Llewellyn woke up feeling something amiss.

As soon as Llewellyn came to his senses, he sprang up and looked beside him. Rosenia wasn’t there.

“Rose?”

When Llewellyn called out her name and looked around the room like a madman, there was no answer.

Llewellyn leapt out of bed and came out of the bedroom in his robe.

Running almost everywhere and scouring the villa just to find a trace of Rosenia, their eyes met just as she entered the front door.

For a moment, there was a strange silence between the two.

A sigh of relief from Llewellyn broke the silence. Approaching her in a relaxed manner, he spoke.

“Rose, did you take a short walk? When I woke up, you weren’t next to me…”

Llewellyn held back the words that he was frantically looking for her. Strangely enough, the closer he got to her, the more he was afraid to reveal how crazy he was about her.

“…”

“Rose?”

Asked Llewellyn, confused that Rosenia was staring at him and didn’t answer.

A strange ominous feeling crept into his mind, but before long, Rosenia broke into a casual smile.

“You’re up? I’m about to go to the kitchen and prepare breakfast.”

There was a calmness to her voice. But Llewellyn saw her gripped hands quiver.

Something must have happened, but Llewellyn didn’t think Rosenia would tell him even if he asked her. So with a silent smile and pretending not to have notice, he replied.

“I’ll prepare breakfast, so you should go rest in the living room.”

However, Rosenia shook her head firmly and refused.

“No, I’ll make it today. Duke has cooked every time.”

“But…”

“It’s okay, so relax.”

Rosenia, who smiled as if drawing a line, passed by Llewellyn. Even if it was just a short distance, it was as if she didn’t want to reach him at all.

It was so strange that Llewellyn became puzzled. Up until yesterday, Rosenia had a very friendly attitude towards him.

Then, what on earth happened today, Llewellyn wondered. Suddenly feeling like there was a wall, he was freaking out internally.

Although very slowly, Llewellyn thought Rosenia was getting used to him like a light rain. He thought if he could just move a little forward after some time, then he might finally be able to capture her heart…

That was what Llewellyn had hoped.

“…”

Staring absently at her back, who was moving away, Llewellyn soon followed her with a determined look.

Llewellyn couldn’t let her slip out of his hands like this. If he couldn’t win her heart for good, he’ll die.

In order to suppress the mana congestion, Llewellyn must make contact with another person’s body and become deeply involved. But he couldn’t even imagine connecting with anyone other than Rosenia.

She was the only one for him. He’d rather die than give himself to someone else to live. However, he didn’t want to die either. If he dies, his time with her will be lost forever.

The thought of her forgetting him and meeting another man after he died,

When he thought about it, his blood boiled and he felt himself going crazy. The urge to smash and destroy everything in front of him arose.

Llewellyn never thought of himself as a violent person, but if it was related to Rosenia, when he imagined her being taken away by someone else, he felt like he would lose his reason and go mad.

Trying to calm down his violent mood, he stood at the entrance of the kitchen and quietly watched her.

Rosenia acted as if she didn’t notice his presence, however, her expression that she tried to hide was clearly visible to him. Somehow, he thought she looked uneasy and hurt.

Llewellyn clenched his fist unknowingly as soon as he saw her expression. An unmeasurable anxiety and wanting to reach her became muddled up inside him.

But right now, Llewellyn couldn’t pour everything out. Time and distance were needed between the two. He didn’t want to ruin his relationship with her after his hard-earned opportunity.

“Rosenia.”

Calling out to her, Llewellyn walked cautiously. He was very cautious as if he was dealing with a small bird, not knowing how she would react.

Nevertheless, Rosenia looked back at him in surprise, dropping a tomato in her hand. Llewellyn smiled bitterly.

From the start, Llewellyn didn’t think it’d be easy. To enter someone’s heart, and have them love you back. It was the most difficult task in the world.

However, at the very least Llewellyn wanted her to feel comfortable around him.

Swish.

Llewellyn bent down to pick up the tomato that had rolled at his feet. Although there wasn’t a scratch on it even after rolling on the floor, he thought it’d be awkward to eat it.

Rosenia flinched when Llewellyn threw it into the trash. More than the waste of a tomato, she seemed to be overly conscious of his every action and gesture.

It’d have been nice if it was because of the emotion that came from arousal. However, the emotions that shone beneath her deep pink irises were confusion and fear.

Llewellyn wanted to look past those emotions and see straight to her heart. He wanted to know what she was thinking. Did she meet someone by chance? Did someone else come to this villa beside him?

‘…Ah. Don’t tell me.’

