“Young Master, is there anything else you nee—”
Kio, who had come in with a handful of supplies, froze mid-sentence.
The sight before him was none other than Ruite gently stroking Chester’s hair.
A heavy silence instantly descended, cooling the atmosphere of the room.
“Ah! I am so sorry! I opened the door out of habit… please, go back to… having a good time!”
“Kio, wait a minute!”
Ruite jumped up. Blue, startled by the sudden movement, hopped off the bed.
Ruite scrambled after Kio in a hurry.
‘A good time?’
Kio had clearly misunderstood something gravely.
Yet, Ruite figured this was actually for the best—it was the perfect excuse to escape the suffocating tension of that room.
Left alone in the wake of Ruite’s departure, Chester remained frozen in the same position.
Soon, a heavy sigh escaped his lips.
Habitually, he went to cover his mouth but ended up rubbing the back of his neck instead.
He could feel the scorching heat radiating from both his face and his skin.
Eventually, Chester’s treatment was completed without further incident, and after many twists and turns, the two of them now sat in the drawing room.
Perhaps Kio had already spread the word, for the Count and Countess looked upon Ruite and Chester with expressions of deep satisfaction.
“So, is the work at the Knight Order not too grueling? I heard the headquarters has a very high intensity of duty,” Teian remarked.
“It is, but fortunately, I have adjusted well,” Chester replied.
“It’s only been a few months, yet you’ve become so reliable. It’s truly wonderful to see.”
At Teian’s praise, Chester bowed his head in gratitude.
Ruite watched him with a look of renewed realization.
“Right, and you said the formal proposal is expected to be sent soon?”
“Yes.”
Pfft!
The moment Chester answered without a hint of hesitation, Ruite sprayed the tea she had been holding directly onto him.
Of course, she hadn’t intended to spit it out, and she certainly hadn’t intended for it to target Chester.
However, as luck would have it, Ruite had turned her head toward Chester at that exact moment.
“Oh my, Ruite…! What is wrong with you today?”
Reina reacted in shock, but Chester simply reached out to a nearby waiting servant.
He naturally took a dry cloth and wiped Ruite’s mouth first before attending to the droplets on his own face.
In a room full of people, the only one who didn’t seem flustered by the tea-spraying incident was Chester himself.
His calm, practiced demeanor—as if he had expected this—made even the Count and Countess swallow their internal bewilderment.
“I came today primarily to offer my greetings,” Chester said.
“Well, you were right to do so. I was curious how you were faring. I heard injuries are common, so you must always work with your health in mind,” Reina said warmly.
Chester’s shoulders flinched slightly at her kind words.
He seemed to dwell on her speech for a moment, looking somewhat dazed, before answering, “Yes, thank you.”
The conversation continued smoothly from there.
The Count and Countess led the discussion with friendly ease to ensure Chester didn’t feel uncomfortable, and Chester, though stiff at first, eventually began to blend in naturally.
“Give my regards to the Duke as well.”
“Yes. Thank you for being so understanding of my sudden visit today. I will take my leave now.”
Chester bid them farewell and then looked at Ruite.
He moved his lips to whisper silently.
‘Walk me out.’
Recognizing the mouthed request, Ruite gave a slightly awkward nod.
“Thinking about it, it’s not like you’re a three-year-old child. Isn’t walking you out a bit much?”
“A guest is leaving; it’s only right to see them off.”
Ruite and Chester walked side by side out of the mansion.
“Make sure you keep applying the ointment so the scratch from Blue doesn’t get infected.”
“I will. And Ruite,” Chester turned around the moment he stepped outside the Count’s estate.
Their gazes locked in the air across the main gate.
“I’m on vacation for a few days.”
“Really? I’m still on vacation every day,” Ruite joked, chuckling to himself.
“No, that’s not what I meant… actually, never mind.”
“Safe travels.”
“Right. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
As Chester gradually faded into the distance, Ruite turned back toward the mansion.
But then, a thought struck him as strange.
“See you tomorrow?”
Didn’t Chester explicitly say that?
There was no reason for them to see each other tomorrow, so what was that about?
Ruite pondered it for a moment before coming to a conclusion: Chester must have simply made a slip of the tongue.
The next day, the sun was exceptionally warm, as if promising a beautiful day.
The sunlight streaming through the window tickled Ruite’s face.
Waking up from the warmth, Ruite slowly lifted his eyelids.
Just as he stretched and regained consciousness, a familiar face entered his vision.
“…Chester?”
“…”
“Nah, there’s no way he’d be here.”
Why would he be at someone else’s house so early in the morning?
Ruite figured he wasn’t fully awake yet.
