Upon arriving at Irene’s bedroom, Callos gently laid her down on the bed.

What about the clothes?

Although it seemed inconvenient to let her sleep bundled up in thick clothing, considering it might cross a line, he decided against removing them.

He could just call Jessie and ask her to take care of it.

As he turned around to leave, suddenly…

“Muul…”

Irene, who had just sat up abruptly, waved her hands in the air, searching for water.

“I’m thirsty, Muul…”

…

Her desperate search couldn’t be ignored.

Callos poured water into a cup and offered it to Irene.

“Drink.”

…

Even though he had brought her the water she longed for, Irene just stared at Callos without drinking.

“Why aren’t you drinking?”

…

There was no response to his inquiry.

Could she be sleeping with her eyes open?

Callos placed the cup on the bedside table to check. As he reached out towards her, Irene quickly grabbed his hand, pulling it towards her, and pressed her face against it.

“You’re handsome.”

Following her words, his broad shoulders twitched slightly.

His violet eyes seemed to struggle to grasp the situation, capturing Irene’s blissful and pure smile as she gazed at him. Although he had seen Irene laugh several times, it was the first time he saw her laugh so cleanly and flawlessly.

It’s truly a pleasant sight when she laughs like that.

“Really handsome.”

…

The warm and velvety touch on his cheek, followed by her words, momentarily diverted his attention from his thoughts back to reality.

Irene, as if Callos’s cheek were a toy, mumbled with delight while caressing it.

“If you smile, you’ll look even more handsome… Why aren’t you smiling?”

…

“What?”

“Even a little smile would be fine…”

Unexpectedly confronted with such a remark, Callos looked at Irene with bewilderment. But she continued to touch Callos’s cheek as if unbothered.

“Try to smile.”

She even used informal language.

He couldn’t meet her eyes and was shaking like a person who couldn’t face his gaze and trembled like a frightened person. It was ridiculous to hear such words from someone intoxicated by Allegria, so it was unavoidable.

If he were in his right mind, he might have said something, but being drunk with Allegria, he couldn’t help it.

If he were in his right mind, he probably wouldn’t have said such things in the first place.

Ignoring the absurdity, it might be best to just ignore her and leave.

Callos forcibly pulled Irene’s hand, which was still feeling his face, away and laid her down on the bed.

“Stop doing useless things and go to sleep.”

…

“Are you leaving?”

“Yeah.”

Knowing it was nonsense, he laughed at himself while answering. However, this time as well, he couldn’t take a single step.

“I’m scared…”

Turning around again, Irene was huddled under the blanket, trembling and muttering.

“The devil… the devil is coming to get me.”

…
The word “devil” stuck in the chest to an extent that felt peculiar, simply because humans commonly referred to the residents of the underground world as devils. It was also because they had been called that so many times. And… because they were actually going to kill Irene.

“…”

So Callos couldn’t bring himself to reach out to Irene, who was trembling with fear.

How could he comfort her on such a topic?

“I’m scared, scared…”

“…”

Yet, leaving Irene like this was not an option.

Callos sat by the bedside, quietly comforting her as she huddled under the thick blanket, shivering.

“You don’t need to be scared.”

“…”

“There’s no need to be scared.”

Although it was a poorly matched consolation, it was the best for Callos, who had never comforted anyone in his life.

The expression “I’m here, so you don’t need to be scared” came to mind, but he didn’t say it.

“…”

Fortunately, whether it had an effect or not, her trembling shoulders, resembling a weeping willow, gradually calmed down.

Irene, like a turtle, cautiously peeked her head out from under the blanket.

Her eyes were slightly red, perhaps from crying, and damp.

A surge of pity overwhelmed him.

Callos, as if he were the one who had cried, gently wiped Irene’s wet eyes.

“Don’t cry.”

The tone used to speak those words was surprisingly gentle, even surprising the one who spoke them.

Irene also seemed surprised, slowly blinking her eyes, then tightly grabbing the hand that had wiped her tears with both hands.

“I wish… you could stay with me.”

“…”

“Being alone is scary… please stay with me.”

Callos wondered if Irene knew what she was saying and why she was saying such things.

He was willing to bet everything on not knowing.

If he woke up tomorrow morning with a clear mind, he would probably regret what he was doing now and kick the blanket.

It might be embarrassing, and she might avoid him like before if she couldn’t look him in the eye.

After finally narrowing the distance between them, that wouldn’t do.

Besides, Callos didn’t feel comfortable staying in her room either.

What if Irene saw his left leg? That would be a disaster.

So, despite thinking that he should firmly refuse, even though…