Chapter 5

Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi

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Chapter 5

Celine was half bouncing out of bed.

‘What the hell is this man saying—!’

Even Leonhard looked quite puzzled by her reaction.

“Why are you so surprised?”

She tried to snap back at him, asking if he really didn’t know why, but Celine shut her mouth.

‘Calm down, calm down… This man just wants me to stop dying.’

A while ago, she drowned while bathing alone. Naturally, Leonhard will want to keep an eye on her.

Then, the question was where to sleep…

Of course, the bed was out of the question. Leonhard, the heir to the Grand Duchy, would, of course, have a fiancée, and Celine had some common sense that she shouldn’t share the same bed with him.

Her eyes eventually rested on the large armchair. The chair looked gorgeous and fluffy enough to be used as a throne, though it was nothing compared to a bed.

“I want to sleep in the bed for today.”

One of Leonhard’s eyebrows twitched.

“Do I look like a person who would pull a woman out of bed?”

‘He looks like a person who would kill a woman…’

Celine swallowed a gulp as she recalled Leonhard from the game and asked calmly.

“Then, where are you going to sleep?”

Instead of answering, Leonhard sat down on the doorstep. The firm body seen through the gently flowing gown was ready to move at any moment.

“There?”

“Yes. What’s wrong?”

“There’s no problem, but it’s uncomfortable! There are sofas and armchairs over there…”

Leonhard tilted his head briefly.

“I have to protect you, so I have to be on guard.”

Celine’s cheeks lit up.

‘Snap out of it! It means nothing.’

Leonhard explained slowly when he thought that she didn’t understand as she just stared at him.

“Because you can fall out of bed and die while you sleep, or you can die in other ways. When I arrive at the estate, I will attach a maid who is skilled in martial arts and who is reliable.”

“Still, to sleep there…”

“I don’t sleep well after all. Besides, the bed is the same here and there, isn’t it?”

She only nodded her head.

Well, Leonhard is a soldier. Of course, he must have slept in a bed far worse than this.

In the end, she lay on the bed and pulled the thick blanket up to her chin. The pleasant weight and the warm warmth embraced her.

“Good night.”

Celine was so tired that she didn’t even notice how ironic the words were.

An hour later.

Leonhard took a deep breath and gazed at the sleeping woman.

The face of the woman in a deep sleep looked so calm. For this moment, he was envious. Soon enough, the scariest thing in the world will attack him.

The only comfort was that it would be over today.

Leonhard’s eyes, which had opened to keep himself from falling asleep, suddenly closed and his head dropped.

A familiar sight unfolded before his eyes.

That terrible house…

Dry and dead ivy covered the walls, and the appearance of the eerie building without a single window made his heart flutter.

Leonhard quickly found a familiar woman.

Celine Hunt was on her way home. Then, Leonhard himself appeared.

His heart was pounding.

Though soon, he realized that the sensation belonged to Celine, not his own.

At first, Celine felt only a simple curiosity, but she immediately ran away with great fear. Leonhard watched the chase with Celine and himself with her breath suffocating.

…He shouldn’t have done that.

Of course, he would have frightened her. A strange man who suddenly appeared and threatened her, who wouldn’t be intimidated?

And…

Terrified, the woman tried to escape to the roof.

—Thud!

A scream escaped Leonhard’s mouth.

“No… No!”

Celine’s eyes lit up. She turned her head to where she had just heard the flurry.

‘Oh, my gosh.’

There, Leonhard Bernoulli was leaning against the wall, struggling. At that, she immediately jumped out of bed.

“Hey! Wake up! It’s just a dream!”

However, Leonhard, who was groaning, did not hear her. So, Celine tried to gently shake his body. His body was stiffened with tension, even though he had fallen into a deep sleep.

The next moment, she was thrown to the floor.

The pain engulfed Celine. But, she stared at Leonhard with a frown on her brow, with her eyes wide open.

‘I have to be careful.’

Leonhard will now go back and forth between dreams and reality. If she stimulates him in this situation, something not very pleasant may happen.

“Are you up?”

“….”

Leonhard seemed unable to believe the scene in front of him for a moment.

The blue eyes fluttered in astonishment as he saw Celine, who was clearly complaining of the pain on the floor.

“…It’s a dream.”

“It’s not a dream!”

Celine staggered to her feet.

“Look, if it were your dream, I would have died already, yet I’m not dead, am I?”

“….”

Leonhard buried his face in his hands. Suddenly, he felt so weak that he couldn’t say anything to her.

“…I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. I’m not even dead.”

“No. Earlier, in that house…”

Celine couldn’t hide her surprise. Was Leonhard the person who deserved to apologize for such a thing?

“Yes…?”

“It was because of me.”

He once again apologized in a serious voice.

“I’m sorry. I never thought you’d be so scared.”

