CH 27

1 hour before.

Yul went into Mikael’s jacket pocket, soothing his complicated feelings. He didn’t like the feeling of being comfortable in the pocket that was just right for his body.

“Are you really serious?”

“That’s the fifth time you’ve asked that question.”

“I’m sorry…”

Mikael responded coldly to Caleb’s question.

Yul looked at Caleb sadly. In Yul’s eyes, it seemed that he had been suppressing himself and patiently asked the question five times.

In his mind, he would have wanted to ask ‘Are you out of your mind?’ fifty more times, but asking him politely five times like that would mean that Caleb cared for Mikael that much. Or maybe it was the feeling of a subordinate who didn’t want his boss to do anything embarrassing.

Whatever the case, Mikael vehemently ignored Caleb’s sincerity. Levi was the only one left. Yul looked at Levi with the most pitiful expression on his face.

Please save me, Levi. And stop your boss from being embarrassed.

“Archduke, the other nobles may not but the Duke Esirene would laugh at you.”

Who knows if he noticed Yul’s eyes or if Levi himself couldn’t stand it, but Levi delivered a blow.

As soon as Duke Esirene was mentioned, Mikael’s face hardened.

In that change, Yul found hope. With all his heart, he tried to send Mikael a telepathic message.

‘Yeah, you don’t want to be treated like a fool by the Duke Esirene either! So leave me and go!’

“Doesn’t matter, because Esirene would think so anyway, since he called for me.”

Mikael replied coldly.

He was right. Constantine Esirene could not have invited Mikael to a banquet because he wanted to. There must have been some conspiracy, and that wouldn’t have been a good thing.

But even so, he’s giving someone who called to attack him something to bite at? Yul did not understand Mikael’s idea at all.

Yet at the same time, he was envious. No matter how much the opponent tried to attack him, his spirit of not blinking an eye was amazing.

That’s a gwanggong’s mentality. Mentally strong, really.

In the end, there was no result and Yul entered the banquet hall of the Duke Esirene, in Mikael’s jacket.

“Uh, uh… ?”

“No, what is that?”

""

“That person… is Archduke Orlov, right?”

“Uh… I think that’s right.”

As soon as Mikael entered the banquet hall, surprised aristocrats were chattering everywhere. They would seem like they were speaking softly to one another, but some conversations were clearly audible to Yul’s tiny ears.

He wanted to ask Mikael if it was really okay to do this, but he had also commanded him not to move, and Yul himself wanted to refrain from doing anything that stood out, so he endured.

“Isn’t this Archduke Orlov? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. I’m Count Wilson.”

Unlike those who couldn’t approach Mikael willingly as they were murmuring, a middle-aged gentleman greeted him with an acquaintance. He was Count Major Wilson.

Yul almost looked at him in surprise at the word ‘Wilson’. It was because he was the one who gave Mikael the grand diamond ring on his birthday.

“Long time no see, Wilson. The gift you sent was well received.”

“It’s nothing. It was a small thing to give to the Archduke. It’s nice to see the Archduke here like this.”

Count Wilson seemed to be good at socialising. While he humbled himself while talking to Mikael, he elevated Mikael naturally and continued the conversation. His gaze glanced at Yul, then turned back. Yul, who felt that momentary gaze, straightened his short body.

“Today, the Archduke seems to stand out more.”

He was indeed max level when it came to socialising. Count Wilson was commenting on his bizarre appearance and turned it into something polite. Yul inwardly stuck out his tongue at his superb sucking up.

“Ah, it’s because I’m raising a child.”

“Yes?”

No, what is this madman talking about?

Yul was startled by Mikael’s words. Fortunately, Count Wilson said what Yul had to say; ‘Yes?’

Since when did he have a child? Was he referring to him? Or Lucky? Whatever it was, the expression “child” was very misleading.

Not only the Count Wilson, who was conversing with him, but also the nobles around him looked at Mikael with a surprised expression. However, Mikael just acted like their gazes had nothing to do with him.

“Like I said, a child. The child likes this.”

“What do you mean child…”

Count Wilson’s face turned white at the calm reply. Yul felt something strange about the change.

Of course, it was shocking news that Mikael had a child. But it was certainly too much for Count Wilson to turn so pale.

“What are you so surprised about? Wouldn’t the Count be happy that I had a child?”

“Oh, how can I not… I was just surprised by the sudden news… Congratulations.”

To Mikael’s sharp interrogation, Count Wilson responded by shaking his head. However, his expression still faltered.

“Well then, I shall just…”

Count Wilson hurriedly greeted him as if he was running away and disappeared among the nobles. It was a completely different look than when he greeted Mikael in the first place.

Yul narrowed his eyes involuntarily because of his doubts, and then he opened his eyes again, thinking that he shouldn’t be doing that.

At that moment, a long shadow stopped in front of Mikael.

“Hello. Long time no see. This is Constantine Esirene.”

The silver-haired man introduced himself as Constantine Esirene. Yul tensed up at the appearance of another maniac. At the thought that what was to come was coming, dry saliva ran down his throat full of cotton.

