An Unexpected Reaction

Plop. With a light, cheerful sound, the sugar cube dropped into the black tea and slowly began to dissolve. Ensi stirred the cup with a tea spoon, glancing sideways at Agniele, who sat opposite him.

“So, you’re saying you’re going to check the Imperial Library again.”

“I feel like I’ve delayed too much time.”

“That is originally Lily’s job. In fact, she is already doing it.”

As soon as the previous matter had been settled, she had shut herself away in the Imperial Library to keep her word. Since it was already the fourth day of Lily’s constant visits to the library, there was no real need for Agniele to join her.

“But surely two people are better than one for finding records.”

“As I’ve said before, the probability of finding materials related to a cure in the Imperial Library is slim.”

Clack. Ensi set the tea spoon down roughly, making his discomfort clear. Despite his repeated hints that he’d prefer Agniele not to go, Agniele shook his head stubbornly.

He really didn’t need to go that far. Ensi didn’t want to mention something that wasn’t certain yet, but it seemed he had no choice if he wanted to change Agniele’s mind.

Leaning forward over the table with a light sigh, Ensi lowered his posture. Naturally, Agniele lowered his head slightly to meet his eyes.

“Donovan will bring good news soon.”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen that man around lately.”

While he had occasionally run into the mage named Luke, he hadn’t seen Donovan once recently. Hearing Ensi say he would bring good news, it seemed he had left the mansion for the time being.

Agniele understood the reason, but for a split second, he couldn’t hide a flicker of disapproval.

“I am not dismissing the efforts of this ‘Donovan.’ However, can information brought by him be trusted so easily?”

“This time, you can trust it. He said he found a ‘Mystery’.”

Recalling Donovan’s explanation, it felt more like a fairy-like being than a Mystery, but Ensi didn’t bother going that far. To make Agniele understand, calling it a Mystery was more effective.

“A Mystery……? That isn’t something easily found, is it?”

A Mystery. It was a general term for phenomena that could not happen by common sense. In this world, such things included a mountain where blue fires flickered deep at night, a lake frozen solid in the middle of summer, or a pocket watch that turned back time. These impossible but very real things were collectively called Mysteries.

Of course, these things weren’t common. For an ordinary person, it was normal to go a lifetime without encountering one. Even when cases known as Mysteries were investigated, most turned out to have a clear cause and effect.

Then again, even if the cause wasn’t clear, in a world where holy power, magic, spirits, and fairies existed, people usually just shrugged and assumed some non-human entity was playing a trick.

Regardless, because Mysteries often granted the impossible, there was once a profession known as Mystery Hunters. It was a job that had practically gone extinct now.

“Donovan has a particularly deep connection with such things. More importantly, Agniele, that isn’t the point, is it?”

Of course, since he hadn’t actually heard the news from Donovan himself that a Mystery had been secured, it was too early to be certain. But if he didn’t speak firmly, Agniele wouldn’t break his stubbornness.

All Agniele had to do now was say he wouldn’t go to the library. Ensi reached out and stroked Agniele’s wrist on the table with his thumb. With a squinting smile, he tilted his head in subtle persuasion.

“If finding a Mystery was all it took to end this, I don’t think Florence would still be visiting the library.”

Agniele clenched his hand at the strangely ticklish sensation. His slightly reddened earlobes were hidden by his dark red hair.

To Ensi’s frustration, despite his flirting, he failed to get the answer he wanted. His eyebrows shot up. His lips trembled slightly, so he bit his lower lip briefly before withdrawing the arm that had been touching Agniele.

“……Ah, I see.”

Ensi closed and opened his eyes slowly, maintaining an obviously blunt tone. If he didn’t do this, Agniele was too oblivious to notice.

As Ensi expected, Agniele only realized something was wrong then. He lifted his eyes, which had been fixed on the ground in embarrassment. He saw Ensi stubbornly staring at the flowers in the garden with his head turned away.

The first thing that caught Agniele’s eye was the side hair that had fallen naturally. It exquisitely partially veiled his sharp features, causing a momentary flash of annoyance that quickly subsided—because even that concealment felt intentional.

In the eyes beneath those quickly blinking eyelids, there was a trace of minor displeasure and irritation. They were eyes that held a different kind of beauty, distinct from his usual look. Not to mention the twisted line of his lips and his sharp jawline. However, his lips looked drier than usual. That was the only thing that bothered him.

An appreciation ill-suited for the situation struck Agniele. Because of it, he stared at Ensi half-dazed, only snapping out of it when he heard the other person roughly tapping the table with an index finger.

“Ensi?”

Agniele called him cautiously. But Ensi was thoroughly sulky. Knowing it was a somewhat childish response, he acted as if he couldn’t hear anything at all.

Even though Ensi had intentionally tapped the table loudly to catch the dazed Agniele’s attention, he didn’t react to being called. He reached out and picked up a snack.

