After that, Rosenta waited in his room for Theodore to come.
With Enoch.
"Duke, he has arrived."
His left, light-green eye, from which black liquid fell, glowed.
Perhaps it was because he was borrowing the vision of his familiar, the crow. His iris was almond-shaped like an animal's eyes.
"All right."
Rosenta slowly raised his body, which had been resting on the table.
But when he tried to move his body, Enoch grabbed his wrist.
"Duke."
“Is there something you want to say?”
Rosenta turned his body, which was facing the door, to face Enoch again.
"Because they were in the Holy land, he listened quietly and exchanged magic power like this."
Enoch swallowed his words.
He seemed uncharacteristically hesitant. He looked as though he was afraid of being rejected.
"When we get back, can you spare me a day?"
His pupils were trembling, as if they were his heart.
Rosenta couldn't bring himself to reject Enoch's words easily. All he could do was look up, still held in his grasp.
Without saying much, they just stared at each other.
Until the person Theodore sent opened the door to the room.
***
Rosenta followed the servant down to where they were waiting.
Also.
It was a situation That did not deviate from his expectations by even an inch.
Theodore, Yura, and Vivian. There was an awkward atmosphere between them.
The three didn't talk much and didn't make eye contact with each other.
"I guess I'm the last one. I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting."
Vivian and Theodore greeted him gently and accepted his words.
However, Yura was different.
"I'm fine, but I don't think it’s appropriate to keep His Majesty waiting."
Yura, who would normally accept his greeting calmly, for some reason, sounded aggressive.
In reality, her gaze towards him was not too kind.
Anxiety, doubt, jealousy.
She was wary of him, her eyes filled with bad emotions.
"Saint."
Although Theodore called Yura in a reprimanding tone, her vigilance did not fade.
Instead, she turned her back on them, as if that’d had the opposite effect. Then, she only made excuses to Theodore.
"I just... ... I was able to accompany you through Your Majesty’s kindness, but since you two were late, I spoke without thinking."
Theodore didn't say anything. But he didn't console Yura.
There was an awkward silence.
Meanwhile, Vivian seemed unable to control her anger and tried to shout something.
"I...!"
But Rosenta was faster.
He quickly grabbed Vivian by the wrist and pushed her behind him.
Fortunately, Vivian closed her mouth and followed his lead.
He gently turned and shook his head at Vivian.
Vivian then made a grim face but made a gesture as if she was going to stay quiet behind him.
He looked forward again, relieved.
In the meantime, Yura and Theodore were having a brief conversation.
"I see."
"Perhaps my words offended Your Majesty…"
"No damage done."
Rosenta wanted to check the effectiveness of the antidote with his own eyes.
So, he focused on the two and observed every single interaction, from facial expressions to speech and behavior.
"It's just...."
Theodore stopped talking and stared at him as if to show him that he had changed.
The golden eyes were no longer murky, cloudy, or dazed; they were staring at him with a precise focus.
Even when he looked at Yura.
" I sent someone to the duke late, so it’s all right."
Theodore stared at Yura again, and it fell silent.
Rosenta was more relieved just by seeing that scene.
Although he couldn't take his eyes off Yura, he could feel that a lot had changed in his attitude toward her.
"Rosen."
Vivian suddenly called him, so he quickly turned around.
As soon as their eyes met, Vivian immediately urged him under the guise of a question.
"I can't be bothered to argue, and I can't wait to get out of here… Can't we move now?"
He nodded his head.
He also couldn't wait to get back to the duchy and rest in peace. There was a lot of work left to be done.
When he agreed, Vivian quickly cut off the subtle atmosphere between Theodore and Yura.
"Your Majesty, now that we are all here, why don't we start?"
The golden eyes turned to Vivian.
"……I agree."
Theodore nodded slowly and then slowly turned away.
In contrast, Yura didn't say anything. She was just quietly following Theodore's footsteps.
Rosenta was watching Yura's back, and Vivian snuck up on him.
"A cold wind is really blowing."
"Cold wind?"
"Yeah. She doesn’t even look at me in public anymore."
When he asked for clarity, Vivian moved her jaw towards Yura.
However, there seemed to be one thing Vivian didn't realize.
The cold wind reached Rosenta, too.
***
After the magic circle was activated, they opened their eyes to one of the palace's sprawling gardens.
Then, as if to separate, they said goodbye to Theodore.
"Your Majesty, I shall now return to the duchy."
"I'll have to return before dark, and this dress is uncomfortable."
"I should head to the western palace and take a rest too."
If it were just the three of them, it would have been awkward to separate like this, so they would have asked for a cup of tea.
