The dizziness that made the world seem to spin hit her on the way back to her room after teatime. As she set foot on the stairs, a sudden intense vertigo surged up in an instant.

“Ugh.”

Selene quickly grasped the railing to avoid falling. However, it was too soon to feel relieved. The feeling of shortness of breath was followed by the illusion that the ground was shaking.

I’ve been pushing myself a bit lately preparing for the royal tour day, is this the aftermath?

Selene placed her hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and started walking again.

The certainty that this was not just simple dizziness came when a strange heat began to tingle up. The fire that started in her stomach heated up her entire body in just a few minutes. It was too extreme to be just a temporary fever.

Forcing strength into her legs that kept stumbling, she slowly but steadily walked until she reached the door of her room. She collapsed as soon as she crossed the threshold.

Selene’s face filled with shock as she looked at the mirror opposite her. It clearly reflected her image, with flushed cheeks and panting breath.

The heat grew even more intense, to the point where she could no longer bear it without taking off her clothes. It didn’t take long for her patience to wear thin.

Pushed to her limit, Selene ignored the cry of reason and reached for her collar. She had just removed her outer garment and was about to touch the hem of her dress when:

“What are you doing there?”

A familiar voice cut through the rustling sounds. That voice, breaking through her clouded mind, instantly pulled her consciousness back to reality.

“!”

Selene’s hand, which had been gripping her dress, quickly fell down. Her heart followed, sinking heavily.

In the brief moment of clarity, she realized she hadn’t closed the door in her haste.

What should I do?

She couldn’t bring herself to turn around… Her eyes just lost focus and spun around. She was truly cornered. Her heart was pounding so vividly it felt like it would jump out of her chest.

It wasn’t just embarrassment at being caught in a disheveled state. If only it were that simple, how fortunate that would have been.

The deep male voice.

As she realized someone was behind her, the cells in her body began to go wild. She felt the urge to grab him and beg for help.

Moreover, it wasn’t just any man. Even in her flickering consciousness, she could immediately recognize the owner of the voice.

Why, of all people…

Selene bit down hard on the soft flesh inside her mouth, trying to suppress her heated breath.

What should I do about this?

The gaze that usually managed to ignore her so well was now lingering on her unusually long. As she felt the stinging on her back, Selene felt like crying.

Of course, the man behind her had no way of knowing these circumstances. He had merely been walking down the corridor when he heard a strange sound, and finding it suspicious, he had entered through the open door.

“…”

Boreas, looking at the woman’s small back, suddenly felt something odd.

Beads of sweat had formed like bumps on her nape. And that wasn’t all. The way her shoulders trembled made her look like she might collapse at any moment. Sensing the gravity of the situation, Boreas straightened up from leaning against the door.

“Are you sick?”

At that moment, the shoulders that had been shaking slightly jerked greatly. As there was no sign of an answer, Boreas, who had been waiting, took a step closer. No sooner had she heard that movement than a desperate cry stopped his steps.

“Don’t come!”

It was an irritable shout, but it seemed to have moisture in it that couldn’t be wiped away. As she looked like she might cry at any moment, Boreas stopped as she wished for now.

“Leave.”

A weakened voice settled between them. Selene, turning her head back, whispered once more desperately.

“Please leave…”

I’m begging you.

With the whisper, a tear that had been forming in her eye rolled down her cheek.

Bloodshot eyes, disheveled hair, slowly blinking eyelids.

Boreas’s face, finally seeing Selene’s face, hardened.

‘This is the limit now.’

Faced with Boreas, Selene was gripped by the sensation of her consciousness being pushed to the extreme. Selene trembled, clenching her fists so tightly that her dress wrinkled.

Boreas’s gaze fell from Selene’s feverish face to her fists, knuckles turning white. Then Boreas raised his head again to look at the unfamiliar face.

Just as he was about to move his lips, the sound of footsteps walking down the corridor was heard nearby.

Noticing this, Boreas quickly locked the door before anyone could enter. It was such close timing that they would have been caught if he had been even a moment later.

“Selene? Why did you suddenly lock the door? Didn’t you call for me?”

“I have a visitor. Come back later.”

