CH 16

When Rosenta needed her to run private errands, Anna would go to town in her usual disguise.

Because they were the clothes that Anna wore at those times, Rosa was safely able to pretend to be Anna by mentioning 'running errands' to the guards.

“Enjoy yourself while running the duke’s errands.”

"I heard it's hard for you to speak because you have a cold... Take care to close your robe!”

“See you later, Anna!”

Rosa was greeted by the guards and was able to leave out safely.

Still, she continued to keep the hood of the robe low and looked around cautiously.

As it was early in the morning, the village within the walls of Estella was very quiet.

There was no sign of human presence.

Even though it was so late at night, the crows could be heard chirping 'caw-caw' .

Rosa struggled and pondered for a moment.

It was because he had never been out this late at night, so the road was confusing.

She looked around for a while, then walked forward, going through her memories one by one.

It was the first time she had gone to see Hugo alone this late at night, as Anna was usually ordered to run this errand.

‘Is this the right way?’

Attention was paid to each step.

"Found it."

It was a shabby house under an old tree, a small distance away from the other houses.

Even though it was a bleak time of night with no people in sight, it was like morning to the person she was going to meet.

As she opened the door and entered, she saw Hugo walking around busily as expected.

“Hugo, it’s me.”

“What an honor. The biggest guest has arrived.”

The inside of the house was very bright.

Hugo must have been making magic tools, as he was surrounded by various tools and magic stones.

Rosa strode forward and put the treasure chest she had been carrying on the desk.

“Something’s wrong with these magic tools.”

Hugo took out something that looked more like a telescope than glasses.

Then, holding it to his eyes, he began to examine the magic tools in the box carefully.

“Hmm. That's really strange.”

Hugo touched Rosa’s magic tools one by one for a while.

Then, out of the blue, he explained the telescope he was holding.

“It is a very expensive magic tool that I bought with the money I saved over the years. You can see 'traces' very faintly with this.”

"What? Traces?”

It was the first time Rosa had heard of such a thing. But Hugo didn't give me an answer to her question.

Rather, he asked her with a puzzled face.

“Have you met a wizard recently?”

"Pardon?"

“There are traces. Magic power varies from mage to mage. They all have different characteristics. So, a wizard leaves behind traces of their magic when they’ve used it. We call it a trace or trail.”

Again Enoch's face came Rosa’s to mind.

At the same time, she felt a headache and closed her eyes.

Seeing her face like that, Hugo laughed and said.

“I see. I guess there was someone.”

She nodded.

"It's not easy to meet a wizard, so I'm sure there's only one wizard I've met recently."

“Certainly, my magic tool has no flaws on its part.”

In case anyone would think there was a problem with the magic tools, Hugo explained step by step.

“As you know, these magic tools are made with the finest materials, magic stones, and magic spells. It's just that the magician was very talented.”

Of course, Rosa did not doubt Hugo's ability.

Hugo's magical tools had never caused trouble before. Until she met Enoch.

“How did the wizard notice the existence of my magic tools?”

“Seeing that they noticed, even though you had a device that hid your magic power. Hmm... … Are they able to sense magical powers? A wizard like that would be someone who is sensitive to magic... How amazing."

“What is so strange about it?”

“People who are sensitive to magic are rare. I've never even met one. They are literally sensitive to mana and, no matter what devices are used, they become useless. They see through everything.”

‘Was that what happened?’

‘If so, did that mean that Enoch had known my identity from the beginning because he was sensitive to magical powers?’

Rosa’s head was spinning nonstop.

Hugo seemed to be excited, as if he was unaware of Rosa’s feelings.

“They drained all my mana and then reinjected it. This trail speaks for itself. How amazing. Who is the mage?”

Rosa replied with a dejected smile.

“He is crazy.”

**** 

After leaving Hugo's home, Rosenta looked around.

Then, as if he had decided on a direction, his slow pace gradually accelerated.

After speeding up his steps for a while, he arrived at the entrance to the castle of Duke Estella.

The guards, who were there when he left to “run errands” earlier, remembered Anna's outfit, tilted their heads, and asked, "Anna?"

Rosenta nodded and gave a short answer without showing any embarrassment.

"Yes."

Then he took a piece of paper out of his pocket and held it out.

Since it was the paper they had seen before, the guards checked it with a bored expression.

As expected, they saw the words 'private errands' neatly written in the duke's handwriting.

“Go ahead back in.”

"Okay. It's late, I’m sure you had a lot of trouble. Go in and get some rest.”

“Your voice is a bit low, so make sure to go see the doctor tomorrow!”

Worried she that “she” was tired so late at night, the guards cleared the way for Rosenta to pass without much suspicion.

"Take care."

"Okay. Anna, hurry up and get a good night’s sleep!”

The changed voice used the cold as a shield. Thanks to that, Rosenta was able to enter easily.

Caw.

It was quiet outside again.

The only sounds were the wind blowing and the chattering of the guards to stay awake from time to time.

And all Rosenta could hear was the crow's caw.

‘Caw.’

A crow circled over the castle.

Then it perched on the highest roof of the duke's main castle.

It folded its black wings and didn’t make a sound.

Instead, it began to change very naturally.

There was no special effect. As if it was hiding in the thick darkness, the crow naturally began to take on a human form.

“I didn’t think of this.”

The raven became Enoch.

"I didn’t think she’d go find someone else."

He stood in a relaxed manner and sighed.

Although the way he spoke seemed indifferent, the smile on his lips didn't look that way at all.

It was the smile of a schemer who was plotting something else.

