Rosenta was worriedly contacting him.
At times like this, being flustered is the same as answering in the affirmative. The best course of action is to respond in a tactful manner.
But Rosenta didn’t have the presence of mind to do that, so he ended up being very flustered.
"Mhm, I'm busy, so let's stop here."
He rubbed the brooch with a tone and gestures that would seem unnatural to anyone. Enoch's face then disappeared, and the contact was cut.
Just in case, he held the brooch tightly so that his face could not be seen.
Then he lowered his head slightly and buried his face in his palm.
"It feels like I've shown my bare face."
His heated face showed no signs of cooling down easily.