I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 145

 

Carson blasted his lab and put a guard on him to make sure Arcandus couldn’t pull any stunts.

 

He hasn’t left Leen’s side since. Not even when he went out to hunt mosquitoes every day.

 

At any moment, he knew Leen could call him.

 

But he would arrive only when something happened to her, and he’d grown weary of cleaning up the mess and comforting her.

 

When Leen was kidnapped by Rex the other day, I thought I’d lost my mind overnight.

 

With eyes glazing over, I traveled across the Empire looking for Leen.

 

If her call had been half a day later, I would have threatened the Emperor and mobilized the army.

 

“Darn Rex.”

This morning, despite playing with him, my anger was rising again.

 

‘Tomorrow, I might as well turn up the intensity.’

 

He thought to himself, watching Leen from a distance as she frolicked with Dobby in the garden.

 

The idea of erasing Leen’s memory to put psychological pressure on Arcandus had been mentioned in passing.

 

But I had no intention of carrying it out. 

 

I could do the magic to erase memories.

 

Of course, it was forbidden by the Magic Tower, but that wasn’t something he gave much thought to.

 

Anyway, the reason he didn’t do it, even though he could, was that the enchanted person would risk becoming insane as a side effect.

 

Would he risk casting a dangerous spell on Leen simply because he was a lunatic?

 

And…

 

“She overcame the trauma of Rex, she can recover from this, given enough time.”

 

But this time, the timing wasn’t right.

 

Leen had just been freed from Rex.

 

Rex’s kidnapping, Professor George’s collapse, and the discovery of Arcandus’ betrayal.

 

Everything was a storm.

 

The people she thought were her family, her benefactors, were actually the enemies who killed her parents.

 

It was enough to deny reality.

 

“Maybe it’s a good thing she let Arcandus go.”

 

Leen was far too weak mentally now.

 

She needed time to recover.

 

It was then that Leen made eye contact with Carson, smiled weakly, and beckoned to him.

 

Carson smiled back, shoved his thoughts into a corner, and walked over to her.

 

Leen hugged him casually, a smile spreading across her face.

 

“You know, Caon. Do you know why I’m spending time here and not in the lab?”

 

“I don’t know. Because you want to go on a date with me?”

 

“I finished a clinical trial yesterday on a cure for Monstera.”

 

“Really?”

 

“It’s kind of funny, it’s not much different from the cure I made when I was a kid. No, it’s exactly the same.”

 

A smile plastered on her face, a light tone in her voice.

 

But Carson could hear Leen’s despair in it.

 

“I tried to get Professor George to stop taking it before, and it almost got worse, didn’t it?”

 

Carson noticed that she hadn’t mentioned her parents, who had fallen ill and died.

 

She seemed convinced that Arcandus had killed them, as well.

 

He put his arm around her, feigning ignorance, and replied.

 

“Leen, you must have been a genius even as a child.”

 

“Haha, I guess so.”

 

Leen’s smile didn’t make his heart soar. It wasn’t a real laugh.

 

‘How many times had Leen been in difficulty since graduation?’

 

He clenched his fists hard. A thick line of blood appeared on the back of his hand.

 

All his life, he’d lived his life without fear, doing whatever he wanted.

 

Protecting one Leen was nothing, he thought.

 

‘Pathetic.’

 

True to his nature, he would have wiped out anything in his path, but the problem was that Leen didn’t like that.

 

I guess I was a little like my father in that I didn’t hesitate to kill.

 

“Caon.”

 

“Yes. I’m listening.”

 

“Have I ever told you about my dreams?”

 

“…Dreams?”

 

“Mmm. You know, life goals.”

 

Her eyes locked with the blue hues of Carson’s eyes.

 

“I want to have a close-knit family. A family that never breaks up, a family that I can turn to in times of trouble.”

 

How funny, right?

 

After all that she’d been through, she still hadn’t gotten over the idea of family.

 

Leen stroked Carson’s hair, which was disheveled by the wind.

 

“At least I have you, so I’ll get there soon, right?”

 

Carson tilted his head as if he’d heard something strange.

 

“Didn’t we already have that?”

 

“Not yet, since we’re not legally married.”

 

“…You’re being too determined.”

 

Leen put a hand on his slumped shoulder.

 

“Still, you do realize that you’re the only one I have, right?”

 

“I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with you on that.”

 

“What?”

 

“You care about everyone you’re close to, Leen, and you’re the only one I really have. You’re all I need.”

 

Poof!

 

Leen pressed a kiss of honey balm to Carson’s forehead.

 

“The Duke and Duchess will be disappointed.”

 

He shrugged quietly. Leen glanced at Carson and shook her head.

 

“Caon, do you have dreams, yourself?”

 

“I do. I haven’t realized them yet, but I think I will soon.”

