The hand Aedis placed over my head was gentle.
He seemed worried that I might break at the gentlest of touches, but I wasnât in bed because I was a patient. I was in bed because it was cold.
My body was relaxed, and as my eyelashes fluttered, I seemed to hear a soft laugh.
âItâs nice.â
He seemed to know that I had a mild fever yesterday.
Although he looked like a devil, his words were affectionate.
I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes, Aedis was sitting, looking at me when I opened my eyes. He was in the same position as before.
âAre you awake?â he asked.
âWait, What? When did I fall asleep?â
âWhat time is it?â
âAlmost noon.â
Noon?!
I could hardly believe it, so I checked for myself.
There were five minutes left before noon.
Oh, gosh. I had wanted to sleep for about 30 seconds at most, but I ended up sleeping for nearly five hours.
âDid you cast a sleeping spell on me?â
âNobody Iâve ever put to sleep has ever opened their eyes again, so no.â
âThatâs murder.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
I curiously looked at Aedis, and as I rose from the bed, I glanced out the window.
The quiet scenery, just after the blizzard had ended, seemed to be straight out of a painting.
âDid the snow stop?â
âWould you like to go out?â
I checked how I felt first. I didnât have a headache, and the ache had disappeared. Actually, I was a little hungry.
âI donât know when itâll start snowing again, so Iâll eat something light.â
Aedis called in the butler.
As directed, he brought simple foods before he told Aedis his report for the day.
There was one peculiar comment amongst his report.
âThere is a large number of employees who have claimed to hear a strange sound when passing by the bell tower, so Iâll go check it myself.â
I stopped eating the soup and asked, âWhat sound are they hearing?â
âSupposedly the sound of a small dog.â
âWhat the hell are you talking about?â
I never had a pet before, so I couldnât quite understand.
Aedisâs expression remained stoic as he put a small piece of torn bread in my mouth.
âI will report back after investigating the matter.â
Aedis kept pushing food into my mouth, oblivious to the butler.
âEve, the spirit you chose.â
âWait! Let me swallow!â
Aedis waited patiently.
âGargoyles?â
âI have to tell you something about him.â
After I swallowed a piece of soft bread, Aedis served me a piece of salmon.
Although the meal appeared to be simple, it certainly felt like I was eating a whole meal.
When I was full and refused to eat anything else, someone knocked on the door.
Based on the sound, it wasnât the butler.
âHer-Her Highness? Are you there?â
Regen?!
âLord?â
My eyes widened. This was the first time Regen had come to visit me on his own.
My shock was almost tangible.
âCan I come in?â
âOf course! Come in.â
I anxiously watched the door open.
Regen stuck his head in.
âHello, Father.â
Regen swallowed his saliva before shutting the door behind him. He looked at me in worry.
âYour Highness, are you in a lot of pain?â
It seemed that Regen had misunderstood as well.
âIâm okay.â
âBut you skipped breakfastâ¦â
âIâm sorry. I overslept. Have you been waiting?â I explained.
âOh, no! The butler told me in advance. I was justâ¦worried about Your Highness,â Regen said, sweating profusely.
Perhaps he didnât want to run away yet because I was sick.
That would be good.
âThe nanny said that if someone stays with a patient when theyâre sick, theyâll recover much faster. Soâ¦Iâ¦If I stand by Yourâ¦Your Highnessâ¦â
âToday?â
âYes. Today.â
I suppressed my laughter and declined gently, Do not worry about me and have fun. Sir Procyon promised to give you a sled ride.â
Regen was startled. âI can ride the sled next time. Your Highness is more precious to me than sledding.â
Regen lied with a face that showed regret.
If Sarah saw this, she would have fallen because it was cute.
âBut Mrs. Theresa says you have one break once a month. Can you wait until next month?
ââ¦Of course!â
His answer was delayed.
Regen didnât seem to be good at lying.
âIf the Lord is okay, then I understand. Please stay close to me.â
âOh, yes! I will never fall!â
After a quick answer, Regen soon sat down on the chair.
âOops. Youâll have to get up again anyway.â
As I placed my outerwear over my body, Regen looked at me in confusion.
âYour Highness?â
âActually, the snow stopped, so I was thinking of going out to get some air. The Lord will come with me, right?â
âOh uh, butâ¦â
âIâm really fine. It would be difficult to ride a sled, but Iâll do my best to cheer you from behind.â
If he didnât believe this again, I thought of running in front of Aedis and Regen.
I couldnât even guess how cold it would be outside of here, so I put on my fur hat and gloves.
Unlike me, who was thoroughly armed, Aedis, wearing only one coat, protruded a smaller sphere than the one given in the bell tower. Inside, there was an ember that sparked like a fish.
When I put it in my arms, it became very warm.
Okay, this could last 10 minutes.
When I stood in front of the castle gate, I was nervous for a while, but it was not enough to want to run away like the night I went to the bell tower.
Even without a handful of sunlight, it was better than night.
With most of the snow already removed, my feet didnât sink completely into the snow.
The employees who wandered around the castle were familiar with the bipolar weather.
The attendants who cleared the snow at high speed insisted on bare feet, saying that they hated getting wet when the snow got inside their shoes.
Looking at this scene, Mrs. Terissa, who had a cold, felt weak.
And me too.
I stared at Regen running to the back of the castle in search of Procyon with my envious eyes.
Even Regen said it was hot and had loosened his outerwear.
âIf I take root in this place, will I be able to conquer the cold one day? I donât want much. It would be nice if I could just roll around thirty laps in the snow with a naked body and laugh.â
âThe wife feels a spirit of challenge in such a strange place.â
Procyon was seen as I wandered around while chatting with my husband.
âYour Highness! My Lord!â
He happily stopped. Only his eyes were shining because Aedis hated his prolonged greetings.
I had thought about it many times, but was Procyonâs previous life a retriever?
Anyway, with that innocent personality, it would be difficult to be hated anywhere.
He had ten male brothers, but no one condemned Procyon. Enough said.
âDid you see my sleigh? Yes?â
Procyon pointed to the sled he had placed next to him. A sled with the name Pegasus was shown off gracefully against a snowy field.
Secondly, I didnât like the name, and the sleigh was big enough for Santa Claus to carry gifts. It was like a roofless carriage.
He called his elder brother, who worked at the tower, and said that he applied the magic to him, so it would be much more precious than a normal carriage.
It was worthy of knowing why Regen waited for Mrs.Teresaâs day off. If the temperature had been a little higher, I would have triedâ¦
Regen entered the Pegasus and took a seat. Procyon skillfully drove the sled.
âThen we are going!â
âHave fun, little ones.â