RHFTY chapter 39

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“…Chaeyi? What’s wrong?”

Leonard, noticing his silence, looked up to see the disoriented expression on his face and asked with concern. Snapping back to reality, Chaeyi quickly waved his hand, not wanting him to worry.

“No, it’s nothing.”

He then steered the conversation back to their earlier topic before he could question it further.

“I’ve told you before—you’re already the most important person to me. So don’t worry. I’ll stay by your side as long as you want.”

Despite his attempt to reassure him, Chaeyi couldn’t meet Leonard’s gaze as he broke out in an uncharacteristic cold sweat.

Leonard, sensing something off, scrutinized his closely, more aware of his than usual.

In the end, Chaeyi awkwardly looked away, avoiding his gaze, and wondered why he was acting so strangely.

‘I think this happened before…’

As his heartbeat gradually returned to normal, he glanced up, only to find Leonard still watching him.

Narrowing his eyes, she glared at him.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“…I wasn’t staring.”

With that, Leonard shamelessly turned his gaze away and resumed eating.

Chaeyi, observing him, sighed internally and picked up his fork.

The two continued their meal in silence.

After dinner, Leonard stayed for a while, chatting as usual before leaving late at night.

That night, Chaeyi went to bed early, lost in thought.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

Lately, there were moments when it became difficult to make eye contact with Leonard, and when that happened, his heart would start racing, he’d feel a surge of heat, or he’d break out in a cold sweat.

This had happened about three times now.

One thing was clear—it had only started recently.

And if there was a common thread, it was Leonard’s presence.

These symptoms usually appeared when she was with him.

‘Could it be due to pheromones?’

But that didn’t seem right either.

Leonard was always careful to keep his pheromones in check when they met, aware of how his powerful scent could affect others.

Chaeyi knew this.

And these symptoms didn’t occur every time they were together, making it hard to definitively say Leonard was the cause.

‘…It seems unlikely, but…’

A suspicious thought crossed Chaeyi’s mind, and he frowned.

As unbelievable as it seemed, there was only one realistic explanation.

‘Do I have arrhythmia?’

With a serious expression, Chaeyi pondered.

‘I don’t smoke, I hardly drink, I don’t get stressed, and I don’t over-exercise. So why would I develop arrhythmia…?’

It’s truly unbelievable.

Of course, people say that minor arrhythmias aren’t something to worry about, but for Chaeyi, who has always been healthy with no issues besides the occasional injury, the news was quite shocking.

Moreover, it wasn’t yet certain whether it was just a minor arrhythmia or something that required treatment.

There was no way to be completely at ease.

“Let’s just sleep on it and think about it tomorrow.”

And so, the next day.

After a good night’s sleep, Chaeyi, who had even skipped his usual morning walk, sat alone at the tea table, lost in thought.

“Oh! Lord Chaeyi!”

“What’s this? You’re already out here?”

It was then that Bennex and Ferdinand showed up and naturally took seats at the tea table.

Ferdinand, who hadn’t yet noticed Chaeyi’s serious expression, teased Bennex for following him.

“When exactly are you planning to go home?”

Bennex, though feeling a bit down, replied with determination born from his reluctance to give up on Chaeyi.

“And you, Prince Ferdinand? You’ve been staying here even longer than I have. Don’t you have anything else to do?”

“Oh? Look at this guy…”

Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at Bennex’ retort but quickly dropped it.

Then, noticing that Chaeyi had been unusually quiet, Ferdinand looked at his face and his eyes widened in surprise.

“What’s wrong? You don’t look good today.”

“Lord Chaeyi… Are you feeling unwell?”

Only then did Chaeyi snap out of his thoughts and push Ferdinand’s face away with his hand, finding his unusually concerned expression somewhat embarrassing.

It felt strange to see someone who normally wouldn’t act that way, being so concerned.

“Ow! Hey, what was that for?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”

“Then you could’ve just said so…”

Ferdinand grumbled, saying it was a waste to have worried.

His complaint made Chaeyi chuckle, easing his mood a little.

“Let’s just wait and see for a bit longer.”

He was worried that he might cause unnecessary concern by calling the doctor for something trivial and adding to Leonard’s worries.

And if it turned out to be something serious… he feared that the medical technology of this world might not be enough to treat it.

So he decided, “Let’s just wait until the symptoms show up again before doing anything.”

It was Chaeyi’s way of preparing herself to accept whatever outcome might come.

After clearing his mind, he looked at Ferdinand and Bennex.

“Have you two had breakfast?”

“I had a little.”

“Oh, I haven’t eaten yet.”

“Really? Then…”

Chaeyi was about to ask Enoch to bring something like a dessert that could serve as a meal substitute. But then, suddenly—

BANG!

A terrifyingly loud noise rang out.

“……!”

Startled, the three instinctively turned their heads.

The sound echoed so loudly that it was hard to tell exactly where it came from, but it seemed to have originated from the small fountain park in the front yard.

The three exchanged glances, and then Chaeyi stood up first.

He was curious, but more than that, it was hard to ignore, given that an assassin had attacked not long ago.

“Are you going to check it out?”

“It’s dangerous, Lord Chaeyi. It might be better to call Duke Combest…”

Chaeyi shook his head.

That would take too long.

Waiting idly wasn’t a good option either.

The main estate was further back compared to the Onyx estate, and by the time they gathered knights and prepared, it could be too late to respond.

Who knew what might happen in the meantime if they just sat around talking?

That approach didn’t suit Chaeyi at all.

Besides, Chaeyi was confident in his physical abilities and judged that it wouldn’t be too reckless.

“You two stay here.”

“No. We should go together.”

“Th-Then I’ll go too!”

Despite Chaeyi’s words, Ferdinand stood up, and even Bennex joined in.

Feeling conflicted, Chaeyi eventually decided it might be safer to stick together, so they all went.

Step, step…

The three moved cautiously towards the park.

As they arrived, they saw the fountain, now in complete disarray.

If this was done by someone, the culprit was probably an Alpha.

Ferdinand and Bennex carefully scanned the area.

Although they couldn’t sense any presence nearby, it wouldn’t hurt to stay alert, as there could be someone hiding their presence.

Meanwhile, Chaeyi moved closer to inspect the fountain and noticed something inside.

“Hmm?”

It was a round, egg-shaped object, large and white in color.

“…What is that?”

Chaeyi leaned in for a closer look.

Now that he saw it, he noticed that the cracks seemed to originate from the spot where the object was lying.

That meant the fountain had likely broken and the loud noise had occurred because of this round object.

With that in mind, Chaeyi pulled the object out of the fountain.

It was much heavier than expected. The surface of the object was embossed with a pattern, giving it a unique texture.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Is it… a stone shaped like an egg?”

Ferdinand and Bennex, who had approached behind Chaeyi, voiced their doubts.

Chaeyi frowned slightly in thought.

“Where did this… who put this here?”

It didn’t make sense that someone had simply placed it there to cause such destruction and noise.

It must have been thrown into the fountain or dropped from above.

If that was the case, where was that person now?

What was the purpose of dropping it into the fountain?

Where did this object come from?

It was all a mystery. But at least…

“Maybe it’s not something to worry about after all.”

It didn’t seem like it was an attempt to harm someone’s life, at least not intentionally.

“What happened?”

Just then, Enoch’s urgent voice rang out.

He must have heard the noise and come to investigate the area.

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