“…I came to see you. Before leaving for the expedition.”

“You’re busy, you didn’t have to go out of your way to do this.”

Kasha said those words while snatching the book Leon had just pulled out from his hands, as if intercepting it.

“As you can see, my room is a mess right now. It’s not a situation to receive a guest…”

“Am I a guest?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“If I’m a guest, you could at least have a cup of tea with the guest who came all the way here to see you.”

And as soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.

“What the…”

“Bring it in.”

Before Kasha could say anything, Leon quickly replied. While Kasha was taken aback, he cleared a path through the messy room and opened the door. He then directly received the tray handed over by the kitchen maid and returned to Kasha.

“There. I can put it here, right?”

He pushed aside the books sprawled on the desk and set down the tray.

Kasha stared blankly at the items on the tray.

It wasn’t just a steaming teapot and teacups. There was a light chicken soup, round white bread, soft fruits, and even Kasha’s favorite chocolate cake. All the dishes were nicely arranged in pairs.

“Did you ask them to bring this?”

“I heard you hadn’t eaten.”

Leon said that while placing a spoon in Kasha’s hand.

“I don’t have time for this right now.”

“I’m the same way. I haven’t been able to eat anything all day because of preparations for the expedition.”

“Then you should have a more proper meal. Not here like this.”

“My, my. I don’t have the energy to argue any further.”

Leon said that while pulling over a chair that had fallen beside him and nonchalantly sitting down on it.

Pretending to act powerless while holding his forehead, Kasha sighed as she looked at him.

She could guess that he was trying to get her to eat. But it was also true that he looked genuinely exhausted as if he had been starving all day.

Kasha brought the spoon to the soup with a resigned look on her face. At that, Leon also began eating with a bright smile.

The two of them silently focused on their meal for a while. In fact, both of them had practically starved all day and were in an overworked state, full of tension.

Even though they were in a messy room, this moment of facing each other and eating felt like an unparalleled rest.

Every time Kasha tried to put down her spoon, Leon would push the bread plate towards her or offer her fruit. If she seemed to be choking, he would quickly pour her tea, and he even cut the cake into bite-sized pieces for her.

Each time, Kasha had no choice but to pick up the spoon again, pretending to give in. Because she noticed the new scratches on his large hands that were cutting the cake and pouring tea for her.

‘I can’t be any more cold-hearted towards someone who will have a hard time preparing for the expedition.’

Moreover, every time Kasha emptied a plate, he would raise the corners of his mouth with a very pleased expression. There was a strange addictiveness to seeing that face, and it had the power to overcome even Kasha’s short appetite.

In the end, the two of them emptied all the plates on the tray. Kasha, who had eaten her fill for the first time in days, felt a little embarrassed. Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she spoke in a stiff tone.

“Now go back. Aren’t you someone who should be much busier than me right now?”

“Preparations are all done. The half day left until tomorrow morning is the last vacation before setting out.”

As if not hearing her cold words, Leon replied in an extremely relaxed tone.

“…If that’s really the case, you should go see Eve and your other family members.”

“Eve would prefer me to go see your face and come back to tell her about it.”

Hearing those words, Kasha asked a little hesitantly.

“…How is Grand Duke Osilote doing?”

“He’s receiving treatment at the temple. It’s certain that he’s developed a mania, but they say they still can’t figure out the cause.”

Upon hearing Leon’s answer, Kasha fell into thought for a moment. And Leon waited silently without disturbing her thoughts. After a little while, she carefully opened her mouth again.

“How long has it been since His Grace the Grand Duke’s mania began?”

“Well, the symptoms seem to have started appearing a couple months ago. It’s just gotten much worse recently. But why do you ask?”

At Leon’s words, Kasha closed her mouth. Leon continued, examining her expression.

“Even if that’s the situation with my father, it’s impossible to forcibly confine a grand duke against his will for now. We’ll have to find a solution as soon as possible.”

“You’ll have to come back quickly.”

“That’s my intention.”

Kasha looked at him with a slightly resentful gaze as he answered as if he were leaving for a simple training.

He probably had no idea how anxiously she was making a magic tool at this very moment.

After a moment of silence, Kasha opened her mouth again.

“Now, really go back.”

“I have something I want to say to you.”

“I need to finish my work now.”

“Then I’ll wait.”

“For how long? Tomorrow is the departure, are you going to… stay up all night here?”

Even at her sharp tone, he only smiled brightly.

“If only I could.”

Kasha, captivated by the curving corners of his mouth, found herself at a loss for words.

She wanted to get angry, but contrary to her will, she felt her ears turning red. Kasha turned her body away in a huff for no reason.

