Episode 2
Enoch Philipp Dehart.
The man looking at me with pity-filled eyes is the only character in *Why Is That Duchess Tumbling in the Rose Garden?* who didn’t roll around in the garden.
Instead, he caused chaos here and there.
He banishes anyone who touches his body and exiles those who stand within his reach.
He’s the destroyer of scenes.
In an adult novel, when an intimate moment is at its peak, he always appears to disrupt it, earning him nicknames like “the scoundrel” and other such descriptors.
‘Wait. Didn’t I touch him too?’
So, am I going to be exiled somewhere now?
Is that why Riana disappears after her early appearance in the novel? I was seriously pondering when:
“So, how did it feel?”
Enoch spoke suddenly.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“…If you’re in this state, you might need serious treatment. How much did you drink to lose your memory completely?”
Enoch clicked his tongue in irritation, his brow muscles twitching, then rested his cheek on his large palm.
“Didn’t you say your wish was to assault me? You groped me enough, so how did it feel?”
What? No.
I don’t have such strange wishes.
While I screamed silently inside, Enoch fluttered the corners of his eyes seductively.
“Well, it seems you don’t remember that either. So, do you want to touch me again?”
“Yes!… No?”
No wonder he’s a character from an adult novel.
Mesmerized by the allure of his eyes, I reached out my hand without thinking, but slapped it with my other hand and pulled back forcefully.
“You don’t like being touched, do you?”
“That was the case. But you seemed different.”
“What?”
“I said that before, didn’t I?”
I couldn’t keep up with the conversation, so I fluttered my eyelashes as Enoch began unbuttoning his shirt, which was fastened up to his collarbone.
“Your touch made me feel good.”
*Click. Click.*
As his shirt buttons came undone one by one, my eyes trembled as if an earthquake had hit me.
At the same time,
I recalled readers’ comments about Enoch, the only character in the novel who never appeared in intimate scenes.
“The scoundrel,” “the pervert,” and…
[You guys don’t know anything. Enoch has a special taste. Something so incredible that the author hid it.]
As that comment suddenly came to mind, my hands began to tremble.
At that moment, Enoch fully revealed his chest.
“Come on, touch me again. I want to relive that moment.”
An unusual statement. Reddened eyes. A confidently exposed chest.
And his bare appearance with only gloves.
With this varied information hitting me in a short time, an exclamation mark appeared above my head.
‘Is this what they meant by his special taste…?’
Luckily, I didn’t voice my thoughts and quietly began to tidy my spot.
“Ha, haha. So, you felt good. But, Your Majesty, I’m feeling unwell today… can I touch you later?”
“Hmm.”
He seemed like a character I could reason with.
Enoch looked at me carefully, then nodded.
“Your trembling is getting worse, and even your facial muscles are shaking. It seems your condition is serious.”
He rebuttoned his shirt and continued:
“Riana, there’s a famous doctor in the palace for treating alcohol addiction. Shall I call him?”
“Oh… no, I’ll manage. Haha.”
It seems he’s been treating me like a patient for a while now.
But I decided to escape before this tyrant changed his mind and got angry, so I stood up cautiously.
“So, can I leave now?”
“Yes. We can continue what we started later. Go.”
No? I don’t want to meet you again under any circumstances!
I thought about finding a smuggler’s ship the moment I left here, while Enoch looked at me, crossing his arms.
“Can you go on your own?”
“Of course. I’m not a child. So, I’ll go.”
I raised the trembling corner of my mouth to reassure him, then rushed toward the door, but froze when I grabbed the handle.
“What’s wrong?”
“Um…”
Big problem. Where’s my house?
Should I just leave and ask someone? As I pondered, I slowly turned to Enoch.
“?”
“Um… do you know where my house is?”
“…”
After my question, silence fell, then Enoch turned his head sadly.
“What a pity… your condition is very serious.”
* * *
“Ooh, I want water.”
As I struggled with a hangover headache, I grabbed a cold glass.
Assuming it was refreshing water, I drank, but:
“Pfft! What’s this?”
“It’s what you usually drink.”
“Who drinks alcohol right after waking up?”
I grimaced at the alcohol smell piercing my sleeping cells, then noticed someone with foreign features in front of me and ruffled my hair.
