* * *
Henry simply sat down where he was. His legs were trembling from standing too long. The cold floor sent a chill up his body, but it was still better than standing.
It would be a lie to say he hadn’t thought about just waiting here for Sir Teher to arrive. They had to enter that cave, but if he wasn’t prepared, it would all be in vain.
Even with the right preparations, searching for the pheromone stone with just his bare hands would be futile.
“Edwin, stop wandering around and come sit down.”
Henry called out to Edwin, thinking that he must be just as exhausted. His voice had softened compared to earlier. He couldn’t bring himself to stay angry at Edwin, the one who had saved him.
Hearing Henry’s call, Edwin reappeared, carrying some pieces of wood and roots, which he set down together.
“What’s that for? Are you planning to start a fire? But we don’t have anything to light it with.”
Henry shook his head in doubt, but Edwin continued moving at his own pace.
He carefully arranged the wood and roots, then reached into his coat and pulled something out.
“That…”
As Edwin calmly lit the wood on fire, he looked at Henry as if to ask, “What’s the problem?”
The fire spread from Edwin’s hand to the wood, and Henry grumbled.
“If you had that, you should’ve said so earlier.”
“I never said I didn’t have it.”
“Right, it’s my fault for not asking.”
Henry watched as the fire grew larger, pulling his legs closer together. It felt strange to be sitting in front of a fire after having fallen just moments ago.
Climbing the mountain from dawn to find Kayla, saving him, and then falling into the cave with Edwin—now, all he could do was sit by the fire, hoping the warmth would ease his aching body.
The day had been exhausting.
As the sun set, the fire became the only source of light around them. For about an hour, Henry stared into the flames, lost in thought.
He had thought he was well-prepared to find the pheromone stone. But when things didn’t go as planned, he had to rely on Edwin.
If it weren’t for Edwin, he might have been shivering in the cold darkness of the cave by now.
“Thanks.”
Henry whispered softly to Edwin, who was resting against the wall with his eyes closed.
Edwin didn’t respond or look at him, but his fingers twitched, and soon his pheromones subtly filled the air.
That was enough of an answer for Henry, who turned his gaze back to the fire.
The flames, which had been burning steadily, were now starting to weaken. Henry wondered if he should go find more wood to keep the fire going.
“You…”
Edwin’s voice broke the silence, his clear tone cutting through even though he had been quiet for so long.
“What were you thinking when you saved him?”
“Who? Oh, Kayla?”
Henry quickly mentioned a name. There wasn’t much to consider—after all, he had reached out and pulled Kayla to safety, causing himself to fall instead.
Of course, he had intended to save him. He even remembered where Kayla had nearly fallen, planning to search the area later. But there was no need to explain all this to Edwin.
“I didn’t consciously think about saving him. My body just reacted on its own.”
“Do you have special feelings for him?”
“Who has time to consider that when saving someone?”
Henry felt a slight sting, knowing he had focused all his attention on Kayla, but he shamelessly hid his true feelings.
He didn’t save Kayla because he had feelings for her.
“So, did you save me because you have special feelings for me?”
Henry’s question was more of an attack, but Edwin didn’t answer.
As the silence stretched on, with only the sound of the fire crackling, Henry gave up on waiting for a response.
Despite everything Edwin had said about keeping his guard up, Edwin fundamentally disliked Henry.
So how could there be any special feelings involved?
‘This is how our conversations always end.’
Henry accepted it without surprise.
“I have something to ask too.”
Henry thought he should ask, at least once. But he had always been too busy pushing Edwin away to ever get around to it.
“On your birthday…”
That day was also when Henry had transmigrated. He had been so overwhelmed by his own situation that he hadn’t had the time to notice anything else.
“Were you planning to propose to Hena?”
The original story didn’t delve into that detail. The focus was different. At least at that moment, the focus was on Henry, and the relationship with Edwin was brought to light.
It was during the description of Edwin’s despair from not being able to sense pheromones that other explanations were omitted.
So, Henry took Hena’s words about receiving a proposal at face value.
Since the story centered on the protagonist, Henry had to observe everything the author didn’t explicitly state and make his own judgments.
Henry hurried to add a clarification, as Edwin remained silent.
“If you think I’m intruding on something personal because it’s about proposing to my sister… I’m just asking out of pure curiosity.”
And if that was the case, he would need to prepare a proper setting for Edwin to propose to Hena on his birthday.
Edwin’s pheromones stirred in response to Henry’s question. They alternated between strong and weak, revealing his complex emotions.
Since he couldn’t admit to sensing the pheromones, the prolonged silence made Henry feel increasingly awkward.
“If it was a needless question…”
“No.”
“What?”
“I wasn’t planning to propose to Hena Timothy.”
“Oh…”
Edwin’s response was brief, especially considering how long he had left Henry in suspense.