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

“You have come a long way. Unlike the Archduke’s residence, it is located in the depths of the mountain, so I am worried that the journey might have been uncomfortable.”

“There’s no need to be worried.”

“Is that so? If so, I’m glad.”

At first glance, it seemed like a normal perfunctory conversation, but there was a tension between the two. The cool gazes towards each other collided in mid-air without retreating an inch.

“By the way… While I was in the outskirts, the capital’s banquet style seems to have changed.”

Light sky-blue eyes close to gray stared at Yul. Yul also looked at him with anxious eyes.

Constantine Esirene, who gave off a pale overall impression, was a handsome man. However, because he was so pale, there was a cold feeling like a piece of ice.

“You have something pretty cute. It suits the Archduke well.”

“I’m glad you see it like that. Isn’t this doll pretty cute? He indeed suits me well.”

It was obvious that he was being sarcastic, but when Mikael took it lightly, Constantine frowned oddly. However, he quickly relaxed his expression as if nothing happened, and smiled slowly. He was like a silver snake, perhaps because of his pale and cold aura.

“Then I hope this little friend has a great banquet.”

They were significant words that he didn’t know if it was meant to be meaningless or if it was aimed at Yul. Yul was very nervous that he might have discovered his identity.

However, contrary to Yul’s concerns, Constantine greeted him politely, then quickly turned around and headed towards the center of the banquet hall.

‘Ahhh, this is nerve-wracking to death.’

At that moment, his body, which had been cramped, relaxed a little.

Since then, there have been many nobles greeting Mikael. Countless nobles greeted Mikael and expressed their curiosity about Yul’s existence.

Each time, Mikael somehow repeated the words “I have a child” like what he said to Count Wilson.

After such a long time, Yul felt a subtle headache.

For the first time since he possessed the doll’s body he felt unwell from an internal factor rather than an external shock. At first he blamed his mood for it, but as time went on, his headache grew stronger.

When the headache became unbearably severe, Yul couldn’t bear it and patted Mikael’s body with both arms inside his jacket.

Mikael felt strange at the action and headed to the corner of the banquet hall, which was relatively empty.

“What’s the matter?”

“M- My head hurts so much. My head… urgh.”

When Mikael asked in a low voice, Yul also answered as quietly as possible. He hadn’t even said a few words, but he felt very nauseous.

Mikael felt uneasy at Yul’s reaction, and quickly left the banquet hall and headed for an empty place.

“Where, how much does your head hurt?”

“I- I don’t know. It’s just going to break, ugh, no, it’s broken, already.”

In response to his question, Yul struggled to answer. Even his complexion became noticeably pale even for a small doll.

Seeing such a Yul, Mikael’s eyes narrowed. He was in a hurry to return to the Archduke’s residence, but it didn’t seem like he was in a situation to get on his carriage right away. It was the first priority to lay down his body.

When he usually held a banquet, he would give a room for the weary to rest. It was the same for the Duke Esirene. Mikael caught one of his servants passing by and asked where an empty room was.

“Yuri, hang in there.”

Mikael’s steps toward the empty room grew faster and faster. Finally, when Mikael arrived at the room the servant had informed him of, he immediately took Yul out of his pocket and laid him on the table.

[Hey, hey! Calm down! Park Yul! Park Yul, you crazy… I called 911, so don’t lose consciousness, okay? Are you listening to me?]

“Ah, uhh…”

At the sound of Changhyun’s voice coming out of nowhere, Yul grabbed his head and rolled over on the table.

His head hurt and he was confused. He couldn’t understand why Changhyun’s voice was being heard now.

“Yuri, calm down. Can you hear me?”

[Hey! Park Yul! Park Yul!]

The voices of Mikael and Changhyun were intertwined. When the voices of two people in completely different spaces were heard at the same time, Yul was even confused about where he was.

“Uh, uhh, ah…”

Yul couldn’t even open his eyes properly and suffered from a severe headache.

He felt someone shaking his body. However, the body shaking was not the doll’s body. It was a human body.

Rip~

The sound of something tearing was heard. It was the moment when Yul, who felt strange, opened his eyes. As Yul lost his focus and was about to fall off the table, Mikael grabbed Yul.

Thanks to that, Yul, who slid down and sat down in his arms, blinked in surprise.

It was because his eye level, which was usually high, was the same.

Yul, who could not understand the situation, blinked slowly and lowered his gaze slowly as he felt the chill in his body.

It was his bare body. Completely nude with nothing on. So, in short, stark naked.

“E- Eeekk!”

Taken aback, he looked for his clothes. His clothes, which he had been wearing well until now, had become mere pieces of cloth and were scattered on the floor. In embarrassment, he tried to hold the banquet suit, but it was now the size of a palm for Yul, who had become a human.

Yul panicked at the exposed white skin, and pulled the tablecloth next to him and wrapped it around himself.

“M- Mikael…”

The tablecloth slid down on the smooth skin. Dark pink nipples stood straight on his bare chest.

“What should I do… ?”

Yul later opened the tablecloth again and covered his chest. It looked particularly slow to Mikael.