Sigrid patted the space beside her.
"Lie down here with ."
"Uh—?"
Beramund made a sound as if he were being strangled. Seeing this, Sigrid's mood lightened a bit, and she patted the spot again.
"Sigrid......"
Seeing his troubled face, Sigrid said.
"Beramund...... this kind of thing....... cough....... you're used to it, aren't you?"
At those words, Beramund frowned. He stood silent for a mont, then slipped off his jacket, tossed it over the chair, and slid into the bed. As the blanket was pulled back, Sigrid shivered at the outside air.
The air felt too cold on her fever-heated body. Beramund quickly settled in, fluffing the pillows to prop up his upper body, and offered his arm as a pillow, letting Sigrid lean against his chest. Then he said shortly.
"I won't."
"......Pardon......?"
"I'm not used to this, and I don't do this with other won. Only you."
At those words, Sigrid's eyes widened. Looking up at him, Beramund smiled faintly and said.
"Really."
Sigrid buried her face in his chest.
'Ah, his heartbeat.'
It was loud and fast. Not her own, but Beramund's.
He looks calm on the outside, but his heart is racing, she thought, and for so reason it made her want to laugh. Her head felt hot.
The world spun dizzily.
She stretched out her arms and hugged him. There was a soft gasp. Sigrid felt oddly relieved. And then she fell asleep.
"......Siri......? Siri......? Are you really asleep?"
Beramund called Sigrid's na a few tis. He looked up at the ceiling and let out a groan.
'This is maddening.'
Should he be happy about her absolute trust? Or sad? Sigrid was wearing pajamas, and they were thin, transmitting not just her body heat but the soft feeling of her limbs.
'What kind of trial is this?'
Beramund reflected on whether he had lived his life so wrongly as to deserve this. Glancing down, Sigrid's expression couldn't have been more peaceful.
'It's good that she fell asleep without pain. That's good, but.'
It wasn't good for him at all. He shifted his hips back slightly.
"Mmm—"
As if noticing, she pressed her body closer.
'No, no, don't get closer.'
Praying that Sigrid wouldn't wake up, Beramund uncomfortably shifted his hips back again. Just as he was thinking how ridiculous he must look, the door opened.
"I've brought the doctor— Ahem."
Mary cleared her throat loudly. Beramund sprang up from the bed. The doctor who entered was the Lunatil family physician, whom he knew well.
"Young Master."
The elderly doctor with a white beard spoke in a reproachful tone. Beramund groaned and quickly sat in the chair beside the bed, crossing his legs. The commotion woke Sigrid.
"Mmm—"
As Sigrid rubbed her eyes, Beramund spread his hands as if to say it couldn't be helped.
"The doctor's here."
At Beramund's words, the doctor approached, stroking his beard as he spoke.
"Even if the door is open, you should know better than to be alone with a lady like this, Young Master, no matter how wayward you may be."
"Karon, please."
Beramund groaned, and Karon chuckled as he set down his dical bag. He took out his stethoscope and greeted Sigrid politely.
"It's a pleasure to et you, miss. I'm Karon."
"Ah......"
Doctor. Sigrid glanced at Beramund.
"I can vouch for his skills."
At Beramund's words, Sigrid nodded. Karon placed his hand on her forehead and turned to Beramund.
"And it's also not right to take advantage of a lady who's so ill."
I didn't!
Beramund silently cried out, giving an aggrieved look, but Karon ignored him. He ward the stethoscope in his hands before saying.
"This might be cold."
As he examined her, Karon asked.
"Have you been overexerting yourself lately or getting little sleep?"
"No....... not really......."
"There were many tis when she slept less than three hours a day."
Mary quickly spoke up on behalf of her mistress. At those words, Beramund crossed his arms and Karon chuckled.
"Sleeping so little will wear down your body. It seems you've beco weak for so reason......"
Sigrid flinched at those words.
"Anyway, your fever is high, so I'll prescribe so dicine to bring it down. Make sure to eat before taking the dicine."
