Another question emerged, making her chest even more stifling.

A feeling similar to when she was seriously ill before.

“Sigh.”

Continuing to lie down, she felt like she would suffocate if she kept lying there and not fall asleep, so Irene sighed deeply and got up.

And when she tried to drink water, she found that the water bottle was empty.

“Oh no. Drank it all.”

It was because of the thirst derived from the stuffy and confusing emotions.

Yet, the thirst didn’t subside at all. On the contrary, it grew even stronger.

I want to drink water, but… what should I do?

Irene checked the time.

The current time was 3:20 AM.

Jesse had said to call him anytime if there was something he needed, regardless of the time. Still, it felt sorry to call at such a late hour.

It wasn’t an injury or an urgent matter, just the desire for water.
“I should go get it myself.”

Thinking that was the right thing to do, Irene put on a shawl and stepped outside of her bedroom. In her hand, she held an empty water bottle. As it was late, the corridor was dimly lit, but thanks to the moonlight coming through the large window, she could still identify her way.

Still, it feels a bit eerie.

With golden eyes anxiously rolling, she scanned the corridor where no signs of activity were felt. Slowly passing through the corridor and descending the central staircase, Irene suddenly realized one thing and came to a halt.

Come to think of it, where is the kitchen…?

Having never visited the kitchen in Esper Castle, Irene had no idea where it might be. Since it’s a kitchen, it should be near the dining area, but she remembered there were more than ten doors near the dining area alone. Checking all of them would be cumbersome, and she was worried they might lead to the bedrooms of the staff.

It would be troublesome to wake them up unnecessarily by opening doors. Maybe I should just go back…?

Irene raised her head and looked up the central staircase. Having come this far, it seemed a bit wasteful to return. Her throat was also dry. Still, it might be better to go back than to roam around and potentially wake up people who were sleeping.

Having reached this conclusion, Irene was about to retrace her steps when she hesitated. She heard footsteps from below the stairs. Although the sound of footsteps was so faint that only someone with extremely keen hearing or sensitivity would notice, strangely, Irene heard it clearly.

Who could it be at this late hour? Is it one of the servants on duty? Or perhaps a knight responsible for the castle’s security? Irene was confident that whoever it was wouldn’t harm her. Still, encountering an unknown person in the dark was a bit tense.

If she ran away, the other person might think something strange. So, Irene waited for a moment. If she were asked why she was here at this late hour, she could say she wanted to go to the kitchen and ask where it was.

With such thoughts in mind, Irene waited.

The footsteps, gradually getting closer, suddenly stopped. In the moonlight gently spreading through the darkness, violet eyes were vividly visible.

“Ah…”
“If someone asks why I’m here at this late hour, I’ll say I want to go to the kitchen and ask where it is.

With that thought in mind.

The gradually approaching footsteps abruptly stopped. In the darkness, where moonlight subtly spread, violet eyes became distinct.

“Ah…”

Thinking it might be a servant or a knight, Kallos’ appearance surprised Irene, tensing her shoulders in a different way. The hand holding the water bottle tightened as well.

Closing the remaining distance with long strides, Kallos, looking puzzled, asked, “It’s late, why aren’t you sleeping and staying here?”

“… ”

She had thought about what to say when someone came, but upon seeing Kallos’ face, everything was forgotten. More precisely, it reminded her of the moment they had kissed. The sensations from that time vividly resurfaced, perhaps due to that, her gaze kept involuntarily focusing on his lips.

Whenever those lips moved, fantasies arose, wondering if they would kiss again.

So, she thought…

“Your face is red.”

“!”

As Kallos’s large hand touched her forehead, Irene, tightly hugging the water bottle, stiffened. Kallos, without hesitation, carefully measured Irene’s body temperature.

“It seems like you have a fever.”

Being the first time measuring a human’s body temperature, he didn’t know how hot it should be for it to be considered a fever. However, looking at Irene’s red face, ears, and even the back of her neck, it was clear that something was wrong.

“I’ll call a doctor, so go back to your bedroom.”

As Irene, who had turned into a patient, urgently shouted, “Ah, it’s not that I’m sick!” Kallos, without going down the stairs, just turned his head and looked at Irene. Seeing Kallos’ face, Irene felt like she couldn’t speak, so she lowered her head deeply.

“It’s not that I’m sick, but it’s hot… no, I mean, my throat is a bit dry, so I came out to get some water. But I didn’t know where the kitchen was…”

Even though it was quite pitiful, Irene had done her best from her perspective. Kallos, silently listening to her excuse, sighed briefly and closed the distance again.

Then, grabbing the water bottle tightly held by Irene, he easily took it away.

Huh?

Irene raised her head in surprise, and when her eyes met Kallos’, she quickly lowered her gaze.

A calm voice flowed from above her head, “If you wanted water, you could have asked me to get it.”

Still holding the red back of her neck, Irene mumbled in response, “It’s too late… I didn’t want to wake up anyone who might be sleeping.”

Even if it wouldn’t matter if she woke them up. Well, she didn’t know the real identity of Jessi anyway.

Understanding Irene’s perspective, Kallos turned away.

“I’ll take you to the kitchen.”

Irene, surprised, looked up at him again.

“N-no, it’s okay! Just tell me the location, and I can go alone.”

“I’m not okay with that.”

Kallos turned away.
“I’ll take you to the kitchen.”

Irene was startled and looked at him again.

“I-I’m okay! I can go alone, just tell me the way.”

“I’m not okay.”

Kallos turned away.

“I’ll take you to the kitchen, so follow me.”

And as if indicating that he wouldn’t listen to any more objections, he confidently descended the stairs.

The expression on Irene’s face watching his back became clouded.

Goodness. There’s such an uncomfortable kindness.

In a different sense, Irene felt her chest tightening and followed behind Kallos.