TYND 62

Theon was slightly taken aback. Had someone hinted something to Rothy behind his back? But that was impossible. Everyone in the estate had basic decency. It was also unlikely Yolone Sirin would’ve said something like, ‘In the future, you’ll become Theon’s consort, and you’ll need to work hard to handle his raging sex drive’. 

“A man in your prime must’ve active sexual desires, but I can’t do anything about it as your spouse, so I feel really sorry. That’s why I want to be useful with magic, at least……”

“I appreciate the thought, but you’re misunderstanding something. Sex isn’t something a spouse’s obligated to provide.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The things a spouse must do for their partner are to eat well, to avoid having injuries, and stay healthy. Sex isn’t important.”

“That’s a relief……”

Rothy smiled sheepishly. Theon repeatedly caressed Rothy’s cheek, hoping no one else had heard this conversation. After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant. Rothy waddled along, complaining his belly was too full. Worried he might fall, Theon was about to lift him into his arms when Chi-chi let out a loud squeak.

Screee!

The weasel nestled against Rothy sniffed the air, then tugged at his clothes.

“What’s it doing?”

“I think it smells something delicious nearby.”

In front of the restaurant was a souvenir shop and it seemed they also sold snacks since there was a definite sweet aroma wafting from there. 

“After eating all that during dinner, it’s still hungry?”

“I didn’t know Chi-chi could eat this much either. In the past, even when I gave him my leftovers, he wouldn’t touch them. Oh, I just remembered something, I need to buy souvenirs!”

Rothy suddenly panicked as if he’d just remembered something he’d forgotten. 

“There’s something Aeruhen wanted specifically from here. And Ultje, Chungnip…… Everyone will be expecting something from me.”

“Then let’s buy them”

“Just a moment.”

Rothy peeled away Theon’s arm from where it clung to his back. It made one of Theon’s eyebrows shot up. 

“You stay here. I’ll go buy them myself.”

“……”

“I’ll just grab the stuff and come right back… You can wait, right?”

Rothy edged away slowly and pulled out his wallet. Theon immediately realised that Rothy wanted to buy something on his own, just like during the academy festival. Looked like Rothy wanted to give him another present. 

The dark blue wolf plushie he’d received then was now well-displayed on the bedside table alongside Rothy’s weasel plushie. 

“Will it be another doll this time?”

Whatever it was, as long as it was from Rothy, he didn’t care. 

“Don’t run. Walk slowly and come back soon.”

“Yeah!”

Rothy walked carefully into the shop, just as Theon had instructed. Since there had been an attempted kidnapping recently, Theon heightened his aura sensing more sharply than before. If other aura users were around, it’d be uncomfortable for them, but he was the northern archduke and he wasn’t one for such considerations. 

“Good evening, Your Grace.”

As soon as he was alone, a pair approached him as if they’d been waiting for this moment.

“Count Pasithee.”

“Did your luggage arrive safely? I instructed the servants that they shouldn’t miss a single thing, but I couldn’t help but worry that something might’ve been forgotten.”

“Everything arrived fine. No issue.”

Theon knew this couple had been glancing at him throughout the meal. The luggage talk was merely an excuse to further their purpose. Since he’d accepted their help earlier in the day, he decided to listen to what they had to say instead of brushing them off. 

“We’ve been watching for a while now, and I can see how wonderful the relationship between Your Graces is. You’re so inseparable that we weren’t sure how to approach you.”

“It sounds like you deliberately came when Rothy stepped away.”

“Is that how it seems? Haha. Well then, I suppose Your Grace isn’t familiar with what we do, are you?”

Couth Pasithee smiled brightly and held out a card. 

[Companionship Connection Consultants]

[Marion Pasithee, Tilton Pasithee]

“It’s embarrassing to say this ourselves, but we’re quite well known across the North for finding perfect matches for lonely souls seeking connections, regardless of age or gender.”

“In other words, you’re matchmakers.”

“Ahem. That’s what they used to call us. Also, please accept this as well. We’ve actually been looking for a chance to give this to you, Your Grace.”

