“…!”

Breti’s eyes flew open in shock. It was clearly morning, yet the room was strangely dim. The sound of rain pattering against the darkness pricked at her ears.

“The rainy season is almost here, miss.”

Suddenly, Bagi’s words flashed through her mind.

Sensing the faint glow of dawn, Breti hurriedly looked to her side.

“…!”

Just as she’d expected, Karsten was already gone.

Every morning after spending the night in his arms, she was left with nothing but emptiness.

Tears welled up in Breti’s eyes as she once again faced the loneliness of her reality.

‘A slightly different morning, a slightly different…’

She’d always wished things would change whenever Karsten came to her room, but every morning was the same.

‘In the end, I’m just a doll.’

A doll who had no reason to push him away, even when he occasionally came to claim her. She’d always despised the way others looked at her with eyes full of desire—so why couldn’t she turn away from the hunger in Karsten’s gaze?

‘Because…’

She’d become a foolish doll, one who had fallen in love with her own master.

Because she found herself wanting him to want her more.

Breti buried her face in her hands. With the rainy season setting in, her tears only added to the dampness of the morning.

It was a gloomier start than usual.

💙💙💙 💙💙💙

Lately, Karsten hadn’t felt rested, no matter how much he slept.

“Ha…”

Maybe that was why the headaches had been coming more frequently, too.

Karsten set his quill down on the desk and pressed hard against his temples.

Standing nearby with an account ledger in hand, Benon looked on with concern.

“Is it your headache again, sir?”

“It is. Ever since the rainy season started, it doesn’t matter how much I sleep—I never feel rested.”

Karsten rubbed the back of his neck, a frown creasing his brow. It had been a week since the rainy season began, and in that time, he’d had a series of strange experiences.

He never seemed to wake up in the same place he’d fallen asleep. Sometimes he’d find his room in disarray for no reason, or he’d wake up paralyzed, unable to move a muscle—like being caught in a nightmare.

But the hardest thing to endure was his sleep itself. No matter how early he went to bed, he always woke feeling exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept at all.

He was getting by on sheer stamina, but he could sense his limits approaching.

Benon, studying him carefully, spoke up in a gentle tone.

“The young lady is quite skilled at brewing tea, sir.”

“Laterna is?”

“Yes. She’s also very good at identifying herbs—the staff are always grateful for her help when someone falls ill.”

“She’s more skilled than most physicians.”

Karsten recalled, remembering something Thompson, the head steward of Servien House, had once said.

If his suspicions were right and this was really sleepwalking, it wouldn’t be good for word to spread.

“Send Laterna here.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Benon left Karsten’s study and made his way straight to Breti’s room.

“My lady, may I come in for a moment?”

At the sound of Benon’s voice, Breti quickly pulled on a robe.

“Come in.”

She used her hair to hide her neck and clutched her robe tighter around her.

Entering the room, Benon gave a polite bow and relayed Karsten’s message.

“His Grace would like to see you, my lady.”

“My brother…?”

“Yes, my lady. His Grace has been complaining of frequent headaches lately. It also seems he isn’t sleeping well.”

“…”

At Benon’s words, Breti’s cheeks flushed hot.

For the past several nights, Karsten had been coming to her room—every night—and always slipping away before dawn. It was only natural he’d be short on sleep.

‘Even last night…’

Karsten didn’t leave Breti’s side until almost morning, leaving her sleep-deprived. Yet she had never been able to turn him away.

No—she didn’t want to turn him away. Now that she’d come to understand her own feelings for him, every night in his arms felt like nothing short of a miracle.

If anything bothered her, it was only how coldly he acted during the day, as if nothing had happened—so different from the hungry way he sought her out each night.

Sometimes, it left Breti wondering if the man who came to her after dark was just a mirage.

“His Grace would like your recommendation for a tea to help with his headaches and sleep.”

And now, here he was, summoning her in broad daylight.

“All right. I’ll be there right away.”

Breti replied, nodding with a hint of relief.

As soon as Benon left, Bagi came in, and Breti gave a quick instruction.

“Bagi, I want to wear something that covers my neck. Could you bring me something suitable?”

She fussed with her hair as she spoke.

Watching her closely, Bagi caught a glimpse of her neck and gasped.

“Oh my—your neck is all red, my lady!”

“Mm, I think I got bitten by a bug.”

Breti answered vaguely, avoiding Bagi’s gaze.

A short while later, with her neck carefully covered, Breti made her way to Karsten’s chambers. Standing outside the door, Benon gave her a polite bow.

At first, just seeing him had made her flinch, but now she found herself growing used to it. Benon knocked lightly, announcing her presence.

“Your Grace, the young lady is here.”

“Let her in.”

When Breti entered, Karsten was seated at his desk. As she drew closer, she felt a subtle sense of anticipation with every step.

‘Oh? That’s…’

Standing before his desk, Breti spotted the braided thread bracelet she’d seen before, tucked between the books in the library. The colors were unmistakably familiar.

Karsten greeted her by slipping the bracelet onto his wrist.

“Come sit over here, Laterna.”

Breti followed his lead and sat down carefully. But she couldn’t take her eyes off the bracelet on Karsten’s wrist. Unable to hold back her curiosity, she asked quietly,

“May I ask what that bracelet is?”

Karsten’s brow furrowed slightly at her question. He glanced down at his own wrist.

“Why are you so curious about it?”

“If I’ve overstepped, I’m sorry.”

Breti quickly bowed her head, fiddling nervously with her fingers.

After a moment’s silence, Karsten began to run his fingers over the bracelet.

“I was told it’s a token left by someone who once saved me.”

“A token?”

“Yes. When I was a child, I went south one summer and was badly injured by a haeriji—I nearly died from my wounds. They say someone saved me then, though I have no memory of it.”

At that, a long-buried memory flashed through Breti’s mind, and her heart began to race.

“Your Grace, did you often travel south as a child?”

“Every summer.”

A memory flashed through Breti’s mind—a boy she’d once saved on a night when the rain was pouring down in torrents.

‘It was you.’

Back then, Bretti had taken the wounded boy to her secret hideaway and treated his injuries, just as her mother had taught her.

Unable to wait for him to wake up, she reluctantly returned to Aurora, spending the entire day worried that he might lose his sight, just as her mother had.

As soon as she had finished working, she hurried back to her hideout, only to discover that the boy had already left.

She could still vividly remember that day.

‘And that braid…’

Her mother had taught her how to make it, and it was one of a pair of bracelets her mother had crafted for her before she died.

“In truth, my memories from then are hazy, by the time I came to, I’d already been taken back to the Servien estate.”

When he spoke, Breti felt a pang of disappointment. She could still remember holding his hand and crying for her mother, but he didn’t remember any of it.

‘So he really doesn’t remember…’

She couldn’t help but feel a dull ache of sadness.

Oblivious to her feelings, Karsten moved straight to the point.

“I called you here because I’m concerned about my health.”

“If it’s your health, wouldn’t it be better to consult a physician?”

“I’d rather not have anyone else know there’s something wrong.”

At that, Breti gave a small, understanding nod.

“All right. Please, tell me what’s been happening.”

Karsten continued,

“Even when I sleep, I never feel rested…”

Breti’s brows knit slightly in confusion.

What was he talking about? He’d come to her room every night—so why say this now?

“Sometimes I wake up somewhere completely different from where I fell asleep.”