After that accidental brush of his lips against Regulus’s, Wenxiu Lord, both to avoid suspicion and to protect Regulus from being targeted by Barty Jr., Severus, and Remus, deliberately kept his distance in their day-to-day interactions.
This move effectively prevented Barty Jr., who was genuinely looking for trouble, from finding any legitimate reason to strike openly, forcing him to resort to petty, behind-the-scenes schemes to make life difficult for Regulus. For instance, masking his disgust, he sent several letters to his father, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. The contents were, naturally, heavily laden with insinuations. Barty Crouch, who had yet to see his son’s true colors, actually believed them to an extent and kept the Black family under tight surveillance for quite some time. Ironically, this inadvertently disrupted several missions Tom Riddle had entrusted to Bella.
Regulus, however, was the one who suffered. He had no time to relish the secret joy of kissing his beloved before he was met with deliberate coldness, and on top of that, his personal assets were being hounded by the Ministry. He was so busy he wished he could stretch a single day into 48 hours. Not only was he physically exhausted, spinning like a top, but Regulus was also suffering internally—torn between heartache and joy. He was happy that Wenxiu Lord was doing it to protect him, yet pained that they could not spend time alone for such a long dura…
Chapter 371