I kept my hand on Carlo’s forehead, quietly checking his temperature.

“How exactly do you feel sick? Is it a throbbing pain? Chills?”

“It throbs sometimes. And I get chills too.”

Hmm? His forehead felt warm, but not particularly hot.

“Um… I’m not sure. Maybe not? Just a moment.”

Feeling uncertain, I thoughtfully compared by placing my other hand on my own forehead.

At that moment, his large hand grasped mine and pulled it down.

“I was joking.”

“What?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

Carlo’s calm statement finally made me snap to my senses.

“Hey, come on. You scared me.”

“Go back to your side.”

“I will.”

I pressed my lips together and tried to return to my bed, only to land on my backside.

It was because he hadn’t let go of my hand.

I whirled around to look at Carlo.

“You need to let go for me to leave.”

“…Haven’t I let go yet?”

He had. I returned to my place, thinking his behavior seemed strange today.

Watching him lean back against his pillow with a dry chuckle, I picked up a cushion I had placed on the bed earlier.

“What are you going to do with that?”

His eyes narrowed immediately as he asked.

“I need to put it between us, right? I brought it myself this time so you wouldn’t have to bother. Did I do well?”

When I flashed him a bright smile, he frowned slightly in response.

“Don’t bother.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s troublesome, so don’t bother.”

I wondered why this man, who had always placed cushions between us, was acting differently now.

“Remove it. Having pillows or cushions in the middle is cumbersome.”

“Then if I place it closer to my side so it’s not in your way…?”

Before I could finish speaking, he tossed the cushion away.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“That cushion doesn’t match this bed at all. They’re not harmonious.”

“…Are you criticizing my aesthetic sense right now?”

“I suppose so.”

Good grief… No wonder he’s Odin’s descendant.

The Hedegen family members all seemed to be born with such refined aesthetic sensibilities that the harmony of scenery before their eyes was extremely important to them.

“Good night, then.”

To hide my grumbling lips, I lay down on my pillow and pulled the blanket up to my neck.

As I heard rustling sounds behind me, suggesting he was trying to sleep, something that had been bothering me resurfaced in my mind.

“But you know, I still think…”

Just as I turned over, thinking I might as well speak my mind rather than keep it bottled up, I met Carlo’s gaze as he lay facing me. My words caught in my throat.

A moment of silence passed as we faced each other.

What’s this, so close…

I unconsciously lowered my gaze, noticing the distance between us seemed narrower than before.

“What is it?”

He asked, watching me with calm eyes as I looked down at the gap between us.

His usually neatly combed hair was slightly disheveled, covering his forehead.

Somehow he looked like a boy at one moment, then like an indifferent grown man the next.

“Aren’t you going to speak?”

Ah, right!

“How could…”

I gripped the blanket, forcing my eyes away from our suddenly close proximity.

“How could you leave like that without saying a word?”

“……”

“Truly without saying anything.”

“Is my leaving that way something for you to be angry about?”

Isn’t it obvious? Everyone knew his schedule except me, left completely in the dark.

“It’s not that I’m angry!”

“Then what?”

When I woke up in the morning, he had suddenly disappeared, and I heard from others that he wouldn’t return for several days.

At first I was bewildered, then angry.

Then gradually, I realized what I felt.

I was hurt that he hadn’t cared at all about how I would feel.

“…I felt let down.”

“……”

“I was upset, you know.”

Every time I felt we had grown closer, he would push me away like that.

Did he think I was trying to claim a permanent place by his side? I just wanted to remain on good terms while we were together.

“That’s why I came back.”

“……”

“In the middle of the night. Eventually.”

His response, cool as the night air, left me speechless, unsure how to reply.

After hesitating, I looked at him again.

His coral-blue eyes were still fixed on me.

An awkward chill ran down my spine under his penetrating gaze.

“That’s not what I meant…”

“I regretted it as soon as I left. And yes, not telling you beforehand was my mistake.”

“……”

“Are we good now?”

“……”

“Hmm?”

My eyelashes lowered timidly as his gaze searched my eyes for an answer.

My heart felt uncentered, as if lost, and my thoughts remained jumbled.

A grave yet teasing smile played in his deep eyes.

“Tch.”

I adjusted my head on the pillow, half-burying it, and mumbled hesitantly.

“When you go somewhere, you could say where you’re going. When you come back, you could say you’re back. If something comes up, you could explain. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“I’ll come back once every two or three days.”

