Suddenly, a voice well-suited for darkness penetrated Irene’s ears, and she looked at Carlos in surprise.

Turning towards the door, Carlos gestured for her to follow.

Forgetting her tangled thoughts and questions, Irene hurriedly followed Carlos.

Until they returned to their true nature, there was no conversation between them.

Until they returned to their true nature, there was no conversation between them.

In the somewhat awkward silence, Irene, who had come up to the 4th floor, bowed her head slightly towards Carlos.

“Good night.”

Carlos’ bedroom is at the western end of the 4th floor, and Irene’s bedroom is at the eastern end of the 4th floor, so parting ways here was appropriate.

“I’ll take you to your room.”

However, when Carlos made a strange remark, Irene was surprised and raised her head.

“Oh, no. I can go alone.”

“Abel might suddenly appear, so I’ll take you.”

Abel suddenly appearing. That’s a bit scary…

“Aren’t you going?”

“I-I’ll go.”

Swiftly turning around, Carlos, without looking back at Irene following him, walked silently.

Irene looked at Carlos’ broad back walking ahead with a slightly awkward gaze.

Judging by the atmosphere, it seems like he’s angry.

Since Carlos often exuded this kind of atmosphere, it was difficult to tell if he was genuinely angry.

Eventually, when they arrived in front of the bedroom, Irene breathed a deep sigh of relief internally.

“Huh?”

Just for a moment, Irene widened her eyes as Carlos opened the bedroom door and went inside.

Wasn’t he supposed to bring me only up to the door?

As Irene stood there in confusion, Carlos glanced around the bedroom after entering.

‘Nothing.’

Irene worried that Abel, who left the room earlier, might have pulled some prank, but it was an unnecessary concern.

No. Considering his usual behavior and personality, it would have been more unusual if he hadn’t done anything.

Abel was annoyingly curious, and his annoying personality required resolving that curiosity to feel satisfied.

“…”

During that time, did he not think of doing anything because of the exhaustion and fatigue from repairing the barrier?

Anyway, if Abel remained quiet, it was a good thing.

After confirming that there was nothing unusual, Carlos turned to Irene.

“You can go inside.”

“…”

Regaining her composure, Irene looked at Carlos, then at the wide-open bedroom door.

“Was there… something inside?”

“Nothing.”

“But there might have been something, right?”

Carlos answered with silence to the subsequent question.

“By any chance, do you think your… friend did something?”

“…”

Following the question, Carlos maintained silence and then lightly tapped her shoulder.

“He may be mischievous, but he’s not the type to cause trouble. You don’t need to worry too much.”
Subsequently, Carlos maintained silence in response to the following question.

Soon after, he lightly tapped her shoulder.

“Although that guy can be mischievous, he’s not the type to cause serious trouble, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

So, even if Abel occasionally did excessive things, Carlos didn’t say much and let it pass.

There was no point in saying anything to him.

“You must be tired from dealing with Abel; go inside and rest.”

Planning to pass by Irene, she grabbed his arm firmly.

“…”

Carlos turned his head, looking down at Irene.

As if surprised by his actions, Irene’s eyes widened like a rabbit.

However, her golden eyes were unwaveringly fixed on Carlos, upright and seemingly curious.

Perhaps because of what Abel said.

The reason why I brought her here.

I had plans to tell her everything truthfully someday, but it wasn’t the right time yet.

When the flowers bloom a bit more and I’m certain she won’t leave.

… Whether that time will come is uncertain.

“Um… There’s something I want to ask.”

“Speak.”

Although Carlos knew what Irene wanted to ask, he pretended not to and maintained his poker face.

After hesitating for a moment, Irene cautiously spoke.

“Tomorrow… can we have dinner together?”

“What?”

He naturally expected her to ask about that, but the question that came out was completely unexpected.

When Carlos questioned her with a dismayed expression, Irene, seemingly embarrassed, rambled on without much coherence.

“Lately, I’ve been worried because you haven’t been having dinner and seem to be going out… Oh, I’m sorry if it’s unnecessary concern. But not skipping meals is important. So, I was just curious if you’re having dinner…”

What Irene actually wanted to ask wasn’t this.

She intended to inquire about when she could hear the reasons for being brought here.

However, when she got the chance, she couldn’t find the words and ended up asking a different question.

She was curious about this as well.

But Carlos’s reaction was somewhat strange.

Unable to come up with a decent excuse even in her own thoughts, Irene closed her mouth.

Then, she cautiously glanced at Carlos.

“…”

He looked down at Irene with an expression that revealed nothing about what he was thinking.

Irene, with her face now reddened, lowered her head, covering her blushing face.

“I think I said something unnecessary. I apologize. Just forget what I said.”

“…”

“Then, I’ll be going…”

“Eat.”

Above her head, a disinterested voice echoed quietly.

Irene lifted her head to meet Carlos’s eyes.

“Let’s have dinner together tomorrow.”

In his violet eyes, an unusual glimmer of a smile lingered.

“I’ll be having dinner with you from now on, so don’t worry about my meals.”

Despite the awkwardness, Irene inexplicably felt good and nodded faintly with a light smile.