The room where Wolf was staying wasnât very far away.
Perhaps, because Rosenta was the one who ordered that he be given a room, his room was on the lowest floor of the part of the castle where he lived.
He went down the stairs in the hall and looked back.
"Anna, I'm going alone, so don't follow me."
Anna hesitated for a moment.
However, seeing his determined face, Anna nodded.
He only started walking again after seeing that Anna had left the first floor.
The farthest room on the left.
They said Wolf was sleeping there.
âExcuse me.â
He opened the door slowly with a rusty sound.
It was a room at the end of the first floor, so it was more modest than the other rooms. On the bed in the center, Wolf was asleep.
He got close to him.
Perhaps, because of his dark hair, felt that the sleeping Wolf had a particularly pale face.
At first glance, he thought he might be dead.
âWolf.â
He pulled a chair by the bed and sat down.
He quietly looked down at Wolf.
He imagined putting a black wolf mask on his face.
âAm I mistaken?â
Because it was before his attack on the Mage Tower, the current Wolf wasn't quick to recover his magic.
That's why he suffered the side effect of sleeping for days when he used magic power excessively.
âBut right now... â¦â
âI wish you would open your eyes.â
Rosenta spat out the name that had been lingering in his mouth.
"Enoch."
Something unbelievable happened.
Like a princess kissed by a prince, Wolf's eyes opened.
Bright, pale green eyes looked at Rosenta. Wolf reached out to him and pulled him.
Surprised and unguarded, he fell into Wolf's arms.
When he came to his senses, Wolf was looking down at him while holding his wrist.
"What?"
His face, which had been white until just now, was filled with heat.
His eyes were folded prettily like half moons, and the corners of his mouth were raised as high as they could be.
It seemed like he was happy to see him.
Faced with that face, Rosenta slowly spit out the name again.
"Enoch?"
"What do I do? As I expected, I don't know what to say, but it tickles me. Please call that name again.â
As if intoxicated by his emotions, he spat out words at random.
But this look alone was enough of an answer for Rosenta.
Wolf was Enoch.
Furthermore, it seemed that he had already recognized the name 'Enoch' as ââhis own.
As Rosenta was quietly organizing his thoughts, Wolf, or Enoch, shook his wrist.
With the other hand, he ran his hand through Rosentaâs hair and teased him like a child.
âCall me. Please?"
Enoch shuddered, still remembering.
Rosentaâs head was dizzy.
He roughly expected it, but the blow was pretty big.
Because he found out that Enoch also deviated from the original story a long time ago. It's so huge that it's irreversible.
âDuke?â
Enoch was annoying as he kept calling him from above.
First of all, Rosenta made up his mind to say 'Enoch' as ââhe wanted and get away from him.
He was about to open his mouth.
Suddenly the door opened with a noise.
At the same time, a new shadow overlapped over him.
"Youâ¦Â â¦Â Who is this?"
It was Theodore with the most angry, chilly voice Rosenta had ever seen.
"Your majesty?"
Theodore held a sword to Enoch's neck and glared at him as if he would kill him at any moment.
Enoch loosened his grip on my hair and wrists.
Instead, he pushed the sharp blade with his thumb and pulled back.
Enoch was not at all frightened by the blood dripping from his thumb.
Rather, he faced Theodore's fierce gaze and gently put his thumb in his mouth. Then he licked his wounds with his red tongue.
The flowing blood drew a bright red track along the corners of Enoch's mouth.
Enoch did not glare at Theodore. He just shook his head awkwardly and smirked sarcastically.
âWho are you?â
He was doing this on purpose.
Just two or three minutes ago, Rosenta had called Theodore 'Your Majesty'.
"Ha! You donât know who I am?"
âDo I really need to know?â
If the goal was to piss Theodore off, Rosenta wanted to tell him that he succeeded.
He gritted his teeth, as if he had lost his composure to the extent that he could not be seen as the usual, rational Theodore.
âThis manâ¦Â â¦Â .â
Rosenta couldn't wait any longer.
He wondered if something bad would happen if this continued.
âYour Majesty, I want to get up, but first you have to put away the sword.â
Even after hearing those words, Theodore didn't think to put the sword away.
Undaunted, he called Theodore again.
"Your majesty."
Theodore's gaze turned to me.
His sharp eyes had relaxed a lot, but his displeasure was still evident on his face.
But when he gazed at Enoch again, his eyes burned with fire. As if he was giving a warning not to do anything stupid.
Theodore fixed his gaze on Enoch and withdrew the sword he had aimed at his neck.
It was as smooth as a painting.
Theodore withdrew the sword and now it was Enoch's turn.
âYou can't sit on top of me like this forever and crush me.â
âAnd umâ¦Â â¦Â .â
Rosentaâs mouth stopped.
It was because it felt awkward when he tried to call him. It didn't feel right in his mouth.
But calling him Wolfâ¦the light green eyes staring at him made it unbearable.
"Enoch."
His prediction was right.
As soon as he called Enoch, his expression changed as if ice were melting.
"Yes."
âCould you please get out of my way?â
Enoch rose slowly.
As soon as he saw what was happening above him, Rosenta lifted his upper body and stood up.
