Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 91: Morning Intrusions

"Well then," Theo said, placing a gentle hand on Damien’s shoulder, "come join us. We were just having some tea."

Damien nodded, though he looked between Theo and Leonide once more, still suspicious. "Alright, but I’m keeping an eye on you two," he said, narrowing his eyes playfully.

...

Morning.

Sunlight streamed through the window, gradually waking Damien from his sleep.

The physical endurance experiments had been going on for quite some time now. Despite his lackluster results, he was getting accustomed to the routine, which unsettled him a little.

On the first day, he had been completely immobilized by the end of the experiments—a now-regular recreation of the trials endured by the old warrior. But now, he could get through them with only the occasional collapse onto a chair afterward.

It was true—humans could adapt to almost anything with enough persistence.

Still, yesterday had been grueling. After pushing his body to its limits in the experiments, he had stayed up late to pamper Theo before they go to bed, so he hadn’t gotten much sleep. He was still drowsy, and with Theo still fast asleep beside him, he figured he could get a bit more rest.

Just as Damien burrowed back under the covers, there was a knock at the door.

Huh? Theo was still asleep, so it couldn’t be time to get up yet.

Had he overslept? Still half-asleep, he wondered about it... then remembered he should probably answer.

"Yes, come in."

"Excuse me."

"Oh, Leonide?"

The visitor was Leonide, who entered the room with a polite bow.

Right—he remembered now. Today was the official start of the transition from Sebas to Leonide and the other three. The four of them had been helping with the experiments, outfit changes, and even bath preparations since that initial day.

Speaking of baths, Damien had continued using Theo’s large private bath. Every other day, he bathed with Theo, and on the days Theo was busy compiling reports, Leonide and the others joined him.

Whenever he bathed with Theo, who adored his scent, they skipped the usual incense. Otherwise, though, the incense was used, but its fragrance made him drowsy, often to the point of falling asleep mid-bath. It was a bit too intense for his liking.

Admittedly, though, when he woke up, he felt fully refreshed in both body and mind.

One day after their bath, Sebas had reassured him, "Rest assured, it has neither addictive nor dependency-forming properties." Damien still wondered what that had meant.

But his mind was wandering. Right now, he needed to focus on Leonide.

"What’s going on? Is it already time to get up?"

Leonide, who had shed the traces of his initial awkwardness, now wore his usual composed expression with his gaze slightly lowered. It was as if he had returned to his old, efficient self.

It made Damien feel a little wistful. He missed seeing Leonide’s true self, so much so that Leonide’s relaxed demeanor even appeared in his dreams during their baths.

"No, sir. It is still before your scheduled wake-up time. My apologies for disturbing you at this hour. However, Lord Rostov has an urgent matter for Master Theo. May I show him in?"

Lord Rostov... right, that was Sebas.

An urgent matter from Sebas for Theo?

"Oh, I see. Yes, of course, please bring him in right away."

"Understood," Leonide replied, bowing before leaving.

For Sebas to show up so early with urgent news... it must be serious.

Damien was concerned, so he quickly shook Theo to wake him up.

..

Theo and Sebas were now engaged in a deep conversation, their expressions serious.

They had been talking for a while, with no sign of the discussion ending anytime soon.

As soon as Theo who is still drowsy, heard the news, his expression turned serious. Whatever it was, it seemed important.

The two of them—Theo and Sebas—were speaking quietly in the corner of the room, so Damien couldn’t make out a word of their conversation. It made him curious, but he figured it was something they either couldn’t or didn’t want to share with him.

With that in mind, Damien took a seat at the table nearby and waited patiently for them to finish. Leonide was there, attending to him as usual, pouring tea into Damien’s cup the moment he’d finished it.

"Thanks," Damien said with a smile, though Leonide only returned a polite nod, his expression calm and composed.

It felt a little lonely.

The tea Leonide had prepared tasted just as wonderful as Sebas’s, but somehow, it lacked something. Damien found himself wishing the conversation would wrap up soon.

Finally, after two refills, it seemed the discussion had come to an end. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Sorry for making you wait, Damien," Theo said, turning to him.

"My apologies for the disturbance, Sir Damien," added Sebas.

Both of them wore expressions that appeared perfectly calm and untroubled. But Damien couldn’t shake his concern.

"If... if something happened, please don’t hesitate to tell me. I promise I’ll cooperate," he said, a bit anxiously.

If they were keeping something from him, Damien worried it might be because of some trouble related to him. Perhaps, he thought, his situation had somehow turned into an issue, maybe even a scandal discovered by his stepmother.

He had been a bit too carefree lately. Theo and Sebas had reassured him, saying everything would be fine, but maybe something had slipped. Over the past few days, he’d been seen around the estate more than usual, so perhaps he should stay out of sight and keep to his room for a while.

These thoughts filled his mind, but when he glanced at Theo, his words seemed to have left Theo looking surprised—adorably so.

Wait—was Damien mistaken about the situation?

"Ah... Damien, thank you for being so considerate," Theo said, realizing what was on Damien’s mind. With a gentle smile, Theo gave him a quick kiss.

"But don’t worry; it’s nothing to do with you," Theo assured him. "Right, Sebas?"

"Indeed, my lord," Sebas replied with a respectful bow. "Moreover, I should add that, as of recently, Lord Dalehaven has formally acknowledged your status as his favored companion, so barring any extreme situations, there’s no cause for concern."