Chapter 95. The Happy Roll Cake

“You really plan to drive me insane.”

“Yes…”

“Was that a ‘yes’ just now?”

Without a word, Ellen rubbed her cheek against his chest and then suddenly kissed his neck.

At that moment, Enoch stiffened and clenched his teeth. His patience was reaching its limit. At this rate, he really might… No, he had to endure.

“Get a grip. Don’t drive me crazy.”

“No…”

“What? No?”

He was on the verge of laughing in disbelief. Ellen, under the influence of the suspicious love potion, was like a kitten that had let its guard down. She kept trying to get closer to him, rubbing her body against his.

…Cute. She was cute, but it would have been better if she did this in her right mind. Enoch ran a hand over his face and sighed deeply.

“You’re really something else.”

“Enoch…”

“Stop calling me. My ears are going to melt.”

He had never known she could make such a voice. It made his heart race and gave him a ticklish feeling. How should he describe it? Alluring? No, it wasn’t just seductive, it was charming. It had both cuteness and sensuality.

Enoch felt relieved that he was the one married to her. If someone else had become her husband… Just imagining it made him want to kill those nonexistent men.

“Ellen, you won’t be able to stand it later when you remember all this.”

“No…”

“What do you mean, no? You’re really driving me crazy…”

Ellen kept trying to undress him or kiss him, and Enoch felt like he was losing his mind. In the end, he decided to wrap her tightly in a blanket.

Ellen, suddenly rolled up like a roll cake in the thick blanket, wiggled like a caterpillar and opened her eyes wide. She seemed completely bewildered about what had just happened to her.

“Stay like that until you come to your senses.”

“What is this…!”

The roll cake flailed on the bed, protesting. Ignoring her, Enoch sensed someone approaching from the hallway and turned to look at the door. It seemed the doctor had finally arrived to examine her.

Sure enough, there was a couple of dull knocks.

Then a polite voice followed.

“Your Grace. This is Doctor Vassel. May I come in?”

Still holding the struggling roll cake, Enoch responded.

“Come in.”

The doctor, looking very honored, carefully examined Ellen’s condition. He seemed to have already analyzed the champagne’s contents, which had been handed over by Enoch’s attendants, and confirmed it was indeed an aphrodisiac.

However, it wasn’t particularly addictive or potent, although it could occasionally cause mental confusion. He added,

“Calling this a love potion is nonsense. It has similar effects, but… it wasn’t even circulated in the black market in Freuden. That’s because… it was concocted in Atreos.”

“What?”

Those bastards again?

Enoch frowned and clicked his tongue irritably. At this rate, Atreos should be called a den of demons, not a principality of magic. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that all the world’s bad things were invented in Atreos.

“What antidote can be used for this aphrodisiac?”

“I’ve brought it here. Administer it gradually over time. The most effective way is to give a dose every hour… Then it will be neutralized within six hours. Normally, it takes at least a day.”

“At least a day, normally?”

“Yes, that’s correct…”

The doctor, intimidated by Enoch’s fierce demeanor, shrank back. But Enoch didn’t care about his reaction. His anger towards Melissa Lopez was boiling over again.

Luckily, there was an antidote available. Otherwise, Ellen would have suffered for an entire day. But aphrodisiacs like this one often had severe side effects if not neutralized.

Even if Melissa Lopez claimed she didn’t know it was an aphrodisiac, Enoch had no intention of forgiving her. She would pay for her crimes.

“Alright, you can leave now.”

“Yes…”

The doctor, who had been nervously watching Enoch, quickly left the room as if fleeing. Enoch, still holding Ellen, opened the cap of the antidote bottle.

After gauging the amount of antidote inside, he looked down to see Ellen glaring at him with a pouty face.
Enoch asked bluntly.

“Are you unhappy about being a roll cake?”

“……”

“If you’re unhappy, get a grip quickly.”

As Ellen opened her mouth to protest, Enoch didn’t miss the opportunity and poured one-sixth of the antidote into her mouth.

Ellen, her mouth quickly closed, widened her eyes. Judging by her increasingly strange expression, it seemed the taste wasn’t great.

“Swallow it.”

“……”

He worried she might spit it out, but fortunately, Ellen swallowed it. Enoch chuckled and roughly patted her head. Ellen furrowed her brow in displeasure and squirmed as if wanting to swat his hand away. But being a roll cake made that impossible.

