"Thank you. I'll head in now."
"Be careful."
Vivian kept waving at Rosenta. Then she slapped Lysander on the back.
She gestured at Lysander to follow her then, she entered the mansion first.
And yet he remained unmoved.
Rather, he acted freely, perhaps because of the fact that Vivian was not there.
Lysander smiled meaningfully at Rosenta and mumbled something.
"The wolf."
A wolf?
If his ears weren't wrong, Lysander said ‘wolf’. It was also very clearly directed at him.
Does he know something?
No, he probably only has a rough idea, so it must have been him that visited the top floor.
"Young Lord, did you say wolf?"
Rosenta showed no sign of panic.
Perhaps the reason he only uttered the word ‘wolf’ was to see his reaction.
Rosenta wasn't such a fool to fall for such an obvious ploy in the first place.
"I must have misheard you because I’m not sure what wolves have to do with me."
"You really don’t know what wolves have to do with you?"
"I don’t. Put aside the fact that they aren’t an animal that’s raised domestically, but if you randomly say that word, I don’t think there are many people who wouldn’t be confused."
No one spoke first after those words.
However, he was no longer glaring.
They stood a step away from each other and watched the other as though observing. This went on for quite a while.
It was Vivian who stopped the silence.
Perhaps because she had not seen anyone following her, she seemed to have come out to find Lysander.
"Brother!"
Vivian roughly pulled Lysander by the collar of his coat.
"Why are you out here doing this? Rosen, he wasn’t rude, was he?"
"No way."
Rosenta smiled and shook his head.
Nevertheless, Vivian glared at Lysander in doubt.
"I just asked the duke a question, but you’re so suspicious of me."
"I don’t SUSPECT you; I KNOW you did something."
The tone was very harsh for a conversation between siblings. Although Lysander, the person in the conversation, looked like he might die of happiness.
"Yes. That’s a very good attitude. You shouldn't trust anyone in the world, even if it's family."
The more he spoke, the angrier Vivian looked.
Then, as if she had given up on Lysander, she shook her head and immediately looked at Rosenta.
"Rosen, I'm sorry if he said anything strange. I'll be going."
"Yes, Vivian."
Rosenta didn't bother to side with Lysander. He purposely let Vivian misunderstand.
"See you next time, then."
Rosenta then turned away.
He winked at the coachman and Enoch who had been waiting quietly behind him.
Then, as if they understood what he meant, they quickly began to prepare for their departure.
In the meantime, he heard the brother and sister arguing behind him, but he never looked back.
"I knew this would happen. Don't show up when I meet with Rosen in the future."
"I’m not blind, that man and you..."
"I told you to shut your mouth!"
Rosenta tried to get in the carriage without an ounce of hesitation, as though he couldn’t hear their voices.
Then he paused for a moment.
He raised his head toward Enoch, who was sitting next to the coachman.
"Enoch, come in."
"Understood."
Then he signaled the coachman.
"To the Estella duchy."
***
In a way, it could be said that the inside of a carriage was a good place to have confidential conversations.
But that didn't mean Rosenta would be careless. Of course, he needed to ensure safety measures.
"Enoch, have you put up magic?"
"I activated a silencing spell as soon as I got in."
Enoch was already ready. As though he knew what Rosenta was going to say.
Well, if it were Enoch, he would have watched everything he said, his actions, and even his expressions.
So, there was no need to repeat what had just happened.
"You must have heard what Lysander said, didn't you?"
"The wolf."
For an instant, his light green eyes flashed.
And one corner of his mouth slightly twisted upward.
"He said…"
Enoch didn't react strongly. He just laughed.
In Rosenta’s eyes, it seemed like irritation disguised with calmness.
He just hoped that Enoch wouldn’t lash out and cause an irrevocable incident.
For some reason, he thought carefully about Enoch.
"Do you intend to go see Lysander again? Will you be wearing that wolf mask?"
"Are you blaming me for going to see him while wearing that wolf mask?"
Enoch's smiling eyes gradually faded.
Light green eyes, which had become incongruously serious towards him, as if waiting for his answer.
Rosenta shook his head slowly.
"No."
It didn't matter whether Enoch went to see Lysander or wore a wolf mask.
If they questioned him later, he would tell them he hired him without knowing anything.
"It will be you, Enoch, not me, who is in danger. It’s just…"
When he closed his mouth without finishing his sentence, Enoch repeated his last words back to him.
"It’s just?"
"Enoch, you'll be taken back to the Magic Tower. You may have to go through that terrible torture again…"
This time, Rosenta couldn't finish what he was saying for a different reason.