Karon took out several dicine bottles and explained them to Mary. He prepared dicine packets for four days and handed them to the maid. Karon then packed up his dical bag. Before leaving, he beckoned to Beramund. He stood up.
At the doorway, Karon's face turned serious. Seeing his expression, Beramund whispered with a sigh.
"Poison?"
"You knew?"
Karon looked at Beramund suspiciously.
"You didn't give it to her yourself—"
Karon averted his gaze mid-sentence. At his age, it was difficult to withstand such killing intent.
"I misspoke. I apologize."
"That's enough."
At the cold voice, Karon cleared his throat and then asked.
"Do you know what kind of poison it is?"
"No, I don't."
"I see. For now, I'll mix so herbs effective for detoxification, but without knowing what poison it is, complete detoxification is impossible."
Beramund nodded slightly. Karon bowed politely to him and withdrew. Beramund returned to the bedside and said to Mary.
"Bring sothing to drink. So light food would be even better. She needs to take the dicine and sleep."
Mary bowed and left. Beramund reached out and brushed Sigrid's bangs. They were damp with sweat.
"When they bring sothing, eat and then take your dicine. Then sleep."
As Sigrid grabbed his sleeve, Beramund smiled and said.
"I'll stay by your side until you fall asleep."
"Alright."
Sigrid obediently replied. Shortly after, Mary returned with soup and fruit juice. It was made from the fruit Beramund had brought. Beramund helped Sigrid sit up and made her finish the soup, then gave her the dicine with the fruit juice.
He could feel her glancing at him, wanting to leave so, but he made her finish it all. Sigrid lay back down and patted the space beside her.
"No."
This ti, Beramund refused firmly. There was little guarantee he could endure a second ti. But Sigrid didn't give up and patted the spot again.
"No."
He refused again, but his voice was weaker than before.
Pat pat pat.
Pouting, Sigrid patted the spot more forcefully.
'Is she a rabbit?'
He was bewildered by her sudden childish behavior, but also wanted to jump for joy at how cute it was. This ti, the word "no" seed to get stuck in his throat. He leaned in and whispered.
"Siri, I'm not harmless."
"?"
A look of confusion crossed her face at his words. Beramund reached out to caress her cheek as he spoke.
"I'm not the kind of man who can lie next to the woman he likes and feel nothing."
At those words, Sigrid's eyes widened.
"But....... Beramund......."
The words "You don't like , do you?" rose to her lips but stopped. Co to think of it, he had said he liked her. What did that an? As a friend? Or as a person?
"No, no. You're thinking unnecessary thoughts right now."
Beramund lightly pinched her nose, then released it. He sighed and glanced at the slightly open door, then approached and grabbed the doorknob. Seeing Mary waiting outside with wide eyes, Beramund smiled, put his index finger to his lips, and closed the door.
The sound of the door closing echoed loudly.
"I won't take responsibility?"
Beramund said this as he climbed into bed. The atmosphere was different from before, and Sigrid hesitantly looked up at him. Beramund placed his hand on her forehead.
"You're hot."
Beramund murmured softly and sighed. It really was unscrupulous to do this with a sick person.
"Sleep."
He embraced her shoulders and lightly pressed his lips to her forehead. It was a gentle gesture, as if checking her temperature.
'This doesn't look like sleeping, but more like I'll be up all night nursing her.'
As Sigrid shifted, Beramund asked, "What's wrong? Uncomfortable?" and was about to change positions when she lightly kissed his cheek.
"—!"
"Thank you."
For what?
Before he could ask, Sigrid smiled and closed her eyes. She quickly fell asleep again, and Beramund, wondering why he had volunteered for this role, periodically reached out to change the wet cloth. His clothes were soaked as a result, but he didn't mind.
By late dawn, thanks to the dicine or perhaps her naturally good constitution, her fever fortunately broke. Her breathing also beca much easier, and Beramund felt relieved.
'Well, I can't be relieved when I think about myself.'
He glanced down at Sigrid. The room was dark without a single candle, but his keen eyes could make out her faint outline. Beramund slowly lowered the arm that had been around Sigrid's shoulders and stroked her back. Through the thin pajamas, he could feel the hot, smooth contours of her back on his fingertips.
