Chapter 51: Urien Disappeared!

“Is it tasty?”

That was one of the phrases Urien heard the most often from Rodrick’s mouth.

Morning, noon, night—at every single meal they had, Rodrick would say it. Each time, Urien would respond, “It’s tasty,” and Rodrick would nod with a satisfied face while saying, “I see,” just like right now. Then, it wouldn’t be long before he asked again,

“Is it tasty? Not too cold?”

“It’s tasty.”

“The meat’s not tough to cut, is it?”

“Not at all.”

“You were chewing for quite a while.”

“Because that’ll make it easier to swallow.”

“It’s not hard to chew, is it?”

“It isn’t.”

“Your jaws don’t feel tired, right?”

“They don’t, don’t worry.”

Urien answered absent-mindedly, popping another piece of steak into his mouth. Meanwhile, Rodrick casted him a concerned glance.

Since the weather was nice today, they decided to have lunch in the cabin. Rodrick had just returned to the estate earlier in the morning, and he looked extremely busy, so Urien had planned to eat alone. But just before noon, Rodrick showed up at his room.

And that was how they got here, eating lunch together. Sharing breakfast or dinner might be something that was expected for a married couple, but it wasn’t the case with lunch. Yet lately, Rodrick had been trying to seize every chance to come to Urien.

During his breaks, he’d seek him out, asking, “What are you reading?” or “Is that something you picked up from the grounds?” or “Are you hungry? Don’t go running around eating random grass, alright?” He did it so often that it made Urien wonder if their contract was even relevant at this point. When he asked why he went out of his way to find him, Rodrick just mumbled something incomprehensible, brushed it off, and eventually left.

This also happened in the morning and at night. The other day, after dinner with Rodrick, Urien took Ella to the library near the west wing to pick up a book. That was what all that he did, and yet for some reason, both the east and central wings erupted into chaos.

Urien hadn’t specifically mentioned going to the library, but he only planned to go out for a few minutes. But, during those few minutes, Rodrick found out that he wasn’t in his room, declared, “Urien’s disappeared!” and immediately mobilized the knights to search through the garden and the estate.

In the mornings, he often woke up before Urien. It was something that Urien was concerned about, since he was afraid that the man was having difficulty sleeping, but the man fell asleep more easily than before, looked well-rested, and had a healthy complexion. Yet for nearly a month now, he was always up first, and Urien always found him sitting on the bedroom sofa, as if meditating.

Of course, he found it terrifying at first. He woke up to find Rodrick sitting upright in bed, staring at Urien. Caught off guard and groggy, His face immediately paled and stammered out, “Why are you staring at me…?”

Rodrick mumbled, “No reason,” and left the bedroom. Since that morning, whenever Rodrick woke up first, he sat on the sofa instead of the bed. Why he lingered in the bedroom remained a mystery, but Urien dismissed it as him needing that time for meditation.

By now, he was used to it. Even as they ate, Rodrick’s gaze usually lingered at him. He didn’t mind, of course. Occasionally, he’d even call out, “Lord Rodrick,” and Rodrick would instantly respond with an eager, “What?” no matter how low his voice was when he called out to him.

“You just came back this morning, right? Aren’t you tired?”

“Not particularly… is there anything you want to do if I’m tired?”

“Huh?”

“Do you want to do something for me?”

“Huh? Me?”

Urien couldn’t imagine himself soothing Rodrick’s fatigue. So, he was caught off guard by the sudden question, but he just laughed and said, “What could I even do?” At that, Rodrick’s eyes flickered with a hint of disappointment, but a faint smile curved on his lips.

Recently, Urien noticed that no matter what kind of conversation they had, whenever Rodrick smiled like this, he felt genuine feelings in it. It made him think that perhaps, Rodrick was someone who loved to see others’ smiles.

“If I could do something, I suppose I would. Maybe a massage?”

“You’d do it?”

“Well, I’m not that strong, though. I tried giving Tet a shoulder massage once, but…”

“What’s that?!”

Flinch-!

“Your voice… it’s loud…”

“M-my bad.”

Obviously, Urien was startled by that sudden outburst.

Rodrick rarely raised his voice—it was always low and calm. He was always so composed that when he did shout, it genuinely shocked Urien to no end like this.

Regardless, it was easier to read his emotions nowadays. When they first got married, he either looked tired or angry, but now, he’d smile sometimes, and even panicked like this for no clear reason.

“…Sorry, Urien. Really, sorry.”

“It’s fine. What were we talking about again?”

“You were trying to massage Theobald’s shoulders.”

“Oh, right. Tet was complaining about stiff shoulders, so I tried massaging them, but…”

“Wha—ngh…”

‘Ngh? What kind of sound is that?’ Though he was puzzled, Urien still continued.

“Even when I tried my best, it just didn’t work. Tet didn’t even notice I was massaging his shoulders. I guess my grip’s too weak.”

“Then what?”

“Then? Nothing happened. His shoulders are still stiff.”

“I’ll handle that. We’ll hire a masseur for him. I’m just asking about what you two did afterward.”

“Huh? Nothing. Things just turned awkward. He probably felt awkward about that attempt, while I felt useless—”

“You’re not useless.”

Rodrick declared in a firm tone.

“You’re not useless at all. Far from it.”

He said it like it was an absolute truth, even though he just ignored the context entirely.

Though somewhat overwhelmed by his intensity, Urien tilted his head.

“…What were we talking about again?”

“The massage. So, would you give me one?”

“Did you not listen to my story?”

“You did that for Theobald, not me. My shoulders might just be thinner than his.”

Even Urien knew that claim was absurd. Rodrick’s broad, muscular shoulders, covered in thick muscle, were practically impenetrable by his hands. ‘What is he even saying?’ he thought to himself.

Still, Urien was curious to try again. After finishing his meal, he stood up and said, “Let’s do it,” while moving behind Rodrick.

The moment he placed both hands on Rodrick’s shoulders—

“Let’s not.”

“Huh?”

Rodrick suddenly tilted his upper body away, as if escaping Urien’s hands.

His thick neck was partially covered by his black hair that reached his shoulders. Puzzled, Urien tried touching his shoulders again.

But Rodrick just stood up this time.

“Stop, please.”

“Whoa, what’s that about?”

With him now standing, he became too tall for Urien to reach. Urien lightly clenched his hands, who had lost their purpose, and peered up at Rodrick, standing close enough their skin might brush.

“Why did you stand up all of a sudden?”

“S-stand up? I’m not standing up!”

“You are! I can’t reach you!”

“A-ah, right, yeah…”

Urien glared up at Rodrick, who was avoiding his gaze, only glancing down briefly before stepping back.

Rodrick was so tall that looking up at him made Urien’s neck ache. But even from down there, Urien noticed how his ears looked oddly red, and he threw a concerned look at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I realized shoulder massages aren’t for me.”

“That’s… a thing? Ah, is it because it feels too ticklish for you?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“So that’s why your ears are red.”

“They are not.”

“They are. Do you have a fever?”

When he moved, Rodrick’s hair covered his ears, making it hard to see them, in which Urien reached out, touching his black hair, prompting him to narrow his eyes as if startled. Despite his reluctant expression, he didn’t pull away. So, Urien continued, touching his ear to check if he caught a fever or not.

“H-hey…”

“What’s wrong?”

“W-why did you touch it so suddenly?”

“I wanted to check if you caught a cold…”

“I see. I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“You’re acting weird. Or am I just being too sensitive? Are you just tired?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“Still…”