Chapter 46

The fever made her consciousness unclear. Her vision was blurred as if covered by fog.

With half-closed eyes, she watched Axel quietly walk over.

Only after he was a couple of steps away did Judith realize that it wasn’t a dream, but that Axel had actually entered her room.

Her body was burning like a furnace, yet she quickly turned over and pulled the blanket over herself.

She was afraid that if she suddenly started coughing, she might pass something bad to Axel, causing him to catch a cold because of her.

Curled up tightly under the large blanket, Judith warned him.

‘Don’t come closer.’

‘No.’

It was a struggle to say even that with a throat cracked from coughing all night, but Axel didn’t heed Judith’s plea.

Axel, who always behaved kindly, was being stubborn at such a time.

Instead, he approached her without hesitation, as if nothing could stop him. The sound of his footsteps seemed unusually loud.

Her throat felt like it was being scraped by sandpaper, but Judith had no choice but to speak again.

‘Don’t come closer. You might catch a cold.’

Her voice, coming from her lips, sounded rough as if it wasn’t her own. But Axel simply replied, dismissing her desperate effort.

‘It’s fine.’

What exactly was fine?

Whether he knew Judith was perplexed or not, Axel had already come right next to her and was trying to pull down the blanket.

Judith was holding the blanket tightly, but she was sick, and Axel was healthy. Eventually, she lost strength, and the blanket was pulled away.

The cold dawn air touched her cheek. Judith hurriedly raised her arm to cover her face, fearing she might start coughing at any moment.

Seeing this, Axel tilted his head.

‘I came all the way here, and you won’t talk to me?’

Judith, still covering her mouth, shook her head. It was a signal for him to leave the room quickly.

Axel quietly looked down at Judith and muttered.

‘Oh, right. Actually, I finished the snowman we started building together last time, all by myself today.’

At those words, Judith’s eyes slowly widened. Axel continued speaking mischievously, as if he couldn’t see her astonished face.

‘I asked Rose, the chef, for a carrot.’

Judith’s golden eyes trembled with betrayal.

She had been enduring each day with the hope of completing the snowman soon, only for him to finish it alone…

Judith briefly removed the hand covering her lips. She wanted to retort something to Axel.

But at that moment, her throat tickled, and she felt a cough coming on. She hurriedly tried to cover her mouth again, but Axel stopped her.

‘You don’t have to cover it.’

Axel brought her arm to him and held her hand tightly. As if worried she might shake him off, he intertwined their fingers.

To Judith, who was burning with fever, Axel’s hand felt cool. But before she could savor the coolness, a cough erupted from her throat.

Cough.

Oh no. 

This was why she had pulled the blanket over her and covered her mouth.

All her efforts were undone in an instant.

But unlike the disheartened Judith, Axel narrowed his eyes gently. Judith glared at Axel, having given up.

‘Why are you smiling? After making the snowman by yourself.’

‘Actually, it was a lie. I couldn’t have finished it alone when we agreed to do it together.’

A lie?

Judith’s eyes widened.

She thought Axel couldn’t tell a lie, but he was more skilled at it than she had expected.

Judith pursed her lips tightly, feeling vexed that she had been fooled.

Then Axel chattered to Judith with a voice mixed with laughter.

‘Since it’s come to this, should I just catch your cold? Then Mother wouldn’t be able to stop me from visiting you, and maybe we could stay in this room together.’

Even though her vision was blurred from the fever, Axel’s playful smile was vividly clear.

‘Being alone when you’re sick is a very lonely thing.’

Only after hearing those words did Judith realize that she wasn’t just bored, but lonely.

Watching the outside world all day wasn’t because she wanted to finish the snowman but because she wanted to be with someone.

And that night, as if reading Judith’s heart, Axel stayed by her side, nursing her illness throughout the night.

* * *

In the herbology class, Judith sat in the very back row upon arriving.

The class began as soon as the bell rang.

Just as usual, the kindly herbology professor walked in and took his place in front of the blackboard.

As the professor opened his book, something touched Judith’s left arm and then fell with a thud.

Judith, who was pretending to focus but was lost in her thoughts, was startled.

Herbology was a class she took alone. There shouldn’t be anyone in there who would touch her.

Who would play a prank in the middle of class like this?

When she turned to check who it was, she saw a man leaning his chin on his hand and looking at her.

It was Cedric.

When Judith sent a questioning look his way, he gestured toward her feet.

Following his gaze, she saw a small piece of paper on the floor.

Judith quickly picked it up and unfolded it.

[Judith, have you heard about Axel being sick? I’m sorry for changing the promise from last time, but… if you’re okay with it, how about visiting Axel after this class?]

“……”

[I know things aren’t good between you two, but Axel still hasn’t regained consciousness. At times like this, your presence might give him strength.]

Cedric was quite presumptuous. He once told her to stay away from Axel, and now he was asking her to visit him.

But even though Axel was unconscious, Judith was still reluctant to visit him.

She was afraid that if Axel was really suffering and she saw him in pain, all her efforts would crumble.

Judging by Judith’s lack of response, Cedric tossed another note to her.

Thud.

When she looked again, Cedric was staring intently at her. Unable to withstand his pressure, Judith reluctantly opened the new note.

[Axel struggled a lot without you. He couldn’t sleep well and seemed to have overexerted himself. I won’t interfere between you two anymore, so if you truly care for Axel, please reconsider.]

If you truly care for Axel…

Judith, who had been biting her lip, let out a long sigh.

At first, she tried to distance herself from Axel for his sake. But if that truly made him unhappy, would it be entirely her fault?

Just then, Cedric suddenly stood up from his seat.

“Cedric Belluan? Why are you standing up during class?”

The herbology professor, holding a book in one hand, snapped at Cedric with an annoyed look.

It was a well-known fact among academy students that Cedric was ‘marked’ by the herbology professor.

Ever since the incident where Cedric pulled off the herbology professor’s wig when he was a freshman, the professor had always been wary of him.

‘He’s not going to cause trouble again, is he?’

With such eyes, the herbology professor glared at Cedric, discreetly placing his hand on his head.

As if worried that his wig might once again fly off with magic.

“Pfft!”

In the quiet classroom, someone let out a short burst of laughter. The herbology professor heard it too and glared even more fiercely.

“Who was that? Who laughed during class?”

Of course, no one answered. The herbology professor scrutinized the students, warning them.

“If I catch you, I won’t forgive you, so be careful.”

Such a prickly reaction.

Cedric, who was watching the situation unfold, opened his mouth.

“Professor, you don’t have to be so wary. I have no intention of pulling off your wig.”

“……Do you think I’m tense because of that?”

“Never mind then.”

Cedric shrugged lightly and continued speaking with a sly smile.

“Anyway, I just stood up because I urgently need to use the restroom.”

At the mention of the restroom, the herbology professor couldn’t say much more.

“Go quickly. Be careful not to disrupt the class.”

“Yes.”

Cedric, who dragged out his response a little, began to move. He slowly walked toward the door.

Then, as he passed by Judith, he bent down slightly.

It was possible because Judith was seated near the door.

“I’ll be waiting after class.”

After murmuring that, Cedric opened the herbology classroom door with a bang.

Bang.

“Oh, dear!”

The herbology professor, who had been writing something on the blackboard, was startled and turned around. The hand holding the chalk was trembling with anger.

“I clearly said to act carefully…!”

The herbology professor clutched the back of his neck and raged. But Judith was just as anxious.

It seemed certain that Cedric would be waiting to take her after class.

Considering that he hadn’t returned to the classroom for a while after claiming to go to the restroom, it was quite a plausible assumption.

She wondered how she would face a sick Axel. Her vision was already starting to blur.