Hugrey did not regret at all deciding to stay at Clyne’s house. However, he was troubled. Because he faced a strange situation that he could not understand.

There was an unpleasant smell coming from Clyne’s mother’s room. It was similar to Clyne’s scent, but strangely it was terribly nauseating. He could not understand how such a smell could be coming from Clyne’s mother’s room.

Is it because the lion beastman continues to stay in this house?

But this is an even more terrible smell than what that guy gives off… This is just like… No, it must be because of that lion.

Hugrey erased the memory of the smell that was about to surface suddenly. It was the smell he hated the most, so he did not want to associate it with Clyne’s mother.

Because of the unpleasant and nauseating smell that permeated every corner of the bedding, he did not even want to go near Clyne’s mother’s bed. Despite being extremely tired from not sleeping at all last night due to being in heat, he did not think he would be able to sleep in this room.

Haa… there is nothing easy about Clyne. Even though I decided to give up being an alpha, I can’t even sleep in this guy’s house.

He opened the window and stood by it, breathing in the fresh air for hours, and finally waited until no sound could be heard in the early dawn before going out to the living room.

In the darkness, he went up to the door of the room Clyne had entered and stood there for a long time with his eyes closed. As if purifying his contaminated sense of smell. As if receiving a blood transfusion from Clyne’s scent beyond the door.

As he awakened his senses, he could even hear Clyne’s steady breathing sound.

He sleeps so well. While the master hasn’t slept a wink for two days.

He felt groundlessly resentful and disappointed. Even though he knew it was a one-sided love. Childish and foolish, and even pathetic.

He self-deprecated and finally went to lie down on the sofa. But the length of the sofa was ridiculously short compared to his height. With his head and legs sticking out both ends of the sofa, it was more like he was draped over it rather than lying down.

Hugrey Ulpaz. Now you are sleeping on the living room sofa, not even the bed of a servant’s house.

But now he had lost even the will to find himself pathetic. He no longer had the will or desire to pretend not to know his own heart.

Chloe opened her eyes, kicked off the blanket and was about to get out of bed when she looked around the room.

Her hometown house, her room… Ah! That’s right, she had come home on leave.

She was about to close her sleepy eyes in relief when she opened them wide again.

She suddenly remembered that the Duke was in this house. And her mother had disappeared without a word.

After causing that commotion yesterday and pushing the Duke into her mother’s room, she had pondered late into the night where her mother might have gone. Even if she had gotten up and left, she hadn’t actually seen her mother’s condition with her own eyes. Even if she had fully recovered, it was worrying that she had left the house for days like this.

It would have been nice if she had left a message saying where she was going.

But in the end, perhaps because she had stayed up all night the day before, she fell asleep at some point. She slept so deeply that she even forgot the fact that the Duke was here.

Maybe because she hadn’t slept for two days’ worth, she was still sleepy, but habits are truly scary things. To think that she woke up at the same time even on vacation, as if she had set an alarm.

“Sigh…”

She let out a sigh.

It was a sigh directed at herself for worrying about whether she should go wake up the Duke or prepare his washing water, even in her own home where she had come on vacation.

Right, because he’s a guest.

Changing her mindset to think of him as a guest to entertain rather than a master to serve, she finally got out of bed.

The Duke generally woke up early, so he might already be awake. Thinking this, she carefully stepped out of the room and was about to move towards her mother’s room right next door when she hurriedly stopped in her tracks.

What is that? Those things sticking out from both ends of the sofa…

No, why is he there!

The owner of that body with hair sticking out from the top of the sofa and calves to feet sticking out from the bottom was undoubtedly the Duke.

Oh my. Why is he there like that?

Chloe unknowingly raised her heels and tiptoed towards the sofa where the Duke was lying. As she got closer, his body that had been hidden by the backrest came into full view. Even his face sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the world.

“…”

Chloe blinked as she looked at the Duke’s face. It was the first time she had seen the Duke sleeping so defenseless. He had always been awake before her, and even when he was in bed, he was usually sitting and reading something. Very rarely, he would have his eyes closed until she entered, but he would open them as soon as she took a few steps.

But now…

He showed no signs of waking up even though she had come right up to him and was looking down at his face.

He’s completely knocked out. Ah! That’s right! He couldn’t sleep yesterday because he was sick.

Although she didn’t know that the Duke had only fallen asleep three hours ago, Chloe understood in her own way the reason why the Duke had fallen into sleep. She had no idea why he was sleeping in the living room though.

By the way, why doesn’t the Duke even make a breathing sound while sleeping? Is he human? Is he a fairy that only drinks water?

Her head unknowingly tilted to one side as she looked at his peaceful, quietly sleeping face.

Is this for employee welfare? Are you doing charity work with your face? Honestly, truly, your looks are…

‘Ah!’

Suddenly the Duke slightly frowned one eye. It was because the light seeping in through the window as dawn was breaking shone on his face.

Chloe’s face also frowned like the Duke’s before she knew it.

Ah geez, of all places, on his face. It’s bothering me. It felt like a flaw had appeared on a perfect sculpture.

Beautiful things are worth protecting. Chloe nodded to herself as she quietly moved to close the curtains of the window and returned to the Duke. The Duke’s frowning face had fully returned to its original shape, looking beautiful again.

Hmm… Since it’s a vacation, there’s no need to wake him up. Let’s leave him to sleep.

She briefly considered whether she should wake him up since it was the Duke’s usual waking time, but concluded that it seemed rather inappropriate to wake up a sleeping master.

Thinking that it would be better to try to get more sleep in her room until the Duke wakes up rather than making a fuss in the kitchen for no reason, Chloe was about to turn around when she paused again.

There was no blanket. The master who always slept with a light and warm blanket filled with goose down and feathers. Now the Duke had his arms folded across his chest without anything covering him.

Is he cold? His arms must be numb too.

But she didn’t dare to unfold his arms.

I should at least bring him a blanket.

She scurried into her mother’s room again and came out with a blanket. It probably wouldn’t be as light and warm as the Duke’s blanket, but it would be better than nothing.

She carefully laid the blanket over the Duke. But once she covered him, she thought maybe she had pulled it up too high to his neck.

He doesn’t even get cold, he might feel stuffy.

She began to slowly fold down the blanket that was covering up to his neck. It was when she had folded it down to his chest.

“Hup!”

A sound of swallowing breath burst from her mouth. It was because as the Duke’s folded arms on his chest unfolded, one hand grabbed her arm at the same time. She fell right on top of the Duke. As if she had pounced on the Duke.

Her face touched just above the Duke’s right collarbone and her chest overlapped with the Duke’s chest. Chloe froze, unable to even exhale the breath she had swallowed.

Thump thump thump. Meanwhile, her heart was not frozen and was beating fiercely.

“Clyne.”

The Duke called her name. Chloe unknowingly swallowed.

“Clyne Liden.”

“Hiccup. Ugh… Y-yes.”

She barely managed to answer.

“…”

However, the Duke who had called her twice did not say anything. Chloe completely tilted her head back to look up at the Duke’s face.

“…!”

The Duke’s languid yet burning eyes were staring intently at her.

Too close.

Thump thump thump thump thump. Her heart beat even more fiercely after making eye contact with the Duke. Yet she could not take her eyes off him at all. The Duke also did not turn away his gaze that had met hers and kept looking at her.

Click.

“…!”

Suddenly Chloe’s eyes widened. It was because of the sound that came from behind her back, precisely from the direction of Calcus’s room. It seemed Calcus had come out.

No! I have to get up quickly.

Finally coming to her senses, Chloe struggled to break away from the Duke.

“Ah!”

However, one of the Duke’s arms embraced her back tightly as if restraining her, so she could not move at all.

One arm was caught in his hand, and her back was pressed down by his other hand. There was no way she could separate from the Duke’s body.

“Your Grace, I… Please let me go.”

She said in a shrinking voice.

“…”

The Duke did not answer and did not loosen his grip.

“Your Grace, quickly. Please let me go.”

Chloe said again, twisting her caught arm. He had gripped her wrist so tightly that as she twisted her arm trying to escape his grasp, it started to ache a little.

“Clyne?”

Calcus called her.

He was approaching the sofa. At this rate, Calcus would see the unsightly scene of her lying on top of the Duke with their bodies overlapping.