Even if he heard concerning sounds outside, he never left the room.
If he was needed, someone would come to fetch him.
Therefore, he spent his time leisurely without moving in his room.
Until the morning of the succession ceremony.
And when the day came, the first person to come to him was Vivian Marigold.
Vivian came in, as always, without knocking.
"Rosen, I've been worried since yesterday because I haven't seen you. I wanted to come right away, but my family...."
The people of the Marigold family would never let Vivian go.
It was a foregone conclusion.
As if it was nothing to worry about, Rosenta greeted Vivian affectionately.
"Vivian, did you sleep well?"
It was a simple morning greeting.
But once she received that greeting, Vivian began to vent her anger as if she had been waiting for her chance.
"No! How many people are coming and going outside and talking? I want to go back as soon as the succession ceremony is over today."
Rosenta understood her feelings.
Even though he was on a high floor and had a spacious room, he still found himself waking up occasionally.
For Vivian, who was on the floor below, how much worse would it be? Moreover, people who recognized her must have flocked to her.
It was so obvious that he didn’t even need to see it to understand it.
"Vivian, shall we attend the succession ceremony together today?"
He’d been spending his time leisurely after completing all preparations.
"Really? I'd love to."
He winked at Enoch.
Then Enoch approached him very slowly and slowly began to tie Rosenta’s tie around his neck.
Enoch tied his tie, moving his fingers down the back of his neck as if he were sweeping his skin with the tip of each of his fingers.
In the beginning, it was very burdensome, but being an adaptable creature, Rosenta didn't think much of it anymore.
Rather, Vivian covered her mouth and was looking at them with her red eyes.
"……my God."
"Vivian?"
"Oh, nothing."
She said nothing, but Vivian peeped at him and Enoch.
Her eyes seemed somehow impure.
He tried to ask Vivian the meaning of that look, but he quickly turned as Enoch called.
"Duke."
Enoch was waiting with his coat.
He stretched out his arms.
Enoch put Rosenta’s coat on, then he bowed his head carefully to put on his tie pin.
His hair tickled Rosenta’s cheek.
"It's all done now."
Perhaps because Vivian was there, Enoch acted like a butler.
Rosenta nodded.
As he was about to escort Vivian out of the room, he heard Enoch's greetings from behind.
"Duke, please come back safely; I will wait quietly."
Was it his imagination or did ‘I’ll wait quietly’ make it sound like Enoch was telling him to come back quickly?
He stared at Enoch quietly.
Enoch tilted his head with a kind face.
It was the look of a butler trying to understand his master’s intention.
Vivian called him as if she was confused, perhaps because he was staring intently at the butler who had done his duty.
"Rosen?"
He quickly came to his senses at Vivian's call. Then he gave Enoch the response to his greeting.
"…then I'll go now, so make sure to guard the room."
It was his way of warning Enoch in a way that only he would understand. It was a warning not to go around recklessly.
He didn’t know whether he understood his warning, but Enoch replied with a light smile.
"Of course."
***
The succession ceremony took place at the main temple.
Chairs were placed on the steps leading to the stone statue of Luz, perhaps for the imperial and royal family members.
Among them, the chair in the highest position would be Theodore's.
In a way, it could be offensive, but it was the natural law in the Holy Land.
"Wasn't there a reason that people say religion above country?"
Except for Luzism, all other religious believers were treated as heretics and no one could easily think of believing in other religions.
It was because Luz was so deeply rooted.
So, even though it was not the official religion of Helios, the previous emperors also served Luz and could not easily disobey their edicts.
"Well, all of this is the setting for the heroine."
The setting for Yura, who is revered in this world and is being pursued by everyone.
Once again, Rosenta realized that this was a world in a book.
"Huh? What setting?"
Vivian tilted her head slightly from side to side as if she had heard him muttering.
"I was talking to myself because it all felt like an annoying spotlight."
"S, Spoiler, Spot....."
Vivian sighed after failing to repeat what he said.
"Whew. You say weird things once in a while when you think about it."
In the end, she didn't show much interest in what he’d meant.
Instead, Vivian turned her head and stared at the blue carpet in the middle.
Her gaze was not pleasant.
"Are you saying that bastard is going to come through there?"
Vivian was clearly talking about Conitel.
He gave Vivian a short answer while staring ahead.
"Maybe."
He kept looking around as he answered Vivian.
All the royals, including Theodore, were sitting in place.
The priests were also standing in a line as if to surround the blue carpet.
