Chapter 12
‘Of course I knew it was nonsense. Verified by the original author as a man without equals, the male lead can’t be a eunuch!’
In any case, even though others took over the role of being his parents, he was still treated like an adult ever since he was seven years old.
So, Llewellyn couldn’t complain to someone about not being able to sleep, or even had the chance to whine or cry. Rosenia was certain he had never been soothed to sleep like this.
Thinking about it made her feel sorry for him, and with a mournful look, she patted his shoulder more properly. Seeing her like this, he quietly spoke.
“There’s a look on your face like you’re pitying me.”
‘Ah, uh, I was caught…’
Haha.
As Rosenia laughed awkwardly and glanced away, his big hand reached over the back of her hand.
Caught off guard, Rosenia greatly flinched. His hand, which was as hot as ever, reminded her of the heat when they kissed.
When Rosenia tried to pull away, Llewellyn held her hand tightly. It was a gentle force, but she found herself unable to resist.
Thump, thump.
Feeling her heart beginning to beat rapidly, she swallowed her breath. Still holding her hand, Llewellyn stared at her and spoke.
“I like it, Rose, please pity me some more.”
“…Pardon?”
Rosenia stared at him with her eyes wide open at his unexpected remark. He turned his body sideways, then he pulled her hand in and kissed the back of it.
Chu.
There came a perverse sound. Her face flushed and she tightened her arm. The place where his lips had touched burned hot.
“It’s fine if Rose pities me. As long as I exist in your heart…”
“…”
Rosenia was a little surprised upon hearing his words.
Not convinced that Llewellyn was out of his mind, Rosenia thought perhaps he had a favorable impression of her.
And Rosenia was surprised that she was delighted at such a thought.
‘…Really, I didn’t want to fall for him…’
Finding it inevitable, at some point, Rosenia had become conscious of him.
But Rosenia thought her current feeling was far from love. At most it was doing a simple favor.
In other words, it was a feeling that could grow or shrink at any time. And Rosenia was hoping that she could get rid of that feeling.
Her ties with him, she hoped it would pass like a midsummer night’s dream.
Rosenia opened her mouth with an awkward smile.
“Hurry up and go to sleep. I’m heading upstairs to bed now.”
“Don’t go…”
“…You can fall asleep without me. Quickly close your eyes.”
Rosenia quickly closed his eyes and hurried away. But Llewellyn, who opened his eyes immediately, stared at her.
‘Ah, really?’
As Rosenia stepped away from the bed where he laid, she murmured.
“I’m really sleepy…Duke, quickly go to sleep. W-well, good night.”
And without waiting for his reply, Rosenia quickly turned her back and walked out of the bedroom.
Llewellyn’s expression, like an abandoned puppy, constantly replayed in her mind, but she had no choice. It was time for them to leave to their respective dreams.
There were times like this.
When Rosenia would wake up with a heart-wrenching feeling.
‘What happened…?’
Rosenia pulled back her blanket, got up, and blinked her eyes absently. It was not morning but the still of the night. It had only been an hour or two since she fell asleep.
‘Why is my heart beating so fast? Did I have a nightmare that I can’t remember?’
Sitting still with her hands on her stomach, for some reason she had an ominous premonition, so she got out of bed.
When Rosenia opened the door and went out into the hallway, her feet instinctively headed to the first floor where Llewellyn was.
Rosenia felt her heart beating faster and faster as she went down the stairs step by step. Finally, coming to the bedroom where Llewellyn was in, she hesitated a little before carefully opening the door.
With the thought of not wanting to wake him, Rosenia approached the bed very quietly to make sure he was sleeping well.
Then, as soon as Llewellyn came into her sight, she froze with astonishment at the groans that were heard.
“Ugh, heuk.’
“…Duke?”
Frozen in place and calling him in a quivering voice, Rosenia quickly hurried to his side.
“Duke! Are you all right?!”
“…Ro…se…”
Looking up at her with difficulty, Llewellyn called out her name, but it was cut short. His emerald eyes were in a state of disarray. With a pained look on his face, his expression twisted. A trail of tears were streaming down his cheeks.
“D-Duke…”
“Rose…it hurts. It feels like I’m dying.”
Llewellyn cried out in a distressed voice. At first glance, he was in a very serious condition.
Cold sweats were dripping down his eyes, and he cried so much that his eyes were red.
‘His trembling body, shortness of breath, and fever that is as hot as heated iron…Like this, what am I supposed to do?’
Her hand that was on his shoulder trembled with fear.
‘He could really die if I make a mistake.’
In the original story, Llewellyn had sex with Sierre when he was about to die. In other words, he was saved from the brink of death.
‘If I don’t help him…Really, he may lose his life. Something…I have to do something.’
With trembling hands, Rosenia held Llewellyn’s cheeks and hesitated for a moment. But soon she plucked up her courage and gently kissed his lips. In this situation, she waited for his mana to flow into her.
Not long after, the overflowing mana from inside him began to flow into her.
