* * *
The moment Henry realized he had been sleeping in Edwin’s embrace, he barely managed to stifle a scream and rolled his eyes slightly.
Everything before him—the rise and fall of Edwin’s chest, the gentle brush of his breath against his hair, and the faint pheromones lingering in the air—was enough to shake Henry’s sanity.
‘Why in the world am I clinging to this guy…?’
He hadn’t even realized it during his sleep, never mind waking up. Of all people, it was Edwin. He should never let his guard down around Edwin, even if he were sleeping next to the whole world.
“If you’re going to squirm like that, do you want to fall off?”
Henry, who had been wracking his brain thinking he was alone, froze at Edwin’s voice.
“When… did you wake up?”
“Since the moment you took a deep breath in your panic.”
It was as if they had both woken up at nearly the same time.
Henry twisted his head back, his expression still mirroring his earlier surprise.
“So why are you pretending to be asleep?”
“I was trying to be considerate.”
“Considerate?”
“I gave you time to get out because you seemed startled. But I didn’t expect you to stay clinging to me like this.”
Edwin’s tone was devoid of emotion, but it made Henry’s face turn bright red.
Henry wriggled free from Edwin’s embrace and sat up, feeling unreasonably warm in his ears as if he had scraped the floor.
Scratching his ear and fidgeting, Henry avoided looking at Edwin and looked around instead. The place he had been lying wasn’t far from where he had been sitting before falling asleep.
But the spot where they had both been lying was not the same place Edwin had been before; it was somewhere in between.
Henry couldn’t tell if he had moved into Edwin’s embrace or if Edwin had come to him.
Worried about what Edwin might say if he asked, Henry decided to bury the truth. It wasn’t important anyway. Just then, a question flashed through Henry’s mind.
‘Did I manage my pheromones even while I was sleeping?’
Having only recently started handling pheromones, he was still unsure about many things. Since this was something he couldn’t ignore, Henry pondered what to do and tentatively broached the subject.
“Did I… smell a lot?”
The question he had come up with, about whether he smelled a lot, seemed somewhat trivial. Edwin’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“If it was your sweat, yes, there was a lot.”
“…Is that all? Was there no pleasant scent or anything…?”
Henry asked for a more detailed answer, but as he spoke, he realized it might sound strange depending on how it was heard. His voice gradually trailed off.
“A good scent, huh? What kind of answer were you expecting from Edwin?”
“You always have a knack for doing pointless things at any given time.”
“…….”
Edwin dismissed Henry’s question without hesitation.
Henry was so taken aback that he worried he might have sounded like he was trying to seduce Edwin.
“Ask me later if I smell good after I’ve washed up. It’s not great right now.”
“Well, you’re truly a wonderful friend who doesn’t even offer a kind word, not even as a formality.”
Henry responded lightly, a mix of relief and resignation.
It might have been just a comment to make him feel better, but at least he had avoided any issues with his pheromones.
Henry stood up from his seat feeling better. Stretching his stiff body, he turned to Edwin.
“Did I have a seizure yesterday?”
This was like a greeting to confirm he hadn’t had one. Given the lack of pheromones and the setting, he hoped he hadn’t.
“Of course not.”
Once again, Edwin returned an answer that shattered Henry’s expectations. Edwin wasn’t interested in Henry’s concerns as he continued walking with indifference.
Henry, watching Edwin’s back as he walked away, felt distressed. He had come out separately thinking that being away from Edwin would prevent any seizures.
“Did you kiss my lips again?”
“Where are you going?”
As Henry was about to step forward to follow Edwin, who was disappearing behind the shadows cast by the cave, a sound of something hitting the wall was followed by a fist-sized beam of light piercing through the previously dark cave.
“What’s this?”
It was a moment that rendered his previous worry about how to enter the darkness pointless.
Although it wasn’t perfect, it was enough to see and move forward. Henry approached Edwin to get a closer look.
“Did you just break through the cave wall?”
“Look more closely before asking.”
Edwin reproached Henry for asking instead of observing directly.
Knowing Edwin’s unkind nature, Henry instead scrutinized the cave.
As he got a clearer picture of the light, his expression shifted from surprise to fascination, and finally to puzzlement.
