Chapter 23

Llewellyn thought,

If he can never see Rosenia again at this rate, he wasn’t sure if he could continue living.

As the years went by, his feelings toward her grew into an obsession.

Actually, Llewellyn himself couldn’t distinguish exactly what those feelings were.

It was a kind of affection, a longing, an obsession.

But, what was clear to him was that he couldn’t continue living if he couldn’t see her.

Thinking that he would never see her again, his mind would reminisce of their time together. It drove him crazy. Living had become hell. Originally, he had felt that life was a little boring, but it had changed to something far worse after he got to know Rosenia Hill.

‘Damn that Adrian Hill.’

Llewellyn blamed Adrian for everything. Forgetting his dignity as the Duke of Rasiane, he had sent many courteous letters to Rosenia, yet they were all ignored.

One day, in a fit of anger, Llewellyn had sent a marriage proposal to Rosenia. Without consulting any of his retainers.

Llewellyn knew. It was crazy. But, acting crazy had become the norm for him.

[If you want to go down in history as the first groom to go to their own wedding as a corpse, you can continue saying you want to marry my sister.]

That was all Adrian Hill wrote back. There wasn’t a single line from Rosenia. Llewellyn had expected it.

‘Rosenia.’

Llewellyn was sure that she didn’t even know he existed.

‘No, she knows who I am. Who the Duke of Rasiane is.’

Four years ago, they made eye contact at the palace banquet, so Llewellyn thought she would at least recognize his face. However, it was just that. He knew he was nothing to Rosenia Hill.

The fact that it’d remain unchanged forever made him go even crazier.

There were times where Llewellyn would suddenly have a panic attack with a strong longing desire. Such moments when he felt unfamiliar even to himself.

But, Llewellyn couldn’t help it.

“Rosenia, she’ll stay at the villa?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

Thus, four years had passed since that summer.

Llewellyn headed south again with a slight hope.

When Llewellyn arrived, a curtain of rain began to pour from the dim sky.

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Llewellyn was lost in thought underneath the pouring rain.

The four years that Llewellyn couldn’t see Rosenia seemed as if it never existed. It was befitting of the expression ‘time spent as a living corpse.’

How much has she grown in these four years?

How tall is she now, and has her hair gotten longer? Has her youthful face matured?

How much more beautiful is Rosenia?

Llewellyn was very pleased with his wet appearance in the rain.

With such a poor look, Llewellyn thought he was going to win Rosenia’s sympathy.

‘I met her when I turned into a dog, and she was definitely a sweet person. She definitely won’t ignore how miserable I look in the rain.’

When Llewellyn was chuckling to himself, at this moment,

“…?”

Suddenly, his heart throbbed with pain. He didn’t think it was because he was so nervous with anticipation to meet Rosenia.

At the stabbing pain, Llewellyn clenched his teeth and grabbed his left chest.

Heuk.

Llewellyn found himself suddenly gasping for air. His knees fell to the ground.

Something was strange.

‘This situation, it’s probably…’

[Remember, your grace.]

[Yes, master.]

[Until you turn twenty five, you can control the mana congestion with your own magic, but after that, you need another way.]

[Another way?]

[Someone has to absorb the mana that is colliding against your divine power. The way to absorb it is…]

[…]

It left him speechless at the time.

Llewellyn smiled deprecatingly, bending his upper body at the painful burning sensation.

For it to happen now of all things.

The fever that began to soar, the mana that seemed to burn his blood vessels, and the feeling of every nerve and muscle in his body screaming.

Llewellyn gasped for air as he collapsed to the ground. Even now it was very painful, but he knew it was just the beginning. He couldn’t understand why he was experiencing mana congestion now even though he wasn’t twenty five years old yet.

‘Did master make a mistake? No, he’s not someone who would make this kind of mistake. So… this is, ah, no way. Is this Adrian Hill’s doing?’

The iron gate was open. It was strange that the gate, which had always been tightly closed, was open. Llewellyn had thought Rosenia might have forgotten to close it.

Llewellyn never expected it to be a trap.

Although the last year had been relatively calm, Adrian Hill had apparently remained vigilant. Adrian was still keeping an eye on him. He smiled coldly.

As soon as Llewellyn had crossed the iron gate of the villa, he noticed a difference in the flow of mana. It was strange, but it was a minor change, so he thought little of it. The flow of mana has always been unpredictable.

‘But, this…’

Llewellyn didn’t expect it’d stir his mana congestion.

Naturally, Adrian Hill had done something around here. When Llewellyn approached, the mana inside of him began to run wild.

Llewellyn knew that if he didn’t get help in his current state, he would eventually die.

‘Before that happens, I can contact my master and the knights. But…I won’t be able to meet Rosenia.’

Patter, Patter, Patter!

Llewellyn heard light footsteps running in the soaked ground from afar.

His heart, which had been throbbing painfully, began to shake. He could tell who the footsteps belonged to. He believed it to be fate.

‘Rosenia. She’s here.’