“Boreas? Why are you there again?”

“I don’t know why you came, but now doesn’t seem to be the time. Her complexion doesn’t look good.”

“Who? Selene? Is she sick? Where? Now that I think about it, I think I hear some strange sounds too. Anyway, let me see too, open the door.”

Creak, creak. The situation of the two men facing off was conveyed through the sound of the doorknob. As Johan kept asking questions and being annoying, Boreas snapped in an irritated voice.

“Why do you need to see Selene? I’ll stay here, so you go and call the doctor. If you don’t know where he is, ask the servants.”

“Sigh, alright. I’ll go for now, I’m going. Selene! I’ll come back later.”

Johan, who had been facing off with Boreas, finally raised the white flag and retreated. Johan’s voice asking a maid passing in the corridor to bring the doctor was faintly heard through the door crack.

Feeling the footsteps beyond the door gradually fading away, Boreas let out a low sigh. Then he slowly turned around.

A flushed face. Irregular breathing. Helpless gestures. The scene was the same. Boreas began to move his feet towards her.

Clinging to her intermittently breaking consciousness and focusing on the presence, Selene was confused by the approaching footsteps.

‘Why isn’t he leaving and coming closer?’

Despite being told to leave, he stubbornly came and knelt on one knee to meet her gaze. Finally able to examine her condition up close, Boreas slowly moved his eyes.

“…”

After a moment of silence, he slowly raised his hand and placed his palm on Selene’s hot forehead.

Touching his own forehead with his other hand to gauge the temperature difference, Boreas muttered softly.

“It seems you have a fever.”

Could it be that she’s come down with a cold after suddenly doing work she wasn’t used to and moving around, after staying in her bedroom for so long? I should have checked earlier if she was overexerting herself. Reflecting on this and blaming himself for his complacency, Boreas withdrew his hand and asked.

“Let’s move you for now. Can you stand up?”

Selene, having lost even the strength to speak, just breathed heavily. Hot air flowed out between her slightly parted crimson lips. That breath melted completely onto Boreas’s cheek, who was facing her closely.

As the conversation stopped and silence fell, the woman’s breathing sounded even more clearly. A blue light gleamed and flickered between the woman’s half-open gaze.

Boreas, who had been quietly gazing at her with lowered eyes, gradually clenched his fist.

The woman’s flushed cheeks were captured in his dark eyes. The color in her cheeks was similar to the pink of her hair.

Through the slightly open front of her dress, a glimpse of white skin was visible. Though her appearance was somewhat disheveled, it made the woman all the more alluring. It was an indescribably exquisite stimulation.

Just as the droplet caught between her helplessly trembling long eyelashes made her presence even more unfamiliar, veins bulged on the back of his clenched fist.

Boreas momentarily felt pathetic for feeling inappropriate impulses in front of a sick person.

Closing his mouth and composing his intense emotions, Boreas slipped his hand under her knees. Supporting her back with his other hand, Boreas carefully lifted her up.

Walking slowly to the bed, he placed her on it. His movements were quite gentle as he adjusted the pillow and covered her with the blanket. Selene was perplexed amidst her consciousness that felt submerged in water.

‘I thought he would ignore me as usual, but why…’

I thought he wouldn’t care whether I was sick or not. Why does he seem to be worried? He’s not the kind of man who would care about me like this… However, due to her physical discomfort, she couldn’t dwell on these questions for long.

Boreas, who had been watching her groan in pain with an intense gaze, reached out his hand. His gesture of gently removing the hair stuck to her forehead was delicate.

Every time his fingertips brushed against her bare skin, a cool and refreshing sensation washed over her. Just like drinking cold water in a desert in midsummer, her perplexity and embarrassment quickly vanished.

Just as she was wishing that this cool sensation would last for a long time, his words shattered her expectations.

“Your condition seems to be getting worse. Wait here for a moment.”

The saving touch that had momentarily cooled her raging heat teased her, barely touching her, and was finally about to disappear.

Without time to think, Selene gently grasped the edge of the cuff of his men’s shirt. A voice mixed with warm breath flowed out between her slowly parting red lips.

“Don’t go.”