Senior, I've Come to Visit - Chapter 49

“No, I’m not being forced, but I don’t want to go. The subjugation itself isn’t a big deal, but what am I supposed to do being away from our lovely Eloise?”

With an expression that genuinely asked what he should do, Nardi came over me. Bracing himself with both arms, he hovered as if he might pounce at any moment. I quietly looked up at his face.

“You go way more often than other people.”

“That’s right. Since Eloise lives in this world, I need to make it a comfortable place with no demonic beasts.”

“….”

“But I’m worried that other men might hit on Eloise while I’m gone.”

Whatever emotion I’d felt a moment ago disappeared instantly.

“You worry about the strangest things. Worry about the subjugation instead.”

“I do subjugations all the time. I’ll finish it as quickly as I can and come back.”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“You don’t have to come back quickly. Just be safe.”

It might’ve sounded cliché, but safety was the first and second priority. Nardi let out a laugh, delighted.

“Are you worrying about me?”

Isn’t that obvious?

It wasn’t a picnic. It was a dangerous demonic beast subjugation. Telling someone to be careful was basic courtesy.

“Be careful so you don’t get hurt.”

“I don’t get hurt. Ha, how can I leave behind my adorable Eloise?”

He wrapped his arms around me without putting his weight on me.

Adorable….

“Do you not want me to go?”

He asked with hopeful expectation. I didn’t answer right away and thought for a moment.

It was true. From the research lab in the Magic Tower to my house, we spent every day practically glued together. If he were gone for at least fifteen days, the emptiness would probably be noticeable. The milk had stopped, but having Nardi around was still convenient and comforting in countless ways.

“I think I’ll feel a bit empty if you go. But you have to go anyway….”

Before I could finish the sentence, kisses rained down on my face.

“….”

Smooch, smooch-

“That won’t do. I need to put you in my bag and take you with me.”

“I hate subjugations.”

“Why do you need to do one? All you need to do is fit right inside my bag.”

As if the bag wouldn’t explode.

“Have a safe trip, Nardi.”

“I’m not leaving yet.”

A low, gloomy voice echoed beside my ear.

“You’re leaving soon.”

“We have two nights left. For me and for us.”

For some reason, the way he said it made me uneasy.

He pressed a light kiss against my lips, then slipped his tongue through the gap. We tangled our tongues in a deep and unhurried kiss. Without realizing it, my arms wrapped around his neck, and his hands naturally slipped beneath my sleepwear.

***

“Are you okay, Eloise?”

“What?”

“You look tired. Your eyes are completely red.”

“Oh, I must’ve rubbed them just now. I’m fine.”

“Be careful. If the chemicals get in your eyes, it’ll be serious.”

“Yes.”

I smiled at Lupina, who was worrying, then returned my gaze to the reagent I was preparing.

I’d rubbed my sleepy eyes with the back of my hand for just a moment, but apparently they’d become bloodshot. Honestly, I was tired. I had no idea what time we’d even fallen asleep last night. Whenever I tried to check the time, Nardi blocked me.

“You’re not going to take care of your condition?”

“This is me taking care of it. I won’t be able to hold you for several days, so I have to prepare properly.”

Usually, before a subjugation, people refrained from exerting themselves, slept well, and prepared their bodies. But Nardi went even harder than usual. He didn’t let me go until late at night, to the point I felt like I was losing my mind. Whenever I reached climax and tried to fall asleep, he would slowly stroke me again to wake me up and start over.

I’m exhausted….

The culprit behind this exhaustion, Nardi, wasn’t in the lab right now. Since it was the day before the subjugation, he had gone to the Safety Department for meetings and training with the other participating members.

I didn’t exactly like that Nardi was going on such a large, long-term subjugation, but since he had to go anyway, I decided I would finally catch up on all the sleep I’d been missing. After finishing today’s work and going to the queen’s palace to hand over the potion, the commissioned research would be complete.

With nothing weighing on my mind, I wanted to rest comfortably and then visit Iella’s house for the first time in a while.

Originally, I had planned to go once the experiment ended and the milk stopped. I missed Iella and Rubel.

“It’s lunchtime, let’s go eat.”

“Yes.”

“Nardi will probably eat with the Safety Department people, right?”

“He said he thought so too.”

“Then let’s go on our own.”

Lupina, Mireille, and I headed to the Magic Tower cafeteria.

We exchanged brief greetings with the wizards we passed and found seats in a corner of the dining hall. Just in case, I looked around to see if Nardi was there, but he didn’t seem to be. Well, if Nardi had been here, he would have noticed us first and called out to us.

“Wow, this looks delicious.”

“Eat a lot.”

“Enjoy your meal.”

The Magic Tower cafeteria’s meals were excellent, but since I hadn’t slept, I didn’t have much appetite. Still, I ate slowly, focusing on fresh fruits, vegetables, and drinks. I was listening to Lupina and Mireille talk about everyday things and responding here and there when suddenly a voice pierced clearly through my ears.

“House Gracian sent a marriage proposal to the Marquis of Ferretti.”

“….”

A hush instantly fell over the cafeteria.

It wasn’t just me who heard it. People’s gazes all turned in the same direction. I glanced toward the owner of the voice, a man sitting in the middle of the dining hall. He was wearing a uniform, so he was someone from the Safety Department. Realizing the attention, he coughed awkwardly, lowered his voice, and continued whispering something to his colleagues. It was too far to hear clearly.

But I had definitely heard the words from earlier.

House Gracian sent a marriage proposal to the Marquis of Ferretti.

Gracian obviously meant the Gracian ducal family, and as far as I knew, the only person from the ducal house of marriageable age was Nardi.

“I heard it too. It looks like Nardi and Rocceni are getting married.”

Ah.

The words from the next table felt like a final blow. All around, wizards murmured excitedly. I kept my face expressionless and stared down at my food.

If it was Rocceni of the Marquis Ferretti family, I knew who she was.

Rocceni Ferretti.

A girl from my academy year. The daughter of Marquis Ferretti, one of the only four marquis households in the kingdom, and among our graduating class, the noble with the highest rank.

Back then, nobles mostly stayed with nobles and commoners with commoners, so I had never spoken to her. Even without that, we would never have become close.

In my memory, Rocceni wasn’t loud, but she didn’t leave a good impression. Only fragmented memories surfaced, but she had been close with Jerome Hartman and the group around him. Jerome Hartman and his group quietly and persistently bullied classmates who were weaker than them.

Rocceni Ferretti didn’t bully others directly, but whenever those things happened, she would laugh like she was enjoying the show. Watching her sneer as she stood by, I had decided she wasn’t a good person.

Or maybe I’m thinking of her too negatively because of what I just heard. In the end, she wasn’t the direct perpetrator, and there had been plenty of bystanders besides her.

“….”

I decided it had to be some kind of misunderstanding.

There was no way Nardi and Rocceni were getting married.

I had never once seen the two of them together. Not once, from our academy days until now. As far as I knew, after graduation, Rocceni hadn’t entered the Magic Tower but the royal palace instead. Unlike the majority of commoners whose academy tuition was sponsored, nobles who paid their own tuition had a wider range of career choices. Since Rocceni became a court wizard, I hadn’t seen her at all after graduation.

More than anything, Nardi was seeing me.

“Do you think it’s trustworthy? It just sounds like a baseless rumor….”

Lupina looked around in confusion.

“If it didn’t come from the person involved, I don’t think it’s worth believing.”

“Yeah, I’m not believing it. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”