Chapter 16
The morning air was fresh and sweet, perhaps because of last night’s rain. The trees, soaked with water, flaunted their deep green, and the birdsong was unusually crisp. Ethan took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the cool air, and lowered his sword.
“Let’s end it here for today.”
“Yes, Captain.”
The training ground floor was still damp, so morning practice ended earlier than usual. Ethan sheathed his sword and bowed to Sir Howard. As the captain of the duke’s knights, Howard had been overseeing Ethan’s sword training for the past three years. There was no real need for the captain to personally train Ethan, but he did so once a week as a favor for solving one of the world’s great mysteries: “serving as the young master’s guard.” Ethan had never asked for it, but Howard seemed to enjoy it.
“How has the young master been lately?”
“As usual.”
“You’ve been through a lot, Ethan.”
“Not really.”
Howard, taking it as a humble remark, patted Ethan’s shoulder and sent him out of the training grounds. The damp floor was marked with the footprints of knights who had trained early in the morning. Ethan walked carefully to avoid splashing water. With training ending earlier than usual, he wondered what to do next and headed toward the mansion.
As he entered, he ran into the butler, Jade. Jade brightened at the sight of Ethan and hurried over. Ethan pulled up the corners of his mouth. Usually, when people were this happy to see him, there was a reason. Jade looked at Ethan as if he were the savior of the world.
“Coming back from training, Ethan?”
“Yes.”
“There’s a gathering this week that the young master must attend with the lord, and we need to discuss the schedule. As you know……”
“As always, I’ll disappear if you bring up work. I’ll talk to him and see if we can align our schedules.”
“Oh, thank you so much.”
“What’s the schedule like?”
“I left the invitation in your room.”
“I’ll check it out.”
It was clear this wasn’t a random request. He was already in a position where he had to coordinate Del’s schedule. It wasn’t unpleasant. He knew how hard Jade worked to adjust Del’s schedule on his own, and usually, by the time it was handed over to Ethan, those efforts had been reduced to scraps of paper. And it wasn’t entirely Jade’s fault. Del, who rarely had external engagements, only had one or two a month, and even then, he often tried to weasel out of them. It was all Del’s fault.
Returning to his room, Ethan washed off the sweat and changed his clothes. On the table was the invitation Jade had mentioned. Seeing the date, he realized he’d need to start preparing at least this early. The gathering was in ten days, and he could tell how hard Jade had tried and how frustrated he must have been before passing the task to him. It would have been easier if he’d just given it to Ethan from the start, but Jade was surprisingly diligent. His efforts were just usually in vain because of Del.
After checking the schedule, Ethan left his room, thinking about where Del might be at this hour. It was still early morning. He was probably sprawled out asleep in his room. If not, it was usually something troublesome, so Ethan hoped he was just sleeping it off. He turned toward Del’s room. Unfortunately, Del’s bedroom was right next door.
Knock, knock. There was no response. It wasn’t unusual. Ethan, who had knocked out of courtesy, opened the door. It wasn’t locked.
“Del.”
He called his name, but there was no answer. That wasn’t unusual either. Del was rarely conscious at this hour. But today’s silence seemed different. Ethan strode to the bed and pulled back the covers. As expected, it was empty. If there was no one in the bed, he should at least pretend there was, but Del always stuffed a pillow or something in there to make it look like someone was there. Ethan shook his head and left the room. It seemed things were about to get complicated.
If Del woke up early without being roused, it usually meant he’d done something. Whatever Del did was unpredictable, even for the household, so the best course of action was to find him quickly and stop him from doing anything else. Ethan asked the passing servants if they’d seen Del. Most didn’t know where he’d gone, but their reactions were the same: “The young master again?” Fortunately, the fifth servant he asked knew where Del was.
“He went toward the west wing.”
“By any chance…….”
“……He wasn’t empty-handed. He was dragging a large white cloth.”
“What is that?”
“How would I know?”
“Right?”
The servant, who had seen Ethan searching for Del, seemed to sense what was coming and said he’d prepare a bath. Ethan nodded. It looked like he’d have to clean him up and make him presentable again today.
“You have a hard time taking care of the young master.”
“It’s nothing, really.”
“Before you came, he wouldn’t let anyone attend to him. Just thinking about those days gives me a headache.”
“It’s Del’s fault.”
“Hah. Well, take care.”
“Yes.”
After parting with the servant, Ethan hesitated for a moment before turning toward the garden. The paths were wet, so it would be better to go through the corridor, but he didn’t know what Del might do in the meantime, so crossing the garden was safer. The garden path took longer, and he’d have to cut through, which meant breaking branches and stepping on flowers, but the strict gardener usually understood when Ethan did that. Because when Ethan cut straight through the garden, it usually meant “the young master is up to something.” Had Del once flattened an entire garden? It was years ago, but ever since, the gardener had been vigilant about stopping him. Ethan felt a bit out of touch with the times.
As he hurried through the garden, Ethan pushed through the trees and ran into someone—the duke and his secretary, taking a stroll while discussing the schedule. The secretary held a thick notebook and pen. Ethan bowed, and the duke gave him a kind smile.
“Ethan. What has Del done now?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s not confirmed yet.”
“He’s planning to do something, then. Don’t worry too much about stopping him. Magicians don’t usually die from their antics.”
So as long as he didn’t die, anything went? Ethan realized once again that the duke was definitely Del’s father. The duke might rush over in shock whenever Del broke something, but he never stopped him from doing whatever he wanted. As long as Del was physically fine, he’d just let it slide, which was why Del’s eccentricities never stopped. “At least he’s not dead” was what the duke said most often to Del after an incident. Then Del would just grin and start planning his next stunt.
“Ethan, have you heard about the young master’s gathering schedule? Mr. Jade seems to be struggling, so it’s probably been passed to you.”
“Yes. I just received it.”
“The other details have been arranged, so please take care of it until then.”
“Yes.”
The “other details” referred to the ancillary tasks that came with Del’s outings—making him sit down to review documents, getting him new clothes, and even attending to him during travel. Ethan had long been labeled the “young master’s attendant-cum-secretary” by the staff. As they briefly discussed Del’s schedule, Ethan realized time was passing. The duke smiled and said,
“You should go find Del, shouldn’t you? Off you go.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you for being Del’s friend. He’s a boy with no one by his side, so I’m counting on you.”
“……Yes.”
Friend. It wasn’t a word that fit their employer-employee relationship, but the duke had defined it as such. Since only family and Ethan called Del by name within the mansion, perhaps that was why. It didn’t often feel special, given all the tasks that came with it, but……
When he reached the west wing, the servants rushed toward him as if they’d been waiting. Their expressions suggested he was already too late.
“The young master jumped off the roof!”
For anyone else, that would be shocking—a suicide attempt!—but for Del, it was nothing unusual. He was a magician, after all, and though he complained about the effort, flying was easy for him. But if the servants were saying this, it meant he hadn’t used magic. Ethan asked calmly,
“Without any magic?”
“No! He was wearing some strange white cloth!”
“……Where is he now?”
“He fell into the pond but won’t come out.”
“I’ll go see.”
Ethan, having learned Del’s location, ran to the pond in the west wing garden. Del had his reasons for choosing the spot. This part of the garden had low trees and a wide pond, so there was nothing to get caught on if he fell. It seemed he’d been secretly making something, and now he’d caused another incident. And there was Del, just as the servants had said.
“Del.”
There was no answer. Del was floating in the middle of the wide pond. Ethan saw that his eyes were closed. Was this a protest? The pond wasn’t deep enough to drown, so Ethan took off his shoes and stepped into the water. It would be better to drag him out than to wait for him to come out on his own.
Del was floating in water that only came up to his waist. He lay there with his eyes closed, as if asleep. His already pale face had turned even whiter from the prolonged “protest.” Ethan peeled the wet hair from his face. Only then did Del open his eyes. They were a vivid green, sparkling in the morning sunlight.
“Hello, Ethan?”
Ethan couldn’t maintain his stern expression at the sight of Del’s bright smile. When they first met, his face had been so delicate it could have passed for a girl’s, but as he grew, it became unmistakably masculine. His features were fine and androgynous, but no one would mistake him for a girl now. Still, he was undeniably beautiful. His black hair swayed beneath the water, and his white face turned only toward Ethan.
“What did you do today?”
“I tried to fly.”
Fly? Over by the garden trees, something was broken to pieces, and a torn white cloth hung from a branch. That must have been the result of today’s incident. Ethan looked Del’s soaked body up and down. His clothes were torn and scratched, but nothing seemed broken or seriously injured. He sighed. He’d never understood Del from the start, but this was beyond him.
“You could have used magic.”
Del frowned at Ethan’s words.
“Where’s the romance in that?”
Grumbling, Del stretched his arms upward. As Ethan leaned down, Del pulled him into a hug. Ethan, who had been considering how to help him up, had no choice but to lift Del into his arms. His lean body was wet but not heavy. Maybe he was tired from getting up early to cause trouble, because Del was already dozing off in his arms. It seemed he’d been floating because he was too sleepy to get up. Ethan carried Del back to his room, their soaked bodies dripping water. The servants didn’t even bat an eye at the sight of the two of them drenched.
The warmth of the body in his arms seeped into him. Sometimes he wondered. Del, who kept no one by his side, had made an exception for him. Sometimes it felt like more than just an employment contract. But it was probably just his imagination. Sometimes Ethan wanted to ask someone—or even Del himself—what he was to him. Or to Del.
What am I to you?
He probably wouldn’t ask, and even if he did, there would be no answer. For now, this was enough. So for now…… as a friend, attendant, secretary, and guard?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
