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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: A Request for Tea
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“Pardon? What about it?”
“You said Karhel was no marriage partner. So I was wondering, what about me?”
As I stood there, wondering what he was on about now, Enoch tapped the table with his index finger and muttered seriously.
“Well, I think my looks pass the test.”
“...Your Majesty, you’re more confident in your looks than one might think...?”
“Thanks to a certain someone’s recent compliment.”
*‘Hmph. As if I’d fall for that again.’*
He was clearly teasing me again.
Having already been completely swayed by his simple words, “Because I missed you,” I feigned composure and shook my head.
“No, that’s not it. Like I just said, I don’t only look at appearances.”
“Our personalities, our tastes... it seems we’re quite compatible in many ways, don’t you think?”
“Well... we are compatible, I guess...?”
“Didn’t you say before that you feel comfortable with me?”
“I... did, didn’t I?”
“And that it was fun.”
“Yes. I did say that.”
It was true, after all.
Watching me get drawn into his pace, the corners of Enoch’s lips curved into a crescent moon.
“So, wouldn’t I be a pretty good choice?”
“Good? What’s so good about it? Stop joking around and go home now.”
“I’m not joking.”
I forcibly pulled up Enoch, who seemed to have no intention of moving, and placed the now-dry cloak in his arms.
“That’s enough. I’m not falling for it anymore, you know? Hurry up and go.”
I waved at Enoch, who was standing firm in the middle of the room like a statue. He stared at me blankly for a moment before whirling around.
He seemed a little sulky for some reason....
Nah, I must have imagined it.
“Get home safely.”
Thinking he was finally leaving, I said my farewells and stretched my arms wide, but the direction Enoch was walking seemed odd.
“The door is that way, not over there. Hey, hey! Why are you lying down there?”
I scurried over to Enoch, who had settled down and lain on the side of the bed where the moonlight streamed in, as if it were his own.
“Enoch, what are you doing?”
“I’m so tired I can’t take another step.”
“...You were walking just fine a moment ago, weren’t you? With very long strides.”
“Maybe it’s the milk you gave me, but I’m suddenly so drowsy I can’t keep my eyes open.”
“...A moment ago, you were asking if there was any basis for that claim.”
“...”
At my voice, which picked apart his every word, Enoch, who had been keeping his eyes firmly shut, slowly opened them.
“Can’t I sleep here and go?”
Gazing into his gray eyes, which had turned almost silver in the moonlight, I sat on the bed with a small sigh.
“You want to sleep here?”
“Yes. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, hasn’t it? We’ve hardly had any contact during that time.”
“Umm...”
“You said you’d be my remedy. You have to provide the treatment.”
“Ugh. You know you’re being cheap, Your Majesty, don’t you? How can I refuse when you bring that up now?”
“Me? I am simply trying to diligently follow the Elders’ advice to have frequent and dedicated contact.”
His words pricked at my conscience. I shot him a glare, then gently lifted his head and slipped a pillow underneath it.
“Sigh, fine. Lift your head a bit. If you sleep on your arm, it’ll fall asleep.”
“Thank you for letting me sleep here.”
“...You know, you’re being a little infuriating today.”
“...It’s just your imagination.”
“Anyway, get some proper sleep. Your face... you really look like you’ve been up for three days straight.”
Since it had come to this, I figured we might as well get to sleep quickly. I turned off the light and was slipping under the covers when a hand suddenly appeared, making me blink.
“? You want me to hold it?”
“Yes. I’ll just hold your hand while I sleep.”
“...Wherever did you learn to say things like that?”
In the end, I let out a soft laugh, turned on my side, and took his large hand in mine.
“I’ll hold it tight all night, so go to sleep.”
***
“...”
Waking up before Enoch, I looked down at our clasped hands.
As if we had linked our fingers in our sleep, his long fingers were perfectly intertwined with mine.
*‘It’s not the first time we’ve held hands, so why do I feel this way?’*
Maybe my hand had fallen asleep from holding his for so long.
The tingling sensation traveling up from my fingertips felt unusually strong today, and my expression grew serious.
“Riana...? If you were awake, you should have woken me.... Why that expression...?”
“What about my expression?”
“It’s just very...”
Enoch furrowed his brow, seemingly unable to find the right word, having just woken up.
“Ah, right. Hostile. Did you get into a fight with someone while I was asleep?”
“...Of course not. Just hurry up and get up.”
I gave a vague excuse and practically fled the bed, patting my chest.
“Why do I feel so queasy? Was it something I ate yesterday...?”
***
“Riana, does your head still hurt?”
“Pardon?”
Seemingly bothered by the way I was picking at my food, unlike my usual self, Enoch set down his knife.
At his reaction, I patted my chest, which had started to pound again, and shook my head.
“No, I just feel a little nauseous, but...”
Avoiding his concerned gray eyes, I took a bite of a strawberry and shifted my gaze.
“When did you two get here?”
I was referring to the Elders, who were sitting naturally at one side of the table set up in the garden as a substitute for our picnic.
At my question, the White Elder, who was calmly cutting a piece of pie, gave me a wink.
“We came this morning when we saw His Majesty wasn't in the palace.”
“What would you have done if he wasn't here...”
“Oh, please. If he’s not in the palace, he’s definitely with you, Little Marquess. Ahem.”
The Elder coughed and straightened his posture, feigning ignorance under Enoch’s pointed glare.
“By the way, our little one’s diet is quite magnificent.”
The White Elder looked taken aback at Ariel’s plate, which was piled high with various meat dishes first thing in the morning.
“Is it alright for her to eat like this? I doubt all her teeth have even come in yet.”