With his face in the wet ground, his lips slipped into a smile.

‘Damn that Adrian hill, if he wants me to choose between giving up or dying, I’d rather die.’

Half mad, Llewellyn thought as such.

‘If I can never see her, what’s the difference between dying and remaining nothing to her?’

So, Llewellyn decided to stay here and leave everything to her.

‘From this point, my life is in her hands. Even if I die, I’ll not blame her.’

Llewellyn was determined. To risk his life. For Rosenia.

In some way, Llewellyn thought dying would be fine. No, he was ecstatic. He could die by her side.

Squish.

The constant footsteps stopped in front of him. He could feel her gaze looking at him cautiously.

Llewellyn had finally received her attention.

At this moment, Llewellyn Rasiane felt extremely happy.

--------

It was a little past nine in the morning and Rosenia was still fast asleep.

Llewellyn was motionless beside her, looking at her with an endless affection.

“Umhm…”

As Rosenia stirred herself awake, Llewellyn approached the windows with the curtains and opened it.

However, the sunlight coming through the room was so bright that Llewellyn was worried it’d hurt Rosenia’s eyes.

So, Llewellyn left the window open but released the thin curtains again.

Because of this, it kept the bright sunlight from coming in while also not stopping the flowing scent of roses.

The scent of roses seemed to have made Rosenia’s nose twitch. She drew in a deep breath. Before long, her quivering eyelids slowly lifted.

“…?”

Looking at the ceiling and blinking, Rosenia felt as if she was lost in a dream for a moment.

But soon, Rosenia came to her senses as she sprang up and looked around. Then, her eyes met Llewellyn, who was standing by the window.

“…Duke?”

In a half asleep state, Rosenia called out to him. Llewellyn, in a serene manner, responded with a smile.

“Uh, when did you wake up? What time is it now?”

Asked Rosenia with awkwardness, lifting the blanket up to her chest. She had almost gotten up without hesitation.

“It’s 9:45 in the morning.”

With admiration, Rosenia spoke.

“Wow! You woke up in the morning!”

Rosenia seemed very pleased with the fact. Instead of approaching her, Llewellyn reached out his hand. It was a motion for her to come to him.

But as Rosenia hesitated and didn’t get up, Llewellyn, with a yearning smile, calmly approached her.

“D-don’t come.”

“Why?”

“Well, I…I’m not wearing anything right now…”

For a moment, Llewellyn was puzzled by her words. She seemed to have belatedly realized the flaw in what she had just said. They have already seen each other’s naked bodies.

With a solemn expression, Llewellyn made a suggestion.

“Why don’t you spend the whole day naked? I think this is the Garden of Eden. Maybe we’ll get used to each other’s naked bodies.”

Rosenia’s jaw dropped at the ridiculous suggestion.

“Are you going to shame me to death?”

“You’re ashamed?”

“Of course!”

“I see. I think that’s an even better idea.”

“…?”

Rosenia tilted her head, wondering what he meant. Then, Llewellyn, who had approached her at some point, grabbed her.

“Ack!”

Rosenia, who was suddenly lifted up, gave a shrill scream. Her soft naked body gave off a luster in the sunlight.

With great care, Llewellyn slowly dressed her in a gown and took her over by the window.

“Why the window…”

Asked Rosenia in a perplexed voice, tucking the side of her hair behind her ear as Llewellyn drew open the yellow curtains.

Soon, Rosenia’s eyes slowly widened at the scenery that came into view.

The roses, which were still but buds up until yesterday, were magnificently in full bloom.

“Wow, the roses…It finally bloomed!”

Her eyes twinkled in awe. The roses in full bloom swayed along with the wind as their fragrance scattered in the air.

The morning breeze came through the open window, carrying the fresh scent of roses. As Rosenia gently closed her eyes and took in the smell, a smile appeared on her face.

“The scent makes me feel good every time.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Rosenia looked back at him with a big smile. However, her body stiffened and she lowered her head abashedly soon after. His intense gaze was to blame.

“W-why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because you’re pretty.”

“Ah, really…”

Rosenia muttered to herself, wondering how someone with such deadly beauty can utter such words at another person. Her pouty expression was so lovely that Llewellyn couldn’t stand it any longer.

Llewellyn held her up a little above him, then raised his head and kissed her lips.

Kiss.

Kissing her gently, Llewellyn slightly licked and bit her plump lower lip just enough so it wouldn’t hurt. She let out a distressed voice.

“This early in the morning…!”

“It’ll just be a kiss.”

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“…!”

“Don’t you have to eat? The Rosenia who is always hungry.”

At the words that sounded like teasing, Rosenia’s face turned red as if she had just suffered a defeat. Llewellyn thought her quivering look was adorable. He wanted to lay her down in bed at this rate, but held back.

Instead, they sat on the window sill and softly kissed each other for a very long time.

The kiss tasted like roses. Llewellyn felt like he would become drunk under that sweetness. No, maybe he was already drunk.