【 Blue Rose Garden 】

Romei stared at Barmas with complex emotions. She found it difficult to understand why he would rather die than abandon her.

Meanwhile, Barmas continued placing chaste kisses on her wrist, completely devoid of any s*xual undertones. His cheek rested perfectly in the palm of her hand. With each movement, his jet-black hair brushed against her fingertips.

Seeing him so vulnerable, a strange feeling began to stir deep within Romei’s heart, which had been numb like a vast ocean submerged in pitch-black darkness.

Unable to bear this subtle yet profoundly unfamiliar sensation, Romei withdrew her hand from Barmas. His grip, which had appeared firm, released her easily.

Barmas kissed his own palm where her warmth lingered, then said:

“Just now was a perfect opportunity to kill me. Don’t you regret it?”

“…I told you. I don’t want to kill you, and I’ve never thought about it.”

“But killing me would make me abandon you. You want to die. I thought this would be the perfect timing for you to kill me.”

“…”

“Or perhaps you think it would be too merciful to simply kill me.”

Barmas made his own assumptions about Romei’s feelings and laughed. Though his words were cruel, his eyes reflected empathy—a strange connection Romei had never asked for.

“I felt something similar once when some crazy woman slept with another man. Simply killing her wouldn’t have satisfied my rage.”

“…”

“You must feel the same way.”

“…”

“Should I create a t*rture chamber for you? I’ll put all my expertise into making you the finest t*rture chamber.”

Romei, who had remained silent while he joked about creating a space for his own t*rture, shook her head.

“I don’t need that. What difference would torturing you make? I’m the one who wants to die, not make you die.”

“…”

At her words, Barmas fell silent. His smile had long since faded. A shadow fell across his face.

Though he looked hurt by her words, Romei pretended not to notice. She simply clenched the hand that had touched his hair and cheek.

The conversation between them abruptly ended. The air in the bedroom settled into stillness.

Barmas silently gathered the restraints scattered on the bed. Clink. Only the sound of metal colliding in his hands cut through the awkward silence between them.

“Come in and take these away.”

Barmas called to the servant waiting outside, handing over the restraints with his command. The servant, maintaining the same posture he always did, bowed his head and replied:

“Yes, understood, Lord Barmas.”

After taking the restraints, the servant left the bedroom. Just when the servant’s footsteps faded away, the bed sank beside her. Barmas had lain down next to her.

“…”

Golden sunlight sparkled through the window, and the gentle breeze felt warm and soft like a well-dried blanket. Though she couldn’t tell the exact time, it certainly wasn’t bedtime yet.

‘Is he going to embrace me…?’

Romei wondered. Looking back, she realized they hadn’t been intimate since their confrontation in his office that day.

She had briefly awakened last night, but they had only exchanged disjointed conversation before she escaped into sleep. Since she hadn’t been awake this long in quite some time, Barmas must have been starving for quite a while.

‘I wonder if he can even get any life energy from me now, since I barely feel anything anymore.’

Just when she was idly thinking this, Barmas’s arm suddenly slipped around her waist and pulled her closer.

Before she knew it, Romei found herself in his embrace. His large arms gently wrapped around her back.

The position gave her a sense of security, but she couldn’t understand what Barmas was doing. Normally, he would kiss her or stimulate her erogenous zones, but he was simply holding her without doing anything else.

So Romei asked:

“…What are you doing?”

“You said you wanted to sleep. So I’m helping you sleep.”

“…You’re helping me sleep?”

Romei repeated his answer in disbelief. However, Barmas responded matter-of-factly:

“Yes. It’s a bit disappointing, but since you said you didn’t want a lullaby, I won’t make a sound.”

“…”

“I heard humans fall asleep more easily like this. Is that not right?”

Barmas asked when he noticed Romei staring up at him instead of falling asleep. He couldn’t hide his concern that he might have made a mistake based on incorrect information.

However, Barmas had done nothing wrong, nor was anything incorrect. Romei stared at him because his behavior seemed strange.

