The Beast That Licks Me - Chapter 1.16

Evan pointed to the mountain of books and said glumly.

“These.”

Rosette held the candle high and scanned the books spread across the desk. “50 Ways to Become a Gentleman,” “Making a Gentleman in One Month,” “History of the Tessaret Empire,” “World Geography,” all books that looked boring just by their titles. Besides the books spread on the desk, the bookshelf covering one wall was also packed with books. It would take at least two years to learn everything, and Rosette clicked her tongue.

“Who told you to learn these?”

“…Sarhen.”

“Mom did?”

“Yes. She said if I go out without learning everything, you’ll be criticized by people. So I read diligently, but there are too many difficult words…”

Rosette hugged Evan tightly. She felt like she might burst into tears at any moment.

You imprisoned yourself here.

For my sake.

That fact was so heartbreaking. Evan accepted Rosette’s embrace familiarly and called her name.

“Rosette?”

“It’s okay, Evan. It’s okay if you don’t know anything.”

“Really?”

“Yes. If you need anything after we leave here- I’ll teach you everything.”

“Understood.”

Evan raised his eyebrows and answered resolutely. There was cream on the corner of his mouth. Rosette’s face softened into a smile at his innocent appearance.

Rosette wiped the cream from the corner of Evan’s mouth with her thumb, deep in thought. Rosette took out a small box from inside her garment. Inside the box were two bead-like candies.

“Open your mouth, Evan.”

Rosette said, personally placing the candy in Evan’s mouth. Only after eating the candy did Evan ask Rosette.

“What’s this?”

“Just candy. Don’t chew it, just roll it around in your mouth.”

Evan nodded obediently. Rosette rolled the candy in her mouth which tasted like a mixture of cold medicine and sticky sugar. Rosette placed the box in one hand and said.

“Evan, come out when I signal you. Don’t come out before then, no matter what.”

“Understood.”

Evan nodded docilely. Though he liked pranks, he wasn’t one to cause much trouble, so she could trust him.

Click, when the door opened, the knight looked toward Rosette. The anxious knight brightened upon seeing her.

“Did you finish your treatment well?”

“Yes, thanks to you. But Evan gave me something strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“He gave me this box? Do you know what it is?”

Rosette showed the knight the box clutched in her hand with a worried expression. Unable to discern what the box was, the knight leaned his head forward.

“What is… this?”

In less than a few seconds, the unusual gleam disappeared from the knight’s eyes, and they soon became cloudy. His whites seemed to roll back momentarily before his eyelids gently closed. His body was gradually collapsing. Rosette crouched down and waved her palm in front of the knight.

“Is he sleeping?”

Looking at the knight sleeping soundly, she felt newly guilty. The candy and box were Roxana’s creation. When opened, the box released a strong sleep fragrance that could put people to sleep for about 2 hours, but if you kept the antidote candy in your mouth, you could remain unaffected by the sleep fragrance. However, outdoors, the effect was diminished due to wind flow, so indoor use was recommended. Rosette slipped a silver bracelet she had kept in her pocket into the knight’s chest.

“I’m sorry.”

Rosette stood up abruptly and headed to Evan’s room. Evan was waiting by the door, rolling the candy in his mouth.

“Evan, come out.”

Evan followed Rosette and came outside without hesitation. Pleased to be outside, he stretched lightly while skipping down the corridor. Being tall, his stretched hands almost touched the ceiling. Evan was smiling brightly when he noticed the knight lying in the corridor and blinked in confusion.

“That knight, he’s sleeping?”

“…I put him to sleep.”

“You did, Rosette?”

Evan asked in a loud voice, surprised. Rosette covered his mouth and threatened him.

“Shh, be quiet. We might get caught.”

“…Okay.”

“If anyone discovers we’re together now, we’ll be separated forever from that day. So we need to leave quietly, without being caught.”

“I understand, I’ll be quiet…”

Evan nodded silently, seemingly comprehending the serious situation. Rosette took Evan’s hand and walked quickly down the corridor. Not being used to physical exertion, she quickly found herself out of breath.

Perhaps because it was night, there were hardly any people guarding the Count’s residence. Rosette led Evan, avoiding routes where people might be. An unlit kitchen appeared before them. The side door there was Rosette’s escape route. Holding the box with sleep fragrance just in case, Rosette carefully moved forward.

Creeeak.

The unoiled hinge screamed. Startled, Rosette opened the door with even more careful hands. Through a tiny gap, Rosette and Evan crawled out like crabs. The air that filled their lungs was incomparably fresher than inside.

Rosette walked unhesitatingly toward the garden. The Count’s garden was quite spacious and designed like a maze, causing many people to get lost. However, that didn’t apply to Rosette and Evan. They had spent much time in the garden since they were very young. Since Rosette rarely went outside the Count’s residence, the garden was their best picnic spot. Rosette and Evan knew the garden’s blind spots and dog holes better than anyone.

“Wait, stop for a moment. Evan.”

“Why?”

Evan asked with curiosity, speaking softly in response to Rosette’s quiet voice.

“There’s something we need to take.”

Saying that, Rosette reached into the evergreen dwarf vine that boasted green leaves year-round.

‘Roxana definitely said she’d put it here.’

Her fingertips touched only frozen soil and dry twigs. Rosette, turning pale, carefully felt around the ground. She had deliberately gone empty-handed to avoid making the knight guarding Evan suspicious. Trust me, she had said. Rosette stretched her hand to the limit, nearly lying down. Her thin chemise became covered in dirt.

‘Found it!’

Rosette’s face lit up. It seemed to have been placed deep inside to hide it securely. That’s my Xana. I knew I could count on you. Just as she was about to pull the bag with her hooked index finger.

“The young lady has disappeared-!”

‘Damn it!’

The knight’s voice echoed loudly. Rosette grabbed the bag, then caught Evan’s hand and started running quickly.

“Evan, run!”

Evan began running with Rosette, not knowing what was happening. Unlike Rosette, who quickly ran out of stamina and was panting, Evan kept pace with her comfortably without disturbing his breathing.

“If I’d known, huff. This would happen, gasp. I should have, huff. Exercised more…!”

She hadn’t walked that far, yet her breath was up to her chin and bile was rising. She had never resented her weak body more than today. Lights in the mansion began turning on one by one. Soon, the mansion was as bright as day. Rosette, reaching the back door, threw herself toward the dog hole.

“It’s gone…!”

Rosette’s face turned pale. The dog hole connecting the back door to the outside had cleanly disappeared.

The dog hole was dug by Evan and Rosette in a joint operation about 10 years ago. They had promised to go outside through that hole later, then completely forgot about it until they discovered it last year.

It had been hidden by bushes, and being such a small hole, it seemed it hadn’t been filled in yet. But why on earth had it disappeared? While Rosette was confused, she remembered what Becky had said a few days ago.

‘The old gardener retired, and a new young gardener came. He’s going to overhaul the garden before spring arrives. He’s very passionate.’

‘Really? Maybe our garden will finally follow some trends.’

‘That would be nice. They say he’s planting fruit trees too.’

‘I hope he plants figs. They’re delicious.’

‘I prefer apples. Nothing is as fresh and sweet-tart as freshly picked apples.’

“Hmm, that sounds good too. Could I have another cup of tea?”

Afterwards, she had been so busy preparing for the birthday that she completely forgot about it. Rosette felt like hitting her own forehead.

Damn that diligent gardener!

He must have discovered the dog hole while tidying the garden and filled it in.

“There are footprints here!”

“Check over there!”