I couldn’t afford to add fuel to the fire by involving Serdis, who was already on edge due to the war. I went into the wardrobe first and signaled for him to follow.

“It’s a tight fit for both of us.”

“We’ll have to try.”

Hearing Serdis’s approaching footsteps, he quickly stepped into the wardrobe.

“Ah, only this room is left?”

Serdis’s voice was heard right outside. The moment Hertian turned his eyes towards the door, I grabbed his arm and quickly pulled him into the wardrobe. His massive body tilted instantly.

“Huh?”

“Shh.”

I stared at the stillunopened door and whispered to him.

“Close the door.”

The wardrobe door closed, and our vision was blocked. But something was off. Hertian, who should have been on the opposite side, was in front of me.

Fumbling around, I touched his broad back. It seemed I had misjudged the direction. We were stacked like we were on a horse. But that wasn’t important now.

“Is she not here either?”

Serdis’s voice was heard outside the wardrobe. I held my breath and listened carefully.

“There’s no other room left.”

Serdis walked around the room, then stopped near the wardrobe. I swallowed hard. It was both problematic to meet Serdis and to be discovered in this manner.

‘I should’ve just run away.’

But it was too late for regrets. The game of hideandseek with Serdis had begun.

“Anette is good at hiding. She couldn’t possibly be hiding again, could she?”

Instinctively, I pushed Hertian back, fearing that his face might be visible through the wardrobe’s gaps. I held him close and whispered in his ear.

“Just like this for a moment.”

He twitched and licked his lips. I covered even his mouth with my hand.

No sound came from outside. The silence was suffocating. And then a shadow was cast by a sliver of light coming through the wardrobe. Serdis was standing in front of the wardrobe. We could feel each other’s irregular heartbeats.

I glanced at Hertian in the darkness. Though he didn’t show it, he seemed tense.

And not long after, the door burst open.

“Your Highness.”

Someone entered the room with quick steps.

“Where is Anette?”
“Are you not here?”

It was a voice that sounded like a servant’s.

“If I were here, would I have asked you?”

“II’m sorry, Your Highness.”

“Go find out quickly. Report back immediately.”

“Yes!”

Thanks to the servant, his shadow disappeared. Soon, the footsteps of two people faded away, and the sound of the door closing was heard. Only then could I let out the breath I had been holding.

“My lady.”

“Just wait a moment. Let’s leave later. He might come back.”

“That’s not what I meant, on your back…”

We were in close contact without a gap. My heart was still pounding audibly. I sighed briefly at that.

“I’ll make another batch of arrhythmia medicine for you.”

No matter how nervous, this was something else. His heart was beating too fast; something was wrong.

“That’s not what I meant…”

“You don’t want the medicine?”

“No, rather than that, my lady… Never mind. We should distance ourselves a bit.”

We embraced every night, yet now he said such a thing. What’s wrong with me clinging to his back?

Later, I realized why Hertian said that. The front of my crumpled dress. It had been in contact with a place it shouldn’t have.

‘I must be crazy!’

I released him and quickly fastened my clothes.

“II’m sorry.”

The room became quiet. I hurriedly opened the wardrobe door. I saw Serdis retreating from the window.

“FFortunately, Serdis has left.”

My eyes were fixed on the window as I spoke, my words coming out haltingly.

“……Good.”

“He won’t come back, it’s almost evening.”

Fiddling with the curtain, I finally slammed it shut. Gathering the courage to turn around, this time Hertian was showing his back to me. My eyes quickly dropped.

‘He wouldn’t even have felt it.’

Every night we cuddled together to sleep, yet he disliked this. Annoyed, perhaps, by the indiscriminate touching of someone he didn’t like. I thought we had gotten closer, but it seems not to Hertian.

‘I don’t want to be so aloof when we have to share such a small bed.’

As long as we were in the palace, we couldn’t afford to be distant. Serdis might seize the opportunity to tear us apart. There was a tea table in the yard; I should ask him if he wants to have tea together.

I took a cautious step towards him. That moment, a startled Hertian loudly called out to me.

“My lady!”

I froze on the spot, startled. He didn’t turn to look at me; his posture was awkward, and he only slightly turned his head.

“Please don’t come closer.”

“Hertian?”

His voice was a bit frightening. This was the first time he had stopped me from approaching.

‘What should I do? He must be really angry.’

“Did my clinging to you make you uncomfortable?”

“That’s not it. Please leave me alone for now. I beg you.”

Seeing him speak in a voice as suppressed as possible, I had to remain silent and still.