But no one had even suggested such a proposal.
Even Yura was quiet.
"Have a safe trip, too, Duke and Young Lady. I'll go in first with my maid who has come to pick me up."
"Yes, get home safely."
Rosenta was about to bow down, but Yura turned firmly without even looking at him.
It was unfamiliar to him to see this cold wind blowing.
But he quickly looked away without wondering why.
It was because Enoch called him with a serious voice.
"Duke, I think we'd better go now, too."
"But the lady..."
The moment he saw Enoch, he closed his mouth and didn't bring it up any further.
He couldn't show any signs of panic, so he reached out as naturally as possible.
He covered Enoch’s left eye to make it appear as if he were touching Enoch's forehead, and then, with his other hand, clasped tightly at the scruff of his neck.
He hurriedly laid Enoch's face over his shoulder.
Then he whispered in his ear so that only Enoch could hear it.
"What are you thinking of doing magic here?"
"The crows let me know that the mage from the last time is coming. If that’s true…"
Enoch overlapped his hand on Rosenta’s hand, which was placed on the back of his neck.
Confused by that, Rosenta gradually relaxed the hand that held Enoch's neck.
Enoch lifted his head up without missing the opportunity.
But fortunately, his mysterious left pupil had returned to its original color.
"So, the duke doesn’t have to go through the trouble of escorting someone."
On the surface, it seemed like Enoch was saying this out of consideration for him.
But it sounded different to Rosenta.
It seemed as though he was jealous of him taking Vivian home every time and using magic to borrow the sight of the crows.
Rosenta breathed a light sigh.
"Yes, but you'd better be careful in the future."
In any case, completely controlling Enoch was a daunting task.
In addition, it was a good place for other people to observe them.
He turned around with the idea of ending this, but he faced countless eyes looking at him.
To be more exact, looking at him and Enoch.
Theodore, in particular, was looking at them with his face crumpled.
It was an atmosphere where he felt like he had to make an excuse.
He forced himself to raise the corner of his mouth; he shrugged his shoulders and tried to show as little agitation as possible.
"I can see signs of a cold coming from my butler, so I just wanted to check on him."
Theodore sarcastically asked him a question, even after he said that.
"I guess that's how the duke measures other people's temperature?"
"I don't usually do this. But, if he does have a cold, I have to make sure he doesn’t pass it on to you."
Since he spoke so carefully, they looked away one by one.
They just seemed to think, 'The duke is very considerate.'
Except for two of them.
Vivian and Theodore were still looking at him with subtle expressions.
While thinking about leaving quickly or making another excuse, he saw someone coming toward them.
It was Lysander Marigold.
He tried to quickly divert their attention by pointing in his direction.
"Young Lord Marigold is coming. I think he's here to pick up Young Lady Vivian."
***
Of course, he assumed that Lysander was only here to take Vivian back.
But he didn't.
He made a sudden request to Rosenta who wanted to leave quickly.
And with very absurd words at that.
"I've sent my coachman back, so I'd like you to take my sister and me home. I'm sure you don't mind since you take her home often."
Then Lysander, as if for it was a given, climbed into the carriage before Rosenta could answer. It was very brazen.
Vivian glared at her brother’s absurd behavior and tried to pull him out.
But Rosenta stopped Vivian.
"No. It's all right, Vivian."
Since he said that they had no carriage, he felt comfortable returning Vivian to the Marquisate safely and returning to the castle.
"Enoch, let the coachman know that the destination has been changed."
"……Yes."
There was a moment of silence, but he could fully read Enoch's mood.
Even so, he had no intention of leaving Vivian behind and returning to the duke's castle because of Enoch.
He nodded firmly.
Then he reached out to Vivian so that she could climb into the high carriage.
"Thank you, Rosen."
Vivian clasped tightly at the hem of her dress, and with her other hand, she struggled to climb into the carriage.
In the meantime, Lysander was watching them with his legs crossed.
It wasn't a nice look.
‘Why did you send your family's carriage away when you're going to hate this so much?’
Rosenta didn't understand Lysander's behavior, but regardless, he got on the carriage, too.
He said to the coachman,
"Let's get going now."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the horse let out a cry.
Soon the wheels began to roll.
Vivian and he had a conversation, as usual, even in the fast-moving carriage.
But Lysander never opened his mouth. With his legs crossed, he only stared at Rosenta intensely.
"Rosen, ignore him."
Vivian even told him not to care.
But it kept bothering him.
Because he didn’t say a word, nor took his eyes off of him, until the marquis residence was within view.