CH 27

Chapter 27: Stillness of night

How much time had passed? When Ermengard’s delicate body became warm to the same temperature as his own, she finally stopped crying.

Until the Exiled Duke’s Daughter,...

Ivan stopped patting her back, slightly moved away, and peered gently into her thin face.

Then, he noticed that she was softly snoring.

Ivan was surprised, and he relaxed his tense body in the situation.

“…She’s quite something. She can still sleep standing up in this condition.”

He muttered ironically to himself, but his voice sounded kinder than he thought, causing him to involuntarily shut his mouth in surprise.

Ivan rubbed his forehead and prayed for his heart to calm down.

He felt like he had become a bit too relaxed lately. There’s work waiting for him tomorrow as usual, so he had to go to bed soon.

It would be pitiful to wake her up, so maybe he should carry her.

While grumbling to himself and about to pick her up, Ivan noticed something strange. Ermengard’s delicate hand was grabbing onto Ivan’s chest and wouldn’t let go.

The moment that discomfort grazed the corner of his mind was when he realized it.

——I wonder what it is. That supple feeling, it feels somewhat familiar.

Ivan shook his head at his baseless thoughts. There is no way he could have met her before. He first met her when she came to this castle.

“I’d better go to sleep quickly. I’m getting worked up because of these memories.”

The bedroom is quiet, with not a wolf in sight, and only the flickering of the lamp brings warmth to the room.

Ivan gently laid Ermengard’s body on the bed. But since his hand could not be separated from her, he also sank down next to her.

Her sleeping face, illuminated by the light of the lamp, showed traces of tears, making it painful to look at. He wiped her cheek with the sleeve of his nightgown.

Looking at her again in this way, she had a cute face.

With a sharp, pointed nose and pink lips that still carry the roundness of a young girl, her brunette hair is translucent and lustrous. Even with her vibrant, deep green eyes closed, her cuteness remains and even appears to increase with her unguarded nature.

There shouldn’t be any problem taking this beautiful person away. However, when he recalled the fear in her eyes when she appeared in this room earlier, alarm bells started ringing in his head.

Come to think of it, it’s been like this since the first night. Ermengard was staring at me with a mixture of tension, fear, and an unknown unease in her eyes.

———Who are you exactly?

The princess of Bral should feel repulsed by werewolves.

Their country is feudal and dislikes any race that they consider barbaric. He still remembers what they said during the first negotiation for an alliance.

[It’s disgusting to be unable to return to human form on the night of the full moon. It’s like a curse.]

Even Johan, who is always talkative, had a sinking anger on the way home. Even with Bral, who has never crossed swords with them, humans should have been a distant existence.

And yet, Ermengard is so close like this, crying for Ivan and laughing in front of Ivan.

Is she really the princess of Bral? Even if Ermengard is indeed herself, was she really raised in an appropriate environment?

——I don’t know. What is this feeling? Whenever I look at her, I feel like I want to tear up my chest in frustration.

His gaze shifted to the small hand clutching the nightwear. He had noticed for a while that her delicate fingers were bearing marks of labor that should be impossible for a princess.

But he still can’t ask her about it. The fact that he’s sensed it might endanger her life.

At that moment, Ermengard twisted her body. He panicked, thinking he had woken her up, but she leaned her cheek against Ivan’s chest and started to breathe deeply again.

——Please spare me already.

While complaining in his mind, Ivan resignedly wrapped his arms around her thin back. If she can sleep peacefully, then he can endure anything.

Yes, it should be.

The night had yet to show signs of dawn, and the darkness was filled with the peaceful breathing of the two, without even a single howl from the wolves. Feeling the warmth of her body in his arms, Ivan gently closed his eyes.