<Chapter 61>

A pair of ordinary human eyes and elongated vertical pupils locked onto mine with startling precision.

Now that I thought about it, this might be the first time Temenos had directly and deliberately met my gaze like this.

‘My face… is reflected even in those vertical pupils…’

I was preoccupied with such a useless thought when Temenos cupped my cheek with his hand.

At the same time, he leaned closer toward me.

Then—

Bang.

“Eekkk!”

The sound of the door suddenly opening startled me. I instinctively pushed against Temenos’ shoulders, making him step back just as quickly.

“Who’s there?”

His sharp voice betrayed his surprise.

I pressed my left hand against my chest, trying to calm my erratic heartbeat, and turned toward the source of the noise.

Not the door… but the window.

There, standing at the wide-open window, was Ferry, wearing a puzzled expression. His face seemed to silently ask, “What were you two doing?” and perhaps also, “Why are you so startled?”

“Ferry, you…”

Temenos let out a long sigh, covering his face with both hands as if to regain composure.

As for me, I sighed while glancing at Ferry, who tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand the fuss.

‘Of all times… why now?’

It’s ruined, completely ruined.

Still, at least he managed to land a kiss. That’s something.

Getting off the bed, I hastily adjusted my disheveled clothing and glanced at Ferry, who had begun emptying something onto the table.

“And what’s that?”

Ferry just beamed at me with a sunny smile.

I walked closer to take a look and saw it was… those familiar stone fragments.

“You brought a lot this time.”

“You only ever brought one at a time before,” Temenos added as he approached me. He picked up one of the stones from the table and examined it.

Ferry, hands on his hips, struck a proud pose as if he’d accomplished some grand feat during a hunt.

His attitude reminded me of something I’d momentarily forgotten.

“What about that man—the one you were chasing?”

At my question, Ferry tilted his head again.

Seeing this, Temenos rephrased the question, apparently realizing my wording wasn’t clear enough.

“Did you catch him?”

Ferry nodded vigorously.

“Did you bring him here?”

Ferry shook his head.

“You didn’t… seriously, you only caught him and left it at that?”

He nodded again.

I facepalmed.

Now that I thought about it, Temenos had definitely said to him:

“Ferry! After him!”

So Ferry had simply followed the order to “go after” him… and nothing more.

I shot Temenos a look that screamed, ‘This is entirely your fault.’

“You should’ve told Ferry to catch him and bring him back.”

Temenos was quiet for a moment, seemingly acknowledging his mistake, before he turned to Ferry.

“Next time you find that man, make sure to tie him up properly so he can’t escape. Got it?”

Ferry nodded enthusiastically, looking as though he completely understood this time.

Letting out a small sigh, I turned to Temenos.

“Well then… wait, huh?”

Was it just my imagination? Or something more?

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

Temenos, his face slightly flushed, avoided my gaze while fidgeting with his lips.

But it wasn’t his lips that caught my attention.

“Your face… the scales. It looks like there are fewer of them.”

“What?”

“I mean, didn’t they increase because of me? It seems like they’ve returned to normal now.”

Temenos, looking somewhat surprised, ran his hand along the left side of his face before walking to my vanity to inspect himself in the mirror.

“You’re right… they’re back to normal.”

“How? Do you think if we tried again, they might disappear entirely?”

“I doubt it…” Temenos cleared his throat awkwardly and gestured subtly toward the table, where Ferry was still playing with the stones.

His gaze clearly said, “What are you even suggesting with a kid present?”

“Fine, we’ll try again later… when we’re alone.”

“Ahem,” Temenos coughed awkwardly, as if flustered by the idea of being alone with me.

The bold man who had once pinned me to the bed seemed to have vanished entirely.

‘Still, this is progress.’

The thought cheered me up.

I watched Ferry for a moment before taking Temenos’ hand and leading him out of the room.

“Now that I think about it, we have something to do, don’t we?”

“Something to do?”

“Bishop Roam.”

“Oh.”

It seemed he’d completely forgotten.

He cast a slightly discontented glance at the door as it creaked shut behind us, then turned to follow me.

“Let’s go, then.”

His steps were unusually heavy, which sparked a mischievous impulse in me.

“Aw, disappointed, are we?”

I caught the moment his stride faltered.

But Temenos quickly recovered, his athleticism making it look effortless. He turned to me with a calm expression.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb. Your face is practically giving it away.”

“…My face?”

Temenos raised a hand to touch his face, as though realizing he wasn’t wearing his usual mask.

‘He kissed me, looked in the mirror earlier, and only now notices?’

Honestly, his face without the mask was far better, though I decided not to stare too much. Otherwise, he might pull out another mask from who-knows-where.

“So, how’s Bishop Roam? He hasn’t been causing a scene in the dungeon, has he? You know, claiming ‘I am Bishop Roam!’ or something?”

“No, he hasn’t.”

Temenos hesitated briefly, glancing at me before explaining.

“I subdued his mind.”

“Because he was making such a fuss?”

How much of a fuss could he have caused to warrant that?

“…It’s complicated.”

Temenos rubbed his chin, clearly deep in thought.

It looked like he was debating how much to tell me.

“Don’t keep secrets. Just tell me everything so we can figure it out together.”

“It’s nothing significant.”

“Then you can tell me, since it’s nothing.”

When I started poking his side relentlessly, Temenos finally grabbed my hand, as if worried I’d keep pestering him.

With a small sigh, he explained: “The Emperor tried to use Bishop Roam to spread a scandal about me in Winstein—to force a divorce between you and me. I subdued Roam to prevent any nonsense from spreading, but the noblemen who accompanied him simply left him behind and returned to the capital.”

Apparently, Temenos had left Roam in the city guard’s jail to make it easier for someone to approach him, but no one had bothered.

“The nobles might’ve found it troublesome to meddle with a bishop under the Great Temple. What’s troubling is that they left before any rumors started circulating. It’s possible they’re planning something else.”

This didn’t sound like “nothing significant” at all.

“What kind of scandal? Didn’t you say even the Emperor couldn’t force a divorce without cause?”

“True, but if there were rumors that I kept a mistress and that she and I were colluding to abuse you, it would be different.”

I immediately felt my mood sour.

“Of course I’d divorce you if that were true! I wouldn’t tolerate that for a second! Wait… don’t tell me…”

Was this why he hadn’t come near me until now?

“It’s not like that.”

“Not like what? I didn’t even say anything, but you’re already defending yourself. Got something to hide?”

“Your expression is practically screaming suspicion right now.”

With a sigh, Temenos rubbed the scales on the side of his face.

“Honestly, do you think any woman other than you would even look twice at a man with this appearance?”

“It’s not that bad… but, uh, the way you phrased that… it sounds like you think my tastes are weird.”

“To be fair, that’s not entirely—”

“And for the record, I’ve never said I liked you!”

Determined to clear up this misunderstanding, I clenched my fists and declared it loudly.

Temenos, however, merely furrowed his brows and nodded as though coming to his own conclusion.

“True. You’ve never said it aloud.”

“Not just aloud! I’ve never—wait, where are you going? Don’t leave! We need to clear this up!”

This man!

Hey! I’m telling you, I don’t like you! This has nothing to do with your handsome face!
 

<To be continued>

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