Theodore grabbed him as he stood up and pushed him behind him.
Then he began to intimidate Enoch.
Although Enoch, the person receiving the warning, seemed to be overflowing with composure.
Enoch just blinked as he sat on the bed, still staring at Rosenta.
A strange triangle was formed.
Enoch staring at Rosenta, Theodore staring at Enoch, and Rosenta alternating between the two.
Rosenta couldn't be trapped in such a strange confrontation forever.
He grabbed Theodore's forearm.
âYour Majesty, you are an acquaintance of mine, so there is no need for you to do this. As you can see, I am fine.â
âBut he was on top of you!â
"He didn't hit me, he didn't threaten me."
âItâs not like that, on top of youâ¦Â â¦Â .â
Theodore was speechless.
He repeated the same words, then bit his lower lip and closed his mouth.
âOn top of me?â
Rosenta was curious about his choice of words, but this wasn't the main issue at hand.
He got in between the two.
âAnyway, I think it would be better to end this standoff. At this rate, the situation is perfect for the three men to be misunderstood. Enoch, you wait there.â
Enoch expressed no complaints. He shook his head up and down and then lay back on the bed as if he was sleepy.
Seeing that, Rosenta grabbed Theodore's wrist.
He took a step and pulled his wrist.
If he did not do this, Theodore would continue to glare at Enoch.
Fortunately, Theodore followed him well, although with a dissatisfied expression.
âLetâs talk in the drawing room.â
*
It was in the drawing room that he brought Theodore to cool down.
Two cups of hot tea, brought by a maid, were placed on the table.
When the silence got too long and boring, Rosenta spoke first.
âHow did you find your way to that room?â
âI was on my way to meet you. And thenâ¦Â â¦Â .â
Theodore crumpled his face as if something had come to mind.
Then, as if mumbling words, he spat out one syllable at a time.
âThe room on the far-left was slightly open and I could hear voices, so I went there. And I saw that dark-haired guy sitting on top of you.â
It was Rosentaâs mistake to leave the door open.
It seemed that he was distracted by other thoughts and didnât close the door properly.
Perhaps the other maids or servants had seen. He began to worry.
He hurriedly asked a question.
âWas there anyone else?â
Theodore shook his head.
âThose who followed me headed for the warehouse. And, as always, I was on my way to your office alone.â
In a word, it meant that no one else had witnessed it.
He felt relief.
No matter how heavy their mouths were, rumors would spread out of control once even a single word was leaked.
âMaybe it would be better for it to be rumored that I'm a man who likes men.â
Then, the current rumors would begin to change and say that I might not like the marquis's daughter, but the emperor himself.
"I'm glad Your Majesty was the one who found us."
Rosenta smiled in relief and lifted his teacup.
After drinking just enough to moisten his mouth, he put down the teacup.
Theodore, who had been watching this, mumbled as if he were replying to his words.
âAre you glad I was there?â
âYes, it was almost misunderstood that two men were doing something strange.â
When Rosenta finished his answer, Theodore's golden eyes trembled.
"Yes. Two men... â¦Â .â
"Yes?"
Suddenly, he grabbed and bowed his head.
"Oh my god. What was I thinking?â
"Your majesty?"
Carefully calling out to him, he reached out his hand.
But before his hand could reach Theodore, he straightened his back first.
For some reason, Theodore's ears seemed ripe and reddish.
"Nothing. Anyway, who is that guy? It was my first time seeing him.â
âAh, Enoch is the one who helped me with my work this time. I introduced him as a butler to Vivian and others, but... â¦Â .â
âYou did?â
Could he introduce Enoch as a wizard?
Originally, these two didnât meet this way and it was only later that it was discovered that Enoch was a wizard.
As he became involved with the heroine and things became dangerous, Enoch showed off his magic.
This is the order that should exist...
Okay.
If he introduced Enoch as a wizard, Theodore will confirm it with the Mage Tower.
If he explained that he was a mage that wasnât registered with the Mage Tower, that would cause trouble.
He decided to give a succinct answer.
âI hired him for the right amount of money. I needed someone to help me during this sandstorm.â
"In what way?"
Persistent.
Normally, Theodore would accept such a vague answer and respond with, 'Knowing you, youâll take care of it. I trust you,' and that was the end.
However, it was impossible to ignore the emperor's question.
He answered with a moderate mixture of lies.
âI needed someone to activate the magic tool I brought with me.â
âSomeone to activate it?â
âYes, so I hired Enoch. To start the device while I hold onto the magic tool.â
"Ahâ¦Â â¦Â . Right."
Theodore nodded but had a puzzled look on his face.
âWere there any other questions that needed to be answered?â
âWell, since he's the emperor, he probably wants to know everything that happens in the Helios Empire. No matter how much the sandstorm has died down, he wonât be completely relieved.â
Rosenta nodded his head, satisfied with this explanation heâd come up with.
Then he looked ahead.
"Your majesty."
âYes?â
âIâll organize a summary of how I solved this problem and send it to your office.â
Theodore smiled.
Oddly enough, one corner of his eye seemed to tremble. From the outside, it looked like a normal smile.
Soon, Theodore gave a tepid reply.
"Okayâ¦Iâll await your report.â