CH 14

“…of course.”

“I’m not okay with it.”

“What?”

“Because he can’t sleep unless he’s familiar with that person. Trisha you have heard it too, so you know it as well.”

Of course, Trisha knew. What did the servants look like when they first entered Astein’s room without knowing it?

Astein wasn’t particularly clueless. However, all of the servants came out trembling from his room. There was only one reason. They were too scared to come close. In severe cases, they suffered from nightmares for days and then reported it with tears. They didn’t even mind working overtime if they could work on anything if they weren’t assigned to Astein. But that was a story from the past.

Trisha raised her chin and said, “I’m fine.”

“It’s less burdensome if Trisha is here. Actually, Lusi was overdoing it today. But I can’t help it if you want to sleep.”

“…”

“Are you going to stay by my side all night?”

The drooping red eyes shimmered. Trisha’s eyes narrowed as she saw them. His behavior of trying to seduce the lady was somehow quite disrespectful and brazen. That shameful little boy.

Whatever she said, Astein seemed unwilling to send Elusiana away. Huft. Do you think I will let it go your way? No way.

But Elusiana pulled her arm before Trisha could say anything.

“Trisha, I’ll just be there.”

“Lady…”

“I’m going to sit here for a while and leave soon. You know, when I’m around, Astein will fall asleep right away. So, Trisha, please understand for a bit, okay?”

Elusiana’s eyes turned to Astein’s feet. Her clear, stubborn gaze made Trisha feel the pain that had been throbbing intensify earlier. Lady was already feeling guilty, so she would do whatever he asked her to do. And that little devil knew it all too well.

The kind heart of the young lady who would shake like wild grass at the request to stay with him. She couldn’t turn down that request.

“Please, Trisha.”

“…do you want to be here that much?”

“Yes.”

“Ah… I understand.”

Trisha, who nodded reluctantly, glared sideways at Astein. As she expected, the boy’s mysterious smile, which was like a siren’s song, disappeared.

“Come out right away if you feel tired, Lady.”

“Yes, I will.”

“Astein, don’t bother Lady too much either. She had a hard time with the class today, so go to sleep quickly.”

Trisha left a warning to Astein and turned away empty-handedly. Surprised by Trisha’s cold appearance for the first time, Elusiana widened her eyes.

“Trisha this is too much. Don’t you think she’s worried about me too much? But As, even if Trisha said words like that, she was really worried about you too.”

Worried that he might dislike Trisha, Elusiana made up a poor excuse. But Astein answered as if he didn’t care.

“I know. She paid a lot of attention to me.”

“You… know?”

“That’s enough. Sit here, Lusi.”

“Umm, is that so?”

Elusiana, shaken by the unusually friendly tone, sat by the bedside he pointed at.

“Can you hold my hand?”

“Hand?”

“When I couldn’t sleep, my mom always held mine.”

“Ah, o-okay, I will hold it.”

When Elusiana didn’t even want to hold it, Astein brought out the cheat key called ‘mom.’ Just a few months had passed, but she already became familiar with those hands. He’s two years older than me, right? Astein was so small that she sometimes forgot about it.

When Elusiana smiled faintly, Astein asked, “Why are you smiling?”

“Yes?”

“Here. Your mouth is smiling.”

Astein lifted his upper body slightly, reached out, and smoothed the tip of her lips. It was nothing special, just a small hand passed by. But the moment his hand touched her, and his smile bloomed brightly like cherry blossoms, Elusiana felt dizzy as if she had been electricized.

As is so pretty. He smiled softly with his eyes, which were so pretty. This expression, which he had never shown her before, was so sweet. Elusiana lost her mind for a moment from that.

Uhhh, noo! She removed his hand from her mouth and managed to cover his eyes. Astein’s pretty smile in front of her eyes was too pretty that she fell in love at first sight. It blinded her as if there was a halo shining brightly from him.

“Lusi?”

“…stop talking and go to sleep.”

“Why are you covering my eyes?”

