“I’ve never had a comfortable place to sleep, so this is more than enough.”

It was an answer better left unheard.

Raylin clamped her mouth shut and instead observed him, as if searching for something.

Though he didn’t show it outwardly by fumbling or looking flustered, the emotions hovering around him were unmistakable—‘unease’ and ‘unfamiliarity.’

They were the kind of feelings anyone would have when stepping into a deeply personal space that wasn’t their own.

Behind those emotions, a faint ‘desire’ flickered on and off before settling down again.

But because the room wasn’t particularly bright, Raylin failed to notice it.

The silence was broken, surprisingly, by Aiger himself.

“What exactly do you plan to do as treatment? I refuse to take sleeping pills or use scents. I’ve had enough of those to last a lifetime.”

“There’s none of that. I’m not a professional, so I wouldn’t mess with such things recklessly.”

“Professionals aren’t much different.”

Aiger added an unnecessary remark, which was unlike him, then fell silent again.

He immediately regretted the words, and internally, his thoughts were as noisy as Raylin’s chattering.

Aiger had never been particular about sleeping arrangements.

But this was the first time he had lain in a bed imbued with another person’s scent—not perfume or artificial fragrance, but the natural scent of someone’s body.

Contrary to the rumors that circulated about him, he had never recklessly indulged in carnal pleasures, nor had he ever shared a bed with anyone.

That made this situation even more unfamiliar.

As Raylin continued to chatter about something, Aiger silently repeated to himself—

This is just for treating insomnia.

It’s purely for treatment, nothing more. Not even an ounce of another intention.

But… wasn’t Raylin far too lacking in caution?

Even if they were engaged and this was part of an insomnia treatment, letting a fully capable man lie in her bed so easily…

Though they had exchanged a few words earlier, she didn’t seem to mind at all.

No, rather than merely lacking caution, she was completely devoid of it.

If it had been any man other than himself, something disgraceful would have undoubtedly occurred!

The fact that no one but Aiger himself would dare to sneak into Greuga Manor and knock on the balcony window of Raylin’s bedroom had long since disappeared from his rational thoughts.

Even without seeing the slight twitch of his brow, Raylin noticed that the ‘discomfort’ hovering beside him had grown significantly stronger. Hurriedly, she stood up and grabbed a large book.

After suggesting insomnia treatment to him, she had considered various methods. This was the first one she had planned to try.

She sat on a chair beside the bed, placed the book on her lap, and spoke.

“For now, I thought I’d read you a boring book…”

She trailed off, sounding slightly embarrassed, and glanced at him.

‘Bewilderment’ hovered beside him, but there were no stronger negative emotions.

Feeling somewhat relieved, she opened the thick cover of the first edition of an imperial legal code—a book so difficult to obtain that even lifting it was a challenge.

“…What is that?”

Despite the clear Imperial lettering on the cover that read Law Volume 1, Aiger voiced the question aloud.

“Oh, it’s an Imperial legal code. It’s a series that goes up to Volume 3, but I’ll start with Volume 1 for now.”

Raylin beamed, seemingly proud to own all three volumes.

Unable to bring himself to say anything further, Aiger simply closed his eyes.

Even without reading the words floating beside him, Raylin could hear the disbelief in his voice. She quickly added an explanation.

“There’s research that says reading or listening to extremely dull or complicated books helps induce sleep.”

“…Where did you hear such research… No, never mind. I see.”

His resigned tone only fueled Raylin’s determination rather than discouraging her.

This method has worked for many people!

Of course, she hadn’t personally experienced or heard of any direct cases, but still, there were countless testimonies.

Clearing her throat, Raylin began reading the first page of Law Volume 1.

As expected, it was mind-numbingly tedious, filled with archaic language and technical terms that made little sense upon first listen.

However, that was as far as things went according to plan.

“…Ahem, ahem… Your Highness?”

“There are more outdated clauses than I expected. They need revising.”

Raylin had called out, just in case he had fallen asleep, but the completely alert response—devoid of even the slightest trace of drowsiness—made her shoulders slump.

Still, it was too soon to give up.

If she couldn’t cure his insomnia entirely, she at least had to alleviate it somehow. Otherwise, like in 『Re.Vil.Bre』 and in her past life, he would turn to horrifying drugs, and the only possible outcome would be ruin.

Marking the book with a bookmark, Raylin asked,

“Do you know what caused your insomnia?”

