-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: A Grave Misunderstanding
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What in the world…?”
In that split second, Enoch caught the falling partition with one hand and wrapped his other arm around me.
His shirt was still unbuttoned, the front wide open.
The warmth of his body, his firm, well-defined muscles. And through the thin fabric of my dress, I could feel his long, strong fingers.
I'd been in his arms a few times now, so his embrace felt somewhat familiar. I glanced up and met his frowning gray eyes.
“A-Are you all right?”
“...No. I think I pulled something.”
His brow was more deeply furrowed than I had ever seen it, as if he were truly in pain.
My mind was forming words of concern for him, but my baser instincts, drawn to his exposed skin, were threatening to overpower my reason.
I might have grown accustomed to his broad embrace, but that was only when he was fully clothed.
I had no resistance to his body in its natural, exposed state, and my eyes—and hands—kept creeping toward his firm chest.
His slightly flushed, frowning face and the ripple of his muscles with every movement were utterly captivating.
My mouth went dry, and I swallowed hard. The sound was so loud in the quiet room that I cringed.
*God, I must be losing my mind. What am I thinking?*
As I tried to beat the R-rated thoughts bubbling up in my mind out of my head, Enoch pushed himself up slightly, giving me a look as if I were some strange creature.
“What are you doing?”
The movement only made the fine definition of his muscles stand out even more.
It was impossible to think pure thoughts with a sight like that before me. I yanked his shirt closed like a curtain and, to my own surprise, snapped at him.
“You should keep your clothes on properly! What is this indecency!”
Frozen in an awkward position—neither sitting up nor lying down—Enoch stared at me with a look of utter disbelief.
“I was only trying to stop you from falling…”
“Taking your clothes off just anywhere, telling me to touch you! That's not right!”
“...Am I really being scolded for this?”
I knew he'd only done it to keep me from getting hurt, but with my face flushing, my mouth ran away from me.
At first, Enoch seemed taken aback, but a playful glint soon appeared in his eyes.
“Riana. What sort of thoughts are running through your head now?”
“Wh-What thoughts? I wasn't thinking anything! I'm not that kind of person!”
“Is that so? Then why can't you seem to tear your eyes away from here?”
“N-No, I'm not! I'm looking at the floor!”
He pointed directly at his chest. My mouth opened and closed like a fish as I reluctantly forced my gaze away.
But I hadn't even turned my head halfway before a flash of blue light drew my eyes right back.
The light flickered like a dying bulb. This time, driven by pure curiosity, I slapped my hand flat against his chest.
“Huh? Wait a second. What is this?”
I had just been blushing and waving my hands away, but now I was suddenly touching his chest. This time, Enoch's expression stiffened.
“Riana?”
“How strange. Could you open your shirt a little wider?”
“...A moment ago, you told me to close it...”
I didn't notice the playful glint in his gray eyes giving way to bewilderment.
I was completely captivated by the glowing pattern etched onto his firm chest.
A crystalline, snowflake-shaped pattern embedded in his left breast, glowing with a soft blue light.
“I... I won't tease you anymore. Perhaps you could remove your hand now?”
A faint blush spread across his once-pale skin.
I could feel his heart pounding beneath my palm, but I was more interested in how the glowing pattern faded whenever I touched it.
“Your Majesty, look at this. It's fascinating.”
Fascinated by the sight, I kept placing my hand on his chest and lifting it away. Enoch stared at the ceiling and let out a long sigh, as if trying to endure something.
Then, he clenched his jaw.
He sighed again.
After a few more repetitions, a large hand grabbed my wrist. It felt unusually hot, almost feverish.
“When you touch me, my power is diluted, causing the pattern to fade.”
“Oh, I see.”
I nodded eagerly and tried to touch it again, but Enoch tightened his grip on my arm, making it impossible.
“It's so interesting. Can't I just touch it one more time?”
“No. You may not.”
Disappointed by his firm refusal, I looked at my now-empty hand and started to get up. Then I noticed Enoch was still sitting and tilted my head.
“Why aren't you getting up?”
“...I should.”
*If he's getting up, why is he discreetly pulling his discarded clothing over his lap?*
Watching him, I plopped back down in front of him.
“Did you get hurt when you fell? Do you need a hand?”
“No, that's not it. It's just…”
Wondering if he'd really twisted something, I offered him my hand to help him up.
But he just shook his head, avoiding my gaze. I noticed the tips of his ears and the corners of his eyes were red.
