The Night Guests

Thud. Donovan swallowed a sigh as he looked down at the intruder who had collapsed without even letting out a faint cry.

“I don’t know whether to call this good luck or bad luck……”

He hadn’t heard news of any ‘night guests’ visiting recently. Even so, since entering the capital, he had spent almost every day—unintentionally—inside the mansion, save for the first three days. Since he hadn’t detected any commotions until now, he felt confident in saying this was the first attack.

Regardless, Donovan sighed, torn between being glad that the infiltrators had arrived on the very day the security enhancements were completed, and being worried that an assault had occurred less than a month after leaving the Academy.

“Quite a lot of them came.”

Even excluding those who had stormed the greenhouse, the number was significant when including those who failed to scale the perimeter wall and the one who had headed toward the main building.

What could so many people possibly be looking for at this hour? Ensi was already tired and ill. Tsk. Clicking his tongue, he felt grateful that he possessed the ability to handle such matters and tapped the back of the fallen man with the tip of his foot.

[What are you doing?]

[Are you playing? I want to play too!]

“I’m not playing; I’m checking to make sure he really fainted. Hmm…… I suppose this is enough. You all worked hard on the first day.”

The spirits, who had been fiercely striking down the intruders until a moment ago, shifted their aura instantly the moment Donovan spoke. They giggled with an air so docile and pure that they didn’t look like beings who had just driven a life to the brink of death.

After all, a greeting from a beloved individual always felt good.

“Then, you’ll take them away now, right?”

Donovan asked as he stroked every one of the spirits clumping around him affectionately. In response, one of the hidden figures purposely revealed their presence and appeared before Donovan.

“Yes. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“It was nothing; I didn’t actually do much.”

At the sight of Donovan’s shy smile, the nearby spirits let out a collective exclamation. Perhaps feeling his genuine happiness, some spirits even began expressing affection toward the person who had greeted him.

“Can you tell me once you find out who’s behind this?”

“I apologize. That is not a matter I can decide, so I cannot give you an answer.”

Even though the spirits and artifacts had resolved the issue before they could even step in, sharing information was a separate domain.

Donovan showed a hint of disappointment at the immediate refusal, which suggested the matter wasn’t even worth reconsidering, but he soon accepted it. He could simply ask Ensi directly later.

As soon as instructions were issued by the person he was speaking with, figures appeared all at once to collect the intruders. Turning his back on them, Donovan headed back to the mansion.

Since it was still the dead of night, he intended to lie in bed and catch up on his lost sleep.

Lying back in bed under the spirit’s urging, Ensi hugged the sword—its blade hidden in its sheath—like a doll. Although the spirit told him he didn’t need to do anything, he felt too uneasy to let his guard down completely.

Resting his cheek against the hilt embedded with a softly shimmering blue magic stone, he blinked slowly.

Perhaps because his nerves had been on edge despite being ill, it seemed it would be difficult to fall back asleep tonight.

Judging by the way the bustle outside was gradually fading, the matter seemed to be wrapping up well.

Who sent the night guests this time? Count Alemier? Or the owner of a rival merchant group? Or—

“Master.”

“Haven’t I told you repeatedly not to use that title.”

At the call that severed his thoughts, Ensi set the sword down. He wasn’t startled, as he had already sensed the approaching presence. Ensi slowly pushed his upper body up and sat leaning against the headboard.

He then reached toward the pile of blankets and clothes scented with that familiar pheromone, picking up a blanket large enough to wrap around himself and draping it over his shoulders.

With hair damp with sweat clinging to his forehead, pale fingertips, and cheeks flushed with fever, Ensi glowed quietly under the moonlight.

Seeing the master’s unchanging beauty even amidst illness, the corners of the lips hidden behind the veil rose uncontrollably.

Do not call me Master. That was a correction he heard every time he met his master. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the slightest intention of fixing it.

“Anje.”

Ensi called the name as if prodding the person looking up at him with tightly closed lips. Only then did the corners of Anje’s eyes, who was looking up while kneeling, curve roundly.

“Nothing is certain yet, but they were not men sent by Count Alemier.”

Ignoring the correction regarding the title, Anje stated the reason for his visit first, causing Ensi to click his tongue.

“Baseless certainty is a way to blind oneself.”

“But they were far too expensive for the Count to employ. They were not the type of men to be sent by someone who still holds the absurd delusion that you are under his thumb, Master.”