“Stop glaring. It’s terrifying.”

“Enoch.”

“Why are you calling me again?”

Ellen poked her head out from the blanket and looked at him. Her eyes were filled with longing. Oh, please. Enoch rubbed his face dryly.

“Please, Ellen.”

“……”

“Once you come to your senses, we can do whatever you want. Okay? Please.”

He was practically begging now. It was an unprecedented event in the 25 years of Enoch Bayern’s life.

Despite his pleading, Ellen showed no sympathy. Her eyes sparkled like stars, and she put on the most pitiful expression. The effect was devastating. Enoch seriously considered how he could confiscate Ellen’s little tricks.

“Eleanor Bayern.”

“…Yes.”

“Just wait and see.”

Enoch vowed that once Ellen came to her senses, he would make up for this time of restraint as if he were a monk. After hesitating a bit, he carefully kissed her forehead. His happy roll cake smiled sweetly at him.

What’s so funny? Enoch lightly pinched Ellen’s cheek. Her skin was as soft and tender as a baby’s. Feeling increasingly overwhelmed, he hugged her tightly to suppress his emotions.

He thought he must be truly crazy to find this torturous time surprisingly not bad.

Six hours later.

Thanks to the steady administration of the antidote, Ellen, who had calmed down considerably, eventually fell asleep. Enoch freed her from her roll cake form, laid her properly on the bed, and covered her with a blanket.

Watching her sleep soundly, he let out a soft laugh. To think she had been seducing him so fiercely, only to sleep so innocently now—it was absurd.

“Good night, Ellen.”

Annoying but lovable. Enoch lightly kissed Ellen’s forehead. Then, reluctantly, he left the room and went to find Hubert.

“What about the woman who was taken away?”

“She’s locked in the solitary cell in the west corridor on the first floor.”

“And the Palmen family?”

“I’ve sent a letter. I’ve also informed the Chief of Security and His Majesty the King.”

Enoch nodded slightly and hurriedly headed to the solitary cell. Soon, he arrived, opened the door, and entered. Melissa Lopez, tied to a wooden chair, flinched and looked up. Her dark green eyes were filled with fear.

Before interrogating her, Enoch put on gloves. Although he didn’t need to touch her, he felt like doing so. Just being in the same room with her made his skin crawl, a sign that his chronic misanthropic mysophobia was acting up again.

“So, Melissa Lopez.”

“……!”

“Where did you get that aphrodisiac?”

Melissa Lopez’s face turned pale as soon as he asked. But no matter how much she trembled and cried, Enoch had no intention of showing mercy.

Melissa Lopez’s interrogation took only 30 minutes. Terrified, she confessed everything. Of course, she tried to make excuses.

‘A-an aphrodisiac? I thought it was a love potion…’
‘There’s no such thing as a love potion. The analysis showed it’s an aphrodisiac. You gave an aphrodisiac to a member of the royal family of Freuden.’
‘B-but, I really…!’

It didn’t matter whether Melissa Lopez knew the suspicious substance was an aphrodisiac. Enoch planned to disregard her defense and ensure she was punished in court.

Given the gravity of the situation, the judges wouldn’t hand down a light sentence. Innocent? Not a chance. Melissa Lopez would be found guilty on multiple counts. Insulting the royal family, possession and use of illegal substances, defamation of a royal, theft, and more…

Adding all those charges, the minimum sentence would be seven years. Enoch aimed for a sentence of around twenty years.

“Is it here?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Enoch, accompanied by knights, surveyed the slum area. He had handed Melissa Lopez over to the Chief of Security, and now the task was to catch the illegal merchant who sold her the aphrodisiac.

Looking at the filthy and miserable street, Enoch clicked his tongue lowly. The slum in the capital had become a den of crime over the past 15 years because the former king neglected it. Thanks to Henry’s efforts to strengthen law enforcement and aid the poor, it was at least this manageable.

Incompetence is a crime.

The incompetence of a ruler is even more so.

Reciting his beliefs once more in his mind, Enoch began thoroughly searching the slum.

And twenty minutes later.

“We found them!”

His well-trained hunting dogs… No, his knights dragged over an old gypsy.

This was the illegal drug dealer Melissa Lopez had mentioned.