However, a chill ran down his spine.
Even so, the face he just saw was too vivid to be a mere hallucination, wasn’t it?
Ruite turned his head again.
“Ahem. You should probably get up. How long do you plan on sleeping?”
Ruite let out a silent scream and bolted upright in bed.
How was he supposed to explain this situation where the person who “couldn’t possibly be here” was sitting right there in a chair next to the bed?
“You… why are you here? This early?”
“I came to visit, and Lady Reina told me you hadn’t woken up yet and to wait here. Also, just to correct you, it’s not morning; it’s almost lunchtime.”
Chester gave a firm explanation while pointedly trying not to look at Ruite.
The messy silver hair and slightly puffy face were cute, and the glimpses of pale skin through the rumpled pajamas were… somewhat dangerous.
“Then you should have woken me up.”
“I just got here.”
“Ah, really?”
In truth, Chester had been in the room for nearly thirty minutes.
He hadn’t woken Ruite because he didn’t want to disturb his peaceful sleep—and because he had lost track of time while watching Ruite sleep.
“So, why did you come?”
Chester looked at Ruite as if the question itself was the strange part.
“I told you yesterday we’d see each other today.”
“You… you did say that.”
Ruite nodded stiffly. So Chester’s farewell really was a literal promise?
“Since I’m on vacation, I wanted to walk around a bit. So, come with me.”
“Were you always such an active person?”
Chester flinched.
“I told you. I lived inside the Knight Order for six months. Don’t you think it would be stifling?”
“Well, alright. I’ll wash up and change, so wait a bit.”
Ruite called for Kio as he left the room.
Upon hearing they were going out, Kio made a fuss about how the Young Master was finally deciding to leave his bed.
Soon, the two of them left the Count’s estate and entered Tehira Plaza.
Since it was the most bustling place in the capital, it was a natural destination.
“Chester, first we should—”
“Eat?”
“Do they teach mind-reading in the Knight Order?”
Chester let out a short laugh.
They headed into a decent nearby restaurant and took a seat.
Since they both clearly looked like nobility, they were guided to a private area.
Chester ordered a substantial amount of food without hesitation.
Sure enough, Ruite polished off a significant portion by himself.
Unaware that Chester was watching him with a pleased expression, Ruite simply enjoyed the meal.
“So, how do you usually spend your time in the Knight Order?”
“I stay in the dorms. I have to go back once my vacation is over.”
“Then you’re trapped inside the headquarters again?”
“Not exactly. That’s only for the first six months. After that, we can use our vacation time as we wish, though we don’t get much of it.”
After leaving the restaurant, they strolled through the streets.
Walking side by side, they naturally drew the attention of the crowd.
Due to their striking looks and aura, people couldn’t help but stare.
Some who recognized Chester even began to whisper.
As they navigated the crowd, Ruite’s gaze drifted into the distance.
His eyes widened the moment he spotted a familiar face.
“Chester.”
“What—”
Before Chester could even respond, Ruite grabbed his hand and pulled him to the side.
They ducked into a narrow gap between two buildings.
Standing face-to-face in the cramped space, the sudden proximity forced Chester to steady his breathing.
“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“Duke Callaway was just over there. If we kept walking, we would have run into him. Let’s stay here until he passes.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean ‘why’? It would be awkward for you to run into your father, wouldn’t it?”
That was why Ruite had acted instinctively the moment he saw Benger—to prevent an uncomfortable encounter.
“Ruite, I’m staying at the Duke’s mansion during my vacation. We live in the same house.”
“Oh.”
If they were already seeing each other at the mansion, a chance meeting in the plaza wasn’t a big deal.
Ruite’s ears flushed red with embarrassment at the oversight.
“Sorry. I did something unnecessary. Let’s go.”
“…No, on second thought, running into my father here might be a bit much.”
“Didn’t you just say it was fine?”
“It’s not fine. I don’t want to run into him.”
Chester shook his head firmly.
Consequently, Ruite, who had been about to leave, had to settle back into their position.
Thus, the two remained stuck in the narrow gap, facing each other at a very close distance.
While the bustling plaza was only a few steps away, it felt as though this small space was completely disconnected from the world.
“Ahem.”
Ruite gave a fake cough. He had acted on impulse, but this was a bit much.
He should have at least thought about the consequences.
If he had known he’d end up in this position with Chester, he wouldn’t have pulled him so hard.
“He… he should have passed by now, right?”
Ruite shifted his head around to check if Benger was still there.
In doing so, he unintentionally pressed even closer to Chester.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they looked as though they were embracing.
At that moment, Ruite froze.
An unfamiliar scent faintly brushed against the tip of his nose.
