* * *
Klen then picked up a fork and knife and began slicing into the large piece of roast pork.
“Ah!”
“…”
He didn’t forget to act out the scene, either.
As if the meat had burned him, he hastily pulled his hand away and shook it.
Anyone would think he’d scalded himself, and his fingertips had even turned red—but I wasn’t even slightly concerned.
That level of heat wouldn’t leave a mark.
I could’ve done it myself.
Why go that far…?
“Are you all right?!”
“I’m fine.”
He waved off the attendant who rushed over and finished cutting the meat, placing it on my plate.
The freshly grilled pork, steaming and glistening with fat, looked delicious.
Even knowing it was all a performance, I hesitated to eat something he’d gone so far as to “injure” himself to serve.
Maybe I should’ve at least pretended to be worried.
“It’s not poisoned.”
“…!”
“Oh, were you really worried about that?”
He smiled brightly, apparently interpreting the stiffness in my expression in his own way.
Then he casually sliced the meat on my plate into bite-sized pieces and stabbed a chunk from the center, popping it into his own mouth.
“Lord Klen! If there’s anything suspicious, you must inform us in advance.”
“That’s our job, after all.”
The attendant who had rushed over earlier—and now the others as well—scolded him sharply for his reckless behavior.
This meal was between me and Klen, so of course they would’ve checked for poison before bringing it in.
“I’m the one offering the food. I should be responsible for it.”
“I wasn’t suspecting poison.”
But now, if I didn’t eat it, I’d just look like a jerk.
With no other option, I began eating the meat on my plate.
It was clear that more care had gone into preparing it than yesterday.
The juicy, tender interior and the charred, crispy exterior were both satisfying.
Just as I finished the meat on my plate, more was quickly piled on.
I started to feel overwhelmed.
When I sped up, the meat came faster.
When I deliberately slowed down, Klen quietly watched me chew, munching on his own portion.
Around us, the attendants—especially one maid—were pressing their lips together tightly, clearly full of things they wanted to say.
No doubt it was because Klen’s behavior was far from proper etiquette.
‘A new kind of torture?’
If I wanted to escape this situation, the only way was to finish the food quickly.
In the end, most of the meal ended up in my stomach, while Klen ate just enough to make me wonder if he wasn’t hungry at all.
Even after the meal, when I lay down on the bed, something about the distance between us felt noticeably smaller than before.
When I saw him lying comfortably with his eyes closed, I wondered if it really wasn’t a form of torture after all.
Was it the lingering effect of last night’s laughter-filled chaos and the bedtime talk?
Fortunately, we didn’t eat together again the next morning.
Klen got up and began preparing to leave right away.
“Right away,” meaning after the attendants struggled to wake him and he took his time getting ready, as usual.
After getting dressed and adjusting his cuffs, he turned to look at me.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Even the coldness in his gaze softening slightly had become familiar by now.
“You’re forbidden from going out today.”
“…What?”
That, however, was not something I was used to hearing.
I stared up at him in silence.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Forbidden to go out?
When I ran off as a kid to fight monsters and came back a bloody mess, or when I got so lost I returned barely looking human—I’d never been grounded.
Not even at Caldrich Castle had I been treated like this.
“What? Why?! Why am I forbidden from going out?!”
I demanded an answer as he turned to leave.
I could let a lot of things slide, but this was not one of them.
I didn’t care if my act slipped or my mask fell off.
“Adrian.”
But the gentle way he said my name made me flinch.
Whenever he got soft like that, it somehow made me more nervous.
“I heard you went near the forest yesterday.”
“…!”
‘Those knights.’
I clearly told them to keep quiet—and they couldn’t even last half a day before gossiping?
Maybe I needed to remind them that nothing disgusts Caldrich more than breaking a promise.
“I don’t know who they mistook me for, but—”
“It wasn’t the knights at the entrance who told me.”
‘Not them?’
I was relieved that the forest guards weren’t so loose-lipped, but then quickly retraced my steps to figure out where the leak had come from.
The first person who came to mind was Willoy, Klen’s supporter, whom I’d met in front of the stables.
‘But Klen wouldn’t keep someone like that close if he truly didn’t want to be count.’
Besides, that man only knew I went to the stables, not that I rode out.
The stablemaster and the attendant might know I took a horse, but not that I rode all the way to the forest entrance.
‘Which means…’
I looked Klen straight in the eye and asked,
“Are you saying you had someone following me?”
There’s no other way he could’ve known.
He smiled brightly.
“No.”
Then he stepped closer, brought his lips to my ear, and whispered in a low voice:
“I simply have a few informants stationed near the forest to report if anything unusual happens.”
“…!”
Even in such peaceful circumstances, without a single sign of trouble, he doesn’t let his guard down.
As expected, despite the role he plays on the surface, he’s a calm and cautious man.
He straightened his back and smiled softly.
“If my dear wife were to collapse again, do you know how much my heart would ache?”
And with a perfectly straight face, he poured out lies without batting an eye.
As if he’d actually be heartbroken.
The face before me curved gently in a smile, but I nearly ground my teeth.
Why is someone normally glued together by sheer laziness suddenly so efficient when it comes to this?
The real problem was that the attendants, who had just returned to the room, happened to overhear his words — and their eyes sparkled, deeply moved.
A few even had tears in their eyes.
What exactly moved you all so much?
I just got grounded.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t step a single foot outside the room,” he added, as if offering a generous concession.
“It’s fine as long as you stay in the hallway or nearby. Just don’t leave the building.”
“……”
Is this really for my own good?
Or is he just trying to prevent me from causing trouble outside?
It sounded like he was telling me to be grateful it wasn’t complete confinement.
Standing in front of me, Klen smiled brightly as I sat there with a stony face, unable to even pretend to laugh.
“It’s only temporary, Adrian. I’ve asked the healer to prepare medicine for you.”
“Medicine?”
“A tonic to restore your strength.”
“……”
It’s too late to say I’m actually in perfect health, right?
I can go for days without sleep and still be fine. I can train all day without breaking a sweat.
“You’ll get bored stuck in here, so I brought you some books.”
With a nod, he signaled the attendants.
The door opened and they streamed in, arms full of books, stacking them neatly on the floor and table.
So what, I’m supposed to just sit here and read?
* * *
This man pretending to be delicate is actually pretty macho.