The warmth of her soft side made his mouth go dry. His hand, which had moved downward, now ca back up, slipping inside her pajamas. As his fingertips touched bare skin, Beramund swallowed hard. Gradually moving his hand up, he could easily tell that she wasn't wearing anything besides the pajamas.
Beramund briefly wrestled with his conscience, wondering whether to push his hand in further or not, before sliding it up a bit more. A sigh escaped at the silk-like softness of her skin. He gently caressed her smooth lower back.
"Mm—"
Sigrid made a small sound and burrowed deeper into his arms. Beramund let out a heavy sigh and withdrew his hand. The feeling of Sigrid's breasts pressing against him was vivid. Beramund spent the night wide awake.
The next morning, when Sigrid woke up late and saw the empty space beside her, she let out a deep sigh.
'He left.'
It was only natural, but for so reason she felt disappointed.
'But my fever's gone down.'
Her body felt better too. Her mind was clear and the headache was gone.
'Has my body adapted to the poison?'
They say if you take small amounts of poison, you build up a tolerance. Is that what happened?
Sigrid tilted her head as she got up.
"Oh, you're awake?"
"Beramund?!"
Beramund, opening the door with a tray in his hands, saw Sigrid and chuckled.
"You look better."
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Then eat breakfast and take your dicine."
He approached briskly and placed his hand on her forehead, then nodded.
"Good. Your fever's really gone down. Take it easy for today too."
"You didn't leave?"
At Sigrid's question, Beramund paused, then cocked his head.
"Should I have?"
"What? No, that's not what I ant......"
"After you slept so well, even drooling on my clothes."
"—!"
Her face turned red.
If it were soone else, she might have said, "That's just what happens when you sleep." But Beramund was different. Sigrid, flustered, said.
"I'll, um, wash your clothes and return them."
"Don't bother. Then I'd have to go ho wearing just my jacket without a shirt."
Beramund said casually as he set the tray on the bedside table and put on his outer garnt that had been hanging on the chair.
"Well, I'll be going now."
"What? Let's have breakfast together before you go."
"I have to go for afternoon duty. I'll see you next ti."
Beramund said with a grin. As he walked to the door, Sigrid hurriedly followed, saying.
"Thank you for coming."
"It's fine because I like you."
"Y-yes—"
At her awkward response, Beramund opened his mouth to say sothing, but Sigrid looked at him and smiled brightly.
"I like you too."
"......Uh....... Right, you should go back inside instead of coming out. Yeah, eat and rest. Goodbye."
The door closed in front of her face, and Sigrid blinked. On the other side of the door, Beramund was covering his face with both hands.
'Ah, really. Ah, truly. Sigrid Ankertna. This bewitching woman.'
He felt his ears burning. As he breathed heavily through his hands, Mary, standing beside him with cold eyes, said.
"Are you leaving?"
Her tone suggested an omitted "Finally" at the beginning. Beramund nodded.
Pretending to rub his eyes to hide his expression, he said.
"I'll be on my way then."
"Have a safe trip."
Beramund quickly went downstairs and left through the front door. He had told Sigrid he was going for afternoon duty, but what he needed now was sleep.
'I should go ho and sleep.'
Beramund thought as he let out a sigh.
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Sigrid looked at the ring. The once clear crystal ring had turned pink.
'Is it around here?'
According to what she had heard from Her Majesty the Empress, it was definitely in this area. Moreover, the ring was clearly indicating that there was a magical reaction nearby.
'Should I use the secret passage?'
Sigrid knew of several secret passages and rooms. In her opinion, the place where this was happening was likely one of them.
'I should tell Beramund first.'
She had planned to inform him once she was certain, but due to her illness, there hadn't been a proper opportunity to talk. Thinking of him made her heart flutter again.
'He's really good at kissing.'
Maybe it was because she had been feverish and dazed, but the kiss had felt good. So good that she wanted to beg for more.
And even though she had said unreasonable things like asking him to stay by her side, Beramund had remained.
'I can't believe I said such things.'
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