“That… stop talking, or should I just leave now?”

Astein laughed. The corners of his softly curled lips drew a graceful curve, again stealing Elusiana’s attention.

Urgh. It’s not good for my heart. She tightly closed her eyes as if denying reality. Whether he knew this or not, Astein asked back with a smile.

“But will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

“…y-yes. I will.”

And soon after, Astein fell asleep. Only then did Elusiana feel relieved. I almost got in trouble. I’m this close to hugging him tightly and kissing him.

Elusiana pouted her lips as she looked at Astein’s chest, which was going up and down evenly. You don’t even know what crazy thoughts I had, but you sleep comfortably.

Elusiana, who was disappointed for no reason, shook her head.

“How can he fall asleep in less than five minutes?”

She smiled faintly, lowering her arm that was covering Astein’s eyes.

I was worried, but I’m glad he’s gotten much brighter. Although he was still blunt and cold, compared to the first time they met, Astein was getting much better. He talked more, and sometimes he laughed. Wait… Did he hit his head somewhere?

Elusiana’s head tilted slightly, frowning.

“Looking at him today, it seems to be the case.”

Well, it’s good that he laughs well.

Elusiana lifted herself up, touching Astein’s nose slightly.

“Good night, As. And for today…thank you very much.”

After giving her thanks, Elusiana left the room. Left alone in the room, Astein soon opened his eyes. He smiled slowly and touched his nose where her fingertips touched.

“Me too. Thank you, Lusi.”

* * *

This is so boring. Elusiana, who had canceled her schedules this week, had been staring out the window since the morning with a bored face. I shouldn’t have told him to rest well if I knew this would happen.

It wasn’t enough to mess up his perfectly fine feet, she even forced Astein to rest because of her guilt of abusing the precious ointment and causing him to faint. He said it was okay, but she was using that excuse to take a break from the tightly organized class, what a beautiful ending. But that kind of joy was only for a short time. On the third day, she felt suffocated.

“Lady, why are you looking so down?”

“Because there’s nothing to cheer me up.”

“Are you bored?”

“Why do you ask when you already know?”

Elusiana, who was like ice cream melted in the heat, suddenly raised her head.

“Why? Is there anything interesting going on?”

In response to Elusiana’s reaction, Trisha put down the flowers she was tending to and smiled.

“Maybe.”

“Really?”

Elusiana’s scarlet eyes widened and sparkled with anticipation.

“What is it?”

“Fufu, follow me. Eat your heart out. Lady probably won’t notice the passage of time for a while.”

“It’s suspicious to say that.”

Elusiana shot a wary look at Trisha’s overconfidence.

“Trust me, Lady. At least you will be much happier than you are now.”

“…Hmm. Okay. I’ll trust you.”

Trisha took the lead with a lively smile. Elusiana was somehow bothered by that smile, but she followed her without saying anything because she had nothing to do. Then they arrived in front of a door.

“Here.”

Elusiana sighed and looked at Trisha. The room she was looking at was the room she visited yesterday, the day before and the day before yesterday.

“Did you convert my dressing room into a playroom, Trisha?”

“What do you mean by playroom? I don’t understand what Lady is talking about.  You can’t compare it with this place, even if you put 10 playrooms together. Come in, Lady. You’ll never say that again if you see it in person.”

Without a moment to refuse, Trisha grabbed Elusiana by the wrist and led her into the dressing room.

“Oh my gosh! Look at this, Lady. It’s a bag made of mermaid scales.”

Trisha’s hand, which had let go of Elusiana’s hand, was already holding a bag that sparkled in a mysterious color.

“Look at the beautiful color. This is a rare item that even the Imperial Palace only has a few of. Where did they get this from? Oh my! T-t-these are fairy wings!”

Trisha put on an ecstatic expression as she held the transparent fabric in her hand. Then, searching for another target, she disappeared into the dressing room.

“It’s only a piece of cloth, but is it that good?”

Shaking her head, Elusiana looked around the dressing room with a sullen expression.