RHFTY chapter 18

Chaeyi didn’t know what kind of spectacle this is in the middle of the night.

Suddenly, Leonard’s pheromones, with their faint blend of rich nuts and bittersweet dark chocolate, subtly mixed with the air.

At that exact moment, a naughty position from the embarrassing book he had just read flashed in his mind, making him cringe inwardly.

Chaeyi frowned even more as if to scold himself for such a wicked thought.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Could I have held you like this when we were kids?”

Of course, compared to back then, Leonard was now much taller, and his once fragile physique had become solid.

But the “unchanged” that Chaeyi mentioned wasn’t about that.

“I meant that your core hasn’t changed.”

Chaeyi poked Leonard’s chest with his finger.

Leonard’s eyelashes gently fluttered as his eyes closed for a moment.

“…That might be true.”

Leonard mumbled, falling silent for a moment, as if lost in memories of their long past.

He soon returned from his thoughts and met Chaeyi’s gaze.

“You haven’t changed at all, Chaeyi.”

“Well, this face still looks pretty young.”

“……”

“What?”

“…You really haven’t changed at all.”

Leonard’s trailing words, coupled with his narrowed eyes, carried a subtle nuance, but Chaeyi took it as a simple compliment.

Then, realizing his current situation, Chaeyi furrowed his brows again.

“Enough already, go away. You’re too close.”

“No.”

It was a refusal that came out as if expected, without a moment’s hesitation.

Leonard’s unwavering response, delivered with a firm gaze, left Chaeyi momentarily speechless.

So, does he expect us to sleep like this?

He glared at him, as if telling him to move aside, but Leonard didn’t budge.

In the end, a strange stubbornness took hold of Chaeyi, and he abruptly closed his eyes.

“Do whatever you want.”

But no matter how strong his willpower was, there was no way he could sleep properly with someone staring at his like this.

That’s what Chaeyi thought.

He underestimated himself. Chaeyi was much duller than he realized.

“…Chaeyi?”

He had been sure he would never fall asleep, muttering inwardly with certainty, but before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

The steady rhythm of his breathing indicated he was sound asleep, as usual.

Leonard, too, was astounded. He couldn’t fathom what kind of mindset Chaeyi had.

“Ha….”

In the end, Leonard, feeling pitiful, lay down beside his.

It felt like he was banging on a stone door that would never open, all alone.

Still, he felt pathetic for not being able to give up on Chaeyi.

“……”

Leonard gently placed his hand on Chaeyi’s chest, watching as it rose and fell with his breaths. He could feel his warmth and the beat of his heart. Using that feeling as a lullaby, he too closed his eyes.

The next morning, by the time Leonard had left early to attend to his duties, Chaeyi also woke up.

The sunlight tickling his eyes indicated that it was already morning.

‘What the… Did I fall asleep?’

He couldn’t remember what happened after he closed his eyes. Naturally so, since he had fallen asleep right away.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Chaeyi sat up and looked at the empty spot beside his.

Leonard was already gone.

In his place was a neatly written note on the nightstand, saying, “I’ll be back tonight. Make sure you have a good breakfast.”

Stretching out and doing some light exercises, Chaeyi hopped out of bed.

After a quick wash and changing into light clothes, he was ready to go out.

‘I should go for a morning walk today.’

He had finally gotten used to living in the mansion over the past two days, so he thought it was time to get moving.

He had always exercised every morning without skipping a day, but he hadn’t done so for the past few days. his body was starting to feel stiff.

‘Oh, I should send a letter to the tavern too…. I’ll send the letter first before heading out.’

He wrote a brief letter to the tavern, explaining his sudden resignation, and had it delivered by Lawrence.

While Lawrence took the letter to give to Leonard, Chaeyi stepped outside and breathed in the fresh morning air.

It was the start of a pleasant day.

‘Ah, since I’m out, I might as well take a quick look around the plaza.’

Blentz, where the Lancaster family’s main mansion was located, was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Combest.

Naturally, Blentz Plaza was likely the busiest place around, and the marketplace was surely full of fascinating sights.

But Chaeyi hadn’t even seen a glimpse of the plaza because he had arrived by carriage straight to the Duke of Lancaster’s mansion.