“…Well, I’m revived, anyway.”

Even though she tried to make some light jokes, it didn’t change the stiff atmosphere surrounding them.

“Go and sleep. You look tired. Sorry to wake you up, and… threw you.”

Leonhard’s voice was full of indelible guilt.

“I wish I had apologized once.”

Celine smiled to reassure him.

“The next dream will be a little better.”

“Neither is it. Because it keeps repeating itself, since you’ve died twice, I’ll keep dreaming two dreams alternately.”

“Oh…”

At that, she found no words of comfort.

“How long…?”

“Until the sun comes up.”

“Until then, you will continue to see myself die…”

“Yes, twice. I’m going to alternate seeing the two deaths.”

“How about sleeping after sunrise?”

“…Naps are even worse.”

Leonhard waved his hand as though he was getting fed up just thinking about it.

“Now, sleep. Don’t mind me.”

And so, Celine went back to bed with an uneasy feeling. Her shin, which had just hit the floor because of Leonhard, hurt, although the soft duvet relieved the pain in no time.

However, she couldn’t sleep again.

Because Leonhard went back and forth between naps and nightmares.

“Gasp…!”

His eyes shot open widely.

Big blue-grey eyes were in front of his nose, and he felt a woman’s soft hand on his shoulder. Leonhard let out words that were close to moans.

“Again… You seem to have woken me up.”

“It’s okay.”

Celine looked a little uneasy.

“If you don’t want me to wake you up…”

“….”

Leonhard was silent for a moment. To be honest, he didn’t hate waking up. Rather, it was the opposite. He had to go through the endless pain until he woke himself up or someone woke him up.

Nonetheless, when she says it’s better to wake up, how does Celine sleep?

“I don’t like it, though you will be uncomfortable.”

“Why?”

Leonhard was speechless for a moment and looked at Celine gently. She was stroking her hair with a look of ignorance. Her wet blonde hair shimmered in the warm light of the surface.

“You will keep waking me up, so you won’t be able to sleep.”

“Ah—”

Celine had a look on her face that realized something.

“Does not matter. I can’t sleep, anyway. I woke up to a scream.”

“Scream…?”

“You kept screaming no.”

Leonhard frowned at her words.

Come to think of it, it was the first time he had yelled in a dream. Until now, no matter how much she died in his dreams, it was only painful, although he did not want to prevent the death before his eyes.

But, why…?

They were only together for half a day today, but in his dream, the moment the woman in front of him lost her life, a scream erupted out of his mouth unknowingly.

“…I’m sorry.”

“You can’t help it.”

As he stood up, Celine opened her mouth again.

“Are you going to sleep on the sofa? Well thought.”

“No. I will go to my room.”

She knew exactly why.

“It is because of me? You can’t sleep because of the nightmares.”

“Yes.”

When Leonhard opened the door, he found that Celine hastily stopped him.

“Anyway, until today. I will wake you up, especially today, so stay here.”

As he turned around slowly, a small woman, buried in the blanket, was looking straight at him.

He felt relieved.

The woman who had just caused a scream to burst out of his mouth a moment ago is still alive in front of his eyes.

“Help… It seems like you’ll be a lot of help.”

“That’s a relief.”

Celine laughed softly.

Eventually, Leonhard relaxed a bit and sat down on the door again.

The two each tried to resist the nightmare, but the day was too long to succeed.

***

At last, the sun rose, coloring the gray sky in a rosy color.

Celine was exhausted and collapsed onto the bed.

Leonhard looked down at her calm face, who had fallen asleep in an instant.

It was a long night.

However, it was also the most peaceful night that he had experienced in the last month and a half.

***

Celine stretched herself. When the soft pillow was pressed against her hand, she almost burst into tears of emotion.

She stared at the door as soon as she opened her eyes. Leonhard was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t even leave a mark on the soft carpet.

A much more mysterious thing than that caught her eye. The clear space was filled with boxes wrapped in colored ribbons. Celine was worried that it would fall down as she walked between them, stacked in threes or fours.

Carefully, she opened the nearest box on the bed.

‘What?’

She carefully lifted it up and found that it was a soft nightgown that would fit her body.

Celine’s heart began to pound.

She didn’t even have to go out and ask what it was all about. While she was sleeping, it seemed that Leonhard had ordered all of the clothes.

Her face flushed red, and Celine opened the box excitedly.

A new world opened up for each of the boxes.

Three coats made of various furs, five thick and colorful dresses, three dresses with no embellishments, more than ten petticoats, and even stockings and underwear…

Taking off her nightgown, she put on a petticoat and a relatively simple dress. A soft touch enveloped her whole body. The clean new clothes, above all else, made her smile with her heart.

As soon as Celine got her clothes on, she went out without looking in the mirror. She wanted to thank Leonhard as soon as possible.

“You’re up.”

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