It was a cookie he had picked up without much thought, but it suited Ensi’s taste surprisingly well. The crunchy texture melted in his mouth. Though it was his first time trying this particular snack, the nuttiness of the grain and the subtle sweetness blended perfectly.

Glancing at the cookie with slightly widened eyes, Ensi first brushed the crumbs off his fingers. He had to break the stubbornness of the man in front of him first.

“Ensi, you.”

Even though Ensi was blatantly ignoring him, Agniele did not give up. He reached out and grasped Ensi’s wrist with a force so weak it could easily be shaken off. To be precise, it was a touch where Ensi could have just lifted his arm to slide away without even trying to break free.

Yet, Ensi simply stared at the captured hand for a moment. Seeing that Ensi made no move to pull away, Agniele moved with a bit more courage.

Agniele lowered his hand from the wrist and gently covered the back of Ensi’s lightly balled fist. Soon, he slipped his fingers between Ensi’s, interlocking them. Ensi, as if giving in, rested his fingers on the back of Agniele’s hand.

“I only intend to check during the morning. Since I’ve heard news of a Mystery being found, I didn’t plan on spending more time than that.”

“……You aren’t lying, are you?”

“Of course not. I have no reason to tell you a lie.”

Perhaps his mood had softened at the unhesitating answer, as the tension left Ensi’s eyes. Agniele subtly shifted his gaze, trying to read Ensi’s mood.

Perhaps that was why Agniele was the first to notice something was wrong. He grabbed Ensi’s arm as he was about to eat another cookie, stopping him.

“—Agniele?”

“Wait, stop eating that cookie for a moment. Something is strange.”

Agniele was so serious that Ensi almost forgot he had been angry. Blinking in confusion, Ensi eventually loosened his grip on the snack.

Thud. The cookie fell helplessly from his hand and rolled across the table. Cookie crumbs shattered by the impact of the fall scattered everywhere.

“What do you mean strange—cough.”

Ensi was about to explain that there was nothing to worry about since the food had come through the merchant group, but he was startled by a sudden, abrupt cough and quickly covered his mouth.

His throat felt itchy, and the surface of his skin was strangely warm. Added to that was a constant urge to cough and a heavy sensation in his eyelids. Ensi knew this feeling. It was…… an allergy. Yes, it was exactly like the allergic reaction he had experienced once before.

Why of all times does an allergic reaction have to come now! Realizing through his body exactly why Agniele said it was strange, Ensi jumped up from his seat.

“—Emma, Emma!”

He hurriedly called for Emma while pulling his arm away from Agniele’s grasp. Even as he spoke, an ill-timed cough almost escaped, but Ensi desperately held it back.

“What is wrong! Is it poison after all—?”

“It’s not poison, ugh…….”

Ensi quickly cut off Agniele’s guess, which was heading in a dangerous direction. Separately, Ensi felt like he was going crazy because his skin was so itchy. It seemed his throat was starting to swell as well; his breathing was becoming labored, mixed with a wheezing sound.

It was clear he was about to look quite unsightly. Perhaps he didn’t look very good even now. Once his thoughts reached that point, Ensi quickly turned his back to Agniele.

Agniele, unable to hide his worry, kept trying to approach Ensi. Ensi waved his arm toward Agniele, desperately blocking his approach. He looked around for something to cover his face with, but finding nothing, he covered it with both hands.

“Young Master?”

Emma, who had rushed over after dropping everything upon hearing that Ensi was looking for her urgently, gasped when she saw her distressed master.

“Em—cough.”

“Oh dear…… you don’t have to push yourself to speak, I understand the situation perfectly. It would be best for you to go to Nicephorus first, Young Master.”

Before Ensi could finish, Emma, who had grasped the situation, called a servant who had stiffened at the sudden commotion and had them escort Ensi. Of course, she moved her body skillfully to block Agniele’s view of Ensi.

“I apologize, Young Lord. The Young Master is not feeling well—”

“I saw that, so I know. More importantly, I think it would be better to check the food.”

After safely sending Ensi inside, Emma bowed to settle the situation on his behalf. At that, Agniele frowned and tapped the plate where the baked goods lay.

He had heard it wasn’t poison, but otherwise, it made no sense for Ensi’s condition to suddenly become so strange.

Reading the worry at the end of Agniele’s dissatisfied gaze, Emma bowed again, suppressing her lips that kept trying to curl into a smile.

Even though he must be flustered by the sudden event, he was worrying about this side first. Truly, he was a good person, as expected of the one the Young Master had chosen.

“Thank you for your concern. However, there is no need for an investigation. He simply had a temporary rejection reaction from eating food that didn’t suit his body.”

“……A rejection reaction?”

“It is said that some people occasionally have rejection reactions to specific foods, flowers, or animals. What just happened is a part of that, so we will check more thoroughly from now on.”

In truth, today’s food had been carefully selected from things Ensi had never shown a rejection reaction to before.

However, since there was nothing to be gained by making excuses to an angry man, Emma offered her apologies once more.