*You'd think I was going to eat him alive.*
With his other hand, he clutched his still-unbuttoned shirt closed. It was all very...
*Anyone walking in would think I was harassing him.*
It was a scene ripe for misunderstanding. I raised my hands in a gesture of surrender, showing I wouldn't touch him again, just as a commotion erupted outside the door.
A moment later, the door flew open without a knock, and someone stormed in.
“My lady! You can't just barge in like—!”
“Let go of me!”
The person who burst through the door was a beauty with platinum-blonde hair and green eyes.
“Elisha...?”
“Sis...ter?”
The woman, who had been approaching with tears welling in her eyes, stopped short and stared at us, her own eyes widening in shock.
“What are the two of you doing?”
***
*Clink.*
The clink of a teacup being set down on the table echoed loudly in the awkward silence.
*I have to tell her about Ariel, don't I?*
“Um…”
I started to speak, but the words wouldn't come.
I remembered Duke Herington begging me not to tell Elisha about Ariel, and part of me thought it was right to stay silent.
But then again, it felt only natural that Elisha should know her own child was here.
With so little information, my resolve wavered, but the pendulum of my conscience finally swung to one side: I had to tell her.
I didn't know the full story, but now that I knew the connection between Ariel and Elisha, my conscience wouldn't let me pretend otherwise.
After a fierce internal struggle, I came to a decision and parted my lips to speak.
“Elisha, listen. The truth is, at my estate—”
But at that very moment, Elisha dabbed at her tear-filled eyes with a handkerchief and sniffled.
“Sister, you finally did it.”
“Huh?”
“You always said you wanted to be by His Majesty's side. You said it so often, and now, you've finally…”
Her sad, crystalline eyes darted between Enoch and me, as if replaying what she had just seen.
“Wait a minute.”
She was clearly misunderstanding things. I couldn't help but sigh.
Deciding I had to clear up this embarrassing misunderstanding first, I put the matter of Ariel aside and tried to explain.
“Elisha, I think you're misunderstanding. His Majesty and I simply fell.”
“D-Don't lie.”
Unfortunately, Elisha seemed to have no intention of listening.
Looking somewhat unstable, Elisha shook her head violently and clenched her pale hands into fists.
“I know everything!”
*What...? What do you know? Don't keep it to yourself; let me in on it, too.*
At her sudden, tearful outburst, Enoch and I could only blink.
“I-I heard everything. I heard that Father was stripped of all the authority he held over the Daphne family.”
“Huh...? Well, yes, but…”
*But it wasn't so much that he was stripped of it, more that the authority that should have been Riana's in the first place was returned to her, right?*
I debated whether I should correct her harsh choice of words.
“And Father... I heard you pushed that frail, old man through a portal to a battlefield without so much as a sword!”
Frail...?
I remembered the Duke shaking me by the collar like an enraged bull just last night and shook my head firmly.
This definitely needed correcting.
“You know, Elisha? I don't think 'frail' is the right word. Your father is overflowing with vigor.”
But Elisha ignored me, continuing to stare with resentful eyes.
“They said you were there when Father's authority was revoked, and right before he disappeared into the portal.”
“So? What's your point?”
She couldn't just be reminding me of facts I already knew.
I asked what she was getting at, and her small, seemingly fragile body shrank pitifully.
As if to make it look like I was the villain.
*Any passerby would get the wrong idea.*
Trembling like a victim of terrible bullying, Elisha finally spoke.
“Sister... did you hate it so much that my father became the duke instead of yours?”
“What?”
“Is that why you're doing this now? N-No matter how much you hated it, this is too cruel!”
“Are you saying I'm doing all this for revenge?”
“W-Well, aren't you? I heard you even went into His Majesty's bedchambers the other day. You deliberately approached him to—”
“Wait, hold on.”
I cut Elisha off before she could cross the line and pressed my fingers to my temples.
“So, let me get this straight. You think I deliberately approached His Majesty to orchestrate all this as some sort of revenge?”
“Yes.”
“Lady Herington.”
As Elisha answered, her eyes shimmering with tears, Enoch, who had been listening in silence, lowered his teacup.
“It seems that in your eyes, I am an emperor so blinded by affection that I can be easily manipulated.”
“Y-Your Majesty, that is not what I meant—”
“Or perhaps you've inherited the Duke's talent for spouting nonsense.”
Heedless of the tears that began to stream down her peach-blossom cheeks, Enoch added the cold remark and nonchalantly took another sip of his tea.
