“......”

Arsian’s gaze shifted to the Duke of Esclara, who was looking back at him with indifferent eyes.

Unlike what Camilla knew, Arsian had come to House Sorpel before.

On the very day he heard that she was sick.

“Camilla is sick?”

“Yes. It hasn’t been made known outside.”

“What exactly is wrong with her!”

“Well, who knows. The whole house seems to be on high alert. It looks like someone even came in a hurry from the Gracia Empire... Where are you going? Even if you go now, it won’t do any good—”

It was fairly late, but he did not have the presence of mind to care about that.

By the time he came to his senses, he was already inside Camilla’s room.

Arsian took a step closer when he saw her, breathing in feverish bursts.

Slide.

But at that moment, he had no choice but to stop at the sword aimed at his neck.

“You’re a repeat offender, I see.”

It was the Duke of Esclara.

“......”

Arsian looked at him silently for a moment, then started walking again.

“That’s far enough.”

But the sword pointed at his neck showed no intention of moving in the slightest. Even in the darkness, the sharpness of the blade was not hidden at all.

“Do not come any closer to my daughter.”

His voice was every bit as cold as the sword pressed to Arsian’s neck.

“I do not like you being by that child’s side.”

He had felt that way from the first time he saw him.

That sticky darkness seeping up from somewhere deep below. That was what he felt from this one.

It looked as though that darkness might swallow Camilla whole at any moment.

‘He’s dangerous.’

Was there any need to keep him by Camilla’s side even taking that into account?

Even now, look at him. He was facing a sword drawn by a master and his expression had not changed in the slightest. Could a man like that really make Camilla happ—

Step.

“......!”

In that instant, his sword bit into Arsian’s neck.

Because Arsian had simply kept walking.

The Duke of Esclara hurriedly pulled the sword away.

“I feel the same.”

Even with blood running from the wound, his gaze stayed fixed on Camilla from beginning to end.

“I know that better than anyone.”

That she was someone far too good for him.

Because of that, even while he was with Camilla, there were times he grew afraid.

Whenever he thought that one day Camilla might be hurt because of him, a chill ran down his spine.

“But I can’t let go.”

A selfish heart that knew it should let go and yet did not want to.

“......”

In the end, Arsian withdrew the hand he had reached toward Camilla.

After looking at her for a long while one last time, he turned around, then bowed very politely to the Duke of Esclara.

And then, just as quietly as he had come, he disappeared from the room.

The fact that Dorman was horrified the next day when he saw the blood on the floor was not particularly important.

“Arsian?”

After sinking into thought for a moment, Arsian bent down at Camilla’s call.

Watching her blink over and over as she called his name with that tiny mouth, he kept smiling without realizing it.

After hesitating for a moment, his hand moved toward Camilla’s head, but in the end it never touched her.

Her clear eyes filled with puzzlement, but just as he was pretending not to notice and about to pull his hand back—

Grab.

“Camilla?”

Camilla quickly caught hold of him. Her red eyes stared steadily into his face as she asked,

“Did something happen?”

“...No.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Nobody’s been bothering you?”

At that last question, Arsian finally burst out laughing.

[Who would bother whom?]

[Is she seriously saying that? Isn’t that guy still half out of it?]

[Lord Arsian is not the sort of person who gets bullied by anyone.]

[Camilla, he does have a strange side sometimes.]

The ghosts nearby whispered in disbelief, but Camilla paid them no mind.

“There’s nothing like that.”

“Then that’s fine.”

After tilting her head a few times, Camilla finally let go of Arsian’s hand.

Then she started patting his solid shoulder, and despite the gentleness of the gesture, the words that followed were rather vicious.

“If someone bothers you, tell me.”

“And if I do?”

“I’ll make sure to get revenge.”

“Revenge?”

“I happen to be very good at paying people back.”

Arsian answered that he understood and kept snickering.

“...That’s reassuring.”

His gaze naturally shifted to the Duke of Esclara.

The moment their eyes met, a rarely seen playful smile curled at the corner of Arsian’s mouth.

“About this wound on my neck.”

“Yeah.”

