Serena put down the book she was reading, feeling a sense of discomfort. Magnus also lowered his glass, feeling somewhat bleak.

“Something’s strange!”

Serena shouted abruptly.

“…Suddenly? What do you mean?”

“Why am I so busy these days?!”

To think that she couldn’t even roll around all day and was reading pharmacology books at night to make medicine!

Serena couldn’t hide her shock.

Because her goal was not to live a hard-working, intense life, but to live a comfortable life of idleness.

But now she had a lot of work.

She had too much work, far too much.

“That’s a good thing. I’ve been satisfied seeing you so energetic lately. I wish you’d fix the habit of waking up late a bit, but you have your own time, I suppose.”

After many arguments with Serena, Magnus decided to just understand her characteristics.

Still, it was partly because Serena, once awake, was quite diligent unlike before.

If she woke up late but still did all her work, that could be tolerated as just a lifestyle pattern.

“No, that’s the problem.”

Serena said firmly.

“I want to live a life where I don’t work and just stay at home normally!”

Magnus tilted his head slightly at Serena’s words, but soon nodded.

“If you don’t want to do it, you can live as a duchess.”

“Let me be specific.”

Serena raised her hand to stop Magnus, who had clearly misunderstood, and said.

“I want to go somewhere where no one knows me, take care of an herb garden alone, live a lazy and leisurely life with one pet, with enough money coming in monthly to live comfortably.”

Serena spoke honestly, albeit in a long-winded manner.

Magnus blinked.

“Alone?”

“Yes, alone.”

“You?”

“…Yes, me. Why do you have that ‘it’s impossible’ expression?”

“When you like people so much?”

“Me??”

Serena retorted with an expression as if she had heard something she’d never heard of for the first time in her life.

“No, you can’t even sleep properly without warmth.”

So Magnus changed his words.

This time too, Serena opened her mouth with a puzzled expression.

“Me??”

Of course, this story was also unfamiliar to Serena.

She was originally prone to waking up easily, but she didn’t have trouble sleeping.

She just woke up once every hour or two until morning.

It took about ten or twenty minutes to fall back asleep, but she wasn’t particularly unable to sleep.

“When I hug you, you sleep well all night without waking up, but when you sleep alone, you wake up often.”

“…Well, isn’t that just a coincidence?”

Where in the world is there a person who can only sleep well with human warmth?

“Even coincidence becomes fate and necessity after three times.”

“No, are you saying I sleep well when I’m in your arms?”

“Even when we slept apart, you often burrowed into my arms, didn’t you know?”

“…I didn’t know? I’ve never slept with anyone.”

Serena said, a little flustered.

‘Never slept with anyone?’

Magnus felt a little relieved. It seemed that the story he was worried about wasn’t true after all.

‘Then where did she become familiar with men’s bodies?’

Magnus fell deeper into the mystery.

“You’ve been looking tired lately because of me, right? Because I keep clinging to you…”

Serena sighed and ruffled her hair.

“I’m sorry. Maybe it’s better if we use separate rooms after all?”

Serena said with a slightly guilty look.

For Serena, who knew the importance of sleep, the fact that she was disturbing someone else’s sleep was quite distressing.

She recalled the past days when she couldn’t sleep and only worked.

“This won’t do, let’s sleep separately today.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“I’m not fine with it.”

Serena hated being a nuisance to others more than anything in the world.

There’s nothing as terrible as being a nuisance. She shook her head firmly.

“Why didn’t you tell me if I was disturbing your sleep? Now I’m the only bad person again.”

Although she knows she’s always the bad one no matter what she does, she doesn’t want to disturb sleep as well.

Besides, even if she’s someone who will leave someday, isn’t he her first friend?

“I’ll go to the room I used to use.”

She got up from her seat.

Magnus grabbed Serena as she was about to put on a cloak over her camisole.

“Serena, it’s really okay.”

“I told you I’m not okay with it?”

“You being in my arms is not a problem.”

Magnus said calmly.

“I like having you here too. I can’t sleep well alone.”

As always, he also sold the medicine.

Although Serena’s momentum softened slightly, she still showed no signs of backing down.

“I prefer having you here.”

“So I…”

“It’s my mental issue, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

“Mental issue?”

Serena frowned.

‘He said he was trained to control his emotions from a young age, is that why he can’t sleep?’

Is it that he feels somewhat at ease when someone is beside him?

“I originally have insomnia.”

Magnus unknowingly added fuel to Serena’s speculation.

Serena’s face became a little serious. She knew well how much trauma can affect a person.

“It’s because I didn’t train properly.”

Magnus said.

He was referring to an unspeakable part of his body, but Serena had no way of knowing that.

“…You’ve done well. It’s not your fault.”

Serena, who was about to leave, pondered for a moment before spitting out a word.

“I didn’t know you couldn’t sleep… do you sleep a bit better when you’re with me?”

“…Ah, yes.”

Magnus said, feeling a little guilty.

His chest, pierced with thorns, hurt a little, but if it continued like this, they would only become estranged again.

“And I didn’t even know…”

‘What didn’t she know?’

Magnus realized that Serena was misunderstanding something and wanted to ask, but couldn’t.

It wasn’t a good choice to open his mouth unnecessarily in a situation where she had just barely agreed to back down.

“I think I’m sleeping well thanks to you too. I hardly have any headaches these days.”

“You had headaches?”

“Because I tend to wake up often while sleeping.”

Lemerun and Kim Chul-soo used to wake her up regardless of whether it was dawn or morning, so there were few days when she could sleep soundly without worry.

‘Ah, I want to quickly deal with whatever this source of evil is.’

So she wanted to bring Lemerun and Kim Chul-soo here and roll them around at her feet.

“No, that’s not it. Anyway, I think I’m too busy these days. This wasn’t my goal.”

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Anything at all.”

Magnus said firmly.

Serena sighed deeply and sat down on the bed with a thump.

“No, I mean I want to earn money on my own.”

“Why on earth? I have a lot of money too.”

“So…”

Serena, who was about to speak, closed her mouth again.

Because if she talked about this, it seemed like the source of evil or whatever would waft out again.

“You’ll know later.”

Serena changed the subject.

Magnus was upset. Because she acted as if she would leave again.

‘What’s the problem this time?’

He thought he had been doing well until now.

“Serena.”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

“……”

Serena’s pupils trembled at that plain and always the same confession.

‘Seriously, even though I know I’ll leave anyway.’

Nevertheless, Serena sometimes felt like this person was speaking sincerely.

She slowly exhaled to calm her palpitating heart.

Feeling the hot breath escaping between her crimson lips, Magnus tilted his head.

‘It doesn’t seem like she’s taken a liking to someone else.’

He carefully approached and knelt down at her feet.

Only by sitting like that could their eyes meet to some extent.

“May I kiss you?”

“…Do you always ask about such things?”

“I was told to never do anything without mutual consent…”

“Well… that’s right.”

Serena nodded slightly after looking surprised at the unexpectedly well-attached common sense manners.

“If I don’t like it, I’ll push you away, so you don’t particularly have to ask.”

She said, grabbing Magnus’s clothes tightly with a face that had turned bright red.

Seeing her small hand on his shoulder with fingertips that had turned pale white, Magnus attacked her lips from below.