Rosenta barely managed to get rid of the leech that was trying to cling to Enoch, saying he didn’t want to go back.
After much fuss, they were finally able to send Lysander away.
"I think I’ll finally be able to relax a bit."
He had no energy to return to his bedroom, so he just plopped down on a wooden chair in the garden.
He then tapped on the seat next to him while looking at Enoch.
"Don’t just stand there; sit down."
There had been a lot of trouble today, so Enoch, who was at the center of it, must have been several times more tired than Rosenta was.
Even if a house burns down, you still have to rest before finding another place to live.
"We’re outside."
Surprisingly, Enoch was being conscientious.
Rosenta had assumed he would, naturally, sit down, but he was aware that someone might see.
Rosenta faintly smiled and pulled Enoch towards him.
He made him sit next to him.
"We have a lot to talk about anyway. Let's just do it here."
Before Lysander left, he shared something without even being asked.
There was a need to parse through the information they had received.
"Lysander said he didn’t come to find you, Enoch, but because he had received a commission to infiltrate the top floor."
"Yes, he did."
"But the only other person who would know about the top floor is my father. It doesn't make sense..."
He realized as he spoke.
Anna’s letters contained references to the top floor.
"The contents of the letter..."
Slowly digging through his memories, he recalled the contents of the correspondence they were exchanging.
The contents seemed to support his idea.
But there was still no telling what they were aiming for on the top floor and why.
‘Lysander said his goal was to "read a book that had a chain wrapped around it," but that book...’
"It's a book that doesn't open."
As his worries deepened, Enoch, who had been watching him, spoke for the first time.
“Duke."
"…… what?"
He was so immersed in his thoughts that his reaction was delayed.
He slowly looked to the side.
Even in the dark of night, only those light-green eyes shone as softly as the starlight.
Enoch bent his head down and looked at him. He then said,
"Why bother giving yourself a headache thinking about this? You just have to move all your things to a different secret location."
"… a different secret location?"
"Yes, to a secret place that only the Duke and I would know."
It was simple, but not bad.
As Enoch said, Rosenta wondered if it was even necessary to worry about them.
Despite all the worry and concern over them, nothing had actually been resolved.
‘If I move everything, no one could find it anymore.’
"I like it."
"What else is there to discuss?"
"That's enough."
There was no further reason to worry because he’d decided not to pay attention to their antics any further.
Above all, there was something he’d learned through working with Lysander.
"The more you over-think, the more likely you are to trap yourself."
"And then you fall into a trap of your own making?"
"…… exactly."
Enoch’s performance had been surprising.
He had only come there at Rosenta’s request, but everything concluded smoothly thanks to Enoch.
As a result, Rosenta was the only one going through unnecessary agony and vigilance after this incident.
Enoch smiled with his eyes as Rosenta fell silent and closed his mouth.
"But I liked it."
"What?"
"The fact that there are people who are suffering and worrying on behalf of me who has become dull to pain."
For a moment, Rosenta wondered if the person in front of him was really Enoch.
"Because of you, I learned about new emotions."
Even when they first met, Enoch was ruthless and emotionless.
But now...
‘Oh, when I think about it carefully, Enoch had started smiling before without me realizing.’
Of course, he was still as ruthless as a cat with his claws intact.
But he was different towards Rosenta.
He could be warm and gentle, like a spring breeze, and soft as starlight.
He was no longer a cold winter.
"…… You've changed a lot."
"There's a saying that the closer you get, the more you resemble one another."
A smile slowly flowed across Enoch's face, from the corners of his mouth up to his pretty eyes.
This time, it was a smile that washed upon his expression like a gentle wave.
"Because the closest thing to me is you, Rosenta. I guess I'm tinged with you."
***
The late-night in the garden.
As a result of their long conversation there Rosenta caught a cold.
Unfortunately, he was the only one.
"Cough."
But he couldn't afford to just comfortably lie in bed.
He had to work nonstop while coughing. He was cleaning to be exact.
It was because he had to clean up the mess made in the office yesterday.
"I'll do it."
"It's done."
He’d dismissed Edmund and all the maids who were trying to help him clean up.
Because it was mainly official documents, it was uncomfortable to have anyone handle them if they weren’t a relevant person to the contents.
"Cough."
Coughing so much made his chest tight. He slapped his chest.
Then he returned to his work.
He went through the titles of the scattered documents, and then started sorting them out.
"Cough."
No matter how hard he tried to hold it in, his cough kept popping out.
Soon, he also had a headache, so he sat down on the floor for a while.
Anyway, Enoch was the only one in the office, so Rosenta leaned his back on the sofa comfortably.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Enoch, who was using magic to help him clean up.
Enoch was arranging the furniture and organizing the mess with a serious look, only leaving the papers.
A game-ending villain was helping him clean up.
"That's interesting."