“Do as you please. I really have to work.”

He was the commander of the expedition forces, after all. He wasn’t someone who would irresponsibly stay up the night before departure. If she didn’t keep him company, he would probably go back on his own soon. With that thought, Kasha turned her back to him and immersed herself in her research again.

How much time had passed?

Suddenly, Kasha realized that she couldn’t hear even a small movement around her.

‘Did he go back…?’

Of course, even though she had acted coldly in hopes that he would, the fact that he had left without saying goodbye made her secretly disappointed.

Kasha turned her head to look at the place where he had been sitting without realizing it. Then she opened her eyes wide in surprise.

Leon had fallen asleep leaning against the back of the chair.

How tired must he have been to fall asleep sitting like that? He must have been in a deep sleep, as she could faintly hear the sound of his steady breathing.

Kasha looked at his sleeping face for a while, holding her breath.

As she had felt before, his jawline seemed to have become even sharper. She could imagine how grueling his training must have been. Being a person with a strong sense of responsibility, he must have reduced his meals and sleep to work until he was perfectly prepared.

Kasha, forgetting that she herself was just as much of a workaholic if not more so than him, only felt sorry for his haggard face.

Come to think of it, this might be the first time she was able to look at his face so freely.

She could fully understand why people praised his face as sacred. The smooth and masculine forehead that extended from his brow bone to his forehead, the eyebrows that were in a perfect shape as if they had been groomed, even the pretty earlobes that made her want to touch them.

Kasha, who had been lost in thought for a long time while admiring his face, was startled when his brow suddenly furrowed, and she turned her head away.

“……”

But even after a little while, she didn’t feel any other signs of movement. Kasha turned her head again, pretending to be nonchalant.

She saw that Leon’s brow was still furrowed.

Was he having a bad dream? His face twitched as if in pain, but he couldn’t let out a single groan. The hand resting on the armrest seemed to be filled with strength, as the veins on the back of his hand were bulging.

‘Could it be the aftereffects of the curse manifesting?’

Kasha’s heart sank and she stood up from her chair to approach him.

Judging by the way his eyelashes were fluttering and his eyes were moving under his closed lids, he seemed to be dreaming. But the problem was that based on his furrowed expression, it seemed to be a bad dream.

‘Why did you have to have a nightmare of all things? Making me soft-hearted.’

Kasha sighed and brought her hand to his forehead.

Just as he had poured his holy power into her, she gently stroked his forehead and platinum hair with concentration.

It was amazing.

As soon as she stroked him, his expression immediately became relaxed.

His brow, which had been tensed up, smoothly unfurrowed, making her heart pound for some reason. The warmth of his body and the soft sensation of his hair that she felt through her palm. The unique scent of his that was no longer unfamiliar, wafting closely.

Moreover, just by looking at his face that had become defenseless like a young child under her hand, it felt like even her own tightly wrapped heart was unraveling helplessly.

Was that why? Kasha impulsively whispered without realizing it.

“Leon. Actually, I… I released the seal on that magic stone. The magic stone that cursed you.”

“……”

As soon as she spoke the words, she reflexively grew tense and examined his face.

Fortunately, his expression remained unchanged.

Captured by something that might be courage or a foolish impulse, Kasha’s whisper continued.

“I approached you from the beginning to retrieve that magic stone, and… I only lifted your curse because I didn’t want my sins to grow.”

“……….”

The sleeping man still gave no response. But like a burst dam, her confession knew no stop.

“You… you were used by me. So stop acting like a fool and take care of yourself. Don’t pay any more attention to someone like me.”

Kasha had already collapsed to her knees in front of the chair where he was sleeping at some point. She wanted to stroke his right arm resting on the armrest, but she couldn’t do that for fear of waking him up.

“Don’t put yourself in danger. Don’t get hurt either.”

Even now, it sometimes flickered when she closed her eyes.

The fallen holy knight wandering the abandoned temple. The empty sleeve fluttering powerlessly from his right arm that had been cut off below the elbow.

“And… never, ever die. In this life, never.”

Tears that had slowly welled up in her eyes as she looked up at him finally spilled over and flowed down.

They fell in drops directly onto Leon’s knee, creating round marks.

“You must survive. Even if for my sake, Leon.”

Her voice was hoarse at this point.

How much time had passed like that?

Kasha fell asleep leaning against the chair leg. Before long, the sound of her even breathing flowed from her mouth.

And as soon as that happened, Leon’s eyes slowly opened from where he was sitting on the chair.

“……”

The clear violet eyes that could not possibly belong to someone who had been in a deep sleep silently looked down at Kasha’s disheveled hair.