The entire way back to the castle, her head was a mess with what had just happened.
‘He found out.’
When exactly was he coming to see her? It means that he was coming tomorrow, right?
‘Alas, now, if I tell him everything...… The three of us can't go back to the old days, can we?’
‘I'll protect them, but at the end of the day, I hurt Theodore greatly.’
‘I...….’
What to do next.
It wasn't like this when she was directly facing Theodore. But, once she parted with him, everything became a mess.
She was shaking so much that she couldn’t even center herself.
Imagination and reality were different.
It felt like the sandcastles that had been constructed for so long were suddenly destroyed by a single, strong wave.
"Well done, Duke...….”
As soon as she entered the opening, she approached Enoch, who was waiting for her.
She embraced him.
"Rosa?"
At first, he was puzzled.
But Enoch didn’t shrug her off. Rather, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and embraced her tighter.
As though he wanted her to find momentary comfort in his arms.
In fact, it was impulsive to embrace Enoch.
When she imagined herself left alone, she felt bitter and empty. Then, at that moment, she saw Enoch, who was waiting for her.
She felt relief.
"You said you'll always be by my side, right?"
"Yes, always."
"No matter what kind of situation I’m in?"
"Of course."
There was no hesitation in his responses.
Funnily enough, a smile spread across her face.
***
Enoch didn't ask about what had happened earlier. He just quietly led her back to her bedroom.
Although Rosa’s mind was still complicated, strangely, her anxiety had gone a little.
Therefore, she didn't want to talk about it just to reignite the anxiety she’d worked so hard to suppress again.
Fortunately, Enoch seemed to understand how she felt.
He acted the same as usual.
He cleaned up while she was in the shower, creating an environment that would make it comfortable to go to bed.
When she took off all the magic tools and changed into pajamas, Enoch asked her,
"Are you going to sleep?"
“……I should."
She laid down under the blanket straight away.
She couldn't fall asleep easily. Her eyes would droop because she was exhausted, but she often snapped back awake.
Eventually, she got up.
"Enoch."
Her eyes fell on Enoch, who was guarding her bedside.
‘What was he thinking? His eyes looked like a dry wasteland.’
But, when she called out to him, fresh life began to appear in his dry eyes.
Enoch replied,
"Did you call, Rosa?"
"You haven’t gone yet?"
"Because you haven't fallen asleep."
It seemed like he was standing by because he was worried about what happened earlier...….
‘Am I mistaken?’
She shook her head, which had been dazed for a moment, roughly from side to side.
Then, she stood up from her bed.
"I can't sleep, so I'll go down there for a while. So, you should go rest, too. You must have been tired from doing a lot of work today."
"Just rest."
Enoch grabbed her wrist as she tried to walk past him.
Her body turned sharply.
"I'm sure I said I couldn't sleep."
"Rest even if you can't sleep."
He had a discontented expression and a stubborn voice.
‘You're worried about me.’
However, lying down didn't mean the distracting thoughts disappeared.
In that case, she'd rather pass the time doing something else.
She stood firm and put her hand on the wrist Enoch was using to hold hers.
She looked at him face-to-face.
Enoch's face crumpled at her appearance. He told her, his lower lip crumpled,
"Do you have to go down twice in one day? Why are you overworking your body so much?"
"What?"
She was flabbergasted.
It was because there was a problem hidden in what Enoch had just uttered.
Enoch's conviction, that utterance without a shred of doubt, was baffling.
Of course, she had no choice but to ask back,
"Go down twice? What do you mean?"
“……Didn't you already go down there?"
Enoch's response was a beat late.
He asked her again in a flustered voice.
At this rate, it seemed that they would end up endlessly asking each other for clarification.
To end this confusion, she spoke straightforwardly.
"I haven’t been to the basement yet; I’ve been wandering around outside all day. What the hell are you talking about?"
He was probably mistaken.
Enoch was also out and about so, he must have assumed she’d gone down today...….
"There are signs that the door was opened."
‘Signs? What is he talking about…….’
Enoch had already let go of her wrist and was approaching what served as the door to the basement.
He repeatedly examined the area with narrowed eyes, as if trying to see something.
Rosa also approached him.
"What kind of trace is it?"
"This entrance is also made of magic, so every time you open the door, it leaves a trace."
"That means...….”
Enoch was right.
It was a secret room hidden by Enoch's magic in the first place. So, there's no way he couldn’t see a trace.
If so, that would mean someone invaded the cellar.
‘Who on earth?’
"If it's not you, someone else must have come in. It's faint, but it's clear. So, I thought you came in at dawn or early in the morning."
“……I never came in, even at dawn."
Rosa’s heart was racing like crazy.
What did they see there? There were already a lot of fishy looking things down there.
In particular, there were quite a few objects that could reveal her identity, and there was also a skeleton.
Most of all, that book...….
"Book!"
Of course, there was a 1% chance that it opened by accident.
However, from the beginning, this place was carefully locked to prevent entry without her permission.
"Rosa."
She ran straight into it as soon as the door opened.
With the complacency from thinking no one could enter, she’d left the book on the table while reading it.
But...….
"It’s not here."
She put all her strength into her two fists on the table. She clenched her jaw as well. Her whole body began to tremble.
A big white hand covered her clenched fist.
It was Enoch's hand.
"No one has jumped the wall of the castle and broken in. There was never an alarm set off...….”
Her fist gradually loosened up. The nails that were digging into the palm of her hand were gradually removed.
Only then did the pain rise.
It didn't bleed or tear the flesh, but it hurt quite a bit.
"Then it must have been an outsider who entered proudly through the gate; but you have never allowed anyone through the door except for a certain recent acquaintance."
"Yes, except for a certain group...….”
She stared blankly at her fingernail-indented palm.
Her head grew increasingly calm.
And through her ears came Enoch's low voice.
"Today, while they were so busy preparing to leave, there was an intruder. The timing is too perfect."
"Yeah. It was too fitting. How...… did they get into my room?"
"If another wizard had magically opened it, I would have noticed at once. Again, no alarm went off. It was...….”
"They must have come in using a way other than magic."
"Yes, that means they entered after confidently unlocking your bedroom door, and that's why I thought it was you."
Clasp.
Usually, aristocrats have clasps that can only be opened with the family's own keys, which are specially made.
But the fact that they opened it up and came in...….
She slowly raised her gaze which had been fixed on the marks in her palm.
Enoch asked her with a deep smile, sharp but languid, like a cat about to hunt.
"Shall I catch them?"