Perhaps because it was quiet, what he said was heard loud and clear.
"What?"
Enoch stopped cleaning and looked at him while holding a duster.
Then, he came up to him.
For some reason, Enoch's face was full of worry.
"…… Your cheeks are red."
Enoch’s long and thin fingers parted Rosenta’s bangs, as though he were parting curtains.
He placed his hand on his forehead.
Rosenta couldn’t see in detail, but it seemed like green Magic was flowing out of Enoch's hand, which wrapped around his forehead.
He felt a coolness wash over his forehead as if an ice pack had been placed on it.
Without realizing it, Rosenta placed his hand over Enoch's.
"It's cool."
As the fever that had made his head dizzy disappeared, a little smile flowed out over his mouth.
Ignoring the dignity of nobility, he couldn't hide his feelings because he liked this cold hand so much.
‘I heard that when you're sick, you'll regress. Is that what I’m doing right now?’
Rosenta sat at ease on the floor, rubbing his forehead and face against Enoch's hand.
"Oh, I love it."
It was then.
Suddenly, the green mana that Rosenta was pressing hard on his cheek disappeared.
Enoch, then, hastily removed his hand from Rosenta’s face. He even stood up.
"Enoch?"
Enoch covered his face with his other hand.
And with the other hand, he stretched it forward as if to block Rosenta’s view.
He suddenly backed off in that condition.
Eventually, he fell backwards without noticing the papers on the floor.
When Rosenta saw Enoch fall into a puddle of papers, he quickly picked himself up.
As he tried to get to him, Enoch screamed.
"Don't come near me!"
It wasn't an angry voice. It was a voice full of embarrassment.
"Enoch?"
It was not an illusion.
Enoch's face was now revealed because he had fallen backwards.
He was biting his lower lip tightly.
His lips were already red and swollen as if they had bled.
That wasn’t all.
"Enoch."
He kept avoiding Rosenta, who was crouching in front of him.
He couldn't even make proper eye contact.
Those eyes, which would normally have been floating languidly, continued to tremble slightly, and his ears were tinted red.
"Are you embarrassed?”
Enoch's expression changed in an instant at that question.
But Rosenta found it funny.
Strangely, all this fuss simply seemed to be Enoch trying to manage his emotions.
"…… no."
As Rosenta smiled, Enoch again avoided his gaze.
Then he tried to get up.
" Wait a moment."
He stopped Enoch.
There was a piece of dust attached to his black hair.
Maybe it became stuck while cleaning.
"There's dust on it."
He said so and reached for his black hair.
He had decided that he would quickly remove the dust and resume cleaning with Enoch again.
But that’s not what happened.
Because Enoch pulled him faster than he could reach out.
Feeling his body being pulled forward, he urgently touched the floor with his other hand.
"……now what are you doing?"
Enoch and he had a similar reaction because he fell into Enoch’s arms.
In any case, this was dangerous.
If he had fallen the wrong way, Enoch would have fallen back again.
And the back of Enoch's head wouldn't have been unscathed.
"Don't mess around; it's dangerous."
After giving that brief warning, he tried to pull himself up.
But Enoch, who had regained his original attitude, suddenly caught hold of him, while giving him his own ridiculous warning.
"The same goes for you."
"What?"
"You'd better not mess around dangerously."
"What is that…"
At that moment, when he was embarrassed by Enoch’s words and trying to get up, Enoch's face was suddenly right in front of him.
It was so sudden that he didn’t react at first.
Rosenta stared at him without realizing it.
Then, Enoch's light green eyes flashed dangerously.
As if his previous, embarrassed appearance was a joke, he was now a beast who attacked his prey in an instant.
"How do I endure everyday, and how do you do such things so easily?"
"…… What are you saying I did?"
Rosenta had just been worried about Enoch, so he’d rushed forward and tried to remove the dust from his head.
‘What did I do so wrong?’
He naturally frowned at this situation he couldn't understand.
Enoch's eyes grew thinner and thinner at this sight.
Then he called him.
"Duke."
Enoch took one of his hands in an instant and put it on his cheek.
In an instant Rosenta’s hand became sandwiched between Enoch's own hand and cheek.
In that position, Enoch rubbed his cheek against Rosenta’s hand like a drowsy cat.
To top it all off, he licked his lower lip and spoke clearly.
"Oh, I love it."
As if to imitate what Rosenta had done and said to him.
"……what!"
Before he could shake off Enoch's hand, Enoch let go first.
He quickly took a step back.
Then Rosenta clasped his hands against his chest. As if he were trying to guard himself.
"Duke."
Fortunately, Enoch didn't pursue him any further during this process.
Rather, he looked at him with a firm expression around his mouth and ferocity hidden within his light green eyes.
He then asked him,
"Do you now know what dangerous things you have said and done?"
Rosenta was speechless.