‘That would be a waste.’

Having come all this way, it would be a shame not to explore the capital properly. The Korean mindset of tackling even travel with military precision was making itself known in this world.

‘Leo said he’d be back in the evening, so I just need to explore and return before then.’

With an excited heart, Chaeyi walked down the path toward the mansion’s gate.

Coincidentally, there were no guards at the gate at that moment, and the head butler was occupied with other important tasks, unaware of the situation.

Moreover, the gate was left open to allow the easy passage of guest carriages, so Chaeyi had no trouble slipping out of the mansion.

Meanwhile, Leonard had returned to his office early in the morning to catch up on work, buried in a mountain of paperwork.

He was so focused, wanting to finish everything in time to spend the evening with Chaeyi, that he lost track of time.

Suddenly, the sound of someone knocking on the office door broke his concentration.

“My Lord, it’s Lawrence.”

“…Come in.”

As Leonard rubbed his tired eyes, Lawrence entered. After a formal greeting as a knight, Lawrence handed Leonard the document he had requested.

It was the personal information of a man named Roman Iseff.

“Roman Iseff. He’s already divorced due to domestic violence against his ex-wife… It’s said that he spends his days drunk, picking fights with anyone he comes across—a real scumbag.”

“……”

“He’s cut ties with his relatives over money issues, so even if he were to die in some unfortunate accident, no one would care.”

Lawrence delivered the cold assessment in a dry tone, a stark contrast to the way he used to fluster around Chaeyi, sweating and panicking.

However, those who knew Lawrence well would say, “This is more like him.”

He was Leonard’s closest aide, the official heir of the Lancaster family, and a highly reliable leader of the 1st Knight Order of Lancaster, known as the Pehera, one of the most recognized in the Astarius Empire.

As a fervent alpha with incredibly strong pheromones, the charisma he exuded outside was considerable.

Of course, Chaeyi, knowing nothing of this, thought of Lawrence as just a big guy who’s as harmless as a hamster….

“What would you like to do?”

Lawrence handed over the decision regarding Roman Iseff’s fate to Leonard.

Leonard casually glanced through the document and then tossed it onto the pile of papers on his desk.

The scattered papers lay in disarray.

‘How dare such a worm lay a hand on Chaeyi.’

Though Roman had already been punished, with his arm twisted, thrown to the ground, and mocked…

None of that mattered to Leonard.

What mattered was that Chaeyi had gone through such an ordeal during a time and place where he couldn’t see or protect him.

Leonard’s eyes glinted coldly as he cast another glance at the document.

“Have it inflated a bit, throw him in prison, and make it look like an accidental death.”

“Yes, understood. And…”

Lawrence suddenly pulled out a letter from his pocket with great care.

He handled it as if afraid it might get damaged.

“Sir Chaeyi asked me to deliver this letter… How should I handle it?”

As soon as the name was mentioned, Leonard’s expression softened almost reflexively.

He remembered that he had said he would send a letter to his workplace.

Leonard stared intently at the letter in Lawrence’s hand before speaking.

“From now on, don’t ask. Just send it directly to the scribe.”

He could have forcibly torn open the letter to check its contents or pretended to send it while secretly burning it, but Leonard didn’t want to control everything about Chaeyi to that extent.

So, Chaeyi could do anything and go anywhere.

As long as it was within his sight…

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

Suddenly, Lawrence’s voice pulled Leonard out of his reverie.

Leonard gestured for him to leave, and Lawrence, after a final nod, exited the office.

Leonard gazed at the now-empty room and wiped his face.

‘…When will the new identity tokens be issued?’

He had received permission for a proxy issuance when he had talked with Chaeyi late into the night yesterday.

So, he had submitted the application for the issuance first thing this morning, but there was still no news.

‘They’re slacking off. These guys.’

It wasn’t something that could be issued in half a day, but Leonard blamed the innocent parties.

‘Anyway, let’s finish up work quickly. We agreed to have dinner together again today…’

Just as he picked up his pen…

Thud!

Lawrence, who had left the office, hurriedly returned within a few minutes.

Without knocking, Lawrence burst in through the open door, his face pale with shock.

“Lord! There’s a crisis!”