Rosenia stroked Llewellyn’s cheek to try and absorb more mana. At the same time, he slowly sent out his mana, which had begun to settle inside her. In this critical situation, rather than hurrying, she had to carefully absorb the mana.
‘How long has it been since we’ve done this back and forth of releasing and absorbing mana?’
Llewellyn gradually calmed down.
Rosenia slipped off her lips and looked at his complexion. He still looked distressed, but looked relatively more comfortable than before.
“Duke…”
As Rosenia touched his cold sweaty cheeks and spoke in a mournful voice, Llewellyn, who gently opened his eyes, looked vacantly at her.
“Duke, are you okay?”
“…I think you know.”
“What?”
“As to why I suffer this.”
“…!”
His words caught her off guard. She was taken aback, but tried not to show it.
Rosenia hadn’t thought of it. The fact that Llewellyn Rasiane had never told her about his mana poisoning.
‘He only said he was sick and needed help.’
…It was a secret that Duke Rasiane suffered from mana poisoning. Only very few people knew.
The reason why he suffers from mana poisoning was due to the divine power flowing inside him. Llewellyn Rasiane had a rare case of having both divine power and mana.
But divine power and mana were forces that collided with each other. The two forces continue to collide, unable to mix inside him, and the more ferocious tendencies of mana have started to congest.
That was the exact cause of Llewellyn mana poisoning.
‘The heroine Sierra, who could embrace that mana and turn it into divine power.’
With that ability, Sierra was able to absorb Llewellyn’s mana and turn it into divine power, thus quelling his mana poisoning.
But she couldn’t use that method. Because she didn’t have divine power. So she couldn’t completely cure him. Every time his mana overflowed, she could only suppress it.
“Sierra slowly turned Llewellyn’s immense mana into divine power, and made his whole being divine, but…’
That, Rosenia couldn’t. She wasn’t like the existence of Sierra.
Rosenia sighed and swept over Llewellyn’s messy hair. She had to simply come up with an excuse. About how she knew he suffers from mana poisoning.
“I’m a sorcerer…I can tell from the symptoms.”
“I don’t think all sorcerers would be able to notice it right away like you did, right?”
“That’s true, but I’m a good sorcerer, so it wasn’t hard to tell.”
“Is that so?”
“…Yes, it is.”
Rosenia guessed his condition must have gotten a lot better since he was so interrogative. She realized again how suspicious she looked in his eyes.
As Rosenia tried to get out of bed hoping that her pounding heart would calm down, Llewellyn caught her on the spot. No, he was about to. Before he could grab her, she quickly swung around and avoided him.
It must have been because Rosenia had been through this situation a lot…Llewellyn looked at her with a blank look. She avoided his gaze and spoke.
“I’ll stand watch and observe if you’re okay. Relax and have a good sleep.”
“…You’re going to protect me all night? Standing there?”
“So, can’t I?”
“Why do you go so far? Rose, you’re the sorcerer in the Mage Tower and the daughter of the Hill family.”
“I…”
Rosenia didn’t know what to say, so she hesitated. Today, Llewellyn was exceptionally sharp. As if he was trying to expose her.
‘Indeed, he’s a dangerous person.’
The tension that had loosened from worrying about him became tense again. Choosing her words carefully, she spoke.
“More than the fact that I’m the daughter of the Hill family and that you’re Duke Rasiane, people’s lives are more important.”
“…”
“If I don’t help…You might have died.”
Upon hearing that, Llewellyn smiled gently. For unknown reasons, it was an irresistible smile.
Llewellyn sat up slowly from his seat, reaching for her, and spoke.
“Well…you have to keep helping me. Is that right?”
Once again, Llewellyn smiled seductively.
“B-but…”
As her lips shuddered, she continued.
“You look fine now.”
“No way. There’s no way I’ll get better that quickly after a kiss.”
Replied Llewellyn with a brazen face. His hand, stretching toward her, shook as if he was asking to quickly hold her.
Rosenia naturally hesitated. If she held that hand and went to his side…Her heart was pounding with a premonition that something irreversible would happen.
“Duke, I’ll just stand here and watch you. I won’t leave, so rest assured.”
“…So if I start getting sick again, will you kiss me?”
His gaze stuck on her. He was like a wild beast, snatching at a chance to catch her.
Rosenia bit her lips, feeling like she was being hunted. She had no choice but to become cautious. However.
‘I know what kind of person I am.’
The wall of her heart that she had built against him, if it collapses…
At that time, maybe it’ll really be irreversible.
“Rose.”
Llewellyn, who called her name, asked again.
“If I’m sick and suffering too much, will you kiss me?”
“…”
After a moment’s thought, Rosenia let out a small sigh and answered.
“…Yes.”
Just a kiss…it’ll be okay Rosenia thought.
Llewellyn tilted his upper body toward her and asked another question.
“Then what about a hug?”
“…Hugging, to some extent…”
Another question came as soon as Rosenia nodded.
“What about feeling you?”
“Uh…what? Me?”
‘W-where?’
As Rosenia faltered and became alert, Llewellyn answered with a smile that was beyond seductive.
“Where I’m going crazy thinking of feeling, everywhere.”