With a glance from the count, her husband, who looked somewhat tense, unlike his wife, handed Theon a picture book. Inside were portraits of women and men from their late teens to mid-twenties, along with brief personal details like their names and ages. All of them were nobles and……

[Preferred Partner: Theon Detre Falsen]

“Every person in that book wishes to form a connection with you, Your Grace.”

Theon crumpled the picture book in his hand. 

“Have you not heard that I’m married?”

“I heard it was only because of Duke Yolone’s will that Your Grace took responsibility for Lord Rothy… He’s certainly a lovely person, but presumably the will couldn’t have meant for you to form a physical union. Isn’t it more of a guardianship arrangement, really?”

This was the accepted moral standard, meaning everyone thought the same. When Theon said nothing, Count Pasithee took that as encouragement and continued. 

“No one expects Your Grace to spend your entire life with Lord Rothy. I’ve no doubt that when Lord Rothy becomes an adult, which is nineteen by general standards, Your Grace will find him a suitable match as his guardian as well.”

He had absolutely no intention of doing so. 

When Rothy became an adult……

He’d been thinking of spending days and nights in bed with the young man with the long, wavy white hair. 

“By then, Your Grace will be thirty-four. A man in his prime like yourself should find a true companion. For your reference, we’ve matched fifty-two couples, and not one has divorced. Rather, they’re all known for their happy marriages. Nowadays, people are already lining up to have us handle their children’s… companionship connection.” 

This explains why they volunteered to assist with the luggage earlier.

Theon felt he had paid them back enough for moving his luggage by listening this far. 

“Enough. My spouse will be back soon.”

“Your Grace, we’re not suggesting you meet someone right away. We’re asking you to contact us when Lord Rothy has settled.”

“Marion… Let’s go now.”

Her husband had been clinging to her arm ever since a frown had appeared on Theon’s face, but the count seemed determined not to miss the opportunity. 

“Even if Your Grace were to divorce multiple times, there’d still be countless men and women of all ages who would gladly marry you. Please, just keep us in mind…”

“Count Pasithee. Do I have to show you my anger before you will stop?”

“Of course not. I apologise. We’ll take our leave now. Ah, when you’re looking for a match for Lord Rothy down the road, please also—”

In that instant, a sharp and chilling force surged around Theon. The comital couple immediately turned a deathly pale as they staggered backwards. No, they didn’t just stagger, they fell right on their bottoms. It felt like a massive shadow had opened its maw right before their eyes. 

“W–we’re… s–sorry…”

“Eek……”

Seeing them trembling and barely able to breathe, Theon frowned and withdrew his aura. They were civilians who were incapable of wielding a sword or magic. He’d momentarily lost control of his anger when she said, ‘a match for Rothy’ and released his aura. He could hear sharp intakes of breath from the people around them. Those same people were also beginning to whisper things like, 

“It’s true they kept bugging him, but did he really need to use his aura on them?”, “How frightening”, and “No wonder he’s called the ‘Demon of Seará’”… and so on.

When he turned his gaze to the shocked onlookers, they scattered like sardines that’d spotted a shark. They fled in panic, fear and terror filling their eyes. 

“……”

Theon jerked his chin, dismissing the comital couple, still half clinging to each other. Hurriedly, they picked themselves up and scrambled off. 

Why provoke him in the first place if they were going to be this frightened? Theon tried to erase his lingering bloodlust before Rothy came out by thinking pleasant thoughts.

Like those cheeks that puffed up from stuffing himself with whatever that was fed to him. Like those arms that stretched out in anticipation of being carried when they were going down staircases. Like the white crown of his head leaning subtly towards him whenever he reached out to stroke it……

As he pictured all these cute and endearing images, his anger vanished, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily crept upward. To use Rothy’s analogy, his mood had turned sweet like candy. 

“Theon!”

Just then, Rothy emerged from the shop and came bouncing in careful steps, his face beaming with joy. Mindful of Theon’s instructions, he didn’t run. That alone made him even more endearing.

“I saw this doll that looked so much like you I couldn’t not buy it!”

Of course, it was another dark-blue wolf plush. Its eyes were red, and its fur shimmered with specks of glitter as befitting a souvenir from Milky Way Falls. 

“It looks just like you, doesn’t it?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

“I guess you can’t tell about yourself. Let me tell you now. Theon, you’re like a wolf.”

