That night, Erna sat blankly in her room.
Normally, she would have looked over the work she hadn't finished earlier, but today she didn't feel like doing so in the slightest. Erna's mind was filled with only one thought.
Callion returned to his old self.
It is a good thing. It is something that should be welcomed. Hadn't she seen clearly just how terrifying the poison remaining in his body was? To be precise, it was something only she knew. Fortunately or unfortunately, she was the only one he was aroused by.
"Ha."
Erna walked over to the bed, flopped down, and hugged a rolling cushion.
“Since the poison has been detoxified, he must surely be back to normal... Then...”
Erna thought about Callion from just a short while ago. The way he would frown and turn his head away the moment their eyes crossed, as if he didn't want to deal with her. His condescending attitude mercilessly points out flaws at the slightest opportunity, even during meetings. Callion was someone whose expression clearly showed he was dying of annoyance. What had I done to him? Why did I want to hear that damn praise? There was absolutely no way he would do that!
Erna buried her face in the cushion and screamed.
“Aaaaaaaah! Why! Why! Did I do that!”
She must have gone awry herself, having been too close to Callion lately. It seemed that the monster's poison was contagious. No, it had to be. It had to be. Otherwise, he couldn't explain why he had gone to ask Callion.
Erna, who had been rolling on the bed in embarrassment for quite a while, turned her head. She saw the clock hanging in the room. 10:05.
'It's too late!'
Erna sprang out of bed. However, when she reached for the doorknob, she couldn't help but hesitate. The embarrassment of yesterday held her back. She kept thinking of Callion's face. That look of disbelief and bewilderment. He had definitely made that face while looking at her.
“...”
After hesitating for a moment, Erna opened the door. She didn't want to be ridiculed. So, she thought it would be better to meet as if nothing had happened, even if she spoke as if nothing were wrong, and he asked why she was acting that way.
Creak. The moment she stepped into the room, Erna knew something was wrong. Callion was strict about time. Sometimes, he seemed like a living clock. But now, even though the appointed time had passed, Callion was nowhere to be seen. It was the first time this had happened.
Erna's mind became a mess again. The detoxified poison. The expression that had been looking at her.
'Callion must have been embarrassed, too.'
He must have been just as embarrassed by his past actions as I am. He felt ashamed, and perhaps even loathed himself. Hadn't he lusted after and clung to someone he didn't even like?
'So... did he not come at all?'
Erna's shoulders slumped. She could understand. Just as she had writhed in shame, Callion might be silently pounding his cushions in his room right now.
Erna looked around the couple's bedroom. Until recently, she had felt comfortable and happy being alone, but strangely, being alone here now felt awkward and embarrassing.
Erna, who was about to return to her room, looked at the table next to the sofa. It was piled high with documents and stationery she had placed there.
“...”
Since when has she kept them here like this? She was someone who usually disliked putting her belongings elsewhere. Yet now, this place was filled with her things, as if it were another space she felt comfortable in.
Erna approached the table, opened her arms, and hugged as many documents as she could. Then, she quickly began moving them to her room.
Erna began to erase the traces of herself remaining in the couple's bedroom, as if to wipe away her embarrassment, thinking that Callion probably wanted the same.
Chapter 8. First Night
"I'm back!"
As the Grand Duke's castle came into view, Cedric, standing beside Callion, shouted with a deliberately exaggerated voice and gestures as if he were overjoyed to have returned. However, contrary to Cedric's expectations, Callion showed no reaction. He merely stared blankly at the castle before turning his gaze away with a complex expression.
'That's strange.'
It had been a few weeks since Callion started acting strangely, so it wasn't surprising that it happened today. However, starting three days ago, Callion had been displaying a different attitude and tormenting Cedric.
Three nights ago, a message came from the Knights. It was a report that creatures presumed to be the same type of monsters that had appeared in Haldis last time had reappeared. Fortunately, there were fewer than ten of them this time, so the local security forces had killed them all. Just as Cedric was about to wrap up the report, saying it was a relief, Callion snatched it away in a flash and spoke.
"I'm going to check it out. Follow me."
"No. I can't. I have a lot of work to do."
I will review it first!
“At least wash up...”
“The knights have already swarmed out. It would be faster and more pleasant for you to wash up in the Grand Duke’s room!”
Sure enough, just as Cedric had predicted, Callion showed no reluctance to return to his quarters. However, Cedric put up an impenetrable defense. He was already exhausted from the past three days. If he were to be tormented by Callion's nagging until tonight, he would likely collapse.
"Please go back now! Get some good rest!"
Fortunately, Cedric succeeded in sending Callion out of the order with the help of the surrounding knights. This was because the knights, too, had sensed that Callion had been on edge for the past three days. Callion had to return to his room, leaving behind the cheers of the knights who were celebrating that they could finally get some rest after driving him out.
