Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 107: The Waiting Game

At this, Leonide stopped walking and turned to look intently at Damien. "If there was a risk, would you stop me?"

If helping Theo meant risking Leonide’s safety, Damien wasn’t sure what he would do. Would he really be able to choose between them? Could he even make such a decision?

"No," Damien said softly. "I’ll do whatever it takes. Please, if there’s any way you can help Theo, I’m begging you to go through with it." Bowing his head, he felt a pang of guilt, realizing how harsh his words must have sounded.

"Thought so," Leonide said with a small, knowing smile.

"But don’t worry," he continued reassuringly. "What I’m going to do isn’t dangerous at all. There’s no risk involved, I promise."

"...Really?" Damien asked, still uncertain.

"Really, really," Leonide said, his smile genuine and warm. Damien found himself breathing a sigh of relief despite himself.

"Thank you, Leonide. If there’s anything I can do to help, please don’t hesitate to tell me. I want to support you however I can," Damien said, making a silent vow to Leonide’s retreating back as he resumed walking. After everything he’d said, and how he’d asked so much, he felt a strong need to make amends.

"Well then, there is something..." Leonide said, stopping again, though he didn’t turn to face Damien. "Could I ask one little favor from you later?"

Damien noticed a faint blush on Leonide’s ears and wondered what he could be asking. He felt a pang of nervousness but quickly pushed it down. If Theo could be saved, he’d do whatever he could.

"Of course. Whatever you need," Damien replied with a firm nod.

...

They arrived at Theo’s bedroom door.

Damien found himself back at the door less than an hour after Sebas had banned him from entering.

"Sir Damien... I’m sorry, but the open access granted to you earlier has been revoked," said one of the guards at the door—a second guard had indeed joined him, as Svetozar had mentioned. Both guards looked understandably baffled by his sudden return.

Alright, Damien thought, how could he get back in? Svetozar hadn’t been inside to understand the situation, so persuading him to argue on Damien’s behalf seemed unlikely. Explaining the whole story out here in the hallway was also not an option.

Could he and Svetozar maybe manage to hold down one guard each, just long enough to let Leonide slip through the door? He immediately dismissed the idea; it was impossible. Svetozar wouldn’t go along with it, and Damien himself wouldn’t last a second if they retaliated.

"We’ll wait here," he said, switching to a more reasonable approach. "Could you please ask Lord Stigretz to come out and speak with us? It’s urgent."

"Understood," replied one of the guards, disappearing into the bedroom to relay the message.

As they waited, Leonide leaned in, casting Damien a curious look. "Oh? Aren’t you coming in? I thought you’d brought me here to help you get inside."

Did Leonide only intend for him to watch Theo’s treatment from outside the room? Damien wondered.

"Your turn will come soon enough. Just be patient," Leonide said with a small smile. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

So, Damien did have some kind of role to play here. He wondered what Leonide intended for him to do. He wanted to know the specifics, but questioning Leonide out here wasn’t ideal. Instead, he resolved to stay ready for anything.

The door opened, and Sebas stepped out, offering Damien a polite nod before fixing his gaze on Leonide.

"My apologies for the delay. I was told this matter is urgent?"

"Yes," Leonide replied, returning Sebas’s intense gaze with his own. "To be blunt, I need to discuss something in private. Could we have a suitable space and a few minutes?"

For a moment, Sebas kept his eyes locked with Leonide’s, as if measuring his intent. After a brief pause, he nodded.

"Understood. Will the adjacent office work for you? It is completely soundproof," he offered.

"That’s perfect. Thank you," Leonide replied with a respectful nod.

Step one was...successful? At least, Damien felt relieved that things seemed to have gone smoothly so far.

He still wasn’t entirely sure what Leonide planned to discuss, but maybe Damien’s own "role" in this plan would involve convincing Sebas. Following behind Leonide and Sebas as they walked down the hall, he was just mulling over these thoughts when—

"Oh, you should wait here, Master," Leonide suddenly announced. "I’ll be speaking with Sebas alone for a bit."

...Wait, what?

Without another word, Leonide went on, leaving Damien behind.

...

So, despite the fact that this whole issue revolved around Theo, Damien was completely shut out of it. He was practically sulking now, sitting on a chair Svetozar had fetched from somewhere in the hallway.

It had already been half an hour since Leonide and Sebas disappeared into the study. The conversation was certainly taking a while—what were they discussing in there? Were they going over the method to treat Theo?

When Damien first arrived in this world, he’d been terrified that Theo might end up killing him through one of his experiments. Never did he imagine the tables would turn, with Theo now fighting for his own life.

But honestly, there was no humor in it now.

If they had never met, Theo might not be in this situation at all. Could Damien have brought misfortune upon him? A curse, maybe?

Just as he felt himself sinking further into self-blame, Sebas finally exited the study—alone.

Wait. Where was Leonide?

"Sir Damien," Sebas addressed him with a polite nod. "We’ve urgently summoned a specialist, but I’ll ask that you please wait in the study just a bit longer."

With that, Sebas disappeared into Theo’s bedroom.

A specialist? Maybe a doctor specialized in magic depletion? Then again, Sebas was the type who would have summoned someone like that long ago if it had been necessary.

Puzzled but without answers, Damien thanked the attendants and walked into the study, hoping Leonide might be able to explain. Svetozar followed along without a word.