Chapter 146

In the end, Hayden’s flower boy outfit became more of a topic of conversation than Enria and Caldeon’s wedding attire. Everyone except the main couple of the wedding put their heads together to choose the formal wear Hayden would wear for the processional. Thanks to that, Caldeon was able to have the sight of Enria in her dress all to himself.

“If we add a corsage to this part here, it can cover the shoulders and give off a much more elegant feel.”

The perceptive madam noticed Caldeon’s eyebrow twitch as he sat on the sofa looking at Enria’s smooth shoulders; she immediately held up a white petal corsage to cover them. At that, Caldeon’s sharp, fierce eyes instantly turned into a peaceful gaze.

“That would be good.”

As Caldeon spoke with a satisfied expression, the madam beamed and began to talk about the next part to be adjusted.

However, Caldeon didn’t seem to hear a word the madam was saying; he was staring intently only at Enria’s face as she stood in the dress. Enria felt her face grow increasingly hot under his blatant gaze and tried her best to avoid his eyes.

At that moment, Belona suddenly called for the madam.

“Madam, come over here and see if this is possible!”

The madam excused herself from Enria and Caldeon and hurried over to where Hayden was. Left alone, a strange tension rushed in. Enria, somehow unable to meet Caldeon’s eyes properly, shifted her gaze elsewhere and glanced around. Perhaps because she wouldn’t meet his eyes, Caldeon rose from the sofa and approached her.

When she looked up at him with a heavily flushed face, Caldeon—who had reached her in no time with his long legs—softly caressed her shoulder with his index finger. It was the very spot the madam had said she would cover with a corsage. As Enria’s body flinched involuntarily at his touch, Caldeon’s hand moved up toward the nape of her neck.

“You’re beautiful, Enria.”

Somehow, his deeply lowered voice was strangely sexy. Enria’s already flushed face grew even hotter. When Caldeon’s large hand softly cupped her red cheek, Enria instinctively leaned her cheek into his palm. At that, this time, Caldeon’s hand flinched slightly. As his Adam’s apple bobbed significantly, Enria also instinctively swallowed hard, following his lead.

“I want to go back quickly.”

Because of Caldeon’s whisper—quiet enough that only Enria could hear—her face turned so red it seemed impossible for it to calm down. Under Caldeon’s blatant gaze, Enria looked down, not knowing what to do.

Just then, a cheer erupted from behind Caldeon. Enria and Caldeon turned their gazes simultaneously to look at the group surrounding Hayden.

“The madam has great skill.”

“Doing it this way feels fresh and good, doesn’t it?”

“It only works because it’s Hayden; if anyone else wore it, it would have looked strange.”

Because of the comments everyone made while looking at Hayden, Enria and Caldeon’s gazes both landed on him. Hayden was wearing a jacket that looked exactly like a chessboard. It was a jacket where white and black squares of appropriate size were tightly connected. Upon closer inspection, it looked like white squares had been cut out and meticulously attached to a black suit one by one with a white needle.

“How is it? It was Hayden’s idea.”

Silri smiled joyfully. The checkered jacket with slightly large squares looked incredibly cute and gentlemanly on a small child like Hayden. It matched his black hair and eyes so well that the corners of Enria and Caldeon’s mouths naturally lifted.

“To think he’d use a chessboard’s check pattern here after playing chess with Graum.”

As Rahar spoke to Hayden with an impressed expression, for some reason, Roseanne looked at him with her chin held high, as if feeling proud. When Rahar looked at her with a face asking what that expression was for, Roseanne smiled and said to him.

“I told you our kid is a genius, didn’t I?”

“Right, he’s Enria and Caldeon’s child.”

When Rahar replied with a snort as if it were trivial, Roseanne shot him a brief glare.

On top of Hayden’s head—who was standing with a dazed expression as if he had given up—Panz said with an annoyed look: [That’s enough, let’s go back. I am hungry.]

Roseanne asked in a whisper near Rahar’s ear with a puzzled expression.

“Aren’t spirits usually not supposed to get hungry?”

In response, Rahar simply shrugged his shoulders.

***

After Hayden’s formal wear—which had been the subject of much talk and trouble—was decided, the group returned to the Grand Duke’s castle and held a simple wine party. Spirits and humans mingled together, making conversation flourish; because Silri and Eva spoke in such great detail, even the spirits who hadn’t gone to the boutique were able to know the day’s events as if they had seen them.

Perhaps because he was so exhausted from the boutique, Hayden, the main subject of the overall conversation, fell fast asleep in Enria’s arms.