It was because a very bright expression bloomed like a flower on Enoch's face as he faced him.
His face, which was always pale, was full of color.
He was shaking and laughing with his hands on his chest as if he were very happy and at a loss.
And asked Rosent,
"Are you worried about me?"
He was shy.
The Enoch before him was asking questions with embarrassment.
Rosenta was so surprised that he looked at him as if he had forgotten how to breathe.
Then a white hand came up behind his back. A shadow hung over him.
It was Enoch.
He gently swept his hand across it, as if it were glass.
Then he spoke softly, like an adult soothing a crying child.
"Hush. You have to breathe. Breathe out. Hurry."
"...sigh."
As if Rosenta were a child, he breathed out as Enoch told him to do.
Then he felt his heart pounding.
He closed his eyes to calm his trembling heart.
Shortly thereafter, Enoch could be heard stepping back and returning to his seat.
"Duke."
He heard his call, but he didn't open his eyes.
Enoch was undeterred.
As if he knew Rosenta would be listening to him, even if his eyes were directly looking at him.
Then he continued,
"I would never do anything that would harm you. Nor...."
Little by little, Rosenta slowly opened his eyes.
Then he looked ahead.
Enoch looked into his eyes without even blinking. Like a man who had waited to be looked at.
Enoch's mouth opened again.
"I have a reason to live. I will never be trapped by the Magic Tower."
Only then did Rosenta realize that his worries were useless.
The person in front of him was Enoch.
A dark figure who invaded the Magic Tower single-handedly with the sole intention of taking Yura away.
Even if Enoch's position and future had changed, his strength had not disappeared.
"No, I have no intention of disappearing, Duke, and leaving you alone."
Enoch's blind love and willingness to do anything for him remained the same.
***
The Western palace was very noisy.
Everyone was lingering in front of one of the doors and looking at each other.
It was Saint Yura's Room.
It was hard to call it a scream, but a suppressed scream was heard as if someone was screaming with a gag in their mouth.
It wasn't a painful scream.
It was just a cry that seemed like someone was unable to overcome their anger and was screaming.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
The source of the scream was Yura.
Yura, who was unable to control her anger, tightly clenched her blanket as she was worried that the sound would leak out.
She often showed violent behavior by beating the bed or tearing at the blanket with her teeth.
Yura held the blanket in her mouth for a long time and screamed.
"Ugh! How could you look at another man with those eyes!? The duke!? Why have you suddenly become cold to me!?"
Then, as her anger gradually subsided, the blanket was spat out from her mouth. The blanket was visibly stretched limply.
Yura didn't care.
‘No matter what I do, the maids will take my side anyway.’
Therefore, she tried to cool her head by breathing deeply.
"Yes. Conitel told me to go back first. He said he'd look for another way, so I just need to wait for a little while. In the meantime, I'm approaching His Majesty as diligently as I can."
Calmly, Yura leaned back on the headboard of the bed.
She tried to think about what she needed to successfully target and capture Theodore.
"Give the people around you money, jewelry, or pretty things, and say only kind words in moderation..."
Yura recalled her former self.
She was always financially well-off, and she knew how to use it.
Therefore, she grew up lacking nothing, and always had good relationships with those around her.
The same was true in this world.
‘That's what the person I met in my dream said when I first fell here.’
--The people of the Holy Land will protect you; and don't worry, for he will help you.--
Of course, conditions were imposed.
--Instead, you must be the light. To do so, you must seize the empire.--
‘Yeah, I'm supposed to be the light.’
‘I have to be in a position to look down on everyone here too because that is my destiny.’
Yura jumped to her feet.
Now that she had finished venting, she tidied up her hair and it was time to go out.
She had to ‘give rice cakes’ to the maids she hadn’t seen in a long time. Wouldn't that be the only way to make them listen to her carefully?
**TLN: “giving rice cakes” means to greet and show gestures of friendliness or gratitude.
She opened the door to go outside.
"To whom first... Ah!"
However, Yura was startled when she saw the scene in the hallway. This was because all the people from the western palace were there.
All while looking at Yura with a pale face.
"Well, I have work…"
"Clothes! I was on my way to dust my clothes off."
"Al, Alice! We should go clean quickly, too!"
"Uh…. Yes, that’s right! Let’s go clean quickly!”
Everyone pretended to be busy with robotic gestures and speech.
They were lies, no matter how one looked at it.
They would normally have gathered around Yura, but it was the first time she saw them leave in such a rush.
Yura was dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, people left one by one until there was no one left in front of Yura's door.
All that was left was Yura, wearing a stern expression.