18 – Cypress Mosaic

Right ​after ​moving ​to ​New York, his ​condition ​hadn’t ​been ​this ​severe. Taking medication every ​few ​days had been ​enough, and he ​had ​almost ​no ​trouble ​smelling ​things.

But now, he ​had ​to ​take his medicine ​faithfully every single morning, ​and as ​a side ​effect, the ​scents of ​the ​world ​were drifting away ​from him ​day by day.

The smell ​of the focaccia Matteo ​made, the scent of ​grass and ​trees ​carried in the breeze that brushed ​against his face during ​walks ​in ​the ​park, ​the smell of ​paper wafting ​from ​the pages of ​a ​cherished book. All of it ​was being ​erased ​from Elian’s world.

It’s ​okay.

Once ​I ​get ​a ​partner later, ​everything ​will be ​fine.

There’s no need to be anxious.

Listening to ​the melody flowing ​from the turntable, ​Elian steadied his heart.

When ​he returned ​to the bathroom, ​the ​tub had filled ​to an appropriate ​level in ​the ​meantime. He ​shed ​his robe ​and ​lay back ​in ​the ​warm bath. The ​water ​temperature was ​perfect ​and ​the ​bubbles were rich, but he couldn’t enjoy the fragrance of the bath salts.

The melody of Debussy, sounding like water droplets falling one by one—drip, drip—could not comfort his inner self.

He took a sip of wine. As expected, he felt neither taste nor flavor. It felt as if this illness was stripping away not just his sense of smell, but his very vitality. The world was slowly losing its color, turning into black and white.

Every time he confirmed that he couldn’t taste stolen contentor [Read on Read BL Novels]smell, Elian felt stolen contentafraid. He didn’t let it show to anyone, but he was terrified.

Reaching his arm out of the tub, he let the red, scentless, and tasteless wine spill onto the bathroom floor. The red liquid, reminiscent of blood, flowed away in a thin line across the tiles.

Lorenz, who had left the listening room with an air of confidence as if he were issuing a challenge to a duel, couldn’t head straight to his destination even after going downstairs; instead, he lingered in the hallway for a moment.

An employee coming out of Lucas’s room with a laundry basket greeted Lorenz and gave him a puzzled look. It was because it was almost unheard of for him to wander around the house without a specific purpose.

Lorenz gave a slight nod and pretended to look out at the street through the window at the end of the hallway. Lorenz Lockhart standing in the hallway staring out the window? That, too, was a peculiar sight.

After the employee had completely disappeared down the stairs, Lorenz passed by his father’s room and Lucas’s room in turn and walked to the end of the hall.

Even after knocking and waiting for a moment, there was no response.

“It’s Lorenz Lockhart. Let’s talk for a moment.”

He knocked once more. Still, there was no reaction from behind the door.

Just as his patience ran out and he was about to pound on the door with his fist, he finally heard a movement.

Did he fall asleep for a moment… Just as he leaned in to listen, the door opened.

“Why are you so late to open—!”

Lorenz, who had intended to scold him for [Read on Read BL Novels]being so sluggish in answering despite being inside, stolen contentcouldn’t finish his sentence.

Hair completely drenched and a face washed clean.

Elian Bellotti stood before him, dressed in a shower robe.

Perhaps because he had rushed out of the bathroom and thrown on the robe without properly drying himself, droplets of water still clung to his cheeks and neck. He looked visibly hurried.

Elian, looking up at Lorenz who was staring at him without finishing his sentence, asked with a puzzled expression upon identifying the visitor.

“What is it?”

“The knocking… did you not hear it?”

Lorenz’s voice was far softer than it had been initially. The intention to scold him had scattered without a trace.

“I heard it. I was bathing.”

“It seems so.”

At Lorenz’s gaze, which swept briefly down his body, Elian hurriedly tightened the robe more securely.

Lorenz let out a short scoff.

Well, with a face like that, it’s no wonder he’s on guard.

Then, Lorenz suddenly noticed music leaking from inside the room. He listened closely to the volume, which was barely audible.

“Debussy?”

Lorenz’s eyes narrowed, and his eyebrows twitched. His tone clearly carried a nuance of disdain.

“Is there a problem?”