 

Leen seemed to notice something then, but she smiled as if oblivious.

 

Then she asked, “Hmph, what is it?”

 

Carson put his index finger to his lips and closed his eyes.

 

“It’s a secret.”

 

🍃

 

After consulting with Carson, I decided to release Professor Walter.

 

“I know you’ve been through a lot, Professor. I’m sure you’ve had a lot of frustrations and questions.”

 

He looked up at the Duke with a wistful expression, feeling somehow burdened by his time here.

 

“Whatever it is, I’m glad things worked out for you, Leen.”

 

“Professor.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“How about you try to keep that disappointed look off your face?”

 

“Did it show much?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Professor Walter clung eagerly for support.

 

“One more month… no, one more week, why not?”

 

“You should get back to the academy, there are so many students waiting for you.”

 

“I’m sure they have tons of books they want me to read to them.”

 

…Those adult romance novels?

 

I never thought I’d say that to a grown man.

 

“Cut me a break, Professor.”

 

Gesturing to the attendant and knight waiting in front of the carriage.

 

The horsemen flanked Professor Walter on either side of him, dragging him by the arm.

 

His luggage was placed into the carriage by the hired servants.

 

“Aaahhhh!”

 

“Goodbye, Professor Walter.”

 

“You can’t bring me here at will and then throw me away like this! Let go of me, I’m going to live here!”

 

Then I waved calmly at Professor Walter.

 

Perhaps I should talk to the Duchess and ask her to give him a raise.

 

As for vacations…

 

Since he’s been resting here so much, maybe he should get some work done.

 

After Professor Walter’s carriage left the Ducal Palace, she took Carson’s hand and led him inside.

 

There were other guests to greet today.

 

Hans and Jane.

 

There’s a lot I haven’t done while working on Monstera’s cure. Keeping in touch with friends. Or tending to Erhan.

 

Oh, come to think of it, I haven’t written to my aunt in quite some time.

 

And I believe there was a letter from Kun. I thought I should read it and reply to it right away today.

 

Now that I had done all I could as a herbalist, it was time to do what I had been putting off.

 

Jane and Hans, who had been in the capital under Carson’s magic, arrived at the manor.

 

“…That.”

 

Hans’s awkward, shaky voice echoed through the tearoom.

 

I narrowed my eyes at him. I wondered why he looked so out of place.

 

“Did you get into an accident?”

 

“Oh, no! I was just a little bothered by seeing someone next to you, Leen, haha…”

 

“Next to me?”

 

Turning her head, she saw Carson glaring at Hans viciously.

 

“Ah. Don’t mind Caon. He’s just a little sensitive about people talking to me lately.”

 

Hans looked at me with a lot to say.

 

It was a look that said, ‘Is that what you call little?’

 

Jane, who was looking at him, crossed her arms defiantly and spoke up.

 

“Leen. Stop your lover. Honestly, it’s hard not to be scared when the mighty Duke is glaring at you like he’s going to kill you.”

 

“Jane…!”

 

Hans hugs her, touched by Jane’s words.

 

“Yes, yes.”

 

Jane familiarly strokes his head.

 

“You know I love you, don’t you, Jane?”

 

“I love you too.”

 

“Holy crap.”

 

All eyes in the tearoom turned to him at Carson’s last comment.

 

I gave him a short tongue-lashing.

 

“Caon, you have to say it nicely.”

 

“I see…”

 

He hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth as if searching for a solution.

 

“★♡☞Holy crap☜♡★”

 

That’s not what I meant by nicely.

 

Racking her brains, she wondered where to begin to rectify what had gone wrong.

 

Jane and Hans were lost in their own world, talking about whatever Carson had said.

 

“You must be having a hard time dealing with all these noblewomen and their wives, do you want me to massage your shoulders?”

 

“You’ve got your hands full at the top with the plague, so I’ll do it for you.”

 

Carson glances back and forth between me and Jane, seemingly amused.

 

Then Hans looks at him with a smug look on his face.

 

Carson, furious, turns to say something to him, but instead stares at me with an intense gaze.

 

‘Why are you looking at me?’

 

“You’re not asking me to do it for you, are you?”

 

“…”

 

I guess that’s right.

 

‘Why is he envious of something so insignificant?’

 

We just woke up in the same bed this morning.

 

I spoke slowly, trying to make Carson realize that fact.

 

“You kissed me all over last night and that wasn’t enough for you?”

 

“Uh, uh…?”

 

He stuttered, as if the information in question had overloaded his brain.

 

The truth was, we only held hands last night, but it was a misleading statement for a stranger to hear.

 

Jane and Hans blinked at my remark and stared at us.

 

Carson’s face slowly flushed, and his eyes narrowed.

 

“…Leen!”