There was no need to ask why he hadn’t planned to propose.
Knowing who Edwin would end up with made any further questions meaningless.
‘So, your heart reacts to Kayla after all.’
Now he had something to say to Hena. He would have to tell him, once they returned home, that he should find someone else—because Edwin wasn’t the right match for her.
Henry yawned, lowering his gaze. His body, not particularly strong, was already exhausted, despite having rested at the mansion.
He thought he had built up his strength well under Sir Teher’s guidance, but it seemed he was wrong.
‘This guy has lived too easy a life.’
“That’s why you’re on the verge of collapsing from just this much hardship.”
Henry lifted his gaze from the ground to look at Edwin. Edwin looked as usual, showing no signs of fatigue.
‘It would be great if I could have just half of his stamina.’
Henry yawned again, resolving to focus more on building his strength once he got home. He felt drowsy, and as sleep overcame him, he found his body curling up instead of relaxing.
“Hey,” Henry called out to Edwin again, not really expecting a response.
But it didn’t matter. He could feel Edwin’s pheromones subtly reacting, though in a different way than usual.
“When I go back home, I won’t follow you around anymore.”
He had made up his mind long ago, but this was just setting the stage for the future.
Since he couldn’t completely cut ties with Edwin, Henry wanted to smooth things out between them.
“I’ll reflect on all the times I annoyed you and live quietly from now on.”
In the past, he’d been a bit sharp when expressing that he didn’t like Edwin.
Although he tried to set the mood, he hadn’t completely avoided hurting Edwin.
Now, in a completely relaxed atmosphere, Henry spoke without any tension.
“So just trust me this once.”
And then, he was ready to close his mouth without any regrets after adding, “Let’s be good friends.”
“Do you think I’d be swayed by such words after all you’ve done?”
Edwin rebutted Henry’s words directly. Henry forced his eyes open to look at Edwin, wondering if he had said something to upset him.
But nothing he’d said seemed to have crossed that line.
“You had people follow me, and you cleared anyone out of my path just because they didn’t sit well with you. But you only targeted those who showed any interest in me.”
Edwin had always seemed indifferent, but that didn’t mean he was unaware. He just knew and chose to leave things as they were.
“And you did all that, under the false pretense of friendship.”
The disgust that had been building up inside Edwin toward Henry remained untouched.
“And now you say you want to change?”
“Of course, I have been following you around consistently, but….”
“And now you want me to believe you’ve suddenly changed? What, are you terminally ill or something?”
“Not exactly, but something like that did happen.”
Henry let out an awkward laugh. He realized why Edwin kept observing him so carefully, and why he didn’t believe Henry despite denying things several times.
To Edwin, Henry was already a figure of distrust. And yet, Henry had tried to change things with just a few words.
“You keep asking me to trust you, but I can’t believe anything you say anymore.”
Though Edwin’s voice carried no malice, Henry felt as if invisible thorns were piercing his heart.
“So, don’t try to convince me any further until I’m certain.”
“…Yeah, I guess that’s better.”
Henry forced himself to see the situation in a positive light, thinking it was better than being outright rejected. In truth, he was grateful that Edwin had relented this much.
After all the things Henry had done to annoy Edwin, how could he expect him to accept and trust him right away?
‘Even I wouldn’t trust myself.’
Now, he had no choice but to show it through his actions. He was confident.
Things were messy, but he was making progress in his own way.
He’d take a break today, and tomorrow, he’d dive into things properly.
‘Once I find the Pheromone Stone, I’ll end the imprint with Edwin….’
Henry, yawning and barely holding himself together, gazed at the fire with eyes growing hazy.
As he watched the flames flicker and dance, he felt as though his body was swaying in rhythm with them.
Half-lidded eyes fixed on the fire, he muttered to himself.
“Someday…”
…It’ll all end. The last words were so faint that they didn’t reach Edwin. Edwin looked at Henry, who was nodding off, his head bobbing as sleep threatened to take over.
“Move back.”
Edwin gently placed a hand on Henry’s shoulder, concerned that he might fall forward into the fire. As he nudged him back, Henry’s body wobbled and leaned towards Edwin.
Feeling Henry’s warmth against his shoulder and his hot breath on his neck, Edwin’s body stiffened.
Henry seemed completely unaware of his position, more focused on trying to convey one last thought to Edwin as he mumbled softly.
“Someone who can sense your pheromones…will come.”
Edwin’s eyes widened momentarily as he tried to decipher what Henry was saying, then narrowed as understanding dawned.
Henry’s soft, even breaths signaled that he had finally succumbed to sleep, his breathing tickling Edwin’s ear.
“The hope that someone will come… It makes people so foolish…”
Edwin’s murmur was filled with regret, almost like a sigh.
“You have no idea.”
* * *
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Thanks for the chapter
Need more❤️