Don’t go.

With tears in her eyes, Selene made a plea that was close to begging. Boreas’s gaze fell in turn on the fingers clutching his sleeve and her flushed face. At once, the droplets that had gathered in her eyes rolled down, leaving marks on the pillowcase.

Although it was a restraint that could be easily broken with just a little force, he couldn’t bring himself to shake off that pitiful grip.

“I’m not going, I was just going to get a wet towel…”

“Don’t go.”

Selene interrupted him midway and repeated the same words. She seemed unable to regain her senses.

Haa.

Boreas covered his face with his free hand and let out a deeper sigh.

Misunderstanding the sound of his sigh that echoed in the quiet room, Selene’s hand fell limply.

Did I annoy him?

Selene barely swallowed the cry that had risen to her throat. It seemed her heart had weakened along with her sick body. Selene bit her lip hard and strained her eyes.

Boreas, who had been staring at her intently, suddenly sat down on the edge of the bed. Lifting Selene’s chin with his fingertips, he gently wiped away the moisture around her eyes with the knuckle of his index finger.

“Don’t cry.”

A surprised light flickered in her blue eyes that had grown slightly larger due to weakness.

He whispered again.

“Why are you crying? Are you in a lot of pain?”

The man’s voice penetrated her hazy mind. Though his tone was the same as usual, there was a hint of tenderness in it. The soft timbre even seemed to offer a feeling of comfort.

“It’s not that… I’m scared to be alone.”

Her voice, wet with tears, clung to his ear once more.

It was true that her body felt as if it were burning painfully. But it wasn’t just because his hand felt cool that she clung to him.

In the face of the ripening sensation, reason had long since evaporated, and cold judgment and rationality had melted away helplessly. This feeling of her body being out of control frightened her. It was even more so because she had never experienced such a sensation before. It felt as if she was losing herself. She felt like she might do something reckless if left alone.

Because it seemed like he was really worried about her, because his gaze and touch were so gentle… because he kept treating her kindly unlike his usual self, she felt an urge to whine. Like a child crying to a warm, embracing mother about being in pain.

“You look like you’re in a lot of pain right now. So you need to get examined and get some medicine prescribed.”

The more Selene struggled, the deeper the wrinkles on his usually smooth forehead became. He seemed fine just a moment ago. The man who had been asking about her condition added a small monologue.

Hearing that quiet murmur, Selene suddenly realized why she had come up to the room. The sense of discomfort she had felt during the tea time with Fritten followed. Could there have been something in the tea? Her half-closed eyes flew open.

“The tea.”

“What?”

“Earlier at the tea time… I just drank the tea, but suddenly my body started hurting.”

Just as she was about to continue speaking, a pain like her pancreas was being twisted shot through her. Selene wrinkled her nose and quickly clutched her stomach.

“Tea time? Did you drink something wrong there?”

As her consciousness was fading away, Selene weakly blinked her eyes. It was an affirmative answer.

“About that… so you should rest a bit…”

The man’s voice that followed began to sound increasingly distant from reality. The woman’s clouded eyes turned to the lips moving in front of her.

In fact, there was a way. Selene already knew how to relieve this painful sensation. For humans tend to exhibit transcendent intuition when pushed to their limits.

‘…No.’

Restraining her rising desire, Selene shook her head vigorously from side to side. However, it only had the opposite effect of worsening her dizziness.

As her gaze kept turning to his lips, Selene squeezed her eyes shut.

It’s painful. But I can’t.

But it hurts so much.

“Your condition is more serious…”

The man’s voice buzzes in her ear. In her confused mind, only an earnest desire to escape this painful fever remained.

By then, the focus began to disappear from Selene’s eyes.

Her thoughts that had been spreading in all directions finally converged, drawn by the heat.

If only I could get rid of this pain, anything would be fine now.

“It would be good to bring some cold ice…”

The moment the red lips moved once more, Selene grabbed his arm and pulled him close. The moment she rushed towards it without hesitation, her consciousness was cut off.

* * *

Chirp chirp.

The next day, the chirping of sparrows echoed beyond the room where warm morning sunlight was streaming in. Selene, who had sent away all the nearby servants as soon as she woke up, was alone mulling over her thoughts.

Selene muttered repeatedly with a pale blue face.

I’m ruined.

As Selene carefully traced back her memories from the clearest last moment, she suddenly grabbed her hair.

Holding onto him, begging him not to go. Whimpering and pleading. Whining that she didn’t want to be alone. She remembered it all. When the flickering red lips filled her mind, Selene’s eyes went blank for a moment.

I must have been crazy, crazy…

Selene, having barely composed herself, thought of the next dilemma.

She remembered lunging towards his lips. The problem was that the film cut off mid-lunge, so she didn’t know if their lips had actually touched.

‘Stay calm.’

Selene leaned back against the backrest and began to look for a solution. She listed various solutions, but none were satisfactory. In the end, there was only one clean way to resolve this.

To ask him directly.

But she really didn’t want to. Aside from the embarrassment, if what she thought was true, she had no idea how to handle it.

They hadn’t had any casual conversations for days since their argument by the lake bridge that day. They didn’t exchange words except when they had to do official work. No, it might be more accurate to say they couldn’t… Because no words came to mind.

Not only was the relationship awkward, but someone he didn’t even love had suddenly grabbed him, telling him not to go, and then pulled him close and stolen a kiss.

The more she put herself in his position, summarized in one line, the more appalled she felt.

How unpleasant must it be. He might even think he was sexually harassed.

Unable to find a brilliant solution, Selene paced around the room for a long time. Quite some time passed, and only when a maid entered the room and asked what she was doing did Selene end her indefinite contemplation.

No matter how much she spread the roots of her thoughts here and there, the conclusion inevitably converged to one.

It’s not smart to take a detour when you know the way. Judging that there was a need to make things clear, Selene stepped towards the study where Boreas would be.

But her worries continued until the moment she put her hand on the doorknob of the study.

If… if I really did make a mistake, what should I say? And how should I apologize for mumbling and asking him not to go?

She had pondered it thousands of times on the way, but no appropriate solution came to mind. However, this wasn’t a problem she could just avoid. Selene slowly steadied her breathing.

When she finally calmed down, her hand knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

A quick permission came from inside, as if he had been expecting her. Selene carefully closed the door as she crossed the threshold.

Click. The sound of the door closing was soft, but it made her heart heavy, as if her escape route had been completely blocked.

Selene approached him, trying to maintain a calm face.

“I have something to say, are you busy…?”

Boreas, who had been scribbling intently without taking his eyes off the documents, finally raised his head to check his visitor.

It was his wife.

Recognizing the visitor, Boreas put down the glasses he had been wearing on the desk. Seeming to know what she was going to say, Boreas took a listening posture, saying he had time to talk.

But Selene, embarrassed, couldn’t easily continue speaking. The only movement that could be seen from her was her fidgeting fingers.

As the wait became quite long, Boreas stood up and led her to the sofa. She must have rushed over as soon as she woke up. He judged that standing for a long time in an unhealthy state wouldn’t be good for her.

Leaning deeply against the backrest, Boreas quietly waited for the woman’s next words. His patience finally bore fruit when a maid, on the Grand Duke’s orders, placed a plate of raspberry cookies and chamomile tea in front of Selene.

“Yesterday… did you get back alright?”

Boreas nodded willingly. At his more nonchalant reaction than expected, Selene relaxed just a tiny bit. It wasn’t easy to bring up the topic directly, but she couldn’t just waste time holding up a busy person either.

He was a quick-witted man, so he would understand well without her having to explain in detail. Selene asked concisely.

“Did anything… happen between us yesterday?”