"It'll start soon."
As the saying goes, words become seeds, and as soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding area became crowded.
As if to announce the beginning.
Soon, the priests surrounding the blue carpet began to recite the prayers of blessing one by one.
"Luz, you are full of grace. Blessings to everyone here."
"Blessings to all who are here, for Luz is full of grace."
Not all of the voices heard were in unison.
However, their voices rang out in the hall like the beautiful harmony of the grand temple.
Starting with that, the huge door located in the center of the temple’s many entrances slowly opened.
It was the entrance of Conitel.
***
It ended sooner than Rosenta had expected.
The only thing he felt while watching the ceremony was that it was solemn and sacred.
The harmony of white and blue, followed by numerous shrines. The silvery power in their hands.
There were many people who were mesmerized by the sight, but it was only for a moment.
"Let's go see the mage quickly."
"To see the Pope…"
"How can I see the saint?"
"Since we're here, shall we stay for a few more days and pray before we go?"
As soon as the succession ceremony was over, people began to divide into three categories.
Those who were preparing to leave, those who wanted to see the saint or pope, or those who wanted to stay in the Holy Land for a few more days.
Of course, Rosenta’s companions and he were in the category of those getting ready to leave.
First of all, Vivian and he had decided to leave with Theodore, so they went to see off the other Marigold family members.
The send-off lasted quite a long time.
It was because the Marigolds didn't want to separate.
"If I’d known this would happen, I would have hired a mage in advance."
"It can’t be helped, Dad. This wasn’t in our original plans, but we came in a hurry because of Vivian. When I tried to hire a mage at the last minute, all the high-ranking officials had already left."
"I know that, but... I can't stand to separate from Vivian..."
"You too!? The duke will be with her, so why don't we trust him to take care of our daughter?"
Marquis Marigold glanced up and down at Rosenta with a hostile look.
Then, the marquis's eyes became more fierce. It was as if he was looking at someone shameless enough to try taking his daughter away.
Rosenta tried not to make eye contact with him on purpose, but suddenly he felt a grip pulling his hand.
"Whew. I'm going to see them again at home anyway. It's not some shocking drama."
Vivian, who received the love and concern of her family, responded to them with a snort.
Then she turned around, proudly flipping her hair arrogantly.
As Vivian turned, Rosenta, whose hand was held by her, also naturally turned.
Vivian walked forward, leading him without looking back.
Then, various reactions were heard from behind them.
"Oh, my daughter. She’s so energetic."
"A farewell hug for this father!"
"I don't remember ever being grabbed by my sister... I envy you."
Only their humming voices were heard, but their postures and expressions were imagined.
This sitcom was created whenever Vivian was at the center of this family’s attention.
Rosenta loved this sitcom.
The unconditional affection and warmth of the family he’d never felt; It was so lovely.
"Phew. Vivian's family is always cheerful."
Vivian stopped walking, perhaps because she heard him laugh.
She stared at him.
"...what?"
He could see Vivian's face burning as red as her red eyes.
The grip that was holding his hand weakened little by little. Soon that small hand slowly began to slide down the back of his hand.
He clasped her hand.
"Then let's go now."
A hand smaller and thinner than his came into his grasp.
He led Vivian.
And, in order to keep pace with Vivian following him, he slowed down his usual pace.
It was in consideration of Vivian, who was wearing a long dress and had a smaller stride than him.
He chose to take a safe path so that Vivian could avoid being pushed by people as much as possible, even if it was slower.
As a result, the time it took to return her to her room was considerably delayed, but she was able to return safely.
But he had to go back to his own room quickly because he hadn’t packed his things in advance.
"Vivian, I'm going to go up now."
"Yes."
They separated in front of her door, seeing off Vivian.
He assumed Enoch would have wrapped it up, but he had to check if there was anything missed.
No, he had to check on Enoch, to see if he had stayed in the room as he’d ordered him to.
As soon as he opened the door, he went in calling Enoch.
"Enoch!"
"Oh...."
Enoch was unexpectedly taken aback.
He stopped in the middle of organizing. Then, he just blinked his light green eyes.
Rosenta was a bit flustered, too.
Enoch looked full of laughter. It was a bright smile, not at all insidious.
It was a smile that was not like the usual Enoch. Perhaps because of that, Rosenta was embarrassed.
He hesitated and shut the door.
He then said something completely different from what he was going to say.
"…… I’m back."
Enoch did not stop laughing. In fact, he seemed to laugh even more.
"Welcome back."