“This is not tea, Your Excellency. It’s chocolate.”

“I checked with the kitchen, and they said there was some left, so I brought it.”

“I gave it to Lady Ariante. But aren’t you a bit too old to drink chocolate before going to sleep?”

“I’ve never heard that there’s an age limit for drinking chocolate. Just go ahead and drink. It’ll help you relax.”

Meiana took a sip of the warm chocolate as if she had nothing special to worry about. As she pressed her lips against the beautiful porcelain cup with a pattern that seemed to have been stamped with red flower petals, the rich and bitter taste, along with the scent of brandy, stimulated her tongue and nose simultaneously.

In the feeling of her stiffened neck and the tangled feelings slowly unraveling, she closed her eyes for a moment. Warmth spread to her toes, and the chaotic events of the day felt distant, as if they were all just a dream.

“How is it?”

“It’s good. You made a good choice to drink it.”

Cedillo smiled lightly. The room, filled with the faint light of candles that seemed to bring in the sunset, became cozy and mysterious with Cedillo’s charming smile, turning the small and unimpressive maid’s room into a snug and secretive space.

Meiana was drinking chocolate in silence, lowering her gaze throughout. Seated on a small chair, Cedillo, too, remained silent. The space between them felt filled for a moment, then slowly flowed away somewhere, and in the flowing silence, there seemed to be a faint sound of shallow water.

Meiana’s closed eyelashes trembled faintly. With a sigh, her shoulders sank.

“It was so frightening.”

Cedillo looked at Meiana’s face thoughtfully. His expression seemed calm, but it was clear that a part of her was still trembling with fear.

Meiana, who had never shown fear in the face of threats to herself, felt that she had exhausted her body and mind only worrying about Ariante.

Ariante is also a precious daughter to Cedillo. There was no way not to feel love for Meiana, who had poured out affection that no one else had ever given to Ariante.

This fact delighted Cedillo. It was an emotion so overwhelming that it could make his heart ache.

Staring at Meiana’s face, illuminated by the play of light and shadows, for a while, Cedillo spoke calmly.

“I understand. I felt the same way.”

“It’s all my fault. I should have kept an eye on Lady Ariante.”

A faint smile crossed Cedillo’s lips. It was a mischievous look.

“Where did the usually courageous you go?”

Meiana playfully blinked her eyes, pouting her lips.

“Brave Meiana Dawson is on strike today. No, I’ve been imprisoned. I have to spend the night reflecting there.”

“Lying on the cold stone floor, huddled, talking with squeaking mice?”

Meiana made a short whimper.

“Your Excellency, have you ever spent a night in prison? You seem to know so much about it.”

With his fist clenched, Cedillo slightly dampened his upper body. At that moment, the chair, whose height had not been well matched to the legs, wobbled a bit.

“Be careful!”

The moment Cedillo seemed startled, Meiana grabbed his arm. As his body, leaning backward, was pulled in the opposite direction, his shoes slipped on the floor.

With a low exclamation, the bed shook. Cedillo’s gaze, which had firmly gripped the wall in front of him, naturally lowered. Brown eyes that looked up at him. And a gaze that seemed to emanate the scents of brandy and chocolate.

Lying under him, Meiana momentarily forgot to breathe. It was too much for her to handle the sudden proximity and presence of Cedillo, who had approached her like never before.

Today was a day with too many events to cope with.
Logical thinking, clear reasoning, none of it seemed necessary, and there was no room for leisure either. Everything felt like a dream that would disappear when you closed your eyes and reappear when you opened them. If it’s a dream, wouldn’t it be okay to try anything?

Anything, really, anything.

“…I’m sorry.”

The moment Cedillo whispered softly, Meiana quietly let out the breath she had been holding to avoid being noticed.

It seemed like his pupils, as he raised his body, were shaking. In that momentary flicker within them, something fiery, something like flames, vanished momentarily, and she knew what it was. During the brief entanglement of gazes, Meiana realized that he was having similar thoughts. It was not something her mind grasped first; her body understood it first.

It might be something you could unearth, confront, or hide, but the desire that tightly entwined like a whirlwind had disappeared from view for a moment. However, it hadn’t completely vanished; it had just hidden away.

So, would it resurface someday?

Cedillo slowly got up. Meiana, who had slipped out from under him, tidied her disheveled hair and turned her head slightly. Strands of hair flowing down next to her ears and the slightly reddened cheek reminded of a fierce slap from Cedillo. To suppress the impulse that seemed to turn her entire body away, she had to bite her lip.

“We need to change the chair.”