Chester’s bottled-up words finally burst out.
Being scolded so abruptly made Ruite’s own emotions flare up in response.
“Why are you suddenly getting angry? Do you think I wanted to do that? I did it because the situation left me no choice!”
“Still, it was too reckless. Don’t you realize how close you came to something terrible happening?”
“I know. I know, but the result was good, wasn’t it?”
“That kind of thinking is exactly what’s complacent.”
Before long, both of their voices had risen. It had turned into a full-blown bickering match.
“Then why are you so angry? Who are you to say you don’t even like me being in the Knights?”
“Because I’m worried! My fiancé almost got seriously hurt—do you think I’d be happy about that? This is a place where danger strikes without warning. If you keep working here, how can I not worry?”
“Well, it’s the same for me! Am I the only fiancé here? You’re my fiancé too! You’re the one taking on all those dangerous missions, so I’m plenty worried about you. But I don’t act like you do!”
Ruite and Chester glared at each other, huffing.
The ward fell silent again.
As they both chewed over the words they had just shouted and heard, their faces turned beet-red simultaneously.
“…”
“…”
As if they had planned it, both of them clamped their mouths shut.
Chester shielded his mouth with his hand and stared at a distant point on the wall, while Ruite pointlessly ruffled his own hair.
“Ahem. Ruite.”
“What.”
“I… I wasn’t angry at you.”
Ruite slowly lifted his head.
Chester, whose earlobes were still burning red, met his eyes with an expression far more solemn than before.
“I was truly worried. Like you said, if it’s what you want to do, I have no right to stop you. It’s not that I hate you being in the Knights. I just… don’t want you to do anything reckless.”
“…You shouldn’t either. Don’t do reckless things.”
“I’m stronger than you. I’m a Rank 2 mana user, and for now, I have a higher rank…”
“Who doesn’t know you’re strong? I’m saying it because I’m worried too.”
“…”
Ruite knew he was saying a lot of things that weren’t like him.
Though he hadn’t shown it until now, he worried about Chester at least as much as Chester worried about him.
Being strong meant the scope of work was wider and the difficulty was higher.
In that moment, a heavy scent of wood wafted over him.
It was the same scent he had smelled before, and when Chester had held him in the cave.
It was strangely different from a simple scent of an object, causing Ruite to reflexively look at Chester. At that exact moment, their eyes locked.
The second their gazes met, he just knew.
This was the Alpha pheromone emanating from Chester.
“He-hey… you…”
Usually, those born with a secondary gender are trained from a young age within their families to control their pheromones.
It was especially strict in noble houses.
Alphas and Omegas could trigger physical reactions and emotional fluctuations in each other, so rigorous training was considered a given.
But humans can’t always act rationally.
No matter how much training one receives or how skilled they are at regulation, slips can happen—or exceptional situations can arise.
Like when pheromones leak out due to a massive emotional disturbance, even if unintended.
Chester’s pheromones were much like him: solid, static, and deep.
It felt like standing in the middle of a deep forest.
Ruite instinctively swallowed hard.
‘Wait, does this mean Chester got to a point where he briefly forgot to control his pheromones just because I said I was worried? Just from those words?’
Ruite clenched his fists.
“I—I should go. That would be best.”
Chester, who had been sitting frozen with a blank face, suddenly bolted upright.
He stood up so violently that the chair he had been sitting on flipped over and clattered to the floor.
As Chester stumbled back, his foot got caught on the fallen chair.
As he began to fall backward, Ruite reflexively reached out and pulled him toward the bed.
“Ah…”
Ruite thought it was lucky he was lying on the bed.
As he pulled Chester, his own body was pulled back down.
If they had been on the floor, he would have definitely hit his head.
“Hey, are you oka—”
But the moment he opened his eyes and checked their position, any sense of “luck” vanished.
Ruite was lying on the bed, and Chester was hovering directly over him.
He was bracing himself on the mattress with his hands, looking down at Ruite.
Their legs were entangled.
The atmosphere shifted instantly in a different direction.
Beyond just the posture, the sudden proximity left Ruite speechless.
