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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Unwelcome Guests
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“Riana.”
“Yes?”
“I will be fine on my own.”
“No, I want to stay here too.”
The day Karhel and Enoch were scheduled to meet had arrived.
Unwilling to let Enoch go alone, I had insisted on taking a seat and now shook my head firmly.
Enoch, who had been resting his chin on his hand and staring at me, gestured lightly with his fingers.
“Then would you mind coming a little closer?”
“Uh…, I just sat where the chair was placed.”
“Exactly. I wonder who arranged the seating like this.”
“It seems perfectly fine to me…?”
But my faint protest was in vain as my chair was pulled right up next to Enoch.
“This is what I consider a suitable distance.”
“This is too close.”
As I shifted slightly in a small act of defiance, my eyes widened at the sight of Enoch's bare hands.
“Enoch! Where are your gloves?”
“Ah. Right here.”
“Why aren't you wearing them? That man, Karhel, knows you can't touch other people, doesn't he?”
“I was about to put them on.”
Of course, he was always bare-handed when it was just the two of us, but…
Perhaps because of what Karhel had said, I reacted more sharply than usual to Enoch's familiar habit.
As if sensing my mood, Enoch took my hand and swayed it gently, his voice deliberately light.
“I told you, nothing will happen. And even if it did, Riana, you could just hold my hand like this, couldn't you?”
What’s the point of having a cure if you don’t use it?
I lightly slapped the back of his hand for his sly remark and held open a glove.
“Here. Stop talking nonsense and put this on.”
“Hmm. I don’t much like wearing gloves. I can’t feel your warmth through them.”
Though he had intended to wear them before Karhel arrived anyway, Enoch feigned reluctance before playfully sliding his hand in.
“But having you put them on for me like this isn't so bad.”
“Now the other one.”
I ignored his last comment and muttered as I carefully fitted the glove onto his other hand.
“By the way, Enoch. This role as your cure… am I actually doing it right?”
“Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”
“Well, there don't seem to be any visible changes. You still go berserk if you touch anyone else… so I was wondering if I'm being helpful at all.”
“Hmm.”
With a sound of brief contemplation, his large fingers moved gracefully to adjust the fit of the gloves.
“Yes. You are.”
“Really?”
“Truly. It's very subtle, but the crest has been weakening ever since I started touching you.”
The temple bells chimed, signaling noon, the appointed time. Enoch glanced at a clock and stroked his jawline.
“And even if it weren't, what would it matter? Just having you by my side, treating me like a normal person, is more than enough for me.”
“Oh, come on. If I'm going to do this, I want to be properly helpful.”
As Enoch smiled faintly at my words, the sound of a guest's arrival was followed by Karhel opening the door and stepping inside.
And in that moment,
“Ugh.”
The sudden, overwhelming scent of flowers made me cover my nose instinctively.
“Riana? What's wrong?”
“The scent of flowers…”
“Scent of flowers?”
Enoch tilted his head as if to ask what I was talking about.
“What do you mean, Riana? There is no scent at all.”
“What? That can't be, it's so strong…”
His reaction only puzzled me more, and I looked around the room.
But the expressions of the others in the room were unchanged, as if there truly was no smell.
Seeing them, I slowly lowered the hand covering my nose and blinked.
“Ah…, I must have imagined it.”
But I definitely smelled it.
Despite the lingering tingle in my nose, the only scents in the room were that of sun-dried linen and the faint smell of grass drifting in through the window.
“What was that…”
Did I doze off while sitting here?
As I unconsciously pressed my thumb to my temple, Enoch immediately touched my forehead.
“Is it another headache?”
“No, it's just a habit—”
“You two seem awfully close, don't you? You didn't even greet me. I'm starting to feel hurt.”
Karhel, who had taken a seat during our brief exchange, lowered his eyebrows in a show of feigned sorrow.
“Anyway, I didn't expect to see you here, Riana. It's a pleasure.”
“Riana?”
At the sound of him calling my name so familiarly, Enoch's long eyes sharpened.
“Isn't that form of address a bit too familiar? The Little Marquess of the Empire is not someone whose name should be used so carelessly.”
“Ah… My apologies. I was just so excited. I'll be more careful.”
It was infuriating to see Karhel answer so meekly now, when he hadn't even pretended to listen when I'd said the same thing.
Karhel easily ignored my glare and crinkled his eyes into a good-natured smile.
“In any case, I'm glad to see you brought company as well, Your Majesty. I was worried, having brought an unannounced guest myself.”
“A guest?”
“Yes. Someone Your Majesty knows very well.”
A faint smile.
As if his deepening smile were a signal, the sound of his chuckle was joined by the clacking of heels echoing across the marble floor.
And from beyond the still-open door, a very familiar face appeared.
“Hello, Your Majesty.”
***
Tap, tap.
Enoch, making no effort to hide his displeasure, tapped the armrest with his index finger, his eyes closed.