Of course, they were disappointing for ‘expensive’ men. They had collapsed helplessly against security artifacts and the presence of rare spirits.

However, considering their display of choosing death without hesitation the moment they sensed failure, and the fact that a magic user was among them, they were certainly no mere nobodies.

Ironically, Ensi agreed with the excuse Anje added like a complaint. Count Alemier, both now and in the past, had a petty side where he wanted to make Ensi submit but refused to invest money boldly.

“So. Did you come here in the middle of the night just to say that.”

“Actually, more than that, I wished to see you for the first time in a while—”

“Anje.”

At Ensi’s low call, the rapid speech and the eyes that had been sparkling with an overwhelming intensity vanished. Noticing his master’s sensitivity today, Anje quickly lowered his head and spoke the actual business he intended to convey.

“The Master of Lavian wishes to see you.”

“……Why does she seek me so? It was not for nothing that I let her be independent.”

“It seems something truly has happened this time. She said that once the Lark appears, she would come to see you.”

He had thought, as Anje joked, that she had sent word just to see his face while he was in the capital, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Ensi, who was willing to welcome her if there was business, relaxed his stiff expression and gave a light nod.

“Once the Lark appears? What business could she possibly have with me.”

“Officially, the position of Crown Prince is vacant, is it not? The Master of Lavian seems to judge that the Lark will have business with you regarding that matter.”

Certainly, it was a busy time. Both the First Princess, who was slated to be Crown Princess, and the other children of the Emperor who sought to take her place.

The Lark supported the individual slated for the position…… so it likely concerned the First Princess. Ensi, roughly understanding the situation, quietly pressed his hand to his forehead. They had only spoken for a short while, but it seemed even that was too much, as his head throbbed painfully.

Suppressing his pheromones for Anje’s sake was also becoming a struggle. The fever that seemed to have broken was soaring again, and a desire that surged like a wave tormented his lower abdomen.

As he closed his eyes and struggled to catch his breath, Anje, who had been standing at a distance, slunk closer to Ensi.

“Master?”

“I told you to mind the title. When do you intend to listen.”

Ensi opened his eyes with difficulty and smiled bitterly at the innocent, sparkling eyes. Ensi wasn’t unaware of the reason Anje obsessed over the title, so he couldn’t continue the scolding.

He reached out and habitually stroked the hair of Anje, who had crept up to his feet, whispering.

“Good work. No one was hurt, I hope?”

“Yes, of course. There is no one in this mansion so clumsy as to be hurt by a task of this level.”

Anje leaned into the cold touch and the gentle voice—one that could only be heard when a task was successfully completed—and acted cute toward Ensi.

Knowing it was a day Ensi was unwell, he hadn’t expected much even while approaching him. The touch that was offered so readily filled him with joy from the bottom of his heart. Having completely forgotten that he had been corrected twice for the title, he fully enjoyed the rare praise.

“Take care of your bodies. You all act too recklessly sometimes.”

He hadn’t brought them here to work by throwing their lives away, but perhaps because he hadn’t established the atmosphere firmly in the beginning, even the children who came in later were often influenced by those who were essentially the masters of the house. Originally, Anje wasn’t this kind of person, but he had been dyed by the children he spent every day with. Oh well.

Ensi, who had tolerated Anje’s indulgence to some extent even though his hands were colder than usual because he couldn’t burn the sun-grass, pushed his forehead with an index finger.

Anje pouted his lips in dissatisfaction at the signal to finally step away, but he withdrew without a word. Ensi was in a state where he was unwell. He knew well enough that this was a lot of leeway.

“Shall I call a priest?”

“No. It’s night; the priest should rest as well.”

“To me, it is more important that you have a peaceful night, Master.”

“Anje. Leave now.”

Issuing a firm order to leave, Ensi lay back down as if he would hear no more. The blanket wrapped around him restricted his movement, but he was too tired to move further, and the sense of stability provided by the pheromones on the blanket made him disinclined to remove it.

Meanwhile, at Ensi’s cold voice, Anje’s shoulders momentarily trembled. Looking at his master’s back with eyes flickering with hurt, his lips, hidden behind the black veil, moved slightly.

Standing still and debating whether he should at least call a doctor, Anje eventually decided to follow his master’s will. However, he remained worried, and only after carefully arranging Ensi’s bed with gentle hands did he finally leave the greenhouse.