The room he returned to after three days was exactly the same. Thinking he should wash up first, he went into the bathroom.
"Hmm?"
Then, Callion noticed a wound near his elbow. Thinking about when it had occurred, it appeared to have been sustained when he caught the wolf that had remained in the forest. It didn't even tickle, let alone hurt, so he hadn't even realized it was there. However, perhaps because the scratch was large, it looked quite serious at first glance.
After finishing his shower, Callion got dressed and looked at his watch. 9:50. He listened intently to the door leading to the master bedroom. The door leading to the hallway was well soundproofed, but the inner door was just an ordinary door, so he could feel the presence inside if he listened closely.
“...”
However, no matter how hard he concentrated on looking for signs of life on the other side, he couldn't hear any sounds of movement.
'Hasn't she arrived yet?'
Callion settled down right in front of the door and focused on any signs of movement on the other side. His eyes alternated between the door and the clock. And finally, the ten o'clock he had been waiting for arrived.
“...”
He expected to hear the sound of the door opening, but the other side was still quiet.
'Why is she not coming?'
Except for the first time, Erna had never been late for the promised time. It was probably because she didn't want to hear him tell her to keep to the schedule. Callion's gaze now rested entirely on the clock. Three minutes, four minutes, five minutes. And ten minutes.
“...”
He felt that something was wrong. There was no way Erna would be ten minutes late.
'Could it be that the news of my return hasn't been conveyed yet?'
In that case, she might not come to the couple's bedroom. Although he thought it was only natural, Callion felt a strange sense of disappointment. Couldn't she just come even if she had no work? After all, these days the couple's bedroom had become like their office. So much so that they kept more documents and writing utensils there than in the bedroom. That is why Erna often came early to work as well. To think she still hadn't come.
Callion stood up and grabbed the doorknob.
“...”
Then he remembered what he had said when he last came out of the room.
'Shit.'
Why did I do that back then? It’s not like we’re not going to see each other anymore. No, not just seeing each other, but we’re going to keep sleeping together.
Feeling embarrassed by the fact that the emotions he had felt all this time were his own and not caused by poison, he said something he didn't mean. If he were to see Erna again now, what kind of eyes would she be looking at him with?
The image of her approaching him and asking if she was pretty kept flickering before his eyes. It was the same smile she had given to her people earlier that day. Come to think of it, it was also the first time Erna had ever spoken to him with a smile.
Callion broke out in a cold sweat. He felt like he had made a huge mistake. Unable to hold back any longer, he opened the door to the master bedroom. Creak. As he stepped inside, the air, which had become familiar to him by now, enveloped him.
The room was exactly the same. Warm air. The refreshing scent of herbs. A neatly made bed. But...
“...!”
His eyes widened as he turned his head to survey the room. The table next to the sofa was the space Erna used. That is why the documents Vanessa had recently sent were piled high on it. Once, while adding more documents to the stack, the pile tipped over, knocking over a cup placed nearby and smudging the ink all over the papers. He had noticed that she had been more careful since then and had stacked them neatly.
The documents had vanished without a trace.
It wasn't just the documents that had disappeared. Her pen, too. Her ink bottle, her paperweight, and even the books she occasionally read. Every single one of Erna's belongings that had filled the room had vanished without a trace.
“Why...?”
Flustered, he looked around further just in case, but there was no trace of Erna anywhere. Then he looked at his desk. There lay his pen, which Erna had taken sometime ago and used as if it were her own.
As if saying she would return it since she no longer needed it.
The moment he saw it, Callion couldn't think straight. His body moved before his mind. He knocked on the door leading to Erna's room.
“Erna!”
He didn't even realize that he was calling her name.
Normally, she would have looked over the work she hadn't finished earlier, but today she didn't feel like doing so in the slightest. Erna's mind was filled with only one thought.
Callion returned to his old self.
It is a good thing. It is something that should be welcomed. Hadn't she seen clearly just how terrifying the poison remaining in his body was? To be precise, it was something only she knew. Fortunately or unfortunately, she was the only one he was aroused by.
"Ha."
Erna walked over to the bed, flopped down, and hugged a rolling cushion.
“Since the poison has been detoxified, he must surely be back to normal... Then...”
Erna thought about Callion from just a short while ago. The way he would frown and turn his head away the moment their eyes crossed, as if he didn't want to deal with her. His condescending attitude mercilessly points out flaws at the slightest opportunity, even during meetings. Callion was someone whose expression clearly showed he was dying of annoyance. What had I done to him? Why did I want to hear that damn praise? There was absolutely no way he would do that!