“The truth is, I didn’t get hurt while training—”

“You there! Would you like some tea?”

Just then, the Duke of Esclara, who had been sitting there so quietly he might as well have been invisible, hurriedly called out to Arsian.

“I don’t really like tea.”

“There’s juice as well. Juice.”

The Duke of Esclara’s voice was vicious enough to sound like he was grinding his teeth. But when Camilla looked at him strangely, his expression smoothed over as though nothing had happened.

“I don’t really like juice eith—”

“Then I’ll bring you some water.”

Saying he would fetch the water himself, the Duke of Esclara stood up, and Camilla stared at him like she was wondering what the hell was wrong with that man.

Arsian looked quietly at the two of them and only let out a soundless laugh.

*****

“Haaahm......”

Reading through the documents, Camilla let out a long yawn.

Was it because her body had grown younger? Why was she getting sleepy at the drop of a hat? Looking at documents packed this densely with writing only made it worse.

‘I have to finish all of this today.’

She had not been able to go to the company for quite a while, so the pile of backlogged paperwork was enormous.

In the end, she had asked Chris, who had been diligently managing the company in her place, to send the documents to the house. And when they arrived, there was a mountain of them......

“Haaahm......”

The interval between her yawns kept getting shorter. She forced her fading eyes wider, but it did not help much.

“Camilla?”

“...Mm?”

Even to Arsian’s call, her answer came a beat late.

“How about taking a break and doing it later? You said it’s nothing urgent.”

“No.”

Camilla shook her head hard as if to throw off the sleep.

She was already causing trouble for everyone these days because she had started sleeping in so much. She absolutely refused to let it affect her business too.

“If you drink some coffee—”

“No.”

This time, Arsian shook his head firmly.

“They say it’s bad for little kids.”

For that very reason, even Camilla herself did not sell coffee to children at the café she ran.

Instead of coffee, Arsian handed her a cup of warm milk.

“I don’t want it. I’m drinking coffee.”

“What would you do if Rio said he wanted coffee? Would you give it to him?”

Wow, what a dirty bastard.

She protested that the situation was different, but it did not work at all. At last Camilla surrendered and took the cup of milk from him.

“This is just going to make me sleepier.”

“I’ll wake you up.”

The milk smelled sweet, as though he had put honey in it.

After hesitating for a moment, the “young” Camilla ultimately could not ignore it and drank it down in gulps. Arsian watched her with extreme satisfaction.

“I’m going back to work.”

“Okay.”

“I’m finishing everything today!”

“Sure.”

Thwack!

Setting down the empty cup with a sharp sound, Camilla picked up the documents again, her determination blazing anew.

“......”

But that resolve did not last long.

“If you’re sleepy, just sleep.”

“I’m not sleepy......”

Maybe playing with Dive all day had drained her stamina, because her eyes kept closing.

The white is paper, the black is writing.

‘This trade... the profit......’

Sway.

In the end, Camilla’s body slowly tipped to the side.

Just as she was about to fall from the chair, a hand quickly wrapped around her body.

It was Arsian, who had been watching her closely the whole time.

Soft breathing.

By then Camilla had fallen fully asleep, and Arsian carefully lifted her into his arms.

As he laid her on the bed and meticulously pulled the blanket over her, a faint smile rose to his lips.

His hand gently stroked Camilla’s hair, and then his gaze slowly turned behind him.

Someone was there, staring straight at them. No one knew when he had arrived.

“Are you going to draw your sword again?”

“I won’t. Not unless you had behaved a little more shamelessly.”

The Duke of Esclara let out a soundless sigh.

“I know I told you I don’t like you being beside my daughter.”

“I know that too.”

“Then why do you keep staying by her side?”

What if she grows attached to you?

‘No, has she already?’

Wouldn’t everyone know by now? Even he, who had not seen them together many times, had ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) noticed it.

‘I don’t like it.’

That child Camilla, and that prickly brat in his own way, softened in a strange manner whenever she dealt with Arsian.

That face wearing a faint smile whenever Arsian’s name came up.

What irritated him even more was that Camilla herself did not seem properly aware of it.