Contrary to my averted gaze, his words startled me, and I looked back at him with wide eyes.

“…Isn’t it very far away?”

“Who told you that?”

“It’s not far?”

“No, it’s not. It’s close.”

Strange? From what Norbert said, I could only think that place was extremely distant.

That’s why I assumed he was leaving the castle entirely because it would be difficult to commute from St. Berte.

Norbert’s words, claiming this had always been the case, flashed through my mind.

“……”

Besides, logically speaking, if he needed to go to the islands, Carlo would have to travel to the coast, transfer to a ship or boat, and move to the island.

It made sense that traveling would take a lot of time.

But… I didn’t know the geography of this empire completely.

Was it closer than I thought?

“…It’s an island but it’s close?”

“Yes, it’s close.”

Hearing his calm response made me wonder if I had exaggerated too much in my imagination.

Well, I had been feeling hurt that he left without a word to such a distant place. Perhaps I had arbitrarily imagined it as an unknown island across a vast sea, shrouded in sea mist.

“So you’re going back tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“You have a lot to do there, right?”

“Not too little.”

“Is it okay to commute from the castle when you’re busy?”

“Well…”

He replied while slowly unwrapping my hands from the blanket I was clutching.

Then he pulled the blanket from my hands, which were holding it like a shield, and covered me up to my shoulders.

A warm, cozy feeling seemed to envelop my entire body.

“I must have a reason worth the trouble.”

“Is there a reason you need to come back?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“I need to see with my own eyes to feel at ease.”

“Hmm… what could that be? Surely not me…?”

“As if I would.”

He smiled arrogantly while naturally brushing my hair, which had spilled onto my neck, back over my shoulder.

His gentle touch relaxed my tension, making my whole body feel languid.

“I know, right? I wasn’t expecting it anyway.”

“Did you eat well? I told you not to skip even one meal.”

“I ate well. The food here is all delicious.”

“Good.”

He lifted the corner of his mouth as if satisfied.

In the occasional silence that followed, his unwavering gaze still on me felt overwhelming, yet those blue eyes seemed to settle in my heart, making it pound.

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind—I wanted to reach out and touch his high nose bridge and closed lips.

Why am I like this? Worried I might unconsciously touch him, I quickly folded my hands under the pillow.

“When are you leaving tomorrow?”

“In the morning.”

“So when I wake up in the morning, you’ll be gone again?”

“…Depends on how things go.”

He seemed intent on teasing me with every word.

Why is this man like this?

His words and actions were completely inscrutable.

I tilted my head slightly and glanced up at him sideways, as if giving him a sidelong look.

His gaze, never leaving me, softened slightly.

“Actually, isn’t this Novahans Islands training a flexible schedule?”

“It’s not.”

“If it’s not, how can you come in the middle of the night like this, leisurely prepare for sleep, and then leave tomorrow? Moreover, you say you’ll definitely come back once every two or three days. That sounds pretty flexible to me.”

“If thinking that makes you feel better, then think that.”

“You always say cryptic things. When I try to guess, you say that’s not it.”

“It would be nice if you could understand what’s in my mind, wouldn’t it?”

“Ha, how could I possibly know what’s in your mind? Even Norbert, who’s watched you since childhood, probably doesn’t know.”

“That’s unfortunate. I can’t exactly take it out and show you.”

“Liar. You’re not sorry at all.”

While your eyes keep smiling…

“You must be sleepy. It’s well past bedtime.”

“No, I’m not.”

“And you’re someone who needs a lot of sleep.”

“I’m not.”

I forced my drooping eyes open and blinked slowly.

“…Still, say goodbye before you leave.”

“Then hold my hand or something.”

“Hmm?”

“So I can’t leave without saying anything.”

He lightly touched the tip of my finger with his.

Perhaps because I was sleepy, I felt dreamy and docilely held his pinky finger.

“Even if you leave at dawn, make sure to tell me.”

“Is that all you’re going to hold?”

“Yes…”

Unable to fight the overwhelming sleepiness, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“Who said you could hold it like this?”

“My choice…”

As I drowsily replied, I felt him let out a dry laugh.

“If you hold me like this, I won’t be able to sleep.”

“Just sleep well…”

As I drifted into deep sleep, he readjusted his grip on my hand and then fully enveloped it.