“…That’s right. Usually being held helps people fall asleep.”

“That’s a relief. I thought I’d made a mistake and nearly had a heart attack.”

“Aren’t you going to consume my life energy?”

“Why the sudden talk about life energy?”

Barmas frowned like someone who had heard something inappropriate.

Romei explained:

“It’s been a long time since you consumed my life energy. That’s why. I wondered if you weren’t going to.”

“I won’t.”

“What if I want you to?”

“…That would require some consideration.”

“Then can you torment me to the brink of death?”

Romei asked with sparkling eyes, immediately finding a weakness in his hesitation. Her voice and the look in her eyes suddenly showed signs of life.

Barmas’s arms tightened around her waist.

“That’s not possible.”

“…”

“I told you. If you want me to abandon you, kill me.”

“…”

“I’ve resolved not to do anything that would harm you, so trying to tempt me that way won’t work.”

At his firm answer, Romei lowered her head.

Though she clearly looked disappointed, Barmas couldn’t love her enough to give her what she wanted—he couldn’t love her enough to endure the death of someone he loved.

Instead, he patted her back to comfort her.

“Stop these strange thoughts and go to sleep.”

“…”

“I’ll hold you until you fall asleep.”

His whispering voice was soft and languid. The way he patted her back was both comforting and rhythmic.

A sweet scent filled her nostrils, and the sound of a heartbeat echoed in her ears.

And his heart was beating faster than her own.

Romei pushed aside her disappointment, closed her eyes briefly, then repeatedly clenched and unclenched the hand he had kissed before finally pushing against his chest like she couldn’t bear it anymore.

Barmas yielded and moved back without resistance.

Looking at her with concern, wondering if her physical condition had deteriorated, Romei said:

“…I can’t sleep.”

More precisely, she couldn’t sleep because the rhythm of his heartbeat clashing with her own bothered her, but she didn’t want to explain in detail, so she added nothing more.

Fortunately, Barmas didn’t question why she couldn’t sleep. Instead, he made an unexpected suggestion:

“…How about a walk, then?”

“…”

At the word “walk,” memories of the past flashed through Romei’s mind like a kaleidoscope—those times when she would circle the castle every morning with two familiars in tow.

Barmas, denying that kind of walk from her memories, added somewhat awkwardly:

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m not suggesting the kind of walk you used to take.”

“…Then what?”

“Actually… there’s a garden.”

“There’s a garden?”

Romei echoed in disbelief.

For good reason—Romei remembered what was where in the castle. Unless her memory had been affected by sleeping too much, there was no place in this castle that could be called a garden or anything similar.

Barmas, the castle’s owner, knew this better than anyone. From the beginning, he never had the soft hobby of growing and appreciating useless flowers and plants, so there was no reason for a garden to exist.

However, what he said wasn’t a lie. He was simply embarrassed to state the facts himself.

“I know. There wasn’t originally anything like a garden in this castle. But it’s true that there is a garden now.”

“…”

“…I made it while you were sleeping.”

“Made what?”

“A garden.”

“Why?”

“…”

Barmas couldn’t answer readily.

He had made it for Romei, imagining how happy she would be, but facing her now, the words wouldn’t come easily.

From his slightly furrowed brow, his lips trembling with hesitation, and his red eyes constantly gauging her reaction, Romei could guess why he had created the garden.

“…Surely you didn’t make it for me?”

“…”

Barmas didn’t answer. He silently avoided her gaze. And that was tantamount to a confirmation.

Romei stared at him in astonishment. She couldn’t believe it. The fact that he had created a garden—of all things—for someone who just lay in bed sleeping all day.

She didn’t know what to say in this situation. Only one thought circled in her mind:

“…Why would you do something like that?”

“…”

“Come to think of it, there isn’t even space for a garden.”

“…”

“You just decorated a small flower bed, right?”

Romei asked, hoping it was just a flower bed, but Barmas’s expression wasn’t particularly reassuring.

It was clearly not just a flower bed.