Erna buried her face in the cushion and screamed.
“Aaaaaaaah! Why! Why! Did I do that!”
She must have gone awry herself, having been too close to Callion lately. It seemed that the monster's poison was contagious. No, it had to be. It had to be. Otherwise, he couldn't explain why he had gone to ask Callion.
Erna, who had been rolling on the bed in embarrassment for quite a while, turned her head. She saw the clock hanging in the room. 10:05.
'It's too late!'
Erna sprang out of bed. However, when she reached for the doorknob, she couldn't help but hesitate. The embarrassment of yesterday held her back. She kept thinking of Callion's face. That look of disbelief and bewilderment. He had definitely made that face while looking at her.
“...”
After hesitating for a moment, Erna opened the door. She didn't want to be ridiculed. So, she thought it would be better to meet as if nothing had happened, even if she spoke as if nothing were wrong, and he asked why she was acting that way.
Creak. The moment she stepped into the room, Erna knew something was wrong. Callion was strict about time. Sometimes, he seemed like a living clock. But now, even though the appointed time had passed, Callion was nowhere to be seen. It was the first time this had happened.
Erna's mind became a mess again. The detoxified poison. The expression that had been looking at her.
'Callion must have been embarrassed, too.'
He must have been just as embarrassed by his past actions as I am. He felt ashamed, and perhaps even loathed himself. Hadn't he lusted after and clung to someone he didn't even like?
'So... did he not come at all?'
Erna's shoulders slumped. She could understand. Just as she had writhed in shame, Callion might be silently pounding his cushions in his room right now.
Erna looked around the couple's bedroom. Until recently, she had felt comfortable and happy being alone, but strangely, being alone here now felt awkward and embarrassing.
Erna, who was about to return to her room, looked at the table next to the sofa. It was piled high with documents and stationery she had placed there.
“...”
Since when has she kept them here like this? She was someone who usually disliked putting her belongings elsewhere. Yet now, this place was filled with her things, as if it were another space she felt comfortable in.
Erna approached the table, opened her arms, and hugged as many documents as she could. Then, she quickly began moving them to her room.
Erna began to erase the traces of herself remaining in the couple's bedroom, as if to wipe away her embarrassment, thinking that Callion probably wanted the same.
***
Chapter 8. First Night
"I'm back!"
As the Grand Duke's castle came into view, Cedric, standing beside Callion, shouted with a deliberately exaggerated voice and gestures as if he were overjoyed to have returned. However, contrary to Cedric's expectations, Callion showed no reaction. He merely stared blankly at the castle before turning his gaze away with a complex expression.
'That's strange.'
It had been a few weeks since Callion started acting strangely, so it wasn't surprising that it happened today. However, starting three days ago, Callion had been displaying a different attitude and tormenting Cedric.
Three nights ago, a message came from the Knights. It was a report that creatures presumed to be the same type of monsters that had appeared in Haldis last time had reappeared. Fortunately, there were fewer than ten of them this time, so the local security forces had killed them all. Just as Cedric was about to wrap up the report, saying it was a relief, Callion snatched it away in a flash and spoke.
"I'm going to check it out. Follow me."
"No. I can't. I have a lot of work to do."
Cedric begged, crying, but Carillon was adamant. Since he couldn't let Callion go alone, Cedric had no choice but to follow Callion with the 1st Knight Order, leaving behind the mountain of work.
When he arrived at the village to which the report had been made, they had already cremated the bodies. For some reason, Callion looked extremely disappointed at those words.
"Maybe at least one is still alive."
“I heard they killed it all. But more importantly, what do you plan to do with the living monsters you’ve captured?”
“...I just wanted to check something.”
After answering that way, Callion never revealed what he wanted to verify. Then, the next day, Callion entered the forest, saying he would search for any remaining monsters. However, there were no more monsters. There was only a single starving wolf.
In the end, the Knights returned to the Grand Duke's castle without any significant gains.
"We will put it away for you, so please go back and rest."
Cedric quickly snatched Callion's reins and handed them to another knight. Then, he pushed him from behind as if urging him to go. For some reason, he felt that if he didn't do so, Callion would not return to his room and would stay here instead.
“It seems there are still documents left to review...”
When he arrived at the village to which the report had been made, they had already cremated the bodies. For some reason, Callion looked extremely disappointed at those words.
"Maybe at least one is still alive."
“I heard they killed it all. But more importantly, what do you plan to do with the living monsters you’ve captured?”
“...I just wanted to check something.”
After answering that way, Callion never revealed what he wanted to verify. Then, the next day, Callion entered the forest, saying he would search for any remaining monsters. However, there were no more monsters. There was only a single starving wolf.