“I see.”

“Let’s put it next to the wolf I bought at the Academy.”

Theon naturally took the shopping bag floating beside Rothy. Just from a glance, it looked like they were over fifty dolls packed inside. 

“I wanted to buy more, but there was a limit to how many each person could purchase…. I’ll share them with people who didn’t get one last time. But I think some people will miss out again this time too. What should I do…?”

It seemed the playful disappointment of those who hadn’t received a souvenir from the academy had made a deep impression on Rothy.

“There’s more than one souvenir shop around here, don’t worry.”

“There are more?”

“Yes. Shall we go buy some now?”

“Yes! But what’s that?”

At first Theon didn’t know what he was asking about, but he realised once Rothy had taken it from him. The crumpled item was the business card Count Pasithee had handed him. Rothy read the text printed on it.

“Companionship connection consultants…”

“……”

The back of Theon’s neck went cold. How long had it been since he felt such anxiety? But he forced himself to act composed. He was sure Rothy wouldn’t know what this meant.

“It’s a marriage broker, right? Why does Theon, who’s married, have this card……?”

But that was a miscalculation. Rothy knew exactly what it meant. He immediately answered:

“They said they wanted to find a match for Chungnip.”

It was an excuse that tumbled out hastily, without thought.

“Ah, really…?”

But Rothy was a very perceptive archmage.

“Give me that too.”

He was referring to the picture book.

“There’s no need for you to see this…”

“Give it.”

“……”

Theon helplessly surrendered the picture book as well. Rothy’s hands trembled as he turned the pages. The weasel that’d been on his shoulder came down his arm and sniffed around, then lost interest and climbed back. 

But Rothy didn’t. 

Every one of the twelve inside had listed their ideal match as Theon Detre Falsen.

“……”

Rothy looked up at Theon with quivering emerald eyes that were clearly saying: ‘How could you do this to me…?’

Looking at those green eyes swirling with betrayal, hurt, sadness, and grief, Theon quickly shook his head.

“It’s a misunderstanding. I told them I wouldn’t accept it, but they forced it on me and left.”

“Who could possibly force anything on you…… You could’ve refused if you didn’t want it.”

“You’re right, but look, Rothy.”

Theon took the picture book from Rothy and incinerated it with his aura.

Fwooosh

Burning something with aura in public was strictly forbidden and against the law, but that didn’t matter right now.

“I accepted it so I could burn it like this. I don’t need such things. My companion is you, Rothy.”

“But I can’t have sex with you…”

“Who on earth taught you that word?!”

“Theon, you said sexual desire’s nothing important, but… I’m not sure about that. You see, I’ve a condition that makes me grow slowly. To you, I’ll always look like a child so I won’t be able to provide you with the emotional stability that only a spouse can provide… We won’t be able to share any mature intimacy… It makes sense for you to look for someone else……”

Rothy lowered his head. He looked like someone who had wandered in the desert for a hundred days. Like a plant that had lost all moisture. Chi-chi hurriedly rubbed its fur against Rothy’s nape while Theon hurriedly pulled him into his embrace. 

“My clever Rothy’s wrong for once. I already feel emotional stability from you. You alone give me a sense of peace that no one else has ever given me.”

“Then… you won’t meet those people in that picture book… and you’ll wait? Until I grow up……”

“Of course. That was my intention in the first place.”

“I’ll grow up quickly…. I’ll eat a lot… and grow up soon. You know, four years isn’t long. I’ve found that four years is actually very short…. So you must wait.”

“I will. I’ll wait.”

Theon lifted Rothy into his arms and patted his back coaxingly, while Rothy’s hair softly brushed against his shoulder and neck. Truthfully, waiting wasn’t difficult. Even if it took forty years instead of four, considering his slow growth. He’d long since stopped caring about things like sexual desire. Just holding this small boy in his arms was enough to satisfy all his needs. He even wished that Rothy would keep this adorable childlike appearance for a very long time.

But apart from that—

I’ll need to go to the chapel first when we return to the estate.

In that dream, the slow-growing Rothy was unmistakably a young man. He needed to confirm once more whether that dream was a revelation from Seará or just his fantasy… He was certain he needed to see that future now more than ever.