CH 56

I sighed and put on a bitter smile. “There’s nothing I can do if you can’t tell me. I guess I came here for nothing.”

“…Wait.”

He blocked me as I was about to leave. Seeing his helpless and perplexed expression, it seemed that there wasn’t much time left.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry for not trusting you. I won’t bother you now. Please step aside, Your Highness,” I bowed my head politely to him while maintaining a stoic expression.

Then he spoke to me in a bewildered voice, “No, it doesn’t bother me. Not at all. Do you not know why I came here in the first place?”

“…”

I turned my head slightly towards him but didn’t answer. He looked even more restless at my reaction.

And after a while, he frowned as if in agony. “Didn’t you say you trusted me?”

I raised my head and looked him straight in the eye. “But Your Highness doesn’t trust me.”

His emerald eyes trembled. He didn’t answer, but his silence was answer enough. You really don’t trust me. It was a bit unexpected.

“You must be disappointed in me.”

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If Enoch’s eyebrows had not drooped as he said that, I might have completely changed my judgment and attitude toward him.

It made me proud to see Enoch look like a puppy with his tail hanging down.

“It’s not that I don’t understand, but it doesn’t feel good.”

But that also didn’t mean I would just let it go.

When I said I trusted him, I meant that I believed in the goodwill and abilities he showed me and that we could grow closer in the future.

Whether he showed the same trust as me was beyond me.

“Well, I don’t think we have anything else to say, so would you mind letting me go?”

I softened my cold demeanor a little, even smiling faintly at him. But it must have felt like a wall to him because this time, Enoch’s expression hardened.

If it was a secret serious enough to ruin my relationship with Enoch, I wasn’t going to continue asking him. He gave me his choice.

As I was about to pass by Enoch, he blocked my way again. But he seemed more hesitant than before.

“…Alright.” Enoch didn’t step out of the door but instead led me back to the sofa. “I will tell you some things.”

So, not everything. I decided to accept that compromise.

I was going to divorce Rupert anyway, and Enoch will show me complete trust when that happens.

Enoch ruffled his bangs with his hand and invited me to sit down again. I made my way to the seat and made myself comfortable.

Picking up the mug, I sipped the mint tea that had gone cold. Enoch sighed and faced me. He opened his mouth slowly, looking at my expression with a glimmer of nervousness. “What are you curious about?”

Based on his expression, there were probably many things he couldn’t answer even if I asked.

I thought deeply and decided to ask the most relevant question to me. After all, my identity was the most important thing. Of course, I was curious about the issue regarding the Duke, but that’s a problem for later.

“The scent from yesterday seemed to be something only you and I could smell. Why is that?”

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“I don’t know for sure why you could, but for me, it’s because of my lineage.”

“Lineage? Is it because you’re a descendant of the first emperor?”

Enoch nodded and continued, “It’s almost like a legend now, but when the first emperor defeated the demon king and built the empire, he fused himself with a being from a world beyond ours.”

My hand holding the mug trembled at his explanation. Fortunately, Enoch didn’t seem to notice because he went on.

“Well, I don’t know the exact details, but because of that, successive emperors and crown princes could use special powers and see and feel more. That’s why I could smell it.”

And he said he didn’t know why I could smell it. But that alone was enough for me. I didn’t have such a tremendous ability, but I was an outsider who borrowed Erin’s body.

I looked into his eyes, wondering if Enoch had expected this far, but he just sat there, looking calm and collected.

“…so, what’s causing the smell? Does it have anything to do with His Grace’s condition?”

“…”

This time, he sighed. Was it something he couldn’t answer?

“It has something to do with it, but not in the way the Count is thinking, maybe.”

Not in the way I was thinking…

I thought the smell would worsen the Duke’s condition and lead to his death. So, it wasn’t that?

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“How about you, Count? If you were sick, which would you choose– the painful and ugly side that will let you keep your life or the side that will let you pass quietly when the time comes?

My thoughts were a jumbled mess.

After hearing Enoch’s words, I sat there for a while and thought about it, then got up. Of course, I had many more questions to ask, but we’ve decided to put it on hold for now.

I could know a few things just by thinking about it hard enough without having to ask him.

I knew I had a lot of things to ponder about, and I had to do it on my own. This time, Enoch opened the door himself, and on my way out, he said, “If you have any questions, please feel free to visit.”

But he wasn’t going to answer everything. Still, I gladly thanked him.

“Thank you for agreeing to the conversation, Your Highness.”

“…Count.” The conversation, which I thought would end, continued a little longer. “I think it’s time to leave soon.”

“Is that so?”

Of course, I didn’t intend to stay here long. I had to leave, but I just didn’t have a chance.

“When I posted an announcement about the magic stone mine, people gathered like clouds. I’ve finished the screening process to some extent…”

“Ah, then let’s go. When shall we go?”

Finally, an opportunity. I had no reason to hesitate. Enoch seemed rather surprised by my attitude.

“I think it would be appropriate to leave in two days, Count. Will it be okay?”

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“Is there any reason it shouldn’t be?” I asked, and he stopped. Of course, a few concerns worried me, but the issues in this place were up to the people who lived here.

If things get solved in two days, then that’s good. If not, there’s nothing I could do about it.

Still, I had to gather my thoughts from the conversation earlier, so I headed to my room.

The newlyweds’ room was prepared for Rupert and me, but this room was just mine. Except for the first day, Rupert never showed up in this room.

The moment I opened the door, I frowned when I found an uninvited guest in my room.

I didn’t want to meet you now. No, not necessarily just now, but anyway.

As I was about to leave again, Rupert, who had been lying on the sofa for a while, got up and said, “Wait.”

“Just lie down. I’m leaving.”

I was about to turn around and go out, but I heard him get up. I raised my arm reflexively, and his hand trying to grab my wrist lost its goal and reached my waist instead.

“Aren’t you going to repeat the same thing? I think I said everything I had to say then.”

“…I know you’re angry, I understand. Honestly, I didn’t know, but I get it.”

Did Rupert find out that Chloe was hooking up with Melaton? I looked back for a moment out of curiosity, and Rupert came up with a completely different answer with an anguished look on his face.

“If I stay away from Chloe for a while, then will you be satisfied?”

“… What are you talking about? Why would you think so?”

“I listened to you and thought about it.”

He hurried towards the door and closed it. It worried me that my escape route had been blocked, but I didn’t want to continue this stupid game of tag, so I let it go.

“Yeah, jealousy. Jealousy is a painful feeling. Now, I understand why you closed your heart to me like that.”

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Slowly, anxiety began to creep in. What other nonsense was he going to say? But I didn’t have to listen to this nonsense.

Enoch mentioned we had to leave two days later. I knew it would take a long time for the money to come into my hands if I followed standard procedures, but I would use a different method to make it quicker as soon as we went.

While I was thinking so, Rupert kept on expressing his agony in front of me. “Every time I see you with His Highness, I feel annoyed. You were trying to let me experience this. You want me to feel it, too, right?”

I didn’t even want to listen anymore, but I felt I should say something to correct the fatal error in Rupert’s words.

Well, I didn’t know if he would understand it. It’s definitely not the first time I’ve said this.

“Rupert, I don’t mind if you’re with Chloe.” It certainly wasn’t the first time, but his face hardened as if he were hearing it for the first time. “Because I don’t like you at all. I don’t love you at all. It’s strange. I think I’ve said it before.”

I smiled sadly as I said that. It was kind of a bonus.