His entire vision was filled with Chester’s face.
Once again, the scent of wood brushed his nose.
Chester, unable to hold back, let his pheromones spill out.
Their trembling eyes met.
The moment their faces were framed by each other’s sight, Chester moved his hand to gently stroke Ruite’s cheek.
The skin felt soft against his palm.
It felt hot, but he couldn’t tell if that was because of Ruite or because his own body temperature was rising.
Neither of them said a word. Ruite didn’t stop Chester’s touch; he simply let it be.
Chester slowly lowered his head.
Ruite instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
He could feel Chester’s breath nearby, and their lips were less than a span apart.
Knock, knock—
Just as their lips were about to meet, a sudden knock echoed through the room.
“Ruite! I’m coming in, okay?”
It was Varen’s voice.
Ruite’s eyes flew open.
He was currently lying on a bed in this kind of position with Chester; he absolutely could not let anyone see this.
Chester clearly had the same thought, as he lunged off the bed.
Chester had just barely straightened his posture when Varen pushed the door open and stepped inside.
“Oh? Chester was here too?”
“Yes, well.”
“But why is the chair knocked over like that?”
“I knocked it over while getting up.”
Chester righted the chair.
Varen looked back and forth between Chester, who looked strangely flustered, and Ruite, who was sitting quietly on the bed.
“Well… anyway, Ruite, are you feeling okay? I was so shocked when I heard the news.”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”
“I really should have been there then.”
Varen shook his head, lamenting that such a thing happened while they were away.
Certainly, if he hadn’t been absent on another task, the situation would have been settled much more easily.
After all, Varen was a Rank 2 mana user and a Combat Department Captain.
“I think so too. I thought about you a lot while I was fighting, Captain Varen.”
“Hmm.”
Varen, who had been listening silently, stared at Ruite intently.
“What is it?”
Ruite’s face was flushed from the previous situation.
Moreover, his eyes were strangely unfocused, and he gave off a very languid aura.
Chester, sensing Varen’s silence, finally realized what Ruite looked like right now.
He had been too distracted by Varen’s sudden appearance to notice.
He had let someone else see Ruite in such a defenseless state.
“Ruite, you— Argh!”
In a panic, Chester reached out and covered Varen’s face with his palm.
It was by no means a gentlemanly gesture; it was closer to striking him in the face with his palm.
“Don’t just look as you please.”
“What? Chester, what are you doing? I’m your senior, you know!”
Varen tried to grab Chester’s hand to pull it away, but Chester wouldn’t budge.
To make matters worse, Chester grabbed the blanket and threw it over Ruite’s head.
“Hey, hey, Chester! Let’s talk this out. I’ll admit I’ve been a bit mischievous to you in the past, okay? But isn’t this a bit much? Are you trying to pick a fight? Because I’m sorry, I don’t think I can beat you!”
Even with his eyes covered, Varen remained noisy.
“Ruite.”
“Uh… yeah?”
Ruite was also flustered by the blanket suddenly draped over him.
Hearing Chester’s voice from above, he peeked out.
“Get some rest. I’ll come back later.”
Chester stroked Ruite’s head once.
The whispered voice was an added bonus.
Ruite couldn’t say anything; he just gave a small nod.
“You two are sharing secrets behind my back, aren’t you? What is it!”
“Senior, you’re leaving with me now.”
“But I haven’t even had a proper talk with Ruite yet!”
Chester, showing no intention of being lenient, continued to cover Varen’s face with his palm as he practically dragged him out of the room.
Until the moment they left, Varen shouted noisily, asking what secrets they were keeping and why his face was being covered.
With a sharp click, the door closed, and Varen’s voice was cut off.
Ruite stared blankly at the door before straightening the blanket over his head.
“Whew.”
So many things had happened in just a few minutes.
Thanks to that, the shock of encountering the evolved monster had completely vanished.
Ruite scratched the back of his head and flopped back down onto the bed.
Even though no one was there, he pulled the blanket up to the tip of his nose.
“…”
Every time he breathed in and out, he felt a ticklish sensation.
The faint scent of wood still lingered throughout the blanket.
