Rosenta was wandering around aimlessly, thinking it would be better to be outside than holed up in a stuffy room.
Just then, he ran into Aphra, who was returning to the castle.
"Oh! I was just going to find you, duke...….”
Aphra ran toward him with a happy face and held out a flat box.
"Is this what I asked for?"
"Yes, I heard that it was completed so I quickly came to find you."
"Thank you."
"No, it was a request from you so, of course, I had to take it seriously! Then, since I stepped away from work to come here, I need to hurry back!"
After bowing cheerfully, Aphra turned away. Then Rosenta went back the way he came.
After some time, he stopped walking. He slightly shielded the box so that Enoch couldn’t see the contents.
Only then did he slowly open the lid of the box that Aphra had given him.
“……It's pretty."
It was a type of necklace that wasn’t common there, so he’d asked Aphra to have it customized a few days ago.
And this was the result.
A black leather choker with brilliant jewels in the middle.
To be precise, small silver beads surrounded an oval emerald.
"Enoch."
Now that he’d checked the satisfactory results with his own eyes, it was time to give it to its owner.
"What?"
"Take that off from around your neck and try this on."
He held the box out to Enoch, its lid now removed.
Surprised, Enoch didn't take the box immediately. He just stared at it as if he had malfunctioned.
Embarrassed, Rosenta semi-forced the box into Enoch's arms.
Then he turned around.
He tried to turn and face the garden because he was embarrassed to meet his gaze.
“……Put it on for me."
Rosenta froze.
He felt Enoch holding the hem of his coat as he heard his faint voice.
"What?"
“……You’ve given it to me. Put it in its place around my neck."
Looking back, Rosenta could see his face, his eyes, his mouth, and everything that could be curved, curved as he smiled brightly.
The usual languid, cat-like expression was nowhere to be seen.
In its place was the expression of someone who was delighted to receive his gift.
"Here."
Enoch took the choker out of the box and placed it on Rosenta’s palm.
Then, he presented the back of his neck to him by lifting his black hair, which was much longer than before.
"Oh...….”
‘I didn't think of this.’
‘It feels like I'm putting a necklace, given as a surprise gift for my lover, around their neck.
Rosenta blushed without realizing it.
"Are you not going to put it on for me?"
Enoch urged him, turning his head slightly.
As if he was keeping him waiting.
Eventually, Rosenta slightly stood on his tiptoes to reach over Enoch's shoulder.
Naturally, as he got closer to Enoch's back, he kept thinking that his face was very close to touching the nape of his neck.
"It's done...….”
After adjusting the choker’s tightness to fit Enoch's neck, he quickly stepped away.
Then he turned around.
“……Rosenta."
He was trying to move away, but he heard Enoch's voice; so quiet that only he could hear it.
His voice was very low, but a strange joy was buried inside it.
"You say you're strong, but you're infinitely delicate in my eyes."
The more he spoke, the louder the low resonance felt.
"That’s why I’m worried."
He heard Enoch's footsteps, and he soon put his forehead on Rosenta’s shoulder.
There was always the risk that someone might see them, even if they thought there were no people nearby.
Rosenta would normally have avoided his touch right away.
But strangely, he couldn't disturb this mood. He just stood there and waited for Enoch's next words.
"Just let me...… Please allow me to guard your back so you don’t fall."
Rosenta gently pushed Enoch's head off his shoulder. Then he slightly tilted his head to look at him.
He asked Enoch,
"Aren't you going to do whatever you want regardless?"
"That's right. You warn me every time to take good care of myself, but...….”
Enoch bent slightly.
Staring directly into Rosenta’s eyes, he gently raised the corner of his mouth.
"It's the same for you; you don’t take care of yourself, so who else would take care of you?"
It sounded like arrogant confidence.
But Rosenta didn't deny it. In fact, he admitted that there was nothing wrong with his statement.
The meeting of two self-sacrificing people who don't take care of themselves...….
Rosenta turned forward.
Then he began to resume his steps which had been stopped again earlier, leaving faint words for Enoch.
"Then, if you want to take care of me, shall I take care of you?"
He didn't glance back.
He just kept looking ahead in the direction he was walking.
After a while, he heard urgent footsteps following him, and he heard Enoch's quiet answer in his ear.
“……I like that."
It was a voice containing a hint of laughter.
***
After that, they wandered silently around the walls of the castle.
It wasn't uncomfortable.