‘Oh, right. This isn’t my house.’
As I looked at the maid staring at me in surprise, I struggled to recall last night.
‘It seems they got me here safely.’
Though *he* was the strange one.
I remembered Enoch’s gray eyes looking at me with pity as he provided a carriage, and I crossed my arms in irritation.
Well, thanks to his kindness, I got home safely, and I’m grateful for that.
But, no matter what, I need to avoid perverts.
“Ooh, I must not get involved with him anymore.”
I recalled Enoch, who was like a wild horse in the novel, and how he confidently took off his clothes last night, asking me to touch him, giving me chills as I rubbed my arms.
“But… I think he said something when we parted.”
Since boarding the carriage, the alcohol’s effect returned, so my memories aren’t clear. As I pressed my temples, I heard a knock at the door.
A visitor in the morning? I widened my eyes in surprise, as did the maid who handed me water instead of alcohol.
“What’s that? Who’s there?”
“I don’t know. They didn’t inform us of a visitor. I’ll go see.”
I held the glass of water as the maid tilted her head and reached for the handle.
Suddenly, I recalled a seductive voice whispering in my alcohol-heavy head:
[I’ll visit you tomorrow. When we meet again, make sure to touch me.]
…Oh my God.
With that one sentence, the foggy memories became clear.
I remembered Enoch’s face staring seductively at my fingers without moving a hand until I left the carriage. I rushed to block the door.
“No, don’t open it!”
“Why?”
As I waved my arms in front of the stunned maid, I heard a smooth, pleasant voice from behind the door.
“Riana, I’ve come.”
“…”
I covered my mouth in shock. Enoch paused as if waiting for my response, then continued:
“Didn’t we agree you’d touch me today? I wore clothes that are easy to take off.”
What? Sir, why do you say something so easily misunderstood so casually?
I was stunned by the scandalous words piercing my ears, and my mouth fell open.
The situation is embarrassing enough, and the maid is looking at me with a suspicious glance.
A look as if I’m some sort of depraved woman.
“You’ve finally caused trouble…”
“No, no! I’m innocent. This man is the strange one!”
I shouted angrily, but quickly shut my mouth, but Enoch didn’t miss my faint voice.
“So you’re inside. I’ll come in.”
*Creak.*
The handle moved slowly, as if Enoch’s sleepy gaze was materializing.
If the door opened, I’d have to fulfill the requests of this tyrant with unique tastes. As I clutched my head,
I saw a wide-open window.
“Lady Riana! That’s dangerous, get down!”
Even if that’s the case,
I haven’t even kissed anyone yet, so how did I become the victim of a perverse tyrant in a novel I’d never heard of before?
I climbed onto the window frame with determination, and the maid rushed over in panic.
Luckily, the floor wasn’t high, so the distance to the ground wasn’t far.
“Listen, the man outside the door is the Emperor.”
“What? His Majesty?”
“If he comes in and asks about me, say I’m not here. No, say I died yesterday while drunk!”
“What? What kind of talk is that?”
As I argued with the maid, the handle completed its turn,
and a familiar shadow appeared through the door’s opening. Without hesitation, I jumped to the ground.
When my feet touched the soft ground, I heard Enoch’s sleepy voice from above.
“Where’s the lady?”
“About that…”
Though I’m causing chaos since morning, I’m somewhat her mistress.
I heard the maid stammering, trying to cover for me, and moved cautiously.
Suddenly, I heard Enoch’s footsteps approaching the window.
“Riana? Are you there?”
* * *
“Wow… I almost got caught.”
The moment Enoch peeked out the window, I hid in the bushes by a second’s margin, wiping my chest in relief.
If I stay hidden here, he’ll eventually leave. As I adjusted my position, the nearby bushes rustled.
Thinking he’d found me, I shrank back, but I saw a little girl emerge from the bushes.
I whispered:
“Little one, go play somewhere else.”
If you stay here, Enoch will see you.
But despite my plea, my whisper seemed to make her think I was playing with her, and she started clapping and laughing.
“Shh! Little one, shh!”
Fearing he’d see us, I tried to either push her away or leave the spot. I stepped out of the bushes, saw the girl’s face, and fluttered my eyes.
“What? Little one, who are you? Why…”
Why do you look exactly like me, or rather, Riana?