“We should probably put him in bed now,” Caldeon said, looking at the deeply sleeping Hayden.

When Enria nodded, Caldeon picked up a golden bell placed on one side of the table and called for the butler.

“Did you call, Master?”

The butler, who seemed to have been waiting outside, entered quickly, bowed, and asked.

“Where is Dale?”

Caldeon’s eyebrows rose slightly as if he wasn’t pleased that the butler who appeared was not Dale. However, before the butler could even open his mouth to answer, he commanded him to call Chavel since Hayden had fallen asleep. As the butler bowed quickly and went out, Enria mentioned to Caldeon what she had overheard from Chavel.

“Butler Dale went down to his hometown for a while because of his youngest son’s wedding. Did you perhaps not know?”

At her words, Caldeon raised his eyebrows, thought for a moment, and then asked Enria back with an “Ah.”

“Was that today?”

“No, it was two days ago. And he’ll be back in three days.”

“Ah.”

Caldeon nodded and said he had heard but forgotten. Enria remarked that she had a manageable time thanks to Dale, whom Caldeon had sent with her when he initially kicked her out of the Grand Duke’s castle, and asked him to treat Dale well.

“Who got kicked out? I just told you to take refuge for a while. And I was the one who sent Dale. He is the only one I trust…”

“I know. That’s why it was really helpful.”

She continued, saying that even though she forgot everything that happened in Endelie because of Groen, she wouldn’t have dared to think of surviving in that unfamiliar place on her own if it weren’t for Dale and Chavel. To that, Caldeon said he really had no intention of making things hard for her, and that at the time, it was the best method he could think of for Enria.

“If you ask my aide, you’ll know, but I agonized a lot over sending you there.”

“…”

“And I started regretting it the very next day after sending you.”

Enria’s eyes widened at Caldeon’s words that he had started regretting it the day after sending her to Endelie.

“Why?”

She asked because he hadn’t sought her out or contacted her at all until the fire broke out at the mansion, so she hadn’t thought even for a moment that he would have regretted it immediately. Then, suddenly remembering that Roseanne had developed the berserk suppressant faster than in the original story, she asked him with surprised eyes.

“Was it perhaps because you suffered due to the berserk state?”

To her question, Caldeon stared at her silently instead of answering. Only after a pause did he speak with a hint of laughter in his calm voice.

“Because I missed you.”

His mouth and voice were smiling, but his eyes were somehow damp and glistening. Enria gazed blankly at Caldeon for a moment, then gently rested her head on his shoulder. Caldeon kissed Enria’s hair.

“It wasn’t because you were suffering from the berserk state?”

When Enria asked again with a worried expression, Caldeon smiled tenderly and replied that it wasn’t.

At that, Enria raised her head and looked up at him.

“Then what was the reason Rose made the suppressant in such a hurry?”

“Well, since I sent you away without thinking of the consequences, I knew things would get complicated if I suddenly went berserk, so she made it in a rush.”

“Ah…”

“But even that wouldn’t have been made if Tearen hadn’t made such a fuss in the first place.”

“Lord Tearen?”

When Enria asked with her eyes slightly wide, Caldeon nodded to her and said it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Tearen had the biggest share in Roseanne making his berserk suppressant.

Only then did Enria realize the true reason Roseanne developed the suppressant faster than the original, and her lips stretched into a long smile.

Enria leaned her head on Caldeon’s shoulder again and said: “I should treat them to a meal when I have the time later.”

“They’re already eating through my castle’s food every day; what’s the point of a formal meal invitation?”

Caldeon said, kissing Enria’s head once more. Just then, Chavel, who had come to the wine party room at the butler’s call, cautiously called Enria.

“Um… Lady Enria.”

“Ah, you’re here?”

Enria, lifting her head from Caldeon’s shoulder, looked at Chavel, slowly rose, and handed over the sleeping Hayden to her.

“He seems to have been very exhausted today.”

“I see that. He’s usually a light sleeper, but he shows no sign of waking up at all.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“Don’t worry.”

Chavel smiled at Enria’s words and carefully carried Hayden out. Enria watched them until Chavel was out of sight, then turned her head to look at Caldeon.

“Shall we go to the bedroom and drink separately?”

At that, Caldeon’s eyes widened as if he were surprised. He looked at Enria with a subtly shocked expression for a moment, then, with a gaze that looked like he was about to devour her right then and there, he asked her: “Is this… a seduction?”