Peace in silence. It was the first time in several days that Rosenta felt like he was able to let go of all his thoughts and rest.
He greeted the household staff while appreciating the surrounding scenery, and then, when he was tired, he sat on a bench and rested for a while.
As he was spending his time so leisurely, he saw a guard approaching him in a hurry.
"Duke!"
"What's going on?"
At his question, the soldier began to speak slowly, out of breath.
"I know you told me to restrict access except for acquaintances, but...….”
"But?"
"They claimed to be sent by the Purple Saint, who’s the talk of the town these days, so...… I came in a hurry because I thought it would be better to tell you."
As soon as he heard that they claimed to be sent by the Purple Saint, his face crumpled.
‘What kind of weird claims are you spewing?’
‘The Purple Saint is nothing other than my other form, Rosa. How would I send someone to myself?’
It was nonsense.
He lost his words for a moment, dumbfounded, but the soldier urgently added something else that seemed to come to mind.
"While saying that, he revealed that his name is Imago."
“……What?"
"Imago...…. Ah! I also heard that he’s come with another companion. I didn't see anyone who appeared to be his companion, but I wonder if it’s the Purple Saint...….”
Imago.
It was the name that had been involved in every incident; Hyorin's pseudonym.
‘But why use the name of the Purple...….’
‘Oh, not only Hyorin but also my father, Caligo, noticed.’
Just as he’d realized the truth about them.
"Duke."
Enoch seemed to reach the same conclusion.
He stood in his way as he called him with a serious tone. He even shook his head.
Maybe because of the soldier watching them, he just smiled and said, 'this gives me a bad feeling.'
But he gently pushed Enoch's shoulder and spoke in a hushed voice.
"Didn't you say you'd protect me? So, watch my back."
This wasn’t unexpected.
Although, Rosenta never imagined that he would come so proudly and in broad daylight at that.
In any case, he’d had made up his mind. He couldn't avoid it; he would have to meet them eventually.
‘Yeah. Maybe I'd rather resolve this sooner than later.’
“……Enoch."
He called Enoch, as if to reassure him he was okay, while calming his own trembling heart.
He spoke to remind him of the previous conversation they’d had. Of course, it was said ambiguously so that the guard in front of them didn’t understand.
"I’m begging you."
Enoch's sharp eyes gradually softened.
Then, he replied slowly.
"Alright...….”
It was a brief response, but Rosenta truly felt like he had a reliable ally.
Just a moment ago, he was nervous ahead of his meeting with them...….
For some reason, he wasn't nervous at all now.
***
The front of the gate was very quiet compared to before.
Occasionally, there were servants sent from newspapers or other noble families, but this was how things usually were.
But now, Rosenta saw something else.
In particular, right in front of the gate, soldiers surrounded one person.
He headed there without any hesitation.
"Are you Imago?"
The soldiers, who were in a circle around his horse, immediately stepped back.
Only then did the image of the man caught between them come to light.
The man stood with his robe's hood slightly pulled back so that his face could be seen.
It was a familiar face.
"Can I come in?"
Up close, it was even more obvious.
At that time, he’d seen him on the river, but he really looked the same as before except for there being more wrinkles around his forehead and eyes.
“……Yes, but I heard you’ve come with a companion."
Hyorin didn’t open his mouth.
Rather, he turned his head and stared at the crowd.
Then, as if it were a signal, a robe-wearing man quickly slipped out of the crowd.
Unlike Hyorin, he was wearing his robe's hood pulled very far forward.
Rosenta instinctively realized at that moment.
This unknown companion who came with Hyorin...….
‘It's my father.’
“……Come with me."
He couldn't take them inside.
Although he’d already successfully taken the book from him, there was no guarantee that they would have a simple, quiet conversation.
So, he chose a place where there were few eyes and ears and where, even if something happened, it would take time for people to get there.
‘Well, it would be better to talk there.’
After he finished his thoughts, they passed a small house at the back of the castle and headed for the trail behind it.
If they kept walking on this path...….
"Are we going to the training ground?"
The terrifyingly apathetic voice he hadn't heard in a long time struck his ear.
He stopped walking for a moment.
He turned his head in the direction from which the voice was heard.
"Why are you stopping? Are you trying to talk here?"
He still didn't show his face, but his voice alone revealed himself.
‘As expected, my father, Caligo Estella, was alive.’
At Rosenta’s stare, Caligo said to him once again.
"Guide us properly, Rosenta."
Giving orders as if it were a given.