A thought crossed his mind.

It was a long shot, but it wasn’t impossible. Although the Knight Commander is tight-lipped, there are plenty of ways to find out even if someone didn’t go through him.

After all, how long has he, the Duke of Rasiane, been gone? And to where?

There were a few servants Llewellyn kept by his side who were clever enough to easily find the answer to the question.

‘The question is who on earth did she meet and what did she hear? Is it Alex?’

He was the only one Llewellyn could think of that would be more interested in him going to the Hill family’s property than anyone else. Alex’s hatred for sorcerers was beyond his control.

Llewellyn had unknowingly come close to the answer, but soon, Rosenia’s voice scattered his thoughts.

“I thought I’d make a chicken and tomato stew.”

“Ah…”

In Llewellyn’s view, Rosenia was deliberately talking as if everything was fine. As if doing that would hide the confusion in her mind.

However, Llewellyn had already noticed early on that her mind was chaotic.

There was a bitter taste in his mouth. Smiling casually, Llewellyn approached the sink and washed his hands as he smiled at her. He had done so in an extremely polite manner.

“I’ll help too. That way we can finish quicker.”

“…Yes, of course…”

Rosenia smiled awkwardly and nodded. And because of that, Llewellyn’s heart sank like he was falling off a cliff.

Llewellyn suddenly realized how precious the many bright smiles Rosenia had given him were.

It was very hard for him to look at Rosenia, who was struggling to be near him while avoiding eye contact, and not reach out to her.

‘…’

While preparing the tomatoes, Llewellyn had a thought. If he experiences mana congestion again tonight, what will she do if he is on the verge of death?

Will she let him die?

Or will she save him again?

It won’t be until the sun goes down and night comes will Llewellyn have the answer to his question.

At night, without fail, Llewellyn was suffering from a high fever.

It was a wonderful timing, one that Llewellyn hadn’t anticipated.

Llewellyn looked at the ceiling in a daze and laughed. He wondered if he should go to Rosenia’s room and beg. Or he thought, maybe he should wait and see. Maybe she would be worried about him and come herself.

Truthfully, Llewellyn thought the likelihood of the latter was hopeless. Thinking to himself that although Rosenia had good feelings towards him, he didn’t think she cared enough about him to worry about him before she went to bed.

In a daze clouded by the fever, Llewellyn recited inwardly.

‘I hope you like me as much as I’m crazy about you.’

Llewellyn himself knew best how futile his wish was. It was a very one-sided love. Nonetheless, he didn’t care.

No matter how much time passes, his obsession for her will only grow as it drives him crazy.

“Rosenia.”

Llewellyn quietly called out.

“Rosenia…”

Calling out to her, he wished his voice would reach her like a miracle.

‘I’m a fool.’

Llewellyn berated himself. It was a wish that will never come true, he thought.

But the third time he called out her name, unexpectedly, a miracle actually happened.

Click-.

The door opened with a low friction sound, then a pair of small feet in slippers crept in.

Time very slowly passed. No, to Llewellyn that was what it felt like.

All the noise around him disappeared and even the starlight flowing through the window became silent. His heart, which seemed to have stopped for a moment, began to beat like mad.

Llewellyn opened his eyes wide and looked at her, at the miracle that came to him. The impossible had happened.

‘Have I died and gone to heaven?’

Llewellyn was so lightheaded that he had such a thought.

“Duke.”

Whispered Rosenia, standing by the bedside. Llewellyn, unable to answer, could only open his mouth. He wanted to say something, but his mind was as good as a blank sheet.

“As expected…I knew this would happen.”

Rosenia sighed deeply after checking his condition. At that moment, her face was filled with anxiety, worries, and affection for some reason.

Llewellyn, who saw it all in one breath, unknowingly shed tears. His heart was filled with emotions that were difficult to put into words.

“W-why are you crying?”

Flustered, Rosenia wiped the cold sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief. And then she wiped away his tears and placed her small hand on his cheek.

Llewellyn, staring absentmindedly at Rosenia, covered her small hand with his.

“Rosenia.”

With a languid tone, Llewellyn called out to her.

“Rosenia…”

Rosenia fell silent.

“Yes, Duke.”

Quietly answered Rosenia, still with a complicated look. However, she didn’t resist his hand.

Llewellyn was so moved by such a fact that he thought he could die with no regrets. Naturally, he didn’t want to die.

She had come to see him, so he didn’t want to die like this. Holding her hand tightly, he pleaded.

“Save me…”

“…”

“Please save me, Rose…”