He thought it was another aide coming in to nag about his health and was about to ignore them, but then realized the footsteps sounded different.

“What brings you here?”

His voice was harsh as usual, but laced with fatigue as if he hadn’t slept for days.

Perhaps because of that, though his brow was still furrowed, it wasn’t intimidating at all. Rather, seeing the dark shadows under his eyes sparked concern.

“…What are you doing?”

Boreas narrowed his eyes, looking back and forth between Selene and the maid pulling a cart behind her.

“It seems we need to talk.”

She spoke calmly, giving a slight nod.

At her signal, the maid swiftly began placing dishes on the table.

He watched the whole process with incredulous, impassive eyes until the maid quickly gathered the cart and left.

“I don’t know how many times I have to ask. What are you doing?”

“People need to eat to live.”

“Since when did you start thinking of me like that?”

“Eat and then do it. The food looks quite tasty.”

“I’m busy. No time to eat. Even less time for useless wordplay.”

Selene, staring at him writing on paper, pointed to the chair with her finger.

As if she had known all along that he was glancing over here from the corner of his eye.

By the time Selene blinked a couple times, Boreas let out a quiet sigh.

“How long are you going to keep this up? I told you to stop.”

The resolute Selene opened the silver dome. Looking at the steaming beef stew, she said:

“Whether you hate or curse, you need to be alive for it to be possible.”

“Someone might think you were actually worried.”

Boreas let out a hollow laugh, as if in disbelief at his own words.

It must have been a laugh meaning he couldn’t remember when this woman had ever worried about him.

“…”

But I am worried.

You’ve always starved yourself first when you’re feeling down, ever since long ago. I told you it was a bad habit, that you should change it, but you never did.

Even after leaping across lifetimes, I remember that clearly.

But instead of adding those words, Selene found another excuse.

“I’m considering the circumstances of the cooks who made this and the maids in between.”

She carefully examined the dishes laid out on the table.

While Selene briefly looked away, Boreas’ eyes gazing at her wavered subtly. Unfortunately, it was a fluctuation no one noticed.

Straightening her back and turning around, Selene looked at Boreas.

A meaningless staring contest began.

“…”

“…”

“I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Alright. I understand.”

There’s no point in saying anything more, it would only lead to a fight. Selene had no choice but to back down.

“Just tell me why you came.”

“…Never mind. It’s nothing.”

“If you’re not going to keep watching, I’d like you to leave now.”

It seems her concern was of no use. Selene swallowed a sigh and turned around.

* * *

I want some fresh air.

Unable to understand why his chest suddenly felt so constricted while working, Boreas donned a light outer garment and left the room.

As he strolled down the hallway, Boreas unexpectedly saw a child sitting on a window sill.

‘That child is…’

The build and hair were quite familiar. Perhaps it couldn’t be helped. It was the child who had knelt before Selene.

The child seemed particularly excited, swinging both legs and smiling. One cheek was puffed out, apparently holding something in their mouth.

He was about to take a step closer to the child when he hesitated.

The image of disheveled red hair suddenly flashed in his mind.

While he hesitated, a girl in the same maid uniform came running from the opposite direction towards the window.

“Bell!”

“Whoa, you startled me. You scared me, Jas!”

“That was the point. How dare you play around during work hours? I’m telling the head maid.”

“I was just taking a short break, dummy.”

“Huh? But Bell, what are you eating?”

It was an ordinary conversation between girls of the same age. There was no need to listen, so Boreas turned to leave. But he had to stop after just a few steps.

“Oh, this? Her Highness gave it to me!”

He had no choice but to hear about someone he kept thinking about.

Before he could wonder why he was standing frozen in the hallway, words he never expected continued to reach his ears.

“Her Highness said I have a small build so I need to eat, and gave me candy.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Ta-da. Her Highness gave me all of these too! She said to come back anytime if I run out. Jealous?”

The child called Bell smiled brightly as she rummaged through her pocket and proudly showed off the candies with both hands.

Boreas’ gaze, which had started from near the corner of the hallway, remained fixed on the pouch until the small palm-sized bag disappeared back into the child’s possession.

After chatting for a while longer, the children expressed belated worry about getting scolded if caught slacking off and left.

‘So…’

Left alone in the now empty hallway, Boreas sat on the windowsill.

‘It wasn’t forced kneeling after all…?’

It was a misunderstanding. He let out a quiet sigh, having gained a late realization as concerning as the maids’ worries about getting in trouble if caught.

Feeling stifled, he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt that had been tightly fastened up to his neck.

As he stared into space, a breeze suddenly wafted in through the half-open window.

It was then that a familiar and fresh scent reminiscent of cherry blossoms was carried on the gentle wind.

His face stiffened as he unconsciously turned towards the fragrance he had forgotten for a while.

At the end of his shifted gaze stood the very person he had been thinking about.

She was smiling faintly, gazing at the sky.

His hand gripping the windowsill to close it tightened.

He watched her like that, unable to either close or open the window.

* * *

“Hmm.”

The clear night air refreshed her lungs.

Indeed, when feeling stuffy, one needs to breathe some outside air.

Beautiful stars filled her vision. It was as if white dots had been carefully placed on a dark canvas.

Bright lights twinkled, filling the night sky.

“Now I feel a bit more alive.”

As she muttered, white breath came out and dissipated in the air.

She smiled, finding the smoke that rose and quickly faded oddly cute.

The serenity of the quiet night air put her in a good mood. It felt like walking through a magnificent dream.

A festival of stars surrounded by nature, and she was standing on that stage.

The sound of wind rustling leaves soothed her ears, and clear halos of light illuminated her entire body.

The intoxication of the dark winter night with its brilliant light made her feel elated.

As she felt like anything was possible, her slightly melancholic feelings melted away like ice cream under the summer sun.

Ah, but it’s a bit cold. Should I head back now?

Selene pulled the slightly lowered shawl back up over her shoulders and turned around with a somewhat relaxed expression.

As she turned, her gaze unconsciously drifted to the second-floor window.

At the slightly open window, only air carrying her scent remained.