“Ariel has teeth!”
At his worried voice, Ariel opened her mouth wide in an ‘ah,’ revealing a set of tiny, sparkling baby teeth.
“So she does! It feels like just yesterday she was weaning off baby food. When did she get so big? Ho ho.”
“Ariel is a bit ahead, isn't she? And she won’t eat a thing if there’s no meat, so this is what her diet has become.”
Even though I saw it every meal, Ariel’s plate, which was conspicuously devoid of anything green, made me feel a bit embarrassed, and I fiddled with my lips.
“I worry it might be bad for her health, so I try to get her to eat a balanced diet, but it’s not easy.”
“Little Marquess.”
“Yes?”
“Leave it to me.”
Claiming he had cured all his grandchildren of their picky eating habits, the White Elder began to reason with Ariel, his face full of confidence.
“Now, little one. You have to eat your carrot and pea friends here, too.”
“No!”
“But if you don’t eat them, these friends will be sad.”
“Hmph? Sad?”
“Yes. And to grow up big and strong, you have to eat a balanced diet. So how about just one bite?”
“Hmm... but I don’t wanna...”
Ariel made a face of utter dislike, fiddling with the piece of meat in her hand. Then, as if an idea struck her, she began to swing her legs energetically.
“Then Gwampa can eat it!”
“Pardon?”
“Like dis, like dis. Ariel will eat da meat, nom nom.”
The child popped the chicken from her hand into her mouth, then swiftly stuck a small piece of carrot into the White Elder’s mouth.
“If Gwampa eats da cawwot, nom nom, then nobody will be sad! And Ariel will be stwong even if I only eat meat!”
“Ah, no, that’s...”
Quite taken aback by Ariel’s reaction, the White Elder blinked rapidly, the carrot still in his mouth.
Seeing this, the Black Elder clinked his fork and knife together and laughed.
“That’s enough. The little one doesn’t want to eat it.”
“You! Don’t you know how important it is for children to eat a balanced diet as they grow?”
“Tsk, you’re so fussy.”
“Fussy? Did you just call me fussy?”
“Was I wrong? Little one, eat lots and lots of meat.”
“Okay!”
Watching the two bickering Elders and Ariel, who was placidly eating her meat between them, I shook my head from side to side.
“They get along so well.”
“They do, don’t they? They’ve always been like that.”
“Yes. But... Enoch, why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“It’s just a bit.”
Unable to find the right words, I just pointed vaguely at my eyes. Enoch curved his eyes playfully and tapped my plate lightly.
“Riana, your vegetable friends are sad. You have to eat a balanced diet to grow up strong.”
I was sure I had hidden them perfectly under the fish today, but somehow he found them again.
At Enoch’s playful chiding, I narrowed my eyes.
“I’m not a child, you know.”
“Who was it that treated me like a child yesterday, handing me a glass of milk?”
“And I’m all grown up.”
“Are you really?”
At his question, which was dripping with teasing intent, I pouted and scraped all the vegetables on my plate into a pile.
“Then Enoch can eat my vegetable friends. Eat up and grow big and tall like that tree over there.”
“Haha, is that even possible?”
...Huh? Why is this happening again?
As I grumbled and picked apart my fish, Enoch’s clear laugh burst out, and I thumped my chest.
My stomach, which had been fine just a moment ago, felt queasy again.
It felt like butterflies were fluttering inside me. I turned my head before my eyes could meet Enoch’s and hastily changed the subject.
“Th-that!”
“?”
“Elder, what is that?”
“Pardon? What...? Ah! I almost forgot about this. My goodness.”
The Black Elder, who had been looking at me in confusion at my sudden outburst, took out a scroll that was peeking from his sleeve and handed it to Enoch.
“I received this when I went to the imperial palace this morning. They said it was a letter from Prince Karhel to Your Majesty.”
“Prince Karhel, to me?”
With a slight twitch of his eyebrow, Enoch unrolled the scroll and read through it quickly.
“What does it say? Does he want to change something about the contract we made the other day?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Enoch, having seemingly read the entire thing, looked up and handed the scroll back to the Black Elder.
“The prince is requesting to have tea with me.”
“Will you accept?”
“We’ll see.”
Enoch’s brow twitched minutely.
“Now that the contract is fulfilled, there’s no need to agree. Send an appropriate reply.”
“Indeed, that’s true.”
The Black Elder nodded smoothly, then his eyes widened as if he remembered something.
“Ah, speaking of which, is it true that Prince Karhel proposed to you yesterday, Little Marquess?”
“What? How did you know?”
“I overheard the envoys who brought the letter for His Majesty talking.”
“Ah...”
He couldn't have spread the rumor himself, surely. It must have come from someone who was with him.
I recalled the young attendant who had been standing behind Karhel in the drawing room and pressed my forehead.
*‘Still, why would he just let a rumor like that spread?’*
With a deep frown, I waved my hand dismissively.
“A proposal? It was just nonsense.”
“I suppose so. He’d have to be mad to propose to the Emperor’s lover.”
Seeing my disgusted reaction, the Black Elder stroked his curly beard once and was about to push the scroll back into his sleeve.
“In any case, I will send a reply of refusal to Prince Karhel right away...? Your Majesty, why are you...?”
That is, if Enoch hadn’t grabbed one end of the scroll.
Finding himself in a sudden tug-of-war, the Black Elder blinked.
“Your Majesty, I... can’t take this unless you let go.”
“Elder, change the contents of the reply.”
“Pardon?”
Thump.
Enoch snatched the scroll completely and raised a corner of his mouth in a crooked smirk.
“Tell him I accept. His request.”
