A room with a damp smell.
On the wall, there was Anna, hanging in a miserable state.
She shook her auburn hair vigorously, and her brown eyes were filled with fear as she looked at those in front of her.
"Ugh!"
She struggled, trying to say something with her gagged mouth.
But they didn't remove the gag; they just watched.
Creak.
A very pale light seeped in, accompanied by the sound of rusty metal.
Two figures appeared through the light.
The man in front gave a brief order to those guarding the inside.
"Get out."
In an instant, everyone in the room began to stampede out like they had been waiting for him to come.
The man gestured to his companion who had come in with him and said,
"Close it."
At those words, the companion, Lysander, moved quickly.
Aside from a black eye, he also had quite a few wounds on his face that were still in the process of healing.
Even though he didn't seem to be well, he followed the order without saying anything.
Creak.
The door closed slowly with a sharp creak.
Lysander said politely to the one watching him,
"It's closed."
The way he spoke was very awkward.
But the man glanced at Lysander with eyes devoid of pity before turning away.
Soon, the sound of shoes was heard.
The man’s steps stopped in front of Anna.
The man spoke to her,
"I can't wait any longer."
At those words, Anna, who had been keeping her eyes closed, slowly opened them.
Their eyes met.
The man flicked his hand. Then, magically, the gag slipped out of Anna’s mouth.
Anna immediately shouted his name with a loud voice full of hatred.
"Wolf!"
Enoch's brow was slightly furrowed.
He mercilessly clasped Anna's mouth with one hand.
"How noisy."
Contrary to his annoyed tone, there was no expression on Enoch's face.
This made it more frightening and cruel.
"I think I've waited long enough, so I’ll do as I please from now on."
No matter what he'd done so far, Anna had never opened her mouth. As though she was afraid of someone.
So, now there was nothing he could do.
"I’ll be going through your head and finding any cracks."
He looked like a terrible villain.
In fact, Enoch had been quite kind to Anna. He was worried that Rosenta would be sad if he found out about Anna in the future.
But he had reached his limit.
He couldn't wait any longer and needed to extract the information as quickly as possible.
"I'm reaching the limits of my patience now. Above all, I don't have the time to spend on you."
He’d looked at the newspapers earlier and, as Rosenta said, his information was everywhere.
Just thinking about it made him tired and annoyed.
His grip naturally tightened. Then, of course, the hand that was covering Anna's mouth also tightened.
Anna writhed.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
His voice wasn’t sorry at all.
Then, Enoch immediately bid Anna adieu as if reciting a melody into her ear.
“Good night, Anna.”
Despite his sweet words, his eyes still showed no emotion.
It was creepy.
Anna tried to vigorously resist but failed.
‘Is it because of the green light coming from his hand?’
Anna blinked her brown eyes and soon fell asleep.
Only then did Enoch pull his hand away.
“Lysander.”
Lysander, who had quietly retreated to the back, jumped forward.
“Yes, did you call?
“While I dig into this woman’s head, solve the newspaper problem.”
Lysander immediately smiled and thought about it.
After finding the person who provided the information and beating him up, he could publish a correction article with some false information mixed in.
‘If I give them money, there will be plenty of people who will do what I want.’
“Then I’ll go and solve it.”
Lysander looked excited for some reason and headed outside.
“Now if I just solve this…” [Enoch]
‘I can go back.’
It may have only been a few days to some, but it felt like an exceedingly long time to Enoch.
“Enoch was glad that he could finally go back to where he belonged.”
“Whew.”
But that relief only lasted for a moment.
Enoch took a deep breath and quickly got his emotions under control.
This is because mental magic was a magic that greatly drained the mage’s mind.
Even Enoch had to concentrate as much as he could while gathering his green mana.
He began to concentrate fully.
“Enoch.”
A voice was suddenly heard.
It was a faint sound coming from the brooch on his chest.
“Ah….”
He scattered all the magical power he had barely gathered at once. It didn’t matter how hard it would be to gather it again.
It was Rosenta’s voice.
Enoch quickly pushed Anna away and went to stand under the lamp.
He then activated the magic tool.
Through the dim light, Rosenta’s face finally came into view.
A face wearing a sad smile…
***
Rosenta regretted it.
Why is it that, when people are cornered, their actions always rush ahead of their thoughts without them realizing it?
Just like him now.
“What’s going on?”
Enoch’s fierce expression appeared as though he were going to rip someone’s throat out at any moment.
His voice wasn’t much different either.
Rosenta could feel his anger bursting out without any intention of suppressing it.
He was the one to contact Enoch, but he wasn’t saying anything.
Enoch exploded with anger.
“…It’s nothing.”
“That can’t be.”
Even the slightest response was mercilessly rejected.
“There’s no way you would make that face for no reason.”
In an instant, his emotions changed abruptly.
He distorted his face, as though he were trying to hold back tears.
Why was he making that face?
‘Why?’
But suddenly, he disappeared. As if he had been eroded by darkness; no light could be seen…
“AH!”
Rosenta screamed.
He was surprised by a strong grip pulling him from behind.
He felt warmth against his back.
Naturally, he looked down. He could see a large white hand wrapped around his waist.
He turned around.
And he looked at the face of the one who pulled him.
"Enoch, why are you here...….”
"How can I leave you alone when you have such an upset expression?"
Enoch's hand wrapped around the back of his head.
He pulled his head forward and made him lean on his shoulder.
Slowly and gently, running his hands through his hair.
"If it’s you we’re talking about, you’ll just endure it over and over again. Always thinking about others."
It was not a soothing tone.
But strangely enough, a part of Rosenta’s heart was fluttering.
Rosenta’s lips were trembling.
"You’ll never be alone. I’ll never leave you alone."
Enoch kept talking to himself as if he were making up his mind.
While holding Rosenta tightly...….
Vivian’s words popped into Rosenta’s mind. Something she had told him.
“There's no tree that can't break. One day Rosen, you, will need someone that supports you, too.”
"Rosa...… I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry about?"
Enoch had his face resting on his head.
He then pressed his lips together as if he were giving a short kiss, and then he raised his head again.
Enoch continued to plead with Rosenta in a mournful tone.
“……Everything. I'm sorry for everything. So...… Please cry."
Rumble, bang.
This time, the sound of lightning was more clearly heard than anything else.
Rosenta felt like he’d seen this scene before. Maybe he had seen it in a dream.
"I'd rather...… you cry."
Rosenta kept his eyes closed as he listened to his voice while being held tightly in his arms.
‘Yeah, that’s it.’
He’d done the same for Theodore on a day when the rain was as strong as it is now.
[t/n: Rosenta’s remembering comforting Theodore after the funeral of the previous emperor.]
‘Come to think of it...….’
‘Has there ever been anyone who’s told me this? And why do I hold back my tears every time?’
‘Is it because there were so many people I needed to protect?’
‘Because I’m worried that, if I fall, there's no one to protect them in my place?’
“……Yes."
But now it was different.
As if he was relieved by Enoch's words, tears flowed down.
‘Oh, I had one, too.’
The existence of a support tree that he could lean against...….