“Someone must have implanted this artificially.”
It was a self-luminous sphere. Edwin had struck what seemed like the debris covering the sphere.
As Henry brushed off the remaining dirt from the sphere, its glow intensified.
“When did you find this?”
“Yesterday.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it yesterday?”
If he had known from the start, they might not have ended up staying put and falling asleep where they had landed.
Henry was both impressed by Edwin for discovering the sphere and slightly resentful for not mentioning it sooner.
However, Edwin ignored Henry’s reaction and continued to distance himself from him.
“You’re going to insist on going in there without purpose, so why should I have to say anything in advance?”
“So you’re doing this for my sake?”
“If you’re going to stay there, then don’t move separately.”
Henry pouted at Edwin’s expression of wanting to enter.
Although he never expected any kindness, he sometimes felt disappointed in situations like this.
‘Why did it have to be this person I got separated from?’
He found himself missing Sir Teher for no reason.
As Henry followed behind Edwin, he secretly sniffed his wrist.
Earlier, he had wondered if he had leaked pheromones all night, but fortunately, there was no sign of Edwin catching any scent.
However, there was a subtle trace of pheromones on his clothes.
‘When did this come out?’
Even though he was doing his best to keep the pheromone leak tightly controlled, he couldn’t pinpoint when it had seeped into his clothes.
Henry subtly slowed his pace to inspect his clothes.
The clothes, which had become a mess from rolling on the ground and sleeping on the floor, were covered in the smell of dirt.
“I want to wash up.”
It was a relief that Edwin hadn’t noticed his pheromones.
Muttering to himself with a sense of discomfort, Henry wished he could relax his stiff body in hot water.
Though it had only been a few days, he missed the mansion, and Henry failed to notice Edwin’s slowed pace.
“Why are you just standing there?”
Henry approached Edwin’s side but intentionally took a step past him and asked.
Edwin, who had been walking with his arms crossed, looked at Henry with the same indifferent gaze he had used to survey the cave.
“Your desire is amusing.”
Edwin blatantly scanned Henry from his face down to his body.
“After barely surviving, now you want to wash up?”
“Is it wrong to have such thoughts when feeling uncomfortable? I didn’t even ask you to bring me hot water, so why the sharp reaction?”
Henry, feeling somewhat wronged, snapped back.
Especially since he wanted to hide his desire to wash up to conceal his pheromones, his words came out more harshly.
“It means you’re still the same.”
As Henry went inside, Edwin, who had stopped, began moving again.
Their footsteps echoed through the cave, and Edwin’s muttered words resonated.
“I don’t have the mind to persuade you anyway, so think for yourself.”
Henry raised the white flag in this childish argument.
Originally, it was supposed to end with only Henry acting childish, but the situation seemed to have Edwin reacting similarly.
‘He didn’t even agree to listen to me…’
After hearing Edwin’s true feelings yesterday, Henry had no intention of pushing further.
‘Let’s find it quickly and get out.’
That was the priority now. The pheromones and discomfort were issues that could be resolved after leaving this cave.
Of course, finding the Pheromone Stone would be ideal.
As Henry walked around, examining his surroundings, Edwin suddenly pulled him backward by his waist.
Though Henry had been on high alert, the sudden action still surprised him.
He turned to Edwin with a look of silent reproach, questioning why he did that.
“Be careful.”
Before he even understood the meaning of Edwin’s words, Edwin had already drawn his sword and stabbed something.
At the soft, crisp sound of something shattering, Henry looked down. There, at his feet, was a black insect.
“It’s a poisonous insect.”
“Oh, thank you.”
If it hadn’t been for Edwin, Henry would have been bitten by that poisonous insect. Not knowing where or what danger might lurk, Henry was relying solely on Edwin’s help, like a child.
“I’m not much help.”
Feeling embarrassed, Henry scratched his nose and laughed. Even if he brought all his belongings, he wondered if he had anything to deal with poisonous insects.
In some ways, Edwin seemed more useful than the burdensome luggage tied to his words.
“I never expected much from you, who are weak and precious.”
* * *
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Edwin is twat here 😡
Thanks for the chapter
Go gooooo!!!
Y’all better find the things, I really want to get rid of the imprint asap
Agreed