Just like he always did.
“I was not informed that the Duke's Daughter would be joining us today.”
“My apologies. I ran into the Duke's Daughter unexpectedly on my way here, so I was unable to inform you in advance, Your Majesty.”
Karhel, who had bowed his head, straightened up and spoke with an easygoing air.
“However, you also came with an unscheduled guest, did you not, Your Majesty? Please don't be so harsh on me alone.”
His chestnut eyes turned to me.
At the same time, Enoch's eyelids, which had been gently closed, lifted.
Pfft. A cold laugh escaped him as his eyes fixed on Karhel.
“Prince.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Just because I can do something does not mean you can.”
“…”
A domineering voice.
As if to confirm who was superior and who was subordinate, each of Enoch's words came out slowly, yet distinctly.
“You should not forget your place just because the Empire maintains a friendly relationship with your kingdom. Your mouth.”
Tap. Enoch touched his own lips, his emotionless eyes narrowing slightly.
“Should not be run so carelessly.”
“…Perhaps the etiquette of my kingdom and the Empire differ, and I have made some mistake—”
“I hear the prince's people have been spreading some very interesting stories.”
“…”
“It would be best for everyone to watch their mouths, wouldn't it? Unless you wish to return to your kingdom with something other than a contract in hand.”
“…My apologies, Your Majesty. I overstepped.”
Though he maintained a smiling face, Karhel's clenched fist under the table was trembling.
“Your Majesty, please don't be so harsh.”
Elisha's words seemed to slightly ease the tense atmosphere.
“Prince Karhel simply thought it would be nice for us to come together, since we are discussing a state marriage.”
Though she did not entirely succeed.
“Oh, by the way, Your Majesty. Did you hear? My father has won another victory. At this rate, he should be able to return soon.”
“…I should have sent him somewhere farther away.”
Enoch muttered in displeasure at the news of Duke Herington's unexpectedly early victory.
But her green eyes, not having heard him, sparkled with excitement.
“So, to pray for my father's safe return, I was thinking of holding a small charity event at our estate. You'll come, won't you, Your Majesty?”
“I expect to be busy that day.”
At the indirect refusal, the corners of Elisha's gentle eyes twitched in dismay.
“My, you're being difficult. I haven't even told you the date yet. Tomorrow—”
“I cannot.”
“Then the day after—”
“That seems unlikely as well.”
“Then in three days—”
“Duke's Daughter.”
Enoch called out to Elisha, who was trying a different tack, in a nonchalant tone.
“No matter what day you choose, I have no intention of going, so I would appreciate it if you would stop asking.”
“Your Majesty…”
Grit.
At the sound of Elisha gritting her teeth, my gaze, which had been fixed on Karhel, shifted to her.
Ah. She's angry.
Was her pride wounded at being rejected in a setting like this?
A venomous look surfaced on her previously pitiful face.
Screech. A nerve-grating sound.
My mouth fell slightly open at the sound of a dessert knife scraping against a plate.
Huh? Why is that…
My eyes followed Elisha's hand as it, having revealed her emotions, disappeared into the folds of her green dress, and that emotion then transferred to her words.
“If that is your will, Your Majesty, then it can't be helped. Still, Your Majesty, you won't refuse *that*, will you?”
“?”
“I'm talking about granting the wish of a commander returning victorious from war.”
“Ah.”
A crack appeared on his cool, expressionless face.
As an empire with a long history, it had many customs, one of which was what Elisha had just mentioned.
It was a story that began with a wager between an emperor and a knight over drinks.
That story was passed down through generations and had now become a tradition, like a gift to celebrate those returning from war.
However, just as its origins were lighthearted, it was customary to ask for something small, so as not to burden either the wisher or the granter…
Like asking for the most fashionable pair of shoes, or for an extended vacation.
Yes. It was a kind of pleasantry meant to make everyone feel good, but,
seeing Elisha's expression, it seemed the Duke and Elisha had no intention of wishing for something so trivial.
“As his wish, my father will ask for a state marriage between you and me.”
Her saying it like that proved it.
“It's a marriage that will happen eventually, so don't be so hostile. Many eyes are upon us; it would be better to maintain a close relationship.”
“Do you truly believe, Duke's Daughter, that I would grant such an absurd wish?”
Although Enoch retorted as if it wasn't even worth considering, it wouldn't be as easy as that.
[The Emperor must grant any wish.]
To break such an old rule in front of all the Empire's citizens, he would need a justifiable reason.
A reason so compelling that everyone present would have no choice but to accept it.
But could such a reason exist?
A reason valid enough to reject the Duke's Daughter, a user of a Special Ability revered by all, the one designated by the oracle as the Emperor's partner…
Elisha, too, seemed well aware of this fact. This time, instead of distorting her face in anger, she offered a bright smile.
“Yes, of course. You will.”