In the end, the Knights returned to the Grand Duke's castle without any significant gains.
"We will put it away for you, so please go back and rest."
Cedric quickly snatched Callion's reins and handed them to another knight. Then, he pushed him from behind as if urging him to go. For some reason, he felt that if he didn't do so, Callion would not return to his room and would stay here instead.
“It seems there are still documents left to review...”
I will review it first!
“At least wash up...”
“The knights have already swarmed out. It would be faster and more pleasant for you to wash up in the Grand Duke’s room!”
Sure enough, just as Cedric had predicted, Callion showed no reluctance to return to his quarters. However, Cedric put up an impenetrable defense. He was already exhausted from the past three days. If he were to be tormented by Callion's nagging until tonight, he would likely collapse.
"Please go back now! Get some good rest!"
Fortunately, Cedric succeeded in sending Callion out of the order with the help of the surrounding knights. This was because the knights, too, had sensed that Callion had been on edge for the past three days. Callion had to return to his room, leaving behind the cheers of the knights who were celebrating that they could finally get some rest after driving him out.
The room he returned to after three days was exactly the same. Thinking he should wash up first, he went into the bathroom.
"Hmm?"
Then, Callion noticed a wound near his elbow. Thinking about when it had occurred, it appeared to have been sustained when he caught the wolf that had remained in the forest. It didn't even tickle, let alone hurt, so he hadn't even realized it was there. However, perhaps because the scratch was large, it looked quite serious at first glance.
After finishing his shower, Callion got dressed and looked at his watch. 9:50. He listened intently to the door leading to the master bedroom. The door leading to the hallway was well soundproofed, but the inner door was just an ordinary door, so he could feel the presence inside if he listened closely.
“...”
However, no matter how hard he concentrated on looking for signs of life on the other side, he couldn't hear any sounds of movement.
'Hasn't she arrived yet?'
Callion settled down right in front of the door and focused on any signs of movement on the other side. His eyes alternated between the door and the clock. And finally, the ten o'clock he had been waiting for arrived.
“...”
He expected to hear the sound of the door opening, but the other side was still quiet.
'Why is she not coming?'
Except for the first time, Erna had never been late for the promised time. It was probably because she didn't want to hear him tell her to keep to the schedule. Callion's gaze now rested entirely on the clock. Three minutes, four minutes, five minutes. And ten minutes.
“...”
He felt that something was wrong. There was no way Erna would be ten minutes late.
'Could it be that the news of my return hasn't been conveyed yet?'
In that case, she might not come to the couple's bedroom. Although he thought it was only natural, Callion felt a strange sense of disappointment. Couldn't she just come even if she had no work? After all, these days the couple's bedroom had become like their office. So much so that they kept more documents and writing utensils there than in the bedroom. That is why Erna often came early to work as well. To think she still hadn't come.
Callion stood up and grabbed the doorknob.
“...”
Then he remembered what he had said when he last came out of the room.
'Shit.'
Why did I do that back then? It’s not like we’re not going to see each other anymore. No, not just seeing each other, but we’re going to keep sleeping together.
Feeling embarrassed by the fact that the emotions he had felt all this time were his own and not caused by poison, he said something he didn't mean. If he were to see Erna again now, what kind of eyes would she be looking at him with?
The image of her approaching him and asking if she was pretty kept flickering before his eyes. It was the same smile she had given to her people earlier that day. Come to think of it, it was also the first time Erna had ever spoken to him with a smile.
Callion broke out in a cold sweat. He felt like he had made a huge mistake. Unable to hold back any longer, he opened the door to the master bedroom. Creak. As he stepped inside, the air, which had become familiar to him by now, enveloped him.
The room was exactly the same. Warm air. The refreshing scent of herbs. A neatly made bed. But...
“...!”
His eyes widened as he turned his head to survey the room. The table next to the sofa was the space Erna used. That is why the documents Vanessa had recently sent were piled high on it. Once, while adding more documents to the stack, the pile tipped over, knocking over a cup placed nearby and smudging the ink all over the papers. He had noticed that she had been more careful since then and had stacked them neatly.
The documents had vanished without a trace.
It wasn't just the documents that had disappeared. Her pen, too. Her ink bottle, her paperweight, and even the books she occasionally read. Every single one of Erna's belongings that had filled the room had vanished without a trace.
“Why...?”
Flustered, he looked around further just in case, but there was no trace of Erna anywhere. Then he looked at his desk. There lay his pen, which Erna had taken sometime ago and used as if it were her own.
As if saying she would return it since she no longer needed it.
The moment he saw it, Callion couldn't think straight. His body moved before his mind. He knocked on the door leading to Erna's room.
“Erna!”
He didn't even realize that he was calling her name.
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