Strangely enough, Felix slept very well.

When morning came, seeing the defenseless Reniel made him feel truly peculiar.

It was odd that someone dared to climb onto his bed and sleep with him.

Yet it felt quite familiar, perhaps due to sleeping together for the past few days.

Moreover, it was surprising that he could now sleep well even without sleeping pills.

‘I’m worried about your health, Master.’

Reniel had repeatedly said that, making him quit cigars, alcohol, and sleeping pills.

“Ha.”

The terrible headache he used to feel every morning when waking up, as well as the persistent body pains that always tormented him, had all disappeared.

Even the uncomfortable, tight feeling around his heart was no longer felt.

It was strange how he slept so comfortably and deeply, like in the relatively peaceful times before his mother went mad when he was very young.

He used to only be able to find peace by barely putting his mind to rest with sleeping pills.

The refreshed feeling of having slept well after a long time wasn’t bad.

He slowly tried to release Reniel, whom he had been holding as if binding her.

“I didn’t go anywhere…”

Reniel mumbled in her sleep, grasping Felix’s finger.

He remained still, unable to rise further, perhaps because of the pinky finger she was holding.

If he were to twist her neck right now, Reniel would surely die.

A slender neck and a thin body with no strength. Though she said she exercised a little, it was clearly to build stamina, not for training or discipline.

Yet again today, the seemingly thin man’s body before his eyes kept appearing as a woman’s body.

Even after confirming the flatness of the exposed chest, when he looked elsewhere, Reniel’s body seemed to have curves.

Moreover, there was an illusion of her short, neat hair growing longer.

It was a strange phenomenon. No matter how many times he looked, Reniel was clearly a man. There were obvious traces of masculinity everywhere.

But why did he keep feeling that she was similar to the woman he had seen in his dreams?

He approached Reniel on a sudden impulse.

As his lips nearly touched hers, Reniel drowsily opened her eyes.

“You’re not avoiding?”

“…Good morning, Master.”

Reniel looked at him with a sleepy smile, not fully awake.

“Did only I sleep well?”

She said that while looking at Felix. At that moment, his desire to kiss her disappeared.

No matter how much lust boiled within him, he didn’t want to force himself on a defenseless partner.

“I don’t know if you’re fearless or just stupid.”

“I’m just worried about you, Master.”

Reniel, still intoxicated with sleep, tried to get up after opening her eyes.

“Don’t get up.”

“…But…”

“Stay here until I return.”

Felix said that and covered her eyes with his hand.

Reniel was so tired from her usual fatigue that she fell back asleep not long after.

****

“Eek!”

Reniel woke up in broad daylight and screamed.

When the grandfather clock chimed four times to signal 4 o’clock, she felt her blood run cold.

It was natural for her to be tired all this time.

She had taken on not only the duties of a regular servant on duty but also those of the assistant head servant and even the head servant.

On top of that, she had been taking care of Thanasis every night and sleeping with Felix.

She had to stay tense and nervous all day long.

So it was only natural that she slept this deeply. Even if she didn’t realize it herself, her body must have been overexerting itself.

“Ah! What should I do!”

Reniel got up from the bed in panic and tried to compose herself.

She was surprised to see that her shirt buttons were all fastened and the room was clean.

Felix’s room was rarely this clean without her tidying it.

On the other hand, she wondered if it was clean because he hadn’t taken sleeping pills last night.

Flustered, she came out from behind the bed canopy to open the curtains wide.

Then.

“Were you always such a heavy sleeper?”

Felix was working at his desk.

“Master!”

Reniel realized how many times she had failed to prepare her master’s morning.

So, feeling a serious threat to her life due to her negligent work behavior, she opened her eyes wide.

The fact that her master hadn’t gone to his office and was waiting for her here meant he had been patient in order to punish her.

She didn’t particularly want to experience how cruel Felix could be.

“I’m sorry! I must have gone mad!”

“What do you mean?”

“To, to sleep for so long…!”

Felix couldn’t help but smile when Reniel stuttered in panic.

“I’m the one who told you to sleep more.”

“…Really?”

“You don’t remember well, I see.”

Reniel didn’t remember much of what happened while she was half-asleep. She had been very tired, after all.

“Come here.”