“See you again, Duke.”

The mana around him gradually thickened.

Enoch's appearance changed again.

His arms became black wings and then, gradually, transformed into the same crow shape as before.

Enoch spread his wings.

And flew off from the roof of the castle.

“Caw.”

****

“Duke, the lady Marigold has arrived.”

Rosenta was in the middle of preparing, but he heard the voice of the attendant outside the door.

Usually, if you were invited as a guest, it was appropriate to head to the banquet hall.

But Vivian, as usual, seemed to go straight to Rosenta’s space.

Finally, Anna, who was working on his clothes, stepped back and opened her mouth.

“Then I will go and see Mr. Hugo.”

“Then I’ll trust and leave it to you.”

After a brief conversation, he also walked toward the door.

Anna was going to go out to get a new magic tool from Hugo.

He had received a temporary magic tool. It was enough to last for about two days, but this was just a precaution.

He grabbed the doorknob and opened it wide.

Jake, his attendant, was waiting outside the door to guide him.

“Jake, guide me.”

He went down the stairs with Jake.

Then, in the hall on the first floor, he saw Vivian in a dazzling white dress.

It was the Vivian he knew, but it was definitely different from usual.

“Vivian.”

“Rozen!”

Vivian came towards him with a face as red as her eyes.

“Rozen, you look great today as well.”

“Vivian too. Today you are beyond pretty and beautiful.”

She was the usual lively and stubborn Vivian, but it was a fact that her appearance was also very beautiful.

If the heroine was an elegant lily, Vivian was a lovely, beautiful tulip.

It took a while for Vivian to blush as she looked at Rosenta. She excitedly spread her arms and introduced her gift.

"Ah! This is my present!”

However, as soon as he heard the word 'gift', he was taken aback. He knew that, if it was a gift from Vivian, it wouldn't be ordinary.

And as he thought, what he was seeing behind Vivian... … .

“This time, when my father and older brothers went on a trip to another region, I asked them to buy a present for you.”

It was a huge pile of gifts.

Vivian smiled brightly and pointed out the gift packages one by one.

“And whenever I went somewhere, I thought of you and picked something up… … Also, when I went to a clothing store not too long ago, I found a store that had too many clothes that matched you, so I bought them all!”

Looking at the presents, his breath stopped.

However, in front of Vivian, whose eyes were shining, hoping for praise, he couldn't bring himself to say that he was burdened.

He had no choice but to leave it for the day and say it next time.

He smiled happily and carefully placed his hand on Vivian's head.

“Thank you, Vivian.”

His answer seemed correct.

Vivian nodded vigorously, her dimpled smile showing how happy she was.

“Yes!"

****

A gorgeous and ornate chandelier lit up the ceiling of the banquet hall.

In addition to that, an orchestra was playing a beautiful melody that was soft and subdued as though it were only playing in the background.

As if adding a chorus, the voices of people were filling the banquet hall.

But Rosenta couldn't fully enjoy the banquet he had prepared so hard for.

Because people were constantly flocking around him.

His throat was sore from how much he conversed. But he couldn't turn them away.

“I hope you enjoy the banquet.”

“Yes, Duke. I hope to see you again next time.”

He took a sip of wine as he watched the person he was talking to leave.

He was quenching his throat in advance to deal with the next one to come.

“Lord Rosenta.”

It was a familiar voice, omitting titles, calling only his name as if it were someone friendly.

Since he knew the owner of the voice, he naturally turned in that direction without showing any signs of surprise and called her in return.

“Lady Vivian.”

The moment their eyes met, the corner of each other's lips moved up slightly. It was because this strange way of calling him tickled him.

However, he behaved so naturally that others could not notice.

Vivian spread out the light pink fan she was holding in her hand. She sighed softly and covered her mouth.

“Thank you for escorting me and for accompanying me for the first dance. I should have greeted you earlier, but since the duke is so popular... … .”

Was this the socialite version of Vivian? It was different because he didn't see it often.

He smiled and agreed with Vivian's words.

“Rather, that's what I want to say. The lady was surrounded by so many nobles that it was impossible to talk to her.”

"Oh. The Duke’s words are also true.”

Vivian hid her face behind a fan as if she was embarrassed.

Then, she cleverly hid her mouth so that the others couldn't see it.

“Are you bored?”

Instead of nodding, he quietly smiled.

It was then.

The surroundings became noisy. At first, Rosenta wondered if it was because of them, but people's eyes were focused elsewhere.

He also turned to where they were looking.

A golden-haired man entered the banquet hall and stood on top of the stairs.

One of the attendants guarding the door barely introduced him in a trembling voice.

“Hail, the sun of the Helios Empire. His Majesty, Emperor Theodore Royal Helios, is entering!”

Theodore came down the stairs.

Everyone, including Rosenta, started bowing their heads one by one.

And after a while, an expensive black shoe appeared in Rosenta’s lowered sight.

“Please raise your head, Duke.”

He slowly raised his head.

‘Is it because no one can see him except me?’

Contrary to the dignified voice, he saw Theodore's face with a smirk.

“I stopped by briefly to give the duke a small present.”

“You came here personally… … . Thank you, Your Majesty.”

After becoming emperor, Theodore refrained from going out, let alone to a banquet, to ensure that the imperial palace was stable.

This may have been his first official outing.

And these actions also showed other nobles that Theodore valued Rosenta.

He quietly lifted the lid of the box Theodore held out.

"This… … .”

“Since you like earrings and rings, I prepared them accordingly.”

It contained earrings with small purple jewels.