Chapter 135
“Clovin, get ready to go up to Raptero.”
“Pardon? So suddenly?”
When I begged and begged you to go up to the capital before, you didn’t even pretend to listen.
And now you suddenly say we’re going up to the capital while I’m watering the plants?
“Stop it!”
While inwardly reciting curses he couldn’t understand about Declan, Clovin ended up pouring far too much water into the flowerpot by mistake.
Declan’s brow creased sharply when he saw it.
“H-Huh. I, I’m sorry.”
“Tira, right now…”
Declan rushed over in one stride. He tried lifting the pot to pour the water out, but the soil had already absorbed everything.
“…I, um… I’m sorry.”
Clovin quickly apologized, shrinking in on himself. Tira, that damn plant, was something Declan cherished dearly.
Its name was Es and Tira. Put together, Estira. The two plants were ones Declan greeted every morning and evening, checking their condition, gauging the mood of Estira far away in that distant country, and even speaking to them…
They were his beloved plants.
And Clovin, who knew nothing about plants, had volunteered to water them, taken the watering can from the gardener, and caused a full-blown disaster by soaking them.
Declan fell silent, gripping Tira, whose surface had gone beyond damp to downright drenched.
“……”
Had such a short silence ever been this painful…?
At some point, the gardener had already fled. Knowing all too well how much Declan treasured his plants, he had realized in advance that he couldn’t handle what would come after.
Clovin hastily tossed the watering can somewhere and hid his hands behind his back. He wanted to wash his hands of it and pretend it wasn’t his doing, but there was no way a trick like that would work.
Declan carefully set Tira down by the window where the sunlight streamed in, then turned to look at Clovin.
A dark shadow fell coldly across Declan’s face as he stood with the light behind him.
“You.”
“…Yes?”
When addressing Clovin, Declan usually either skipped titles entirely and went straight to the point, or called him by name.
This was the first time Declan had referred to Clovin as “you.” It was only natural that Clovin’s shoulders tensed up.
“If Tira ends up harmed…”
“…Then…”
“Know that you’ll end up the same.”
Which meant… if Tira dried up and died, Clovin would dry up and die too, and if its roots rotted and it died, then something in Clovin would rot and decay as well.
Either way, it didn’t change the fact that Clovin would die.
“…I’ll pray to every god in the world that Tira stays healthy.”
“Good. If you want to live.”
Leaving behind a voice dripping with cold, Declan tapped Clovin’s shoulder once and walked past him. At some point, Declan had grown tall enough to easily loom over Clovin and press down on his shoulder. That touch… was truly terrifying.
“S-So, when should we prepare to head up to the capital?”
“Within this week.”
This week?! You think that’s something you can just decide on and do like a picnic?
That’s what Clovin wanted to say, but he smacked his own lips to stop them from moving recklessly. Now was the time to lie flat and crawl.
“T-This week means there’s less than five days left, right? Haha. Then I’ll go get straight to work. It looks like I’ll have to pull all-nighters starting today.”
When Clovin shot him a resentful look, Declan silently turned his gaze to Tira by the window.
In an instant, Clovin’s aggrieved expression vanished, replaced by a bright smile.
“Of course!”
Clovin was about to dash out of the office when he grabbed the doorframe and turned back.
“But really, why are you suddenly going up to Raptero?”
“Soon.”
Because Declan had a habit of speaking while omitting subjects, objects, and predicates entirely, Clovin once again worked his brain briskly, as if solving a riddle.
“Ah! Young Duke, is it your baptism ceremony? Are you going early to prepare?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“Estira’s baptism…”
“Ah. That’s enough. I think I understand everything just from that. I’ll prepare as you ordered~”
Going to the capital in advance not even for his own baptism, but for Estira’s baptism, which was still a whole year away. What on earth was he thinking?
Was he planning to roll out red carpets everywhere Estira stepped on the day of the baptism?
Just as Clovin was about to bolt out the door before Declan could say anything, Declan stopped him again.
“As for Father…”
“Yes. Of course. I’ll say it’s for preparations for your baptism ceremony.”
“And the Imperial Palace…”
“Yes. Of course. I’ll say it’s an unofficial visit, so there’s no need for concern. Politely!”
“Go.”
“Yes!”
After four years of knowing Declan, Clovin had become a perfectly tailored slave to him.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.