Of course, she understood that he was not in a position to sleep peacefully.

Even in his own bedroom—where he should feel safest and most comfortable—he had lived knowing that at any moment, a butterfly, meaning an assassin, might emerge.

But still, there must have been some catalyst that worsened his chronic, everyday insomnia to this extent.

A moment later, Raylin wished she could strangle her past self for asking such a question.

“If I told you that sleep felt like death to me, would you laugh? That’s how Her Majesty the Empress passed away. It was the first death I ever witnessed.”

“No! Never!”

Raylin shook her head desperately from side to side.

The atmosphere had already turned grim, but now it had plummeted further into an abyss. She scrambled to find the right words to mend the situation.

Noticing her flustered movements, Aiger slowly sat up.

The moment his deep blue eyes met hers as his eyelids lifted—

Despite being in her own bed, the place where she lay every night, the spot where Aiger sat now felt as dark as a beast’s den, bone-chillingly cold and suffocating.

It was probably just her imagination, but she could almost smell the sharp tang of blood.

Aiger observed Raylin as she instinctively curled her rounded shoulders in front of him, a primal reaction to facing a top predator. Then, he reached for the blanket.

It would only be this once, but the spot where he had briefly lain was warm and comforting.

Perhaps it was not because of the space itself, but because it belonged to her.

That answer, however, he would never know.

Had it not been for Raylin’s insistence, Aiger would have never set foot in anyone else’s bed.

“This is enough for tonight. If we delay any longer—”

Before he could finish, Raylin offered another suggestion.

“A lullaby! How about a lullaby? If there’s one you heard as a child, I can sing it for you.”

Surely, he hadn’t had insomnia since birth.

If there was a lullaby he had heard as a child to help him sleep, it might still work now.

But Raylin’s hope was immediately shattered.

“No one ever sang one for me.”

And the way he said it left a particularly bitter aftertaste.

Raylin fought to smooth out her expression, which threatened to twist with sympathy.

She didn’t know the full extent of how harsh and miserable the childhood of 『Re.Vil.Bre』’s final villain had been.

But she did know that his father had tried to kill him. That he still did.

That his mother had left him behind before he was even old enough to understand.

That not a single person who had stood by him had remained without betrayal.

That even those who approached him never sought to use him, but only to destroy him.

How many assassins had tried to end his life before he was even capable of defending himself?

Of course, having a tragic past didn’t justify the atrocities he would later commit under the influence of the insomnia medication he became addicted to in 『Re.Vil.Bre』.

But…

That’s not what this is.

And even in 『Re.Vil.Bre』 and her past life, it was still unclear whether all of the crimes attributed to him had actually happened.

Raylin wished that he would not be disappointed in her.

No, more than that, she fervently wished that Aiger’s fate would not end as it had in her past life.

“So, a lullaby would be pointless, then.”

As he made this assertion, Raylin caught him once more.

“You haven’t tried it before. It might actually work.”

Though he was inclined to think otherwise, Aiger lay back down on the bed.

He wasn’t sure what kind of whim this was.

Even he himself didn’t know, but he simply didn’t feel like shaking off Raylin, who seemed desperate.

Raylin, who had been anxiously fretting that he might brush her off and disappear, sighed in relief when she saw him obediently lie back down.

Fortunately, the faint presence of ‘comfort’ surfaced beside him.

She had thought she had completely failed, but it seemed to have gone better than expected.

Maybe reading that legal book earlier had helped a little after all?

Raylin, despite her ability to read emotions, had made a grand miscalculation. She took a sip of the lukewarm water on the nightstand to moisten her throat.

Singing a lullaby hadn’t been part of the plan, but there was nothing to lose by trying.

Since he said he didn’t know any lullabies, she could just sing the one she had heard as a child.

With that thought, Raylin began rummaging through the faded memories of her past.

Though she had been reincarnated as a supporting character in a novel, her memories remained intact—whether that was fortunate or unfortunate.

Thanks to that, she has been able to accept this place as ‘reality’ and live without any identity confusion. That was something to be grateful for.

At last, a soft and slow lullaby flowed from Raylin’s lips.

It wasn’t a particularly special song.

Half the empire’s citizens had probably heard it at least once in their childhood.

~Sleep well, my baby. The birds in the front yard and the lambs on the hill are all asleep. The moon sends silver and golden beads through the window this night. Sleep well, my baby.~