“Whose performance is this? The tempo is too loose. Even for a piece by Debussy, it’s excessively sentimental. Furthermore, the sound quality… are you listening on a turntable? And it looks like a very crude model. The needle is scratching the entire track—”

“Mr. Lockhart.”

“……”

At Elian’s firm voice, Lorenz stopped the barrage of critiques he had been pouring out.

“Didn’t you come here because you had some business with me?”

Business. Yes, of course, he had business.

“Surely your business isn’t to insult my taste?”

Looking down at Elian’s face, which showed clear displeasure, Lorenz realized he visit our sitehad made [stolen content]another mistake. He had [Read on Read BL Novels]come to extend an olive branch in his own way, only to grate on the other’s nerves even more.

But he hadn’t intended to insult him.

A beautiful young man with platinum blonde hair and Debussy’s Rêverie—he simply thought it was an overly sentimental combination. Moreover, listening to music with a substandard player was an insult to the composer, the performer, and music itself. He had merely pointed that out as a matter of cultivation.

Then, Lorenz suddenly noticed.

A very pleasant scent was wafting from Elian Bellotti.

A pleasant scent. It was a sensation he had hardly experienced recently. This was because his sense of smell had become hypersensitive due to his pheromone response levels fluctuating constantly. Besides, even outside of such periods, there were few moments when he perceived an artificial smell as a “fragrance.”

Unconsciously, Lorenz’s upper body leaned toward Elian. Conversely, Elian’s upper body arched backward.

“Please tell me the business you came for… has something happened to Lucas?”

A look of concern appeared on Elian’s face. Lorenz shook his head.

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

“Then…”

Recalling Margaret’s advice to ask sincerely, Lorenz brought up his business in the softest tone he could currently manage.

“Let’s have dinner together. Come down to the dining room at 8.”

However, even that seemed insufficient for Elian Bellotti.

“Is this also an order as an employer?”

“Why on earth do you always…!”

“That is exactly what I want to ask. Dinner is not included in my duties. You have no right to notify me to come down.”

Lorenz exhaled a sigh toward the ceiling, trying to compose his emotions. Then he looked back at Elian, who was glaring at him resentfully. Tightening his lips, he repeated the same request in a different format.

“Fine, I’ll correct myself. I would like for us to have dinner together. Could you please come to the dining room at 8, Mr. Bellotti?”

A face that looked indescribably humiliated.

Looking at that expression, Elian felt like a ridiculous laugh might escape him. If it felt that humiliating, he could have just not done it. He couldn’t tell if the man was capable of rational communication or not.

Regardless, since he had shown effort, Elian decided to treat him politely in return.

“I appreciate the invitation, but I will decline.”

He conveyed his refusal politely.

“You’re… declining?”

Lorenz’s face contorted as if he had heard unbelievable news. Elian, however, remained calm.

“I’ve accumulated quite a bit of fatigue. I plan to enjoy a leisurely bath and rest early today. While listening to Debussy on my cheap turntable.”

“But I…”

The owner himself was suggesting a meal, and he was declining for a reason like that.

“My working hours for today are over, and I don’t wish to spend my time after work uncomfortably. Goodbye.”

Taking a step back, Elian closed the door without hesitation.

Left in front of the door, Lorenz couldn’t even scoff for a while. With both hands on his hips, he could only blink, unable to accept the situation.

It was a moment later that he vented his aimless anger in front of the tightly closed door.

He doesn’t want to spend his time after work uncomfortably?

Is he saying it’s uncomfortable to face me?

I went out of my way to make a gesture of reconciliation, and he ignores me like this?

This certainly wasn’t a date request. And yet, his face flushed as if he had asked someone on a date and been rejected. [unauthorized copy]It wasn’t something to brag [stolen content]about, but he had never been rejected once in his life until now.

He wanted to knock on the door and call him back out.

To tell him that this time, it was an ’employer’s order.’ That he must come down to the dining room by 8, no matter what. He intended to give a final ultimatum.

But for some reason, he couldn’t. Like a boy who couldn’t muster the courage for fear of being rejected, he simply bit his lip while glaring at the closed door.

The lingering scent from Elian Bellotti still drifted in the hallway. The wet blonde hair that looked as if he had just washed it.

It was his first time experiencing a scent like this that didn’t bother him. I wonder what shampoo it is.

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