As she walked towards him, dazed and confused, his aide, who had been standing outside the door, came in discreetly and gathered some documents.

“Have a meal brought in.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“Ah, I’ll…!”

“You sit down.”

“…Yes.”

Reniel sat down on the floor next to Felix at his words.

“What are you doing?”

She sat on the floor.

In her mind, it seemed like he was doing this to punish her now.

“I’m sorry for sleeping too much, even if you told me to sleep.”

He laughed as if finding it absurd.

“Is that something to be sorry about?”

“Then did I make another mistake?”

Reniel’s panicked expression was like that of a rabbit.

Around her brilliant purple eyes, her eyelids were red from panic, making her eyes appear almost red.

He felt like a mean owner teasing a rabbit by holding a carrot, unsure whether to give it or not.

“Who knows?”

“I admit all my faults. But to make amends, I need to know what other mistakes I made.”

Reniel tried to kneel on the floor with a cowed expression.

“Ah…!”

Felix pulled her arm and made her sit on his thigh.

“Is there something you feel guilty about?”

“No, not really… Did I perhaps touch you while sleeping?”

Reniel couldn’t think of anything no matter how hard she tried.

She wondered if she had unconsciously touched him because she fell asleep while stroking his hair.

She felt even more nervous because of his hard thigh beneath her.

She couldn’t know when this man with a body so much firmer than hers might pull out a knife from his bosom and stab her neck.

“First, I, I’m sorry…!”

“The meal has arrived.”

Meanwhile, seeing Reniel sitting on Felix’s thigh and whimpering, the servant Taran froze as he entered pushing the trolley.

“What are you doing? Set up the food.”

“Ah, yes!”

“Master, I should also…”

“You stay still.”

At Felix’s words, Reniel shrank her shoulders and remained as she was.

She couldn’t understand why he was doing this. She wondered if it was some new form of torture.

As she looked at Taran as if asking for help, he also seemed flustered and avoided her gaze while quickly setting down the food.

Clank! Clatter!

Silence fell in the room as he put down the dishes too forcefully.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“If you’re sorry, do better. Do you always bring food in such an irritating manner?”

“…I apologize.”

Felix spoke coldly to Taran and gestured for him to leave.

Soon Taran left and the door closed. Then only Reniel and Felix remained in the room.

“Master…”

“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you to stay still before you listen.”

Reniel froze and remained motionless.

“Am I not too heavy for you?”

Felix couldn’t help but smile again at Reniel asking such a thing right after being told to stay still.

“Ah.”

“Yes?”

“Open your mouth.”

He picked up some salad with a fork from the plate the servant had left on the table and offered it to Reniel.

Reniel wondered if perhaps the food was poisoned.

Looking closely, all the meals were in pairs of the same dishes. Just like when she used to come here and prepare his meals.

So she wondered if it was poisoned or if he was testing her.

“…Ah, mmph.”

Soon, chopped lettuce and cherry tomatoes entered her open mouth.

Perhaps because of the taste of the salad sprinkled with fresh kiwi dressing, her mood improved just a little.

After she received and chewed a few bites like that, he pushed the salad aside and pulled over a plate with veal steak.

Then he cut it and said.

“Open.”

“Ah, yes. Ah…”

Reniel felt strange as Felix handed her the veal steak he had cut himself.

“Um… the meat is too big.”

“I’ll be careful.”

He cut it a bit smaller at her words, picked it up with the fork again, and brought it to her mouth.

She trembled, not knowing if she should really eat it, and opened her mouth again.

Felix thought it felt somewhat like offering a meal to a rabbit.

He had never eaten lunch before. Of course, it was an awkward time for lunch now.

“Aren’t you eating, Master?”

“Why? Are you trying to force something again? Are you going to order me to eat food now too?”

He said that with a strangely pleased expression.

“I’m not ordering… I’m suggesting. If you eat regular meals, Master… Ah…”

She tightly closed her eyes in fear as Felix suddenly approached as if to kiss her.

“You tried to kiss me yesterday.”

“What?”

“That was your mistake. The one you made yesterday.”

Felix lied, enjoying her reaction.

Of course, Reniel thought he would never lie to her, so she was shocked to the point of her heart stopping.