Travelling for hours on end on horseback was far more exhausting than Selina had imagined.

Her earlier worry that she might feel self-conscious sitting behind Calix was a concern only someone inexperienced would have.

Of course, at first, she was aware of him. But that feeling soon passed. After hours of riding along rugged mountain paths, she no longer had the luxury of thinking about anyone else. It was hard enough just to keep herself steady in the saddle.

“Let’s stop and rest for a bit.”

Noticing how much she was struggling, Calix thankfully suggested breaks along the way. But the relief they offered never lasted long.

“A frail body putting itself through needless trouble.”

He murmured, watching Selina cling to the saddle purely by willpower.

“…It’s not as if I can simply skip an important event.”

She replied through clenched teeth, enduring the grueling journey. At least at night, they could sleep at inns. Though her entire body ached in the mornings no matter how much she thought she had slept, it was still far better than trying to sleep on horseback.

But on the final day, an unexpected problem arose.

“Well, well. I’m afraid we have only one room left. What shall we do?”

There had always been at least two spare rooms: one for Selina, and another for Calix, Alter and Zenfri to share. But what if there was only one room left?

“It’s fine! I can sleep in the stables!”

Alter exclaimed, raising his hand.

“Hey. Just because you’re young doesn’t mean you should overdo it. That’s how you ruin your back when you’re older.”

Zenfri retorted, giving Alter a sharp flick on the head.

“You should be glad there’s even a stable. Or have you forgotten the times we had to sleep in caves?”

Calix said dryly to Zenfri.

“Th-Then I’ll sleep in the stables!”

Selina blurted out, raising her hand high.

“….”

In an instant, the air around them fell silent, as if doused with ice water.

Having spent nearly her entire life on the cold floors of the monastery, Selina had raised her hand simply because the thought of sleeping in a stable under the warmth of straw didn’t seem so bad to her.

“I’m out of my mind for even saying that.”

“That’s right! Commander Zenfri, you must’ve lost your mind to say such nonsense!”

“Come on. You’re coming with me—you’re sleeping under the straw with me.”

Zenfri grabbed Alter by the scruff and dragged him toward the stables.

“What? No, I was the one who said I would—!”

Flustered, Selina was about to follow after them when—

“You. Come here.”

Her wrist was caught by Calix.

“But… wouldn’t it be better if the three of you slept comfortably? If it’s just me, I’d rather stay in the stables—”

“Is that some new kind of assassination attempt the marquis taught you?”

Resting his chin in his hand, Calix looked at her as if he truly couldn’t fathom it.

“An assassination attempt?”

How could sleeping in a stable possibly be an assassination attempt? When Selina tilted her head in confusion, Calix gave up pressing her, as if deciding it wasn’t worth the effort.

“Enough. Just go inside.”

“But it feels wrong for me to take the whole room alone—”

“Who said you’d be using it alone?”

In that instant, a chill ran down Selina’s spine.

“I’ll be using it too. So go in first.”

…Her foreboding sense had never been wrong.

In the end, Selina went into the room ahead of him, hurriedly washed up, and lay down on the bed. She thought she would fall asleep right away, given how utterly exhausted she’d been. But the thought of sharing a room with Calix left her too tense to sleep.

‘Still… I have to sleep…!’

With desperate determination, she squeezed her eyes shut and pictured sheep in her mind.
One sheep, then two… but even after she counted past a hundred, sleep would not come.

To make matters worse, Selina heard the sound of Calix entering the room.

‘What do I do?’

The sound of him washing up came from beyond the door. The longer it went on, the more her heart pounded wildly.

Tense to the point of breathlessness, she tried to summon a comforting memory. She’d once heard that thinking pleasant thoughts could help you fall asleep.

Of course, Selina didn’t have many memories that she could truly call comforting. After sifting through the few she had, she settled on the memory of meeting Calix when he was a boy.

In a way, it was laughable—that, in trying to escape thoughts of him, she ended up choosing a memory of Calix anyway. Still, recalling that time eased the restless tension in her chest.

By the time Calix had finished preparing and reached the bed—

“…She really fell asleep?”

Selina was, just as she had wished, fast asleep. Someone who had never ridden a horse before and had just endured such a long, grueling journey was bound to be exhausted. So even sharing a room with him, she’d fallen into a deep slumber.

“How convenient for you.”

Still, from his perspective, there was something faintly vexing about it.

With no curtains, the bright moonlight streamed through the window. It cast a pale glow over her face, making it seem even fairer.

Then, he noticed the small curve of her lips moving, murmuring something.

Was she talking in her sleep?

Leaning in to hear what she was saying, Calix’s expression cooled at the words he caught.

“I was thinking about Calix, and I guess I dreamed about him too.”

The next morning, Selina tried to recall the dream she’d had the night before.

She could picture fragments of it, but the details refused to come back to her.

‘I think… there was a part that made me cry…’

Fully dressed and ready, she glanced at Calix’s back as he sat at the table.

She wanted to ask if she’d said anything in her sleep, but it felt awkward to bring up. And since he hadn’t mentioned anything, she began to think perhaps nothing had happened after all.

“Your Grace! My lady! Shall we depart now?”

Alter appeared looking surprisingly neat for someone who had spent the night in a stable.

“…This is worse than a hangover. I feel like I’m going to die.”

Zenfri, on the other hand, looked far more worn out after just one night.

Selina felt a pang of guilt, thinking it was her fault for giving up the room to her, but Alter waved it off, raising his hand energetically.

“Captain Zenfri slept better than anyone! He’s just whining now.”

“What do you know, brat?”

The two bickered as they brought over the horses, and Selina moved to stand in front of her mount with Calix.

“Hold on and get up.”

Calix helped her into the saddle without another word. He seemed a little quieter than usual, though it might have simply been a matter of not feeling his best.

“Thank you.”

The moment Selina settled onto the horse, Calix mounted as well, and before long, the party reached their destination—fortunately, the final inn had not been far from it.

“The decorations are excessive.”

Looking around at the extravagant ornaments prepared for the hunting festival, Zenfri muttered in distaste.

Selina, too, wondered if it was truly necessary, spotting gold embellishments scattered everywhere. For a mere one-time event, the display seemed excessive. Perhaps the rumors that the Emperor was obsessed with gold weren’t so far from the truth.

“Welcome, Your Grace. My lady.”

The officials, who were busy preparing for the festival, stopped what they were doing and bowed as the Duke and his wife arrived.

Following their lead, Selina saw that a large number of nobles from the Empire were already gathered for the hunting festival.

“Welcome.”

The first to greet them was Marquis Bryson.

“My daughter, Selina. Have you been well? Your father has been losing sleep, thinking of you.”

It seemed the marquis had decided to fully commit to playing the part of a doting father, pulling her into an embrace and feigning concern.

“And our son-in-law appears to be doing well. I’m glad to see your face looking much improved.”

“You seem well yourself, my lord. Quite so, for someone who claims to have been losing sleep these past nights.”

“Hoho, you’re getting bold now that we’ve grown friendlier.”

Once, such words from Calix would have made the marquis grind his teeth, but now he appeared composed, even amused. Laughing off the remark, he proceeded to introduce his son, Iden.

“I didn’t have the presence of mind to greet you properly that day, did I? This is Selina’s older brother—and my son.”

Seeing him again after so long, Selina’s heart pounded as if she’d come face-to-face with an unexpected enemy. Would he raise his hand against her again? Unable to shake her unease, she bit her lip.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace.”

The two of them had certainly crossed paths in the bridal waiting room, yet Iden acted as though he remembered nothing of that day, extending his hand toward Calix.

“A pleasure.”

Calix, too, made no mention of that incident, taking his hand as if meeting him for the first time.

“I heard this is a couples’ tournament.”

“Haha! Only those who are married bring their spouses. But we can’t exactly bar unmarried participants, can we? So instead of a wife, I’ve come as Iden’s partner.”

Marquis Bryson laughed heartily before moving on to share information about the hunting festival.

“Did you know? Whoever hunts the most monsters this time will have a wish granted personally by His Majesty the Emperor.”

“I see.”

“Yes. And whatever the wish may be, His Majesty has promised to grant it. You should give it a try yourself.”

“A wish… granted without exception.”

Calix murmured, a faintly curious smile tugging at his lips.

Just then, an attendant appeared to announce, “The monster hunting tournament will soon begin,” and began explaining the rules of the festival.