Lately, Yura had been having trouble sleeping at night.
It was because she was busy taking care of her skin and coordinating her clothes every day.
The news of the banquet being held to welcome her had led her to become very busy.
“Saint, how do you like this? I prepared only the finest jewelry for the saint.”
“I’m known to be the best designer in the empire. When will you call on me?”
“Holy Lady, today we prepared the most expensive rose oil. Could I apply it right now?”
Everyone delivered the finest items to Yura.
It wasn’t even at her request.
As if it were natural, even the nobles and the maids around Yura prepared things on their own.
She did not refuse.
She was told that it was a special banquet just for her, so she had to prepare for it properly.
“The saint will become the new flower of the social world.”
“The flower of the social world?”
Yura was interested in the phrase “Flower of the social world.”
As though noticing this, a lady-in-waiting discreetly leaned over.
She whispered to Yura, “It refers to the person who stands at the center of the social world. Currently, Lady Vivienne Marigold is called the flower of the social world, but……. I assure you, things will change when the saint appears.”
Yura’s expression darkened at the maid’s words. She shrugged as though it was too easy.
She immediately shook her head. As though the maids were wrong, she denied it.
“Really? However, during a meal not too long ago, Lady Marigold…..”
She swallowed her whispers, but all the maids present were able to understand.
They’d heard that the saint had made a mistake that day, but His Majesty passed over it without saying anything.
However, at that time, Lady Vivian left the dining room full of resentment.
‘Unlike the kind saint, she has a very bad personality,’ all the ladies-in-waiting thought.
They revealed those unfiltered thoughts, covering for the saint.
“It is said that, while she is very rich and the daughter of a marquis, her personality is not very good.”
“They say that she obtained her position after tirelessly chasing His Majesty since she was young. It’s all thanks to the strength of her family.”
At first, the words were meant to appease Yura, but soon the ladies-in-waiting nodded their heads at what they said.
That’s right. Vivian Marigold was a scandalous girl who trapped His Majesty and Duke Estella in a tug-of-war.
But, now that the saint has appeared, it must be the end for her.
The ladies-in-waiting puffed out their chests and practically raised their noses.
“But she didn’t seem that way at all. She seemed to have a bit of a condescending personality but….”
As those words, that seemed to shelter Vivian, the ladies-in-waiting were even more impressed with Yura.
The maids were about to open their mouths again to explain that the saint has misunderstood them.
Before they could even speak, Conitel, who had been in the back, stepped forward.
He sternly said to them, “This is not a good way to speak about someone. Please refrain from saying such things, even for the sake of the saint.”
Nothing he said was wrong. He had warned them to watch what they said while in the imperial palace.
But how could they make a mistake like this?
It was the first time in their lives that they had made such a mistake. The ladies-in-waiting blushed in shame.
They shut their mouths and quietly acted absorbed in decorating Yura.
Following his scolding, Yura glanced at Conitel with a sullen face.
However, Conitel was still smiling quietly as he received the glance.
“Holy Lady.”
Conitel put his hand on the small windowsill in front of him.
“It’s windy, so I think it would be better to dress more warmly today.”
A small sparrow perched on the back of Conitel’s hand as he leaned on the window.
Conitel carefully stroked the sparrow’s beak with his other hand.
It would normally fly away at the touch of a human, but the sparrow quietly accepted his touch.
He was petting the sparrow as such when Yura finished dressing and called out to him.
“Conitel.”
Yura spun around once.
The hem of the white dress she was wearing fluttered in a smooth curve.
“How is it? Will his majesty like it too?”
“Yes, even if the saint wears plain clothes, they would look good on you.”
Conitel whispered.
As the cold wind blew in, and he turned his body towards the window, “Saint, you are loved by everyone.”
The sparrow that was sitting on the back of Conitel’s hand was pushed out the window.
The sparrow continued to fall towards the ground before landing with a loud thud.
It was dead.
The body began to rot.
***
Recently, Rosenta had been locking himself away at the top of the tower again.
Enoch was entrusted with relaying the messages from the others, just in case.
Before doing anything special, he began by spending the entire day looking through the books stored in the secret room.
“I’ve finally finished reading.”
He had begun reading something else. It was the book he had put off reading entitled, The Undead.
Since he was self-taught, it had taken him a while to get through just one book.
That’s why, now that he had barely finished reading The Undead, he thought of experimenting with one of the things he had read in the book.
Turning toward the wall, he pointed directly at the skeleton mounted there and recited a command.
‘Skeleton’
The skeleton moved a bone.
Then, its movements, which had initially been slow, soon began to frantically bend its joints.
From that point on, the skeleton fully controlled its body.
It came towards him with slow, but precise steps.
But, right as it managed to stand in front of him, its kneecap fell off.
From that point on, it collapsed.
“Cool.”
He only let out a small cough, but blood dripped down from the hand that had covered his mouth.
He frowned and wiped it away roughly.
The fact that he vomited blood meant that it was still an undeveloped ability.
It was also because his powers were blocked in his current form.
The magic-controlling devices were hindering his abilities.
After his father told him that his power would be too much for him, Rosenta began wearing magic-controlling devices from a young age.
But he felt this would hinder him now.
“Would time solve this problem?”
For as long as he’d worn the devices, he’d have to invest time and effort into developing his abilities.
He slumped into the chair he sat in.
When he straightened his back, his back and neck, which were sore from bending as he read all day, felt refreshed.
‘Okay. In a way, this is a step forward.’
He turned his head slightly.
His eyes took in a small stream of light leaking through a very small crack.
“It’s already morning.”
It was a window smaller than the size of the palm of his hand, but he could see that morning had come.
As soon as he realized that it was morning, he suddenly felt tired.
Still, he was mentally refreshed so his body didn’t feel as heavy.
He got up.
“Come to think of it, it today the day?”
He opened the door.
Unlike the secret room, filled with acrid dust, he breathed easily.
However, in front of the door, light green eyes were looking at him.
It was Enoch.
“I’m here to pick you up.”
***
Anna combed his hair.
His blue hair fell softly from Anna’s hand.
“Anna.”
“Yes?”
“Did you bring back what I ordered?”
“Of course I brought it. I put it in a separate drawer. Shall I bring it now? Oh, but…..”
Anna looked at Enoch.
She seemed unsure of whether or not it was alright to speak in front of him.
Rosenta nodded.
Anything related to magic could not be hidden from Enoch.
‘More than anything else, since he’s cursed*, he won’t think of making light of me.’
*[I believe this is referencing the curse place on Enoch’s heart when he was officially hired as Rosenta’s butler.]
“It’s alright.”
“Yes. Then I will bring it.”
Anna rummaged through the chest of drawers.
She took out a box and brought it to Rosenta.
He opened the box right away.
Inside was a pure white veil engraved with lace.
Of course, it was not an ordinary veil as he had requested of Hugo.
“What is this for?”
Enoch peered through the veil with interest.
Rosenta explained briefly in case he had already read the magical traces, wanted to identify what the magic was, and would start uselessly asking question after question.
“It’s a gift.”
Since it was a banquet for the saint, it was good to prepare at least one present.
“It must have cost a lot.”
Those were Enoch’s words.
Not only was the cloth expensive, but it was a veil with opaque magic that prevented proper recognition of faces.
Needless to say, it was expensive.
“A gift for the Duke?”
Enoch pressed his face closer.
Rosenta wasn’t even surprised anymore.
He sighed softly.
“I would have said if it was a gift for me.”
Then Rosenta got up from his seat.
He gave Anna, who was staring at him blankly, an order.
“Anna, tell the coachman to prepare to leave.”
“Then, who will be the attendant to accompany you?”
When attending banquets, it was normal to bring someone to assist him.
However, today, before the banquet, he had to go see Theodore.
It was uncomfortable to have eyes watching.
“No one. I won’t take anyone today.”
This wasn’t the first time. That’s why Anna nodded as if she was used to it.
“Alright.”
Anna left the room first to do what he had asked her to do.
Only Enoch stood by his side.
He stared at him intently.
A hind of dissatisfaction flashed in his pale green eyes.
“Why?”
“Huh?”
He tilted his head slightly as if choking back tears. If Rosenta was a weaker-minded person, he might have fallen for this number.
But he wasn’t.
Rosenta turned his head.
He got up from his seat, looked at himself in the full-length mirror, and opened his mouth.
“I’m not taking anyone.”
Instead of answering, Enoch let out a snort.
“Hmm.”
It was a cool response.
Because it was Enoch, he would probably do whatever he wanted.
Because of this, Rosenta didn’t forget to warn him.
“Don’t do it.”
“What?”
“Don’t do anything.”
“Right, yes.”
He stopped paying attention to Enoch. He put all his attention elsewhere.
He tidied his clothes.
The velvet suit must have been crumpled, so he smoothed it out with his hands.
He wore his indigo-colored hair up.
He tried to fix his hair with a white ribbon.
A hand intervened.
He took Rosenta’s hair tie and started tying his hair.
It was a natural hand movement.
It was so meticulous and careful that it was hard to believe they were Enoch’s hands.
He was looking at Enoch behind him in the full-length mirror and Enoch closed his eyes and smiled as though he could feel Rosenta’s gaze.
“Everyone at the banquet will see you. One of them will receive your gift.”
Unlike the curved eyes, the corners of his mouth were raised crookedly.
“I am satisfied with this.”
Rosenta lowered his head.
Enoch